Over 4 million federal employees and their families can expect to receive car service from both Lyft and Uber after the pair of transportation companies signed a five-year, $810 million contract with the federal government.
Although unclear on how much each company will get, both confirmed that the deal was granted by the General Services Administration, the “procurement arm for the federal government.”
For Uber, the contract was awarded for Business, the ride-hailing company’s business-to-business division.
“The expansion of our customer base to include government is a natural next step for us, and we’re proud to help federal agencies tackle some of the biggest administrative challenges they face,” Ronnie Gurion, global head of Uber for Business, said in a statement.
Likewise, Lyft also noted have beneficial the deal will be for the growth of its business.
“Lyft already works closely with select agencies, but with this award under our belt, we see an opportunity to be the preferred rideshare partner for many other top federal agencies,” a spokesperson said.
Back in April, GSA stated that it was able to negotiate a 2-4 % discount with Lyft and Uber, compared with bigger commercial customers. Both companies also agreed to defer technology fees “charged to use back-office vendor data and reporting capabilities,” the agency said.
The deal with Uber and Lyft “modernizes official travel and will make it easier, and cheaper, to use rideshare services for official travel,” Federal Acquisition Service Assistant Commissioner for Travel, Transportation and Logistics Charlotte Phelan wrote. “No new apps to download – and no paper receipts to lose.”
