Lyft
Latest
Lyft is doing great despite losing hundreds of millions in 2016
Lyft lost a lot of money last year, but it's doing better than ever. The ride-hailing company doesn't disclose its earnings, but according to The Information, it lost around $600 million in 2016 after generating $700 million in revenue. Sure, that loss is no joke, but its $700 million revenue is 250 percent higher than the $200.6 million the service generated in 2015. That's when it also also lost $412 million, which is twice the money it made. No wonder a spokesperson told the publication that they "have never been more optimistic about [their] future."
Uber and Lyft answer concerns about discrimination
A study published earlier this year documenting the discrimination ride-hailing passengers face compelled Senator Al Franken to call Uber's and Lyft's attention. Now, the Senator's office has published the companies' responses to the letter he sent on November 2nd. While it sounds like both services are already making changes, both stand by their practices. The study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research analyzed 1,500 rides in Boston and Seattle. It found that riders with black-sounding names usually have to wait 35 percent longer to be picked up and are twice more likely to have their ride canceled.
Uber's Beacon is a colorful light to guide you to the right ride
While ride-hailing companies have made it easier than ever to identify your driver and the car they're driving, there's often room for mix-ups, especially when it's dark. In an attempt to bring some clarity to proceedings, Uber has today introduced Beacon, a new light that attaches to a driver's windscreen and displays a color that you specify in the app. It's only in the trial stage right now, but riders in Miami, Denver and Nashville in the US and Newcastle in the UK will start seeing them from this week.
Lyft joins Uber in offering upfront fares
The cutthroat competition between Lyft and Uber sometimes has an upshot: rider-friendly features tend to spread quickly from one service to the other. And that's certainly true today. Lyft is matching Uber's upfront fares by introducing its own in-app fare previews for all passengers, not just Lyft Line as before. Once you plug in your starting point and destination, you'll know just how much it will cost to get there, including taxes, tolls and Prime Time (aka surge pricing). Things are only up in the air if you either don't pick a destination or change your mind mid-route.
Uber's app no longer works in China
Uber has parted ways with its Chinese subsidiary, which is going to prove problematic for tourists looking to hail a ride in the Middle Kingdom. As part of the deal that saw Uber China merge with Didi Chuxing, the global Uber app has been disentangled from its localized Chinese form. Instead, users will now need to download and install a dedicated Uber China app, but that's not the hardest part.
Lyft's Amp dashboard light signals your ride's arrival
Unlike stealing someone's cab, jumping into the wrong Lyft or Uber isn't a jerk move, it's usually just an embarrassing mistake for whoever does it. With that in mind, Lyft wants to make getting into the ride you hailed easier with a branded dashboard light called Amp. The device looks like a Bluetooth speaker along the lines of a Beats Pill: oblong and cylindrical, sitting on a base to keep it from sliding around a driver's dashboard. But instead of playing music, the gizmo's road-facing face will light up in one of six colors (teal, orange, silver, yellow or purple) while the rear can display blocky, personalized messages.
Uber and Lyft aren't immune to racial discrimination by drivers
For a while, ridesharing has been seen as a possible solution to the racial discrimination you sometimes see with taxis. If drivers can't always see or hear you first, they're less likely to reject your request, right? Unfortunately, the industry isn't entirely color-blind. A newly published study reveals that there's still some bias in the ridesharing world. Uber drivers in Boston were over twice as likely to cancel rides on people with black-sounding names, for example, while black men waiting for rides in Seattle faced tangibly longer wait times for both Lyft and Uber.
Lyft's monthly passes lower the cost of your carpooling
Carpooling services such as Lyft Line and UberPool already make ridesharing more affordable, but it's about to get cheaper -- if you're willing to pay in advance. Lyft is testing monthly Line passes that give you a significant discount, and save you from worrying about delays or Prime Time (aka surge pricing). The first pass is for less frequent riders: pay $20 and every Line ride after that costs $2. If you need more, a $29 pass will let you ride as much as you want with no extra costs.
Lyft could be getting rid of its pink mustache
Lyft's pink mustache could be going away. In an interview at WSJD Live, co-founder and CEO John Zimmer teased that the company's iconic colorful facial hair could be replaced in favor of a new logo, which he wouldn't reveal. He also said that Lyft had 17 million rides this past October, and even though that's not as good as Uber's 40 million monthly rides, it's still a sign of rapid growth. For reference, Lyft reported just 7 million rides last December.
