A new feature on Lyft will be rolling out ahead of the busy summer travel season to cut down the time passengers wait for a car at the airport.
In the past few months, both Lyft and Uber have been launching new offerings and expanding their services, including features that aim to ease the pressure of airport travel to gain market share and become a dominant player in the industry.
The latest collaboration from Lyft, Lyft, is launching an airport pre-order feature at some of the country's biggest travel hubs.
Starting Thursday, passengers at Los Angeles International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International and Midway International airports will be able to pre-order a ride upon landing.
The app will track the rider as they walk through the airport and match them with a driver as they get closer to the pickup spot. The app tracks passengers' wait time through the airport, including baggage claim.
The goal is to have the driver arrive at the pickup area as the passenger gets to the pickup area, or shortly after. The new feature will be available to Austin, New York and Seattle airports soon.
Riders can also use Google Assistant or Apple Calendar to receive notifications for when to leave for the airport, which can be accomplished by connecting to Apple Calendar or Google Assistant. Flight and terminal information will also be included in the Lyft app, the company said.
CEO David Risher saw an opportunity in addressing airport-travel, which he acknowledged can be one of the most frustration, yet pivotal, parts of the ridesharing industry.
SPICY BREAK: 30 percent.
Airport travel is important because just even within our ecosystem, about 10% of our ride volume are airport rides, Risher said.
This means that 90% of our rides are in a situation where people are under a lot of stress, and that's only going to accelerate as we get further into the summer, Risher said.
In March, Uber announced several changes that it said would make hailing a ride at the airport easier, including step-by-step directions to guide users along their walk from the gate to the Uber pickup area. It also added a ETA feature to help users plan how long it will take to get from gate to baggage claim. Uber drivers can reserve their ride to the airport up to 30 days in advance.