Building H Index
Lyft
INDUSTRY
transportation
Category
mobility services
products Profiled
Lyft mobility services
H-Score
60
ranked 4th of 7 within transportation industry
ranked 9th (tie) of 37 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 a “Shared ride” mode, where you can choose to ride with other passengers.
Bikeshare: Lyft offers access to shared bicycles through docked bikeshare programs in nine selected cities.
Scooters: Lyft offers access to dockless electric scooters in seven selected cities.
Car Rentals: Lyft is currently offering access to short-term car rentals through the app in six cities.
product usage
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 as an option in 23 cities (and offers payment integration in one), and, in those cities, includes walking directions as an option.
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. To the extent that the driver and the passenger interact, use of the service creates some amount of social interaction, which might be significantly greater in the case of Lyft Shared rides. 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 and should motivate courteous behavior, which may include social banter.
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).
Scooters: Using a scooter works the same as reserving a bike.
Car Rentals: Users select the car rental option on the home screen and then select a car and the terms of the rental. Lyft sends a driver to transport the user to the car rental location free of charge -- and similarly transports the user back home from the rental location.
Lyft’s services are offered on a pay-as-you-go basis, although Lyft also offers a subscription service, Lyft Pink, which includes discounts on car rides, free rides on “classic,” or traditional bikes, discounted rides on e-bikes, and discounted or free scooter rides. Lyft Pink also includes free deliveries from Grubhub.(1)
influence on health-related behaviors
EATING
slight 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(2), 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 delivery from Grubhub 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.(3)
- Subsidize trips to grocery stores or fresh food markets.
PHYSICAL ACTVITY
neutral influence
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(4) showed that approximately 25% of rideshare trips displaced walking, biking or using public transportation, consistent with another study on that question.(5)
A positive effect of this convenient experience -- and the addition of car rental services -- is the impact Lyft has on reducing the need for private car ownership. 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 45% of their riders do not own or lease personal vehicles.(6) Note, however, that Building H’s consumer research shows a much smaller impact on personal vehicle ownership, with nearly 78% of rideshare users indicating that they continued to own personal vehicles.(7) Lyft’s micromobility(8) offerings appear to offer the option of a car-free lifestyle to its users. Lyft reports that 70% of its bikeshare users and 54% of its micromobility users overall do not own or lease a personal vehicle.(9) Lyft has publicly communicated their goal to end personal car ownership.(10)
Lyft’s pedal and electric bike and scooter services promote more physical activity than would occur with being driven, albeit (in the case of scooters) less than would be associated with walking or bicycling. Lyft works with partner cities to offer low-income residents subsidized access to bikes and scooters. Lyft has indicated that approximately 10-25% of commute hour trips are by bikeshare in major cities(11), suggesting that active trips represent a minority, though not an insignificant amount, of Lyft’s transportation business. 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.(12) In 2021, Lyft announced a significant redesign of its bicycles, focusing on safety and user experience, indicating some commitment to that part of its business.(13)
Lyft also provides access to public transit directions and walking directions in selected cities, enabling a multi-modal journey that often involves walking to or from the nearest station. Users of public transportation have been shown to engage in more physical activity than people who do not use public transportation.
- Expand availability of bike and scooter services and use the platform to nudge, recommend or otherwise preference bike and scooter use in appropriate circumstances (e.g. based on distance, weather, safety) and taking into account individual abilities. Examples include increasing rates for shorter trips and prompting users to consider more active modes for short trips.
- Integrate walking directions into the service in more locations.
Sleeping
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(14), they could conceivably free up time for more sleep. Reductions in daily travel time have been correlated with more sleep time.(15)
Engaging Socially
slight to moderate positive influence
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 and other riders as positive or very positive. (Only 11% described these interactions as negative or very negative.)(16)
The increased transportation access made possible by Lyft can also reduce social isolation of people who would otherwise have limited access to transportation. A study of seniors with chronic disease who were given access to Lyft reported less social isolation and greater quality of life.(17) Lyft has also reported that 29% of its riders are more likely to attend community events because of its services.(18)
Prior to Covid-19, Lyft had made increasing the use of Lyft Shared rides a priority.(19)
- Explore conversation prompts or other ways to instigate conversation among drivers and riders (and among riders in Lyft Shared), subject to opt out options for those who would prefer quiet rides.
- Give preference to Lyft Shared rides in the platform.
- Experiment with creating opportunities to match “favorite” riders or drivers to promote ongoing relationships.
Getting Outdoors
neutral to 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.
Lyft’s rideshare service, conversely, by offering a convenient alternative to walking, biking, or scootering (or even walking to a bus or train), reduces time spent outside, and many more of its users choose rideshare over alternative transportation modes.
- Promote discounted rides to outdoor destinations such as public parks.
- Pursuing opportunities noted above to give preference to walking, biking, scootering or use of public transit could also lead to more outdoor time.
updated May 6, 2022
Notes
Lyft blog. Lyft Pink Launches an Annual Plan with New Bike Membership Benefits. August 5, 2021
Lyft website. LyftUp Grocery Access Program
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.
Steve Downs. A Survey of Modern Life: Mobility. Building H on Medium. January 12, 2022
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
Lyft. Lyft Economic Impact Report 2021. p. 20.
Downs (2022)
“Micromobility” refers to a range of personal vehicles ridden at speeds of approximately 15 mph or less.
Lyft. Lyft Multimodal Report 2021. p. 22.
See John Zimmer. “Lyft’s Approach To Bikes & Scooters: Accelerating Public + Private Mobility.” in Medium, July 16, 2018
Downs (2022)
Lyft blog. Meet Lyft’s New Ebike. June 2, 2021
Lyft has reported that its riders have saved 135 million hours compared to other travel modem although it is not clear what the average daily time saving is for each rider. See Lyft. Lyft Economic Impact Report 2021. p. 19.
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.
Downs (2022)
Leslie Saxon et al. Health Impacts of Unlimited Access to Networked Transportation in Older Adults. The Journal of mHealth, August 13, 2019
Lyft. Lyft Economic Impact Report 2021. p. 19.
Lyft Blog. Lyft’s New App Creates Positive Change for Passengers and Cities. June 7, 2018.