Uber pilots rental service with GM

by David McCabe - 11/02/16 12:11 PM ET

Uber said on Tuesday it plans to partner with General Motors to offer rental cars to some of its drivers.

Drivers for the ride-hailing giant will be able to rent vehicles — at a base price of $179 a week, plus additional costs — from GM’s Maven service, according to The Wall Street Journal.

{mosads}GM launched the Maven car-sharing service in January with an eye toward responding to “significant changes in consumer behavior as people want to take advantage of new situations like ridesharing and car-sharing.”

The test is scheduled to last for 90 days and, according to Fortune, is restricted to San Francisco. Drivers will be able to access three different Chevrolet models.

Some were surprised by the announcement because GM has invested in Lyft, Uber’s primary rival in the United States. It comes as many traditional car companies are pursuing the ride-hailing industry

Uber has also worked with rental car companies Hertz and Enterprise on similar services.

Ride-hailing companies have worked to expand aggressively and ultimately might eliminate many of their human drivers altogether. Both Uber and Lyft are invested in the development of self-driving cars; Uber earlier this year launched the most advanced test of the technology in Pittsburgh.