In this year’s report, we provide a comprehensive snapshot of our business impact, including where we still have more work to do. This is an exercise we’ll conduct annually to ensure Lyft continues offering solutions for sustainability, economic mobility, and transportation access and equity.
Here are a few highlights from this year’s report:
Environment:
Our vision is to rebuild cities around people by offering an alternative to car ownership with seamless access to on-demand rides, car rentals, bikes, scooters and transit. In 2020, we took major strides toward achieving our goal.
Reducing the need for personal vehicles: Thanks to rideshare, to date, Lyft riders own over 9 million fewer cars, even when accounting for vehicles acquired by drivers. (1)
Providing access to lower-carbon modes of transportation: In 2020, Lyft riders took nearly 34 million bike and scooter rides in 15 markets across the United States.
Supporting public transit: To help encourage multimodal rides and support public transit systems, we completed in-app transit integrations in 16 cities, including integrated fare payment in Denver. 79% of Lyft’s bike and scooter riders and 51% of rideshare users have used these modes of transportation to connect to public transit.
Transitioning to electric vehicles: As part of our commitment to reach 100% electric vehicles (EVs) on the Lyft network by 2030, we’re focused on two factors:
Electrifying the Express Drive rental partner fleet: Since 2019, the program has facilitated more than 600,000 EV rides across three cities, saving more than 300,000 gallons of gas and more than $800,000 in fuel expenses.
Advancing policies that encourage electrification: In 2020, we saw policy victories through positive engagement and partnership with policymakers in key EV markets, including Massachusetts and California - both of which also mandated that all new vehicles sold in the states would have to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
Economic Impact:
The Lyft network offers riders alternatives to personal vehicle use, and provides drivers with a flexible way to supplement their income. This year, we supported both riders and drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic and helped preserve independence for drivers in California.
Supporting drivers during COVID-19: To help drivers, we dedicated nearly $4 million to free cleaning supplies and protective equipment, including hundreds of thousands of masks and sanitizers.
Serving Lyft riders during COVID-19: Whether by scooter, bike or rideshare, riders relied on us during the pandemic to save them time, money and get them to their essential jobs. Through our Critical Workforce Program, more than 35,000 critical workers accessed free bikeshare memberships and took 1.1 million bike and scooter rides. We also helped more than 10,000 healthcare workers get to and from work, totaling nearly 200,000 rides.
Preserving independence and introducing new benefits for drivers in California. Californians voted to keep rideshare drivers independent, while allowing them to earn healthcare and other benefits. Independence is important because 95% of drivers on the Lyft network drive fewer than 20 hours per week, and 96% of drivers work or are students in addition to driving with Lyft.
Saving Lyft riders’ time: Lyft riders saved 135 million hours compared with other transportation modes. The combined market value of that time savings and travel cost savings as a result of using Lyft was $5.4 billion.
Social:
Riders of all incomes and identities — especially those who have been historically underserved — rely on the Lyft network when they need a ride.
Supporting low-income communities through LyftUp: 46% of all Lyft rides start or end in a low-income neighborhood and through our LyftUp initiatives, our vision is to bridge the transportation gap for those who need it most. For example, one of our many unique LyftUp efforts, the Jobs Access Program, provides support for job seekers. In partnership with United Way, Goodwill, and several other local nonprofits, the Jobs Access Program has provided job seekers with access to tens of thousands of rides. More than 30% of respondents said that a Lyft ride helped them secure a job, and more than 60% of respondents said that the Lyft ride allowed them to retain their job.
Supporting communities of color: In 2020, we estimate that we provided access to over 1 million free or discounted bike, scooter and Lyft rides to communities of color through our LyftUp programs, including but not limited to Jobs Access, COVID-19 support, and Access Alliance.
Meeting community needs during COVID-19: To address the pandemic's challenges, we gave access to discounted or free rides to those with essential transportation needs, delivered more than two million meals to families and seniors in need, and worked with over 700 nonprofit partners to support local communities.
Helping people get to the polls: Through our Voting Access Hub and partnerships with When We All Vote and Vote.org, we increased our voter registration/voting plan numbers from around 18,000 in 2018 to nearly 30,000 in 2020, and doubled the number of rides to the polls in 2020 in comparison to our 2018 program.
Corporate Governance:
Our Board of Directors is constantly evaluating our corporate governance structure and processes to help steer the company's direction and ensure it is operating with the utmost business integrity.
Although 2020 was a year like no other, we remain committed to building more resilient cities, helping to provide economic stability, and serving those who need it most.
Read our report here.
Various statements in this announcement, including estimates, projections, objectives and expected results, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are generally identified by the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “likely,” and similar expressions and include statements about our strategies, markets, business, and opportunities, including our ESG initiatives. Forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including the risks and uncertainties more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.