Cannabis Ruderalis

thcscience_admin

Lyft, Inc.
TypePublic company
IndustryVehicle for hire
FoundedJune 9, 2012; 9 years ago (2012-06-09) (as Zimride)
Founders
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Area served
  • United States
  • Canada
Key people
Logan Green, CEO
John Zimmer, President
Brian Roberts, CFO
RevenueDecrease US$2.364 billion (2020)
Increase US$−1.808 billion (2020)
Increase US$−1.752 billion (2020)
Total assetsDecrease US$4.678 billion (2020)
Total equityDecrease US$1.676 billion (2020)
Number of employees
4,369 (September 30, 2021)
SubsidiariesMotivate
Websitewww.lyft.com
Footnotes / references
[1]
Lyft's pink car mustache
Lyft's distinctive pink mustache was the first branding the company used until 2015 when it switched to a smaller, glowing magenta mustache that sits on a driver's dashboard.

Lyft, Inc. is an American company that develops, markets, and operates a mobile app, offering ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery. It is based in San Francisco, California and operates in 644 cities in the United States and 12 cities in Canada.[2] Lyft does not own any vehicles; instead, it receives a commission from each booking. Fares are quoted to the customer in advance but vary using a dynamic pricing model based on the local supply and demand at the time of the booking.

With a 32% market share, Lyft is the second-largest ridesharing company in the United States after Uber.[3]

History[edit]

A Lyft vehicle in Santa Monica, California, with the original grill-stache branding, since retired

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 carpooling company they founded in 2007.[4][5]

Green had the inspiration for Zimride after sharing rides from the University of California, Santa Barbara campus to visit his girlfriend in Los Angeles. He had used Craigslist’s ride boards but wanted to eliminate the anxiety of not knowing the passenger or driver. When Facebook opened its API to third-party developers, Green said he thought "Here’s the missing ingredient."[6] Zimride linked drivers and passengers through the Facebook Connect application.[7] By using Facebook profile information, student drivers and passengers could learn about each other.[8] Zimride eventually became the largest carpool company in the United States.[9][10] Green was introduced to John Zimmer through a mutual friend and the pair initially met on Facebook. The company name came from the country Zimbabwe, where, during a trip in 2005, Green observed locals sharing minivan taxis.[11][12][13] Zimride launched at Cornell University, where, after six months, the service had signed up 20% of the campus.[14][15]

In May 2013, the company officially changed its name from Zimride to Lyft.[16] The change from Zimride to Lyft was the result of a hackathon that sought a means of daily engagement with its users, instead of once or twice a year.[17]

In July 2013, Lyft sold Zimride to Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, to enable the company to focus exclusively on the growth of Lyft.[18]

Whereas Zimride was focused on college campuses, Lyft launched as a ridesharing company for shorter trips within cities.[8]

Lyft became known for the large pink furry mustaches drivers attached to the front of their cars. Riders were also encouraged to sit in the front seat and fist bump with drivers upon meeting.[19] In November 2014, the company distanced itself from the fist bump.[20][21]

In January 2015, Lyft introduced a small, glowing plastic dashboard mustache it called a "glowstache" as an alternative to the large fuzzy mustaches on the front of cars. The transition was to help overcome the resistance of some riders to arrive at destinations, such as business meetings, in a car with a giant mustache.[22]

In April 2014, Lyft hired two lobbying firms, TwinLogic Strategies, and Jochum Shore & Trossevin, to address the regulatory barriers and opposition it had received since its launch.[23]

Due to regulatory hurdles in New York City, the company altered its business model when establishing Lyft on the East Coast of the United States. Lyft's launch in New York City occurred on the evening of July 25, 2014, and, in accordance with the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) and the approval of the Manhattan Supreme Court, only drivers registered with the TLC were permitted to drive Lyft-branded vehicles in New York City.[24]

In August 2014, the company introduced a shared ride concept, which provides cheaper fares.[25]

In December 2015, Lyft became the first ridesharing company allowed to pick up passengers at Los Angeles International Airport.[26]

In December 2017, Lyft expanded into Canada, with operations in the Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa metropolitan areas.[27]

