INDUSTRY

transportation

Category

mobility services

products Profiled

Lyft’s rideshare and micromobility(1) services

H-Score

63

ranked 8th of 18 within the transportation industry

ranked 16th of 76 overall

product descriptions

Rideshare: Lyft is best known for its original product, its rideshare or ride hailing service, in which users can hail a ride through Lyft’s app and an independent driver will arrive and drive the user to the intended destination. Lyft offers the service at multiple levels, including different types of vehicles and speed of pickup. 

Bikeshare: Lyft offers access to shared bicycles through docked bikeshare programs in seven selected cities.(2)

Scooters: Lyft offers access to dockless electric scooters in three selected cities.(3)

product use

Overall: Users launch Lyft with a smartphone app that asks the user for a destination and shows multiple options for getting there, depending on what service is available. Lyft includes public transit,(4) with real-time data, as an option and enables multimodal trip planning (5) in 23 cities.

Rideshare: Lyft offers door-to-door car service. A user types a destination into their phone and a driver shows up with a car to take the user directly to that destination. Both drivers and passengers rate each other, creating a reputation for each based on a 5-point star system, which influences future decisions to accept drivers and passengers. 

Bikeshare: Lyft shows bike rental as an option in locations where it is available. After selecting the bike option, the user walks to the nearest bikeshare location with available bikes, unlocks the bike, cycles to the bikeshare location nearest to their desired destination, and then completes the trip using another mode (e.g. walking, transit). Lyft’s fleet includes both electric and traditional pedal bikes.

Scooters: Using a scooter works the same as reserving a bike.

Lyft’s services are offered on a pay-as-you-go basis, although Lyft also offers a subscription service, Lyft Pink,(6) which includes discounts on car rides and 12 free bike or scooter unlocks per year. Lyft Pink also includes free deliveries from GrubHub.(7)

who’s affected

Lyft serves the general public and its rideshare service is available throughout the US. Forty-seven (47) percent of Lyft’s rideshare riders are from communities of color, 20% are students and the median household income for riders is $55,000.(8) Forty-three (43) percent of US rides start or end in low-income areas.(9) Of Lyft’s bike and scooter users, 52% are from communities of color, 58% are men, 28% are students, the average age is 32 and the median household income is $70,000.(10) Lyft provides discounted rides to eligible low-income riders and 32% of bike stations are located in low-income communities.(11)

Note: This profile focuses on the impact on health-related behaviors of the users, not the drivers.

influence on health-related behaviors

EATING

slight to moderate positive influence

To the extent that Lyft provides greater access to obtaining groceries for people without personal cars, those services could have a positive impact on eating. 

In addition, through its LyftUp program,(12) Lyft offers low-income riders heavily discounted rides to grocery stores, extending the health benefits of grocery shopping to a population with limited access.

Lyft offers free membership to GrubHub+ (and thus free GrubHub deliveries) as part of its annual Lyft Pink plan. GrubHub delivers food from fast food and full service restaurants, which have been shown, on average, to be of poor nutritional quality.(13)

PHYSICAL ACTVITY

neutral to slight negative influence

Lyft’s impact on physical activity results from the mix of transportation modes – from very inactive (ridesharing) to more active (pedal bikes, e-bikes and scooters) – employed by its users. The vast majority of transportation taken by Lyft users is by automobile, as Lyft rideshare is available nationwide while Lyft’s micromobility services are available in a handful of cities. Within those cities, Lyft’s micromobility rides represent anywhere from 11% to 42% of the share of all Lyft trips.(14) Note that Building H’s consumer research showed that only approximately 4% of rideshare users used shared bikes and 5% used shared scooters at least monthly.(15)

Lyft’s rideshare service offers a remarkably frictionless experience and makes hailing a ride -- for trips of any distance -- fast and convenient. As such it displaces more active modes of transportation, namely walking, bicycling, scootering or even using public transportation, which often involves walking and standing. Building H’s consumer research(16) showed that approximately 25% of rideshare trips displaced walking, biking or using public transportation, consistent with another study on that question.(17)

A positive effect of this convenient experience is the impact Lyft has on reducing the need for private car ownership, which is a stated goal of Lyft.(18) Owners of personal cars have been shown to be less likely to substitute active modes of transportation for short trips than people who do not own their own vehicles. Lyft reports that 38% of their riders do not own or lease personal vehicles and 30% of riders who have access to a personal vehicle use that car less because of Lyft and other ridesharing services.(19) Note, however, that Building H’s consumer research shows a smaller impact on personal vehicle ownership, with nearly 78% of rideshare users indicating that they continued to own personal vehicles.(20) 

Lyft’s micromobility services, which involve more physical activity, also appear to offer the option of a car-free lifestyle to its users. Lyft reports that 69% of its bikeshare members and 50% of its micromobility users overall do not own or lease a personal vehicle.(21) Seventy-three (73) percent of its micromobility users report that they would use a car instead if shared micromobility wasn’t available and 39% of those with access to an automobile report using their vehicle less.(22)

Lyft also provides access to public transit and multimodal trip planning in selected cities. Users of public transportation have been shown to engage in more physical activity than people who do not use public transportation.(23)

Lyft’s rideshare service could be used to access recreational facilities, such as gyms, sports fields, or hiking trails. We do not have information on what share of rides are used for these purposes.

neutral influence

Lyft’s impact on sleep is indirect. To the extent that use of Lyft’s services results in a net reduction in physical activity and a net reduction in outdoor time (see below), those behaviors are associated with reduced sleep.

