Lyft
The bet on Lyft has always been that ridesharing wins and it is ultimately a much bigger market than just a car for hire.
From their learnings at Zimride, the ridesharing predecessor to Lyft, the founders have held a hard-earned secret about all the subtle things necessary for people to come together in a car with strangers and enjoy it. For instance, John and Logan realized that women feel much more comfortable getting into a car if there’s a woman. Today 30% of the Lyft drivers are women, which has also had the effect of attracting women passengers who now make up more than half of all riders.
For my generation, it’s hard to fully understand the sea change of the millennial psyche. Getting into the back seat of an eight-passenger black suburban by yourself isn’t just uncool, it’s offensive — like littering, but on mass scale. If millennials can’t ride their bikes or take the bus or train, they want to rideshare. And increasingly, it’s a social experience, a la Airbnb — another differentiated, millennial brand.
Similar to the early days of building out wireless networks, we are laying the groundwork for critical American infrastructure as we transform the $2.25 trillion U.S. personal transportation market. Think of cars as cellphones in this scenario.
Ridesharing will have a dramatic impact on the world around us. With this new round of funding, Lyft will be rolling out ridesharing in every major U.S. city. For those of you who haven’t tried Lyft Line, I’d invite you to save some money, be kind to the environment, and meet a few new friends along the way…