In March 2018, Lyft partnered with Allscripts to create a platform allowing healthcare providers to arrange rides for patients who lack transportation to appointments. The service would be available to 2,500 hospitals, 180,000 physicians, and approximately 7 million patients.[28][29]

In November 2018, Lyft acquired Motivate, a bicycle-sharing system and the operator of Capital Bikeshare and Citi Bike.[30][31] The company also announced plans to add 28,000 Citi Bikes and expand its service.[32]

In March 2019, Lyft became a public company via an initial public offering, raising $2.34 billion at a valuation of $24.3 billion.[33] The company set aside some shares to be given to long-time drivers.[34]

In March 2020, Lyft acquired Halo Cars which pays drivers to display digital advertisements on top of their vehicles.[35]

In April 2020, Lyft laid off 982 employees and furloughed an additional 288 in an effort to reduce operating expenses and adjust cash flows due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[36] The company continued to offer scooters for rent in San Francisco, while Miami government asked Lyft to halt operations.[37]

In August 2020, Lyft began a partnership with rental car company Sixt to let users access rental cars. Most of the rental cars are owned and operated by Sixt, with 85 locations in the US.[38] Lyft receives commissions from rentals.[39]

In December 2020, Lyft announced that it will launch a multi-city U.S. robotaxi service in 2023 with Motional.[40]

In April 2021, Lyft sold its self-driving car division to Toyota for $550 million.[41][42] The division had partnerships with General Motors,[43][44] NuTonomy,[45] Ford Motor Company,[46][47] GoMentum Station,[48] and Magna International.[49] It also owned Blue Vision Labs, a London-based augmented reality startup, acquired in 2018 for $72 million.[50]

Criticism[edit]

See also: Sharing economy § Criticism, and Temporary work § Legal issues

Safety practices[edit]

Ridesharing companies have been accused of not taking necessary measures to prevent sexual assault.[51][52] They have been fined by government agencies for violations in their background check processes.[53][54][55]In 2019, more than 34 women sued Lyft in the United States alleging that they were raped or assaulted by Lyft drivers, and that the company did not do enough to keep them safe[56] and that Lyft attracts drivers that plan to prey on vulnerable women.[57] Many women claim that, even after they reported their assault to Lyft, the company ignored their report and continued to allow the assailants to drive with Lyft.[58]

Ridesharing has also been criticized for encouraging or requiring phone use while driving. To accept a fare, some apps require drivers to tap their phone screen, usually within 15 seconds after receiving a notification, which is illegal in some jurisdictions since it could result in distracted driving.[59]

Ridesharing vehicles in many cities routinely obstruct bicycle lanes while picking up or dropping off passengers, a practice that endangers cyclists.[60][61][62]

Dynamic pricing and price fixing allegations[edit]

Due to dynamic pricing models, prices for the same route may vary based on the supply and demand for rides at the time the ride is requested. When rides are in high demand in a certain area and there are not enough drivers in such area, fares increase to get more drivers to that area.[63] In some cases, this resulted in extreme surcharges during emergencies such as Hurricane Sandy,[64] the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis,[65] and the 2017 London Bridge attack.[66]

In the United States, drivers do not have any control over the fares they charge; lawsuits allege that this is an illegal restraint on trade in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.[67][68] Rideshare companies have argued that they only connect riders and drivers, set service terms, and collect fares. Uber was able to force Meyer v. Uber Techs., Inc., a lawsuit alleging price-fixing, into arbitration.[69][70]

Accessibility failures[edit]

Ridesharing has been criticized for providing inadequate accessibility measures for disabled people, in violation of local laws.

