Lyft CEO David Risher remembers the tough conversation with his deceased mother about the facts of aging.
“One of the dislikes that I had to talk to him was, 'Mom, I think it's time for you to restore the car and keys,'” Risher said Fate.
His personal experience – with the demographic shift where 80 million People are expected to be 65 and above by 2040-cut off the CEO to consider how the multi-million dollar companies better serve adults. Today, less than 6% of Lyft passengers are over 65, according to the data provided by the company.
This week, Lyft announced “Lyft Silver” to make their Rideshare service more attractive to older adults. Risher thought of his mother, who included the wishes of many adults: eager to stay involved with those around them and easily accessing the journey.
“The physical world is a really important part of our lived experience, and that is just more true as you get older,” Risher said.
The number one priority for Risher during the development of the product ensures that it is “easy for people to use.” The program is, therefore, has larger fonts and fewer options to choose from. During the research phase, the team also found that older adults are afraid that they will do something wrong on a Rideshare platform, which may lose them from its use. To address this, the Lyft Silver will have a more button -enabled customer service at the top of the screen to meet “all from 'I'm not sure who my driver is' to 'I think I'm just putting the wrong destination,'” Risher said.
Carers and family members are a major part of Lyft Silver. Older adults who use the platform can easily share their rides with a loved one or caregiver, which can add money to their balance as needed. And, users are more frequently paired with cars that are easier to get in and out for comfort and space. Lyft cooperated with the Foundation for Social Connection Action Network and self-help for adults, among other organizations, to help the feature design.
This week, the option to move your silver interface is open, and the company will enroll up to 25,000 people in the offering. Monitoring user habits will be informed if the service is in full and under a subscription model. “It's really about trying to get a lot of people to try it and give us a comment,” Risher said.
Rideshare's rival Uber, has launched a similar service because more companies have identified that meeting the boomer's needs is a smart economic step.
“It's good for business, but I think it's just good for society,” Risher said.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