On the positive side, since Lyft’s services save travel time,(24) they could conceivably free up time for more sleep. Reductions in daily travel time have been correlated with more sleep time.(25)

Engaging Socially

moderate positive influence

To the extent that Lyft facilitates people leaving their homes by providing multiple low-cost transportation options, it could lead to both intentional social activities and casual social interactions. According to Lyft, 46% of riders explore more areas of their city as a result of using the Lyft platform.(26)

Lyft’s primary rideshare service results in varied interactions between driver and passenger, ranging from total silence to engaging conversation. The mutual rating system creates incentives for positive interactions. Lyft’s Shared rides offering creates even more opportunity for casual interaction, subject to the same caveat – passengers can choose not to interact with one another. Building H’s consumer research has shown that more than 63% of rideshare users (not specific to Lyft) describe their social interactions with drivers as positive or very positive. (Only 11% described these interactions as negative or very negative.)(27)

Lyft recently discontinued its shared ride program, where one could ride with multiple passengers.(28)

The increased transportation access made possible by Lyft can also reduce social isolation of people who would otherwise have limited access to transportation. Research has found that older adults who recently became non drivers were twice as likely to be more socially isolated than those who had not been driving for a longer time.(29) A study of seniors with chronic disease who were given access to Lyft reported less social isolation and greater quality of life.(30) Lyft has reported that 42% of its users have used Lyft to to visit family and friends(31) and 37% of riders say they are more likely to attend community events as a result of using the Lyft platform.(32)

The open-air nature of its bike and scooter modes makes it easier for riders to see, recognize, and stop to greet other people along the way than if they were traveling by car.

Lyft enables micromobility users to unlock a bike or scooter for their friends, encouraging more people to ride.(33)

Getting Outdoors

slight positive influence

Lyft’s bike and scooter services certainly support being outdoors -- and to the extent that these services substitute for car rides, they have a positive influence.

Likewise with Lyft’s integration of transit directions which, at least in the walking to and from transit stops, leads to more outdoor time.

Although it can be used to access outdoor activities, Lyft’s rideshare service, by offering a convenient alternative to walking, biking, or scootering (or even walking to a bus or train), presumably reduces time spent outside, and many more of its users choose rideshare over alternative transportation modes.

Return to 2024 Building H Index

1. “Micromobility” refers to a range of personal vehicles ridden at speeds of approximately 15 mph or less.

2. Bikeshare is for everyone | Lyft Bikes. Lyft website, accessed November 29, 2023.

3. Lyft Scooters. Lyft website, accessed November 29, 2023.

4. Lyft. Lyft 2023 Multimodal Report, p. 7.

5. Lyft. 2022 Lyft Multimodal Report, p. 20.

6. Lyft Pink. Lyft website, accessed November 29, 2023.

7. Lyft blog. Lyft Pink Launches an Annual Plan with New Bike Membership Benefits. August 5, 2021.

8. Lyft. Lyft 2023 Economic Impact Report, p. 15.

9. Ibid., p. 17.

10. Lyft 2023 Multimodal Report, p. 18.

11. Ibid., p. 3.

12. LyftUp Grocery Access Program. Lyft website, accessed November 29, 2023.

13. Junxiu Liu et al. Quality of Meals Consumed by US Adults at Full-Service and Fast-Food Restaurants, 2003–2016: Persistent Low Quality and Widening Disparities. The Journal of Nutrition. Volume 150, Issue 4 (April 2020), pp. 873–883.

14. Lyft 2023 Multimodal Report, p. 10.

15. Steve Downs. A Survey of Modern Life: Mobility. Building H on Medium. January 12, 2022.

16. Downs (2022).

17. One study has indicated that 15-28% of rideshare trips displaced walking, biking or use of public transit. Union of Concerned Scientists. Ride-Hailing’s Climate Risks. February 2020.

18. John Zimmer. “Lyft’s Approach To Bikes & Scooters: Accelerating Public + Private Mobility.” in Medium, July 16, 2018.

19. Lyft 2023 Economic Impact Report, p. 28.

20. Downs (2022).

21. Lyft 2023 Multimodal Report, p. 28.

22. Ibid., p. 28.

23. Brian Saelens et al. Relation Between Higher Physical Activity and Public Transit Use. American Journal of Public Health. Volume 104, Issue 5, (May 2014).

24. Lyft has reported that its riders have saved 135 million hours compared to other travel modes although it is not clear what the average daily time saving is for each rider. See Lyft. Lyft Economic Impact Report 2021. p. 19.

25. Mathias Basner et al. American Time Use Survey: Sleep Time and Its Relationship to Waking Activities. Sleep. Volume 30, Issue 9 (September 2007), pp. 1085–1095.

26. Lyft 2023 Economic Impact Report, p. 22.

27. Downs (2022).

28. Jackie Davalos. You'll no longer be able to take a carpool ride with Lyft to save money. Fortune. May 11, 2023.

29. Weidi Chin et al. Driving Cessation and Social Isolation in Older Adults. Journal of Aging and Health. Volume 32, Issue 9 (2019), pp. 962-971.

30. Leslie Saxon et al. Health Impacts of Unlimited Access to Networked Transportation in Older Adults. The Journal of mHealth. August 13, 2019.

31. Lyft 2022 Economic Impact Report, p. 16.

32. Lyft 2023 Multimodal Report, p. 22.

33. Ibid., p. 14.