In some areas, vehicle for hire companies are required by law to have a certain amount of wheelchair accessible vans (WAVs) in use. However, most drivers do not own a WAV, making it hard to comply with the laws.[71]

While ridesharing companies require drivers to transport service animals, drivers have been criticized for refusal to transport service animals, which, in the United States, is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In one such case, an arbitrator awarded $1.1 million to a visually impaired passenger who travels with a guide dog because she was denied rides 14 separate times.[72]

Bias against passengers in certain demographic groups[edit]

Complaints that drivers have not accepted ride requests from passengers in certain demographic groups has led some ridesharing companies to hide passenger identities until the ride request is accepted by the driver. A 2018 study in Washington, D.C. found that drivers cancelled ride requests from African Americans and LGBT and straight ally passengers (indicated by a rainbow flag) more often, but cancelled at the same rate for women and men. The higher cancellation rate for African American passengers was somewhat attenuated at peak times, when financial incentives were higher.[73][74]

Legality of ride sharing[edit]

The legality of ridesharing companies by jurisdiction varies; in some areas they have been banned and are considered to be illegal taxicab operations.[75]

Unwanted text messages[edit]

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.[76] In addition to $4 million in payments to consumers, the plaintiffs sought $1 million in legal fees.[77]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Lyft, Inc. 2020 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  2. ^ "Lyft: Cities". Lyft.
  3. ^ Gessner, Kathryn (November 15, 2021). "Rideshare Industry Overview". Second Measure.
  4. ^ Farr, Christina (May 23, 2013). "Lyft team gets $60M more; now it must prove ride-sharing can go global". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  5. ^ Green, Tomio (May 23, 2013). "Lyft Raises $60 Million As Ride Sharing Competition Heats Up". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  6. ^ Bell, Josh (February 11, 2009). "Facebook's New Twist on Transportation". ABC News. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  7. ^ Kincaid, Jason (March 25, 2009). "Zimride: A Carpooling Startup That Actually Makes Money". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Carlson, Nicholas (May 23, 2013). "Lyft, A Year-Old Startup That Helps Strangers Share Car Rides, Just Raised $60 Million From Andreessen Horowitz And Others". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  9. ^ Boyd Myers, Courtney (June 16, 2012). "2012: The Summer of Ridesharing with Zimride, Ridejoy, Carpooling and more". The Next Web. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  10. ^ Kim, Larry (February 25, 2016). "15 Surprising Facts About $5.5 Billion Rideshare Giant Lyft". Inc. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  11. ^ Cohen, Deborah (September 15, 2010). "Former Lehman's banker drives startup Zimride". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  12. ^ Warren, Katie (March 29, 2019). "Zimmer, went from organizing carpools on college campuses to running a ride-hailing company worth $29 billion". Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  13. ^ Shontell, Alyson; Lebowitz, Shana (October 18, 2017). "Lyft's cofounders met on Facebook and lived on opposite coasts – here's how they launched a $7.5 billion startup long-distance". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  14. ^ Sullivan, Colin (July 29, 2009). "Startup Bets that Social Networking Will Spur Carpool Craze". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  15. ^ Schomer, Stephanie (January 5, 2011). "Zimride: Carpooling for College Students". Fast Company. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  16. ^ Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (June 24, 2017). "How Lyft's Founders Listened to Their Gut (and Not Their Mentor)". Inc. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  17. ^ "How Lyft Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Pivot". Inc. August 12, 2017. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  18. ^ Gannes, Liz (July 12, 2013). "Lyft Sells Zimride Carpool Service to Rental-Car Giant Enterprise". All Things Digital. Archived from the original on July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  19. ^ Fiegerman, Seth (December 22, 2014). "Why Lyft is trimming its pink mustache". Mashable. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  20. ^ Deamicis, Carmel (November 26, 2014). "Lyft distances itself from the fist bump". GigaOm. