As the Bay Area starts opening up and our road traffic increases, we believe it is our collective responsibility to help keep carbon emissions down. That’s why Lyft is thrilled to expand its partnership with Mastercard to include bikeshare. As the Bay Wheels system’s new partner, Mastercard’s support will help sustain bikeshare in the Bay Area and support future growth. An additional 35 stations are planned for next year, as well as an expanded Bike Share for All equitable access program, with over 2,000 free memberships to be distributed through community partners.
Bikesharing has proven to have a significant amount of benefits to our communities and our planet: decreasing traffic, reducing energy consumption, decreasing harmful gas emissions, improving public health generally and promoting economic growth. To celebrate our expansion and further promote our shared goal of reducing carbon emissions, Lyft will join the Priceless Planet Coalition, created by Mastercard, and will donate $100,000 to Conservation International, with Mastercard matching the donation.
“We’re delighted to welcome Mastercard to the Bay Wheels family. Our partnership will support a bikeshare network that millions of Bay Area residents use as a fast, clean, and affordable way to get around,” said David Foster, Vice President of Transit, Bikes and Scooters at Lyft. “Lyft believes in a future with more parks and less traffic, more green and less pollution. We want to thank Mastercard for inviting us to join their Priceless Planet Coalition to promote reforestation and reduce carbon emissions.”
“We’re excited to expand our partnership with Lyft to bring innovation to everyday experiences of people in the Bay Area,” said Sherri Haymond, Executive Vice President, Digital Partnerships, North America, Mastercard. “While doing so, we’ll be able to harness the power of a collective to have a significant impact on our communities and our planet.”
The Priceless Planet Coalition unites businesses, governments, and consumers in the restoration of 100 million trees. With more than 80 partners globally, the Coalition continues to offer easy ways for consumers to contribute to forest restoration since launching in 2020. The Coalition’s restoration partners, Conservation International and World Resources Institute, have also broken ground in key project locations.
Lyft has already been making green transportation options available to riders, through electric vehicles (EVs), bikes, scooters, and transit integrations. Last June, Lyft made an ambitious commitment to reach 100% EVs on the Lyft platform by 2030, which has the potential to avoid tens of millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce gasoline consumption by more than a billion gallons over the next decade. This additional cooperative effort with Lyft’s long standing partner Mastercard and joining the Priceless Planet Coalition will not only bring us one step closer to a world with less carbon pollution, but will enable us to revitalize micromobility efforts that will help better support infrastructure for bikes and scooters, safer streets, greater equity, and more economic opportunity in the Bay Area.
In 2019, Lyft and Mastercard kicked off their partnership with a promotion rewarding Mastercard cardholders with Lyft credit when they took rides and paid using a qualifying card, as well as the launch of the Lyft Driver Debit card which allows drivers access to instant payouts. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the two companies have continued to partner together and provide support for local communities through delivering healthy meals to underserved individuals, expanding and extending Citi Bike’s critical workforce program in New York City, and enabling and expanding access to essential transportation.
Locals and visitors to the Bay Area can expect to see new Mastercard branding introduced to the Bay Wheels bikes, stations, apps, and website starting this month alongside other improvements to the system. Originally founded in 2013, Bay Wheels is the Bay Area's regional bikeshare program serving Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco. Bay Wheels offers convenient, healthy, climate-friendly transportation with thousands of bicycles (both traditional pedal bikes and pedal-assist electric bikes) at hundreds of stations.
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 bikeshare program strategies. 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.