Anthony Foxx, the former Secretary of Transportation during the Obama administration, is joining ride-hailing giant Lyft as its chief policy officer, the company announced on their blog. He will also serve as a senior advisor to Lyft’s president and CEO.
“Anthony’s unmatched experience and future-focused perspective will push us forward as we partner with cities and regulators to expand affordable mobility options, take cars off the road, and fundamentally change cities for the better,” John Zimmer, co-founder, and president of Lyft said in a statement.
This newly created role is designed to help improve the lives of users through ensuring world-class transportation.
“Lyft has built its brand on getting you there and caring about how you get there. The company remains at the forefront of meeting our nation’s comprehensive mobility needs but works hard to do so in partnership with key stakeholders,” Foxx said in a Medium post. “They recognize the extent to which the Lyft platform can bring people together while connecting us to the places we go.”
Foxx notes that through his role as the former Mayor of Charlotte and as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, he has a unique perspective working with communities on local transit issues. He wrote in his blog post that his Charlotte upbringing heavily influenced his desire to work for the innovative transportation company. He points out that while his family was lucky to have a car, with ownership came cost burdens.
“How much more discretionary money might my family have had if we never owned a car — if there had been a way to pay for the trips they needed instead of the car itself?” Foxx said. “Lyft is, at its core, a transportation company. It wants to offer solutions we did not see back in those days.”