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  21. ^ Lien, Tracey (November 28, 2014). "Lyft distances itself from fist bump during busiest week yet". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  22. ^ VanHemert, Kyle (January 20, 2015). "Lyft Is Finally Ditching the Furry Pink Mustache". Wired. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  23. ^ Wilkie, Christina (April 16, 2014). "Lyft Prepares To Fight Ride Share Regulation By Hiring GOP-Linked Lobbyists". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  24. ^ Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (July 25, 2014). "Lyft in New York City: Let's Try This One More Time". Inc. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  25. ^ Lawler, Ryan (August 6, 2014). "With Lyft Line, Passengers Can Split Fares For Shared Rides". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  26. ^ Cooper, Daniel (December 23, 2015). "Lyft beats Uber in race to offer rides from LAX". Engadget. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  27. ^ Etherington, Darrell (November 13, 2017). "Lyft's first market outside the U.S. will be Canada with a December launch in Toronto". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  28. ^ della Cava, Marco (March 5, 2018). "Lyft deal with Allscripts lets 180,000 doctors call rides for their patients". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  29. ^ LaVito, Angelica (March 5, 2018). "Lyft and Allscripts want to make it easier to get people to the doctor's office". CNBC. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  30. ^ Ghose, Carrie (December 3, 2018). "Lyft completes acquisition of Portland's bike-share program operator". American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on January 17, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  31. ^ Stampler, Laura (November 29, 2018). "Lyft Inks Deal With N.Y.C. and Becomes Largest Bike-Share Service in U.S." Fortune. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  32. ^ Berger, Paul (November 29, 2018). "Lyft to Add 28,000 Citi Bikes and Expand Service". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  33. ^ "Lyft valued at $24.3 billion in first ride-hailing IPO". Reuters. March 29, 2019. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  34. ^ "Lyft Announces Driver Bonuses and Directed Share Program Opportunity" (Press release). PR Newswire. March 1, 2019. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  35. ^ Tullman, Anya (March 3, 2020). "Lyft buys Halo Cars, a startup founded by four Penn students in 2018". The Daily Pennsylvanian.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ "Lyft, Inc. Form 8-K". April 29, 2020. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020 – via U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  37. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (March 20, 2020). "Electric scooter-sharing grinds to a halt in response to the COVID-19 pandemic". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  38. ^ Goldstein, Michael. "Lyft Gets Into The Rental Car Business With Partner SIXT". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
  39. ^ Korosec, Kirsten. "Lyft expands its rental business with Sixt partnership". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on August 17, 2020.
  40. ^ Lienert, Paul (December 16, 2020). "Lyft, Motional to launch multi-city U.S. robotaxi service in 2023". Reuters. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  41. ^ Bellon, Tina; Yamamitsu, Eimi (April 26, 2021). "Toyota to buy Lyft unit in boost to self-driving plans". Reuters.
  42. ^ McFarland, Matt (March 5, 2018). "Lyft's quiet CEO Logan Green opens up on his wild ride". CNN. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  43. ^ Trousdale, Steve (January 5, 2016). "GM invests $500 million in Lyft, sets out self-driving car partnership". Reuters. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019.
  44. ^ Kokalitcheva, Kia (May 5, 2016). "GM and Lyft Will Test Self-Driving Taxis Within the Next Year". Fortune. Archived from the original on July 13, 2016.
  45. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (June 6, 2017). "Lyft teams up with NuTonomy to put 'thousands' of self-driving cars on the road". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017.
  46. ^ Isaac, Mike (September 27, 2017). "Lyft Adds Ford to Its List of Self-Driving Car Partners". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017.
  47. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (September 27, 2017). "Ford and Lyft will work together to deploy autonomous cars". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019.
