Lyft Will Soon Ask Riders To Wear Masks And Confirm Health Status

In an announcement on Thursday, ride-hailing service Lyft revealed some new plans it has in the pipeline to help keep both drivers and riders safe during the coronavirus pandemic. The company calls this its Health Safety Program and it is targeted at drivers and riders; among other things, it will ask the latter group to self-certify that they are, to the best of their knowledge, not sick with COVID-19.

It's expected that traffic and use of ride-hailing services will increase in coming weeks as more cities and states begin opening up businesses. This means a number of people will once again start catching Lyft rides, something that will need to involve a face mask going forward. Lyft said that it will start asking riders and drivers to confirm — within the mobile app — that they will:

- Wear a face mask

- Not drive/ride if they are sick with COVID-19 or suspect they are

- That they'll keep the car clean and sanitize their hands regularly

- That, if possible, they'll keep the windows open in order to keep fresh air in the vehicle

- That passengers will only sit in the back seat of the car

If you're a rider, you'll be prompted to certify these things in the app before requesting a ride — if you don't, you won't be able to make the request, according to Lyft. The company's app will also provide a link to the CDC guidelines about COVID-19 so that riders can familiarize themselves with the info.

In addition, Lyft is rolling out a new Health Safety Education section in its app's Learning Center for both drivers and riders. As expected, this new section provides information on COVID-19 — Lyft is offering educational info based on both Canadian health requirements and CDC guidance, the company said on Thursday. Drivers have already received this info and riders will be getting access soon.