In late 2015, an "anti-Uber alliance" was formed between four global ride hailing companies. Now at least two of those partners have quietly dropped out.
Lyft and China's Didi Chuxing's roaming arrangement, to allow users to book rides on each other's platforms, was suspended in January, a Didi spokesperson confirmed.
Lyft's similar arranagement with Southeast Asian firm Grab, is also over.
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When announced, the original agreement was hailed as a way for the foursome to stymy some of Uber's ravenous global growth, but that's all done now.
"The roaming service was the first test of ways to provide customers with rides when they travel abroad, from which we have gained invaluable knowledge of cross-border coordination," a Didi Chuxing spokesperson said Wednesday.
The roaming service was suspended "because we intend seeking more flexible partnership with local innovators."
Grab said the integration was a "test" to see if customers could get rides on other partners' networks when travelling.
"We have gained good knowledge of cross-border coordination," a spokesperson said.
For its part, Lyft downplayed the significance of the roaming partnership.
"None of the partners invested heavily in marketing the partnership," a spokesperson said. "It never accounted for a meaningful amount of any of the partners' revenue and all of the partners mutually agreed to end the arrangement."
The company said it will expand internationally in the future.
But what about the money? The $100 million investment Didi Chuxing (then Didi Kuaidi) made in Lyft in 2015 has not changed.
"Our investment in Lyft is one of our first global endeavors," a company representative said over email. "We all gain valuable knowledge and experience from the partnership."
But how healthy is Lyft and Didi's relationship?
The suspension of the roaming arrangement between Didi Chuxing and Lyft answers at least one big question the industry had after the Chinese rideshare giant swallowed up Uber in 2016: How healthy can the Lyft and Didi relationship be these days?
In August, Uber admitted defeat in China, merging its business with Didi Chuxing. As Bloomberg noted at the time, this gave the American company a 20 percent stake in the new combined entity. And also, paradoxically, a speculated interest in Lyft. As part of the deal, Didi made a $1 billion investment in Uber.
Lyft made its displeasure known at the time, with company representatives sending the message it always believed Didi had the advantage in China "because of the regulatory environment."
"Over the next few weeks, we will evaluate our partnership with Didi," it said back in August, but the results of that revaluation were never made clear.
The end of the roaming arrangement in at least two major Asian regions is a significant blow for Lyft, and one it has not been shouting from the roof tops.
It gave the company an international presence in the lucrative and growing part of the world, all without having to pay for on-the-ground operations. Now Uber seems to have the game and board.
UPDATE: March 22, 2017, 10:34 p.m. AEDT Details added from Didi Chuxing.
UPDATE: March 23, 2017, 9:21 a.m. AEDT Statement added from Lyft.
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