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Lyft's Taco Bell mode indulges your late-night cravings

Make a run for the drive-thru.

So it's midnight, you have an irresistible case of the munchies and your favorite eateries have stopped delivering. Are you going to settle for a bag of chips or (gasp) hold out until the morning? You won't have to, if Lyft has its way. It just introduced a Taco Mode that swings you past a Taco Bell drive-thru between 9PM and 2AM. That's going to be a very, very expensive taco if that's the sole reason for your trip, so you might want to get a Double Decker to justify the excursion. You can use Taco Mode while you're headed somewhere else, though, so this could be helpful if your friends will kill you unless you show up with chalupas in hand.

Lyft isn't even trying to hide the 420-friendly nature of Taco Mode -- it's launching the service in California's Orange County, for goodness' sake. This isn't a wink-wink-nudge-nudge gimmick, though. The Taco Bell hookup will be available in other areas by the end of the year, and across the US by 2018. In other words: Lyft and Taco Bell fully expect to make money from your late-night indulgences.

That's not surprising. For Lyft, this is a big marketing ploy. You're more likely to ride with Lyft over Uber if you know you can make a run for the border on the way home from the bar. If the timing's right, it could beat ordering from UberEats and waiting for a courier. And for Taco Bell, this can keep its drive-thrus humming when they might fall silent. Don't be surprised if Lyft strikes more deals and makes sure it can satisfy all your cravings.