Lyft launches its ride-sharing Line feature in one new city

[sincity]

After all the negative press surrounding Uber, many will probably be glad to hear that things may be looking up for Lyft - at least in one US city.

Lyft first tried to launch in New York in July, but the company was stymied for weeks before it could strike a deal with city officials.

And now the city is letting Lyft users share rides with a feature called Lyft Line if their pick-up and drop-off locations are similar, something that's been controversial in other cities.

Three cities and counting

Lyft Line is currently operating in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it launches in New York tomorrow, December 12.

The feature detects users whose routes are similar and offers a 60% discounted rate to those who opt in - whether or not they wind up actually sharing the ride.

Naturally Uber already runs its identical service, UberPool, in New York as well, but let's face it: this market needs the competition.

• Uber's brash moves get it sued in Oregon and kicked out of Spain