Lyft is experimenting with car rental

Lyft is just one of a whole fleet of companies hoping to change the way we get from A to B with ride-hailing, autonomous cars, bicycles and electric scooters, but now it's thinking long-distance by offering more traditional car rentals lasting several days.

As Engadget has discovered, Lyft is currently offering rentals to a small group of users in San Francisco, though it's not clear how many people are included in these early tests.

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Pricing hasn't been finalized yet either, but people in the test group are being offered a sedan for $60 (about £45, AU$85) per day, or an SUV for $100 (about £75, AU$140) per day.

There are much cheaper options available in the city, but it looks like renters will also be able to claim Lyft credit, and add-ons like snow chains and bike racks will be thrown in at no extra cost.

The road ahead

"We're constantly adding multimodal options so people can use Lyft for any kind of trip," a spokesperson told Engadget in an email statement.

"We've added bikes, scooters, and public transit info into the app in cities across the country, and we're currently testing a small-scale rental option for long-distance trips, like a weekend away."

Anything that cuts the number of cars on the streets in congested cities like San Francisco is welcome, though we suspect Lyft's relatively high prices will make it a less appealing option unless you're also a regular user of its other services, in which case the bonus credit will make it much more appealing.