Uber to partner with rival Lyft's investor GM for car rental programme for drivers

Uber will be working with rival Lyft's major backer General Motors to help drivers get access to vehicles. Uber drivers will now be able to lease cars from GM's Maven car-sharing service fleet in San Francisco.

The pilot programme will be tested only within San Francisco for 90 days after which GM may expand the service depending on the response. The scheme is similar to GM's Express Drive programme where the automaker makes vehicles available to Lyft drivers for short-term rentals. Lyft's programme is available in many cities like Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose.

The weekly cost of the GM vehicles provided for use to Uber drivers has been set at $179 (£146) for the pilot project excluding taxes and fees. Drivers can even put the cars to their own personal use during the rental period.

The pricing for Uber drivers is "at parity" with what Lyft drivers pay for such a service although both companies offer their own incentives, said Julia Steyn, GM's vice president of urban mobility.

The latest deal is interesting as GM has invested close to $500m in Lyft, which is Uber's biggest competitor in the US.

"The fact that we have attracted both Lyft and Uber is a strong sign for Maven," Annalisa Esposito Bluhm, a spokesperson for GM told Bloomberg.

Concerned over projected estimates of eventual decline in private ownership of vehicles, automakers are looking at such car rental options to ride hailing companies. Ford, Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler and Toyota have also invested in ride service programmes fearing a big dip in their core business of selling cars.