Lyft News

Celebrating Earth Day All Year Round

Apr 22, 2021

Each year, Earth Day gives us an opportunity to take time to reflect on this past year, while setting goals for the year to come. We think about the promises we’ve made, the progress we’ve achieved, and how we can continue to do better. 

When our co-founders John and Logan set out Lyft’s vision, it was to build cities around people, not cars. This can have many meanings. It means reducing the negative impact that single-occupancy vehicles can have on the environment, not to mention our wallets. It means getting more people out of those cars and onto bikes, scooters, transit or their own two feet for short trips in cities. It means acknowledging that transportation is currently the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in America, and the second largest in Canada - and actively, consciously, and purposefully doing something to address it.

Over the past year, we’ve been working toward that vision and wanted to share some updates:

Leading the Transition to 100% Electric Vehicles (EVs)

With transportation being such a large contributor of GHG emissions, we know it’s crucial to take steps to decarbonize the industry - and we need to do it now. That’s why, last June, we made the commitment to reaching 100% EVs on the Lyft platform by 2030, and have been working toward it since. Switching to electric vehicles is not just good for the planet; it’s good for people – riders who are looking for cleaner options, drivers who want to lower their operating costs, and communities that benefit from healthier air.  By helping to solve one of the biggest pieces of the climate challenge, we believe we can provide direct economic benefits to rideshare drivers and environmental benefits to communities most heavily impacted by smog and asthma.

One of the ways we’re supporting electrification is by making EVs more accessible to drivers on the platform so they don’t need to purchase one to experience the benefits. EVs are already available in Atlanta, Denver and Seattle, and this past February, we partnered with Toyota Canada to make zero-emission vehicles available for drivers on the Lyft platform in Metro Vancouver.

We’ve advocated for reforming the federal EV tax credit to make it a point-of-sale rebate that’s easier for drivers to secure. By making it a rebate, it’s easier for drivers to use, and makes purchasing an EV more cost-effective. We’ve also called for expanding EV charging infrastructure equitably and investing in initiatives like at-home overnight charging in urban and traditionally underserved areas, including multi-unit dwellings. 

We’ve also been advocating for the expansion of zero emission vehicle and clean air standards in states across the U.S. and strong federal efficiency standards to help ensure we’re all accountable for moving the needle on this issue.

Step by step, we’re moving towards our goal, and by working with policymakers and partners, and harnessing the power of the driver community, we believe we can drive down the cost of EVs, expand EV incentives and infrastructure, and help drivers switch to electric over time in a way that is cost-effective and sustainable.

Building Cities Around People, Not Cars with Transit, Bikes and Scooters

Lyft operates the largest micromobility network in North America, with bikeshare programs in 9 markets and scooters in 6 markets. We’ve also completed in-app transit integrations in 19 cities, including integrated fare payment in Denver, to help encourage multimodal rides and support public transit systems. We continue investing in ways to provide transportation as a service, creating an “all-in-one” app, and doing so sustainably.

We also recently released our first Multimodal Report, which draws on survey responses from thousands of bike and scooter riders across the country. We learned that Lyft’s micromobility network connects people with public transit and encourages sustainable travel behaviors. In fact, 79% of Lyft’s shared micromobility riders have used it to connect to public transit, and they own over half a million fewer vehicles because of the availability of our services. And in 2020, we saw micromobility use continue to grow with more than 1.8 million new riders in 2020 trying Lyft’s shared bikes and scooters for the first time. We want to keep that excitement alive, so to celebrate Earth Day, we’re offering a free ride on Bluebikes in Boston, Nice Ride in Minneapolis, CoGo Bike Share in Columbus and Capital Bikeshare in Washington D.C. today!

Building a Circular Economy

In addition to looking at how we expand our transit, bike and scooter network, we’re also looking closely at the materials we use - and one recent example of this is our exciting new work with Nike Grind. BIKETOWN, our bikeshare program in Portland, Oregon, has launched a new lightweight e-station that embraces the concept of the circular economy: turning waste into products. These e-stations use rubber that is repurposed from Nike’s manufacturing shoe scraps and recycled tires. Rather than the linear “take-and-make-waste” use of finite resources, these waste materials are given a new useful life in a long-lasting product, with these stations having a planned 10-year lifespan. These e-stations will be coming to Denver and Chicago later this year. 

We know our work continues and we look forward to continuing towards our vision of building cities around people, not cars. 

Forward-Looking Statements   Certain statements contained in this announcement are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the securities laws, including statements about Lyft’s strategies, commitment to electric vehicles, plans to implement such commitment, Lyft’s efforts with respect to policymaking and its ability to work with policy makers and other third parties. Such statements, which are not of historical fact, involve estimates, assumptions, judgments and uncertainties. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those addressed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors are detailed in Lyft’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake an obligation to update our forward-looking statements to reflect future events, except as required by applicable law.