Lyft expands its market as Uber staggers under controversies
Lyft is introducing its service in new cities around the United States, as Uber's market share ticks downward.
Lyft is introducing its service in new cities around the United States, as Uber's market share ticks downward.
As Uber tangles with scandal, Lyft is angling for a bigger piece of the ride-hailing market.
The nation鈥檚 second-largest ride-sharer launched in 10 new US cities on Thursday, following launches in 40 new cities in January and 50 more in February, according to TechCrunch. That makes 100 new cities in 2017, a goal the company says it鈥檚 reaching a full nine months ahead of schedule.
But Lyft remains far short of its main US rival. Uber operates in some 560 cities around the world, compared to Lyft鈥檚 300. Uber is also valued at about $70 billion, while Lyft is still shy of $7 billion, according to Reuters, even if it succeeds in its current efforts to find $500 million in new investment.
But the milestone underscores the latter's quick expansion, and raises questions about whether Uber鈥檚 public-relations problems will give Lyft and other competitors an opening.听
Among Uber鈥檚 main troubles are a sexual harassment scandal that has occasioned the launch of an Eric Holder-led panel to investigate sexism at the company, protests over Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick鈥檚 participation in a presidential economic advisory council, and a videotaped argument between Mr. Kalanick and an Uber driver who took issue with management decisions.
And on Thursday, the company said it would stop using a secret program called 鈥淕reyball鈥� to identify and escape code-enforcement officers in cities around the world 鈥� a program that some legal experts argued constituted obstruction of justice.
Greyball听was initially designed to protect Uber drivers in cities where taxi drivers and workers had attacked them, as 海角大神's Ben Rosen reported earlier this week:
In the late-January wake of the #DeleteUber campaign听鈥撎齭temming from the company鈥檚 continued service to airports during protests of President Trump鈥檚 travel ban听鈥撎齝onsumer-spending firm TXN Solutions found that Uber controlled about 83.5 percent of the market, compared to Lyft鈥檚 16.5 percent, reported CNBC. Over the next month, Uber鈥檚 share declined to 79 percent, while Lyft broke its long stall by expanding to 21 percent.
According to the Verge, Lyft鈥檚 expansion this week includes the cities of Lawton, Okla., and McAllen, Texas, where Uber is not yet offering its services. 听
This report contains听material from Reuters.听