Lyft is jumping in to help out Brooklyn train riders. In April, the L Train is shutting down for 15 months. The MTA will suspend service between Bedford Avenue and 14th Street/Eight Avenue. The shutdown will cause a major disruption for many NYC residents—about 400,000 of them.
Lyft launched an OOH campaign called “Something’s Missing,” that drops the letter L from its copy and logo in solidarity with those affected. Examples like “ong ive Brook yn” have already started to pop-up around New York. The big pink billboards and transit wraps direct locals to yftpan.com to explain all the travel remedies the company has created.
Lyft will match shared ride passengers heading in the same direction for a low fare letting drivers use the carpool lane, there will be at least 3 passengers. There will also be more fixed pickup spots in congested areas for more efficient pickups.
Cars won’t be the only method of transportation. The ride-sharing company partnered with New York City to acquire Citi Bike earlier this year. It will triple the size of its bikeshare service to 40,000 during the shutdown.
Love this campaign from @lyft targeting commuters in Brooklyn that are going to be "totally screwed" when the L train, their main transportation lifeline into Manhattan, goes out of commission for 15 months. (Props @joyehoward). https://t.co/P5eRHluTxY pic.twitter.com/B8UD6c6xmj
— Musa Tariq (@MusaTariq) December 6, 2018
Out-of-home has seen a bit of a resurgence with similar messaging from other brands. Last year, Spotify launched “2018 Goals”for the holidays. It used its data (listener habits from 2017 combined with current events) to conceive some funny sayings such as “Eat vegan brisket with the person who made a playlist called ‘Leftist Elitist Snowflake BBQ.’”
For the Lyft campaign, the brand is also cutting the price of its all-access plan to $169—to get 30 rides for 30 days. A big discount from its usual price of $299.
New Yorkers are currently getting a taste of the closure, there’s been a few weekend shutdowns this year. Lyft encourages users to share their commuting solutions through the site or social media with the hashtag #RideOnBrooklyn.
This campaign launched before another big announcement.
On Thursday, Lyft beat rival Uber in filing for an IPO giving the company a “first-mover advantage.” It was valued at $15 billion in a private fundraising round.
The filing is expected to become publicly available in early 2019. It will be an assessment on how much investors want tech companies and the ridesharing business.