Lyft, a private transportation company, announced that it will be teaming up with car rental giant Hertz to battle Uber not only for passengers but on drivers as well.
In this partnership with Hertz, Lyft drivers can now rent cars on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, allowing them to operate as private drivers depending on their needs.
As reported by Wired, the announcement was made during a driver's event at the on-demand ride company's headquarters in San Francisco, California. In addition, a feature called "Express Pay," in partnership with processing company Stripe, now lets drivers instantly deposit their earnings to their respective banks, as soon as they make at least $50 on the road.
As an added bonus, Lyft also stroked a deal with Gas Company Shell that gives drivers discounts on gas the more rides they provide their customers, Fortune has learned.
To be specific, drivers will be able to earn discounts anywhere from 3 cents per gallon to free tanks of gas, depending on the number of rides they complete each week.
According to CNN, Lyft is doing everything it can do strengthen its relationship with its drivers as they, along with Uber, are currently being sued by drivers that they think they should be classified as employees and not just contractors.
As noted, being classified with an employee status would mean that the drivers will be eligible for a number of benefits and possible reimbursements for expenses like gas.
One Lyft driver attending the event said, "We keep the company afloat but we're not even employees."
Although the company did not specifically address any plans to change the driver's employment status, it's been trying to keep them satisfied based on what they are prepared to give.
Lyft's head of operations strategy David Rust said, "We're the company that cares about them the most, we listen to what drivers want, what they need."
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