While Uber is likely hoping to cap off 2017 without adding to its exhaustive list of existing scandals, rival transportation-network company Lyft continues making strides against its struggling competitor. Lyft recently secured a $1 billion investment deal with Google parent company Alphabet and, for the first time, they’ve announced concrete plans for an international expansion.
Lyft will soon drive into Canada, specifically Toronto, beginning in November. CEO Logan Green says that they’ve been working toward the move for “months” with the Canadian market seeming like “an obvious fit” for the Lyft brand and culture. The company is even offering incentives to entice drivers to pop their emblems onto their cars:
Lyft has high hopes for the Toronto market. John Zimmer, the company’s president and co-founder, told the Toronto Star that he expected the Canadian city to eventually become one of Lyft’s five largest markets.
In an effort to entice drivers, Lyft is offering a 25 percent bonus for the first 3,000 drivers who are approved and who complete 20 rides a week during the company’s first three months of operation in Toronto.
This news arrives as Uber seeks to maintain its foothold in Canada, all while threatening to leave Quebec over what it perceives as unfair training regulations. Late last week, Uber also lost its final bid to renew its operating license in London after Mayor Sadiq Khan slammed the company for failing to adequately address issues of customer safety.
As if this Canadian expansion wasn’t bad enough news for Uber atop its other woes, Bloomberg has also reported that Lyft is set to capture 1/3 of the U.S. market by Christmas. Bloomberg also analyzed a private Lyft investor document, which shows that the company has been increasing spending in an effort “to take advantage of Uber’s weaker position.” This puts a damper on Lyft’s earlier plans to break even in 2018, but they’re hoping their strategy will eventually help them prevail over their rival.
(Via New York Times & Bloomberg)