(Mirror Daily, United States) – Taxis are becoming overrated. Ever since the idea of car-sharing came to the market, more and more companies are implementing systems that allow users to ask for a ride from independent drivers. Similar to Uber, Ola, Grab and Didi, you can now request a Lyft via Facebook messenger.

The app has been announced today, and it will be available for every Facebook Messenger user with an Android device. The Lyft platform is only a small part of a wider expansion that the platform is trying to integrate.

Requesting a Lyft from your messenger is similar to the procedure you go through when asking for an Uber. Users will see a transportation icon situated above the keyboard. They will then select the Lyft option and tap on the “ride” button. From that point on, Lyft will take care of your transportation needs.

For the moment, the feature is not available to all users, but according to the developers, all US citizens with Android devices will be able to access it in the following weeks.

But the idea of requesting a car-sharing service directly from Facebook is not new. Ever since December, the most successful company in the field, Uber, has been working on an integration system with the famous social network.

Furthermore, users who requested an Uber car directly from the messenger option of Facebook received a $20 coupon for their first ride. There are no official statements that suggest any sort of gratuity offered by Lyft.

The beta is already over and the company is hoping that the new car-sharing service will be a hit among customers. During the testing, Lyft experimented with a Slack integration sometimes last fall. The combination allowed users to type a command directly into the Slack channel in order to request a Lyft.

All users had to do was type “/lyft ride” followed by the address they were at and the address where they wanted to go.

But this is not all. Lyft has scored a partnership with CityMapper and a couple of other such services. So when users try to find the best and quickest route towards a location they will be shown buses, trains and Lyft vehicles that are in the area.

Facebook is planning to transform Messenger into a standalone application. As in the case of WhatsApp, the social media giant wants to remove the umbilical cord and let it live on its own. This is actually good news for people who wish to use the messaging feature but are reluctant to the idea of creating a profile.

You can now request a Lyft via Facebook Messenger, and users are waiting for the moment where they will be able to order foods and clothing using the same service.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org