New App Features Redesigned Look, Transit Integration, Smarter Ride Options
San Diego County CA— Lyft believes cities should be built around people, not cars, and we’re constantly working to make our vision a reality.
On Thursday, Lyft announced a new version of their app that improves shared rides, integrates directly with cities and transit agencies, and simplifies our passengers’ overall experience. Combining product design with local-government-led city planning is an important step forward, and a first in the rideshare industry.
Improving people’s lives with the world’s best transportation isn’t just Lyft’s mission — it’s co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green’s life work.
Logan grew up in LA stuck in traffic, and while attending UCSB, was the youngest-ever member of the Santa Barbara City Council’s Metropolitan Transit District’s board of directors. On the East Coast, John attended Cornell’s Hotel School. During his senior year, he took an urban planning course, “Green Cities,” led by Dr. Robert Young. The class opened his eyes to the fact that cars are used just four percent of the time, but cost the average American more than $9,000 a year to operate. Earlier this year, John honored his friend and mentor by announcing Lyft’s Carbon Neutral program.
Sharing the ride
The continued growth of shared rides brings massive benefits to our communities — more shared rides means fewer cars on the road, and less congestion. That’s why Line rides will now be part of a larger ride type called Lyft Shared rides. We’ve set a goal to make Shared rides account for 50 percent of all trips on the Lyft platform by the end of 2020. Shared rides have always been at Lyft’s core, so much so that passengers in San Diego County are sharing the ride 189 percent more today than they did in Q1 2017. And with the new version of the app, we’ve seen up to a five percent increase in Shared rides.
Integrating with public transit
The new version of the app integrates directly with public transit to help solve some of the biggest transportation challenges: providing late-night service, filling first-mile and last-mile gaps, providing access to transportation deserts, and delivering on-demand paratransit solutions. We’ve partnered with many transit agencies before, and we’re excited to take our partnerships to the next level.
We now have transit partnerships with more than 25 cities and counties across the US. The first two integrations with the app are coming to Marin County and Santa Monica, California through partnerships with the Transportation Authority of Marin and the Big Blue Bus in Santa Monica.
“We believe that it matters how you get there and that passengers deserve the best experience from the moment they open the app until they arrive at their final destination. I think passengers are really going to like the new app, and smarter shared rides are going to be great for San Diego County,” said Lyft San Diego Market Manager Hao Meng.
Simplifying your experience
The new version of the Lyft app starts by asking where you’re going and then quickly provides the best ride options. By making price and time comparison clear, it’s easy to find the best choice for you. We’ve also added a “one tap to ride” feature so you can quickly request your most frequent ride types and destinations.
To help reduce congestion, you’ll also start to see more practical pickup and drop-off spots in heavily trafficked areas, like Valencia Street in San Francisco. Earlier this year, we partnered with local officials to test a Valencia Street experience that diverted over 20,000 pickups to side streets where it’s safer for drivers to stop. We’ll be rolling out similar programs across our markets.
Improve our cities
When we share the ride — on Lyft or public transit — we play a major role in making our cities more livable. We’re always looking for public sector partners to join us with direct integration into the Lyft app, and in collaborating to improve transportation for our communities.
Our redesigned app is now live for millions and will continue rolling out by the end of next month.
About Lyft
Lyft was founded in June 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation. Lyft is the fastest growing rideshare company in the U.S. and is available to 95 percent of the US population as well as in Ontario, Canada. Lyft is preferred by drivers and passengers for its safe and friendly experience and its commitment to effecting positive change for the future of our cities. For more information on Lyft in San Diego, visit www.lyft.com/cities/san-diego-ca.