Lyft, Inc. is an American company offering ride-hailing services, motorized scooters, and bicycle-sharing systems in the United States and Canada, and, via its Free Now mobile app, Europe.[ Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dynamic pricing model based on local supply and demand at the time of the booking and are quoted to the customer in advance, and receives a commission from each booking. Lyft is the second-largest ridesharing company in the United States after Uber.][
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History
Lyft was launched in the summer of 2012 by computer programmers Logan Green and John Zimmer as a service of Zimride, a long-distance intercity company focused on college transport that they founded in 2007 after Green shared rides from the University of California, Santa Barbara campus to visit his girlfriend in Los Angeles and was seeking an easier way to share rides.
In May 2013, the company changed its name from Zimride to Lyft.
Lyft's marketing strategy included large pink furry mustaches that drivers attached to the front of their cars and encouraging riders to sit in the front seat and fist bump with drivers upon meeting.
In August 2014, the company introduced shared transport.
In December 2017, Lyft expanded into Canada, with operations in the Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa metropolitan areas.
In March 2018, Lyft partnered with Allscripts on a platform allowing healthcare providers to arrange rides for patients who lack transportation to appointments with plans to roll out the service to 2,500 hospitals, 180,000 physicians, and approximately 7 million patients.
In March 2019, Lyft became a public company via an initial public offering, raising $2.34 billion at a valuation of $24.3 billion.
In March 2020, Lyft acquired Halo Cars which pays drivers to display digital advertisements on their vehicles.
In August 2020, Lyft partnered with rental car company Sixt to provide users access rental cars, in exchange for a commission. Most of the rental cars are owned and operated by Sixt, with 85 locations in the U.S.
In December 2020, Lyft announced plans to launch a multi-city U.S. robotaxi service with Motional.
In April 2022, Lyft announced an agreement to acquire PBSC Urban Solutions, a Canadian bike-share equipment and technology supplier.
In March 2023, David Risher was named CEO of the company.
In April 2023, the company announced layoffs of 1,076 corporate workers, or 26% of its staff. This came after job cuts announced in July and November 2022.
In September 2023, Lyft discontinued Lyft Rentals and stopped offering car rental services.
For the second quarter of 2024, Lyft posted its first GAAP profit in the company’s history.
In July 2025, Lyft acquired Free Now for €175 million, expanding in Europe.
Criticism
Unwanted text messages
In November 2018, Lyft settled a class action suit filed in 2014 alleging that the company had sent large numbers of unwanted commercial text messages.
Alleged weight discrimination
In early 2025, Detroit rapper Dajua Blanding, known as Dank Demoss, filed a lawsuit against Lyft after a driver allegedly refused her ride, claiming she was "too big" to fit in the car. The incident, captured on video, led to public outrage and legal action, with Blanding asserting that weight-based discrimination is illegal under Michigan law.
See also
External links
