Lyft Eases Expense Report Friction

Lyft has a game plan for corporate travel, and this week, the ridesharing company took a step forward in that venture.

Reports on Thursday (Aug. 25) said Lyft introduced a way for professionals using the app to customize their expense reports. The move follows a few months after the rollout of business profiles aimed at helping employees separate their use of Lyft for personal and corporate purposes.

The customization capabilities enable users to select which trips they want to show up on their expense reports before they submit them, reports said.

Lyft has been battling with main rival Uber for market share on both B2C and B2B fronts. And while its rival is winning, Lyft is quickly gaining ground — and even surpassing Uber in some aspects.

Research from T&E firm Certify found earlier this year that Lyft beats out traditional taxis and Uber in terms of customer satisfaction with corporate travelers. The company has also experienced faster growth than its top rival. In one market — Arlington, VA — Lyft saw a 9 percent increase in corporate use of its service. Similar gains were seen across Austin, Los Angeles, San Diego and Chicago, researchers found.

Between Q2 2014 and Q2 2016, Lyft saw a 176 percent jump in corporate usage, compared to Uber’s 145 percent gain.

In an interview with reporters, Lyft Chief Business Officer David Baga pointed to the “huge market” of corporate travelers. Later, a spokesperson for the company told PYMNTS that the firm sees the enterprise “as one of Lyft’s most significant growth channels.”

“Corporate travelers are looking for a more personalized option of getting from place to place in an affordable manner,” Lyft said. “They want their work travel to keep up with their personal travel.”