Lyft to provide drivers with partition shields as coronavirus protection

Lyft said on Friday it would distribute some 60,000 vehicle partition shields to its most-active drivers as a protection against the coronavirus and begin selling the custom-made protective barriers to other drivers later this summer.

The ride-hailing company began in May to require both passengers and drivers to wear a mask during trips and said it had provided North American drivers with more than 150,000 sanitizing products and masks since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Lyft began designing the semi-rigid partition shields, made out of a polycarbonate material, several months ago and has since piloted it with a group of ride-hail drivers to solicit feedback, a spokeswoman said.

“It was critical to us that the design met the needs of rideshare drivers specifically, accommodated a wide range of vehicle models, could be self-installed and easily removed, and could be produced at a price point far lower than what is currently available in the market,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.

Lyft will sell the partitions for about $50 at production cost and without a markup, the company said. Vehicle partition shields are available online from various manufacturers, with prices ranging from $50 to more than $100.

Via Reuters