Lyft, the ride-hailing company, announced an expansion into Canada.
Lyft, Uber´s biggest competitor, has announced its first step outside the U.S.
Through a statement made by CEO Logan Green, the company explained its plans to expand outside its home market and venture into Toronto since December, the largest city in Canada.
In plans of heading toe-to-toe with Uber, who is already present in Canada cities, Lyft will be including some who will respond to smartphone hails via both companies, as well as a local “hub” offering expertise to those who want to use their personal cars to earn money.
Adding to the commercial plan, the app will offer 5 key points for the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton, which include: regular vehicles for up to four passengers; the Plus service – with vehicles that can carry up to six people -; Premier, offering high-end cars; Lux, with luxury black cars “piloted by a top driver”; and an SUV version of Lux.
The Lyft goal: giving people a choice
John Zimmer, President and co-founder of Lyft, stated to the Toronto Star: “We’ve been a business for five years and have been focused entirely on the United States, so we were very deliberate when making a decision to launch in Toronto as our first international market.”
Adding to the statement, he also said: “It’s important to give people a choice … In order to provide the best hospitality to the end customer, you need to take best care of the drivers, and that’s something we’ve done for five years,” Zimmer said. “It will be reliable, it will be affordable, but it will also be an experience more focused on the hospitality service.”
In 2017, Lyft expanded to cover around 94 percent of U.S. residents, up from around 60 percent at the start of the year; it also published a diversity report seeking to cover new grounds and innovate regarding the diverse cultural needs across the world´s workplaces.
According to Recode, Lyft announced it passed $1 billion in revenue in 2017, expanding 168% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2017, almost three times faster than Uber’s reported 61% growth.
