Lyft

Private ride-hailing giant Uber, which is aiming to follow rival Lyft in becoming a public company this year, has warned that it may never be profitable. The candid admission comes in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as Uber prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) which it reportedly hopes will value the company at $100 billion. This potential IPO figure is some way below the $120bn predicted by analysts just last year. And Uber warns: “We have incurred significant loss

“Origin/destination information derived from MaaS-style operations could be the key to reducing future gridlock caused by autonomous vehicles.” That was the message RideFlag’s chief technology officer Mark Feltham delivered to the IBTTA’s Annual Technology Summit in Orlando. “Once they have removed the costly driver, Uber and Lyft will be able to offer very affordable rides, tempting people doing long commutes on transit to pay those few extra dollars to take an Uber. The combination of long distance co

Lyft is donating $700,000 to bring more transportation options and free-rides to under-served residents living in East Oakland, California. The ride-hailing company is working with the city of Oakland’s mayor Libby Schaaf and non-profit organisation TransForm to establish a free bike library. The money will be used by TransForm and its partner organisations East Oakland Collective and Scraper Bikes in three initiatives. Lyft and TransForm will fund the East Oakland Collective, a community group, in pil

Lyft is launching a Green Mode feature within its app to provide riders in Seattle with the option to travel in an electric or hybrid vehicle. The move follows the company’s planned introduction of thousands of electric vehicles (EVs) onto its platform this year. Lyft says the deployment will allow its drivers to increase net earnings as it says the cost of travelling in an EV is half that of a petrol-powered car, therefore saving hundreds of dollars per month on fuel costs. Drivers can switch

Lyft has established a dedicated zone at the west exit of the Cadillac Fairview Toronto Eaton Shopping Centre to help visitors get to and from the venue. Riders can then use Lyft’s app to choose specific pick-up and drop-off points around the shopping centre’s offices, shops and restaurants. The partnership says it will gather feedback and adapt the service to meet the needs of riders. Last month, Lyft entered an agreement with the Regional Transportation Commission of South Nevada to offer cheaper ride

Columbus, Ohio has been named City of the Year in the Smart Cities Dive website’s awards for its work on transit and electrification. The US city won the US Department of Transportation’s inaugural Smart City Challenge two years ago – and is rolling out a variety of smart city-related programmes. Smart Cities Dive said the city’s “biggest area of progress this year” has been its increased reliance on electric vehicles (EVs), including in its bus fleet and other government vehicles. City authoritie

Lyft, the ride-hailing firm which rivals Uber, has shown off the distinctive, pink-tyred bicycles which it is to use in its new bike-share programme. The company has completed its acquisition of US bike-share giant Motivate, which was announced in the summer, and will branch into two-wheel journeys soon. The company says this represents a “natural extension of Lyft’s vision to improve transportation access, sustainability and affordability”. Lyft says that 80% of all bike-share rides in the US were co

Several organisations are coming together in Detroit, US, to pilot a new tool to analyse mobility data for dockless bikes and scooters. The aim is to allow urban authorities which work with dockless mobility providers to share and analyse trip data, including trip origins and destinations, neighbourhood availability, travel times and usage. This should give them the chance to allocate street space to sustainable transportation, improve safety and provide more equal access to transport services. Detroit M

The Regional Transportation Commission of South Nevada (RTC South Nevada) is offering employees at sports company Fanatics who work at the Northgate Distribution Center (NDC) cheaper rides via Lyft. RTC South Nevada is hoping that the six-month initiative will encourage workers to use multimodal options for commuting to the logistics and distribution facility in North Las Vegas. Fanatics was one of the first e-commerce tenants at the NDC in 2016. As part of the six-month programme, employees wi

Ride-hailing companies could be taxed for starting their journeys in San Francisco following a bill signed by California governor Jerry Brown. The bill - AB 1184 - calls for a 3.25% tax on net rider fares for single-party trips, or those provided by an autonomous vehicle, as well as a 3.25% tax on shared rides. Additionally, the city or county would be able to set a lower tax rate for net rider fares for those provided by a lower emission vehicle. A report by the San Francisco Chronicle says the