  48. ^ Crum, Rex (March 8, 2018). "Lyft's self-driving technology finds momentum in Concord". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018.
  49. ^ Kerr, Dara (March 14, 2018). "Lyft is building self-driving tech that can go in any car". CNET. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018.
  50. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (October 23, 2018). "Lyft unveils a new self-driving car and acquires an AR startup". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018.
  51. ^ Holmes, Aaron (October 25, 2019). "More than 30 women are suing Lyft, saying the company didn't do enough to protect them from sexual assault and kidnapping". Business Insider.
  52. ^ Kerr, Dara (October 24, 2019). "Lyft is fostering a sexual assault 'epidemic,' victims say". CNET.
  53. ^ Yurieff, Kaya (November 20, 2017). "Uber fined $8.9 million in Colorado for problematic background checks". CNN.
  54. ^ "Lyft fined after hiring driver with felony convictions". KKTV. January 13, 2018.
  55. ^ Spielman, Fran (February 6, 2020). "Aldermen crack down on ride-hailing safety". Chicago Sun Times.
  56. ^ Holmes, Aaron (October 25, 2019). "More than 30 women are suing Lyft, saying the company didn't do enough to protect them from sexual assault and kidnapping". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019.
  57. ^ Kerr, Dara (October 24, 2019). "Lyft is fostering a sexual assault 'epidemic,' victims say". CNET. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019.
  58. ^ "Lyft and Uber Are Having a Terrible, Awful, No-Good Time from CYBER". Stitcher Radio. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020.
  59. ^ Jacks, Timna (January 11, 2019). "Uber drivers complain they are forced to break the law to do their job.So that means that the drivers put the passenger in danger to which is against the law". Sydney Morning Herald.
  60. ^ Annear, Steve (March 1, 2019). "'Fed up' cyclists send letter to Uber, Lyft asking drivers to stop obstructing bike lanes". The Boston Globe.
  61. ^ Fitzsimmons, Emma G. (March 10, 2020). "More Pedestrians and Cyclists are Dying in N.Y.C. Drivers are Often to Blame". The New York Times.
  62. ^ Lipson, Vivian (August 5, 2019). "It's Not Your Imagination: Uber and Lyft Drivers Almost Always Park in Bike Lanes". Streetsblog.
  63. ^ "Uber's upfront pricing, explained". Uber.
  64. ^ Bosker, Bianca (October 31, 2012). "Uber Rethinks New York 'Surge Pricing,' But Doubles Driver Pay". HuffPost.
  65. ^ Mazza, Ed (December 15, 2014). "Uber Raises Fares During Sydney Hostage Crisis, Then Offers Free Rides". HuffPost.
  66. ^ "Uber has refunded passengers after London Bridge terror attack". BBC News. June 5, 2017.
  67. ^ Paul, Sanjukta (October 19, 2019). "The Firm Exemption and the Hierarchy of Finance in the Gig Economy". University of St. Thomas (Minnesota).
  68. ^ Gordon, Aaron (September 19, 2019). "The Legal Argument That Could Destroy Uber Is About To Be Tested". Gawker Media.
  69. ^ "Meyer v. Uber Techs., Inc., 868 F.3d 66 (2d Cir. 2017)".
  70. ^ Paul, Sanjukta (October 19, 2019). "The Firm Exemption and the Hierarchy of Finance in the Gig Economy".
  71. ^ Said, Carolyn (February 27, 2018). "Uber does not have enough wheelchair-accessible vehicles, new lawsuit says". San Francisco Chronicle.
  72. ^ Sonnemaker, Tyler (April 2, 2021). "Uber ordered to pay $1.1 million to blind passenger who was denied rides 14 separate times". Business Insider.
  73. ^ Mejia, Jorge; Parker, Chris (January 2021). "When Transparency Fails: Bias and Financial Incentives in Ridesharing Platforms" (PDF). Management Science. 67 (1): 166–184. doi:10.1287/mnsc.2019.3525. S2CID 218928567.
  74. ^ BARMANN, JAY C. (September 27, 2019). "Study Finds That Black and LGBTQ People Still Have Rideshare Drivers Cancel On Them More Often". Gothamist.
  75. ^ Dickenson, Greg (June 26, 2018). "How the world is going to war with Uber". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  76. ^ Pennington, Laura; Honaker, Brigette; Antell, Amanda; Davis, Christina; Gale, Kim; Honaker, Brigette; Datko, Sage; Davis, Christina; Actions, Top Class; Honaker, Brigette; Sortor, Emily; Szabo, Joanna; Honaker, Brigette; Honaker, Brigette; Pennington, Laura; Datko, Sage; Antell, Amanda; Pennington, Laura; Colman, Tracy; Antell, Amanda; Gale, Kim (November 9, 2018). "Lyft, Consumers Seek Approval of $4M Texting Class Action Settlement". Top Class Actions. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  77. ^ Sinay, Reenat (February 14, 2019). "2 Firms In $4M Lyft TCPA Deal Seek Nearly $1M Attys' Fees". Law360. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.

External links[edit]

source: https://web.archive.org/web/20220224125535/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyft

Leave a Reply