Lyft is trying to entice folks to book discounted rides on its app through a new partnership with dining rewards app Seated.
Seated's app gives rewards of $10-$50 for each meal booked. The new partnership with Lyft lets diners get a $10-$50 Lyft credit on their first reservation -- larger credits go to larger dinning parties. The code for that is LYFTxSEATED.
In all, Lyft plans to provide $1 million worth of credits to Seated users in Austin, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
The move is somewhat opposite of Lyft's chief competitor, Uber, which has leveraged its technology and driver base to deliver meals from restaurants to wherever you may be through UberEATS.
In many ways, this type of partnership is a win for restaurants, which are likely to see bigger orders as people tend to order more drinks and additional dishes in the restaurant. It also means restaurant staff are likely to get tips instead of delivery drivers.
But it's not likely to help with traffic.
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that a growing body of studies out of Boston, San Francisco and New York City show ride-hailing doesn't reduce traffic congestion -- rather, it tends to increase it. That's largely because when people are surveyed, they say they would have used public transportation or a bike if they didn't have ride-hailing apps handy.
Uber and Lyft contend that as ride-hailing grows, more people get rid of their cars and will mix public transit and rides. Both companies also offer carpooling services to put more riders in each car, improving efficiency.
