Whether employees are using Lyft to get to the office from transit, rush off to a last minute business meeting, or to secure a ride to the airport, there are instances where a car is needed. Lyft has a way to streamline rides for entire companies and their employees with corporate accounts.
How Does it Work?
Lyft for Business streamlines employees’ use of of the system so that they aren't bogged down by expense reports or by waiting for reimbursement after they pay for a business ride with their personal money.
All employees can link their Lyft app to their work email and verify their employment so that they can bill their rides directly to the company’s Lyft account. Optimizing this process with a Lyft for Business account saves your organization on administrative costs.
Set Up Billing Options
Lyft sets your company up with a corporate online portal and you decide who will have admin duties for overseeing the account. The admin is responsible for inviting employees to join the company’s corporate account and removing people as they move on to their next job.
The company is able to allow for direct billing to a credit card, or Lyft credits can be pre-purchased and replenished as needed. The two options are similar but offer a few slight differences.
Set parameters with Lyft credits
Lyft credits allow an employer to put restrictions on how and when an employee can use the company’s Lyft credits.
Perhaps a company doesn’t want employees taking Lyft to a particular part of town because transit is more affordable and access is excellent in that area. Maybe the company only wants its Lyft credits to be available during normal business hours. These are the kinds of restriction controls available with the Lyft credit option.
Have more flexibility with direct billing
Lyft’s direct billing works just like it sounds. The corporate account is linked to a company credit card and employees bill their rides directly to it. This option lacks the restriction controls offered by Lyft credits but employees can fill out a note in the app as they complete their ride to explain the purpose of the trip.
When using the app, an employee sets their pickup location and can then change the payment method before requesting a ride. The app defaults to the personal payment method on file so employees cannot accidentally bill rides to the company.
Grow Your Organization's Benefits Package
I’ve been really impressed with Lyft for Business. This is a perfect complement to companies that are already offering robust transit benefits. If you're interested in growing your benefits package for your employees, chat with us or download our guide on commuter benefits to get started.
Editor's Note: This blog was published in December 2015 and has been republished with information written by Christy Lee.
Photo Credit: Sam Kittner/Kittner.com for Arlington Transportation Partners