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SALT LAKE CITY — Unlocking an e-scooter is now just a rideshare app away.
Salt Lake City Lyft customers are now able to unlock Spin e-scooters through Lyft's app. The option became available Tuesday morning.
"This is the latest in a series of integrations focused on making it just as easy to get around cities via multimodal transportation as it is with a personal car," Spin CEO Ben Bear saidin a statement.
The partnership debuted in Nashville last month. Salt Lake City is one of 13 additional U.S. markets where the partnership will be available through the end of April. Spin officials plan to roll out the feature to 60 total markets throughout the course of the year.
Rates will remain the same for Lyft customers: $1 to unlock plus 42 cents per minute, taxes and fees in Salt Lake City.
The announcement provides an alternative for shorter rideshare rides as gas prices have hit an all-time high in Utah. The average cost for a gallon of gas is $4.44 in Salt Lake County, which is about four cents cheaper than the state average of 4.48, according to AAA data on Monday. The average cost is about $4.09 per gallon nationwide.
Lyft announced in March that it would begin adding a 55-cent surcharge for every ride to help its drivers offset the rising cost of gas. The surcharge will remain in place for at least another month.
Phoenix and Fort Collins, Colorado, are the other western cities among the other 13 markets where the new partnership will be made available this month. The remaining 60 markets will be announced later this year.
But the new partnership is expected to extend beyond the rising cost of gas.
Spin was founded in 2017 and purchased by Ford a year later. Germany-based TIER Mobility acquired it earlier this year. Bear said the long-term philosophies of Spin and Lyft align, which is why he believes the partnership works.
"This partnership has been a long time in the making," he added. "And it has been clear in every interaction with the Lyft team that we share both a common vision for the sustainable future of urban transportation and a commitment to working with cities and public transit authorities the right way."