Automakers and Google balk at California's self-driving rules
Google and a cadre of automakers are not happy about the state of California's proposed rules for autonomous vehicles, which they say would severely slow their progress towards a self-driving future. Although the state legislature approved autonomous trials last month, the group objected to the state's decision to require certain regulations that the federal government made voluntary it its own policy.
Automakers are beating Silicon Valley at its own game
When Google unveiled its self-driving car and rumors surfaced that Apple was also working on a car, it looked like the future of driving belonged to Silicon Valley. Turns out, automakers were up to the challenge, and the "hobbies" of tech giants are going to be left behind.
GM's 'Maven' car-sharing service lands in San Francisco
There's a new option for getting around the streets of San Francisco. GM has announced the immediate availability of its car-sharing platform Maven in the City by the Bay. The automaker -- which has a substantial $500 million investment in Lyft -- will continue to expand the service to other metropolitan areas as it dives deeper into alternatives to individual vehicle ownership.
Philadelphia court orders Uber, Lyft to stop operating in the city (updated)
Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft deal with legal and regulatory issues all the time, but the battle is heating up in Philadelphia. A Common Pleas Court judge ordered the two companies to stop operating in the city yesterday, but both are still offering rides to customers today. Engadget has confirmed via the apps for both Uber and Lyft that the services are still up and running in Philly.
The first Chevy Bolt EV you see might be your Lyft ride
Shortly before General Motors scooped up the pieces of failed Uber competitor Sidecar back in January, they invested $500 million in Lyft for a partnership to create a self-driving vehicle network. In August, news broke that the car giant made an offer to buy the ride-sharing company, but was rebuffed. Their intertwined saga continues today, as they announced that Lyft drivers would be among the first to get Chevy's Bolt electric vehicles.
Spiri is an EV-only ridesharing service where you're the driver
Here comes another entrant into the ride-sharing ring: Denmark's Spiri. What separates this one is the company has developed its own fleet of electric vehicles for use, which were unveiled today. Those diminutive rides weigh in at a lithe 992 pounds according to TechCrunch. How'd the engineers manage a car that's roughly a third of what a new VW Beetle tips the scales at? Nixing everything that "add[s] zero value to a person's daily commute and travel," CEO Stefan Holm Nielsen said in a canned statement.
Lyft expects self-driving cars to handle most rides in 5 years
When Lyft says it's optimistic about the future of self-driving cars, it's not joking around. Co-founder John Zimmer has posted a manifesto which sets very ambitious goals for autonomous driving. Most notably, he expects self-driving cars to handle the "majority" of Lyft's rides within 5 years, and all of them within 10 years. Zimmer doesn't say exactly how his company will reach that milestone so quickly, but he sees a transition where driverless tech gradually increases in capability. Fixed-route autonomy would show up as early as 2017, while low-speed (under 25MPH) autonomy on changeable routes would start as soon as 2018. Full autonomy would just be the next logical step, then.
Google Maps adds Lyft and Gett to its ride hailing options
Users searching for directions from Point A to Point B in Google Maps just got a few more options for getting there. According to the official Google Maps blog, both the iOS and Android versions now include estimated fares and wait times for ridesharing services Lyft and Gett when searching in cities in the United States.
Report: Google is turning Waze into a ride-sharing platform
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is planning to launch a carpool-based ride-sharing service using Waze in the Bay Area. The new feature would connect drivers and potential passengers going along the same route via the navigation app.
Lyft says it listened to offers, but is not for sale
Lyft is disputing reports from The New York Times and other sites (including Engadget) that the company is actively seeking a buyer. "Getting approached and then having it characterized as us wanting to sell the business and failing to do so is a large mischaracterization," President John Zimmer told Business Insider.
Lyft suspends its Bay Area carpooling service
Lyft has learned a valuable lesson from one of its most recent ventures: the carpooling biz is tough to get into. The company is "pausing" the carpooling service it launched for the Bay Area just a few months ago, and according to Forbes, it's all because it wasn't able to entice enough drivers to sign up for it. Lyft presented the program as a way to earn between $4 and $10 per ride just by picking up people going the same way. Unfortunately, things didn't work out, and the company reportedly told the team behind the offering that they'll be transferred to other divisions.
