Trying to compete with ride-hailing giant Uber in the Chicago area, Lyft launched a major expansion Monday, growing its service area in the northern suburbs to Milwaukee and west to Elgin.
"The main reason is we saw a lot of dropoffs in those areas, but people couldn’t get picked up in those areas," said Jean-Paul Biondi, Chicago marketing lead for Lyft.
Biondi said the company already has many drivers in the far west and northern suburbs, and expects to pick up more with the expansion. Lyft’s service south of Chicago already goes to Joliet. The expansion, scheduled to begin at noon Monday, is part of a nationwide 2017 expansion in 100 markets, Biondi said.
Uber already operates in the western and northern Chicago suburbs.
The news comes as Lyft has seen a boost in popularity because of its public stand against President Donald Trump’s immigration ban. Calling the ban "antithetical to both Lyft’s and our nation’s core values" in a Jan. 29 blog post, the company promised to donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years.
Uber meanwhile was targeted by a trending social media campaign, #deleteUber, after it announced it would drop surge pricing for trips to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Some saw Uber’s move as an attempt to undermine a strike by New York City cabdrivers to protest the order barring entry from seven Muslim-majority companies, which Uber denied.
City sued for banning ads in ride-share vehicles Mary Wisniewski
A Minneapolis technology company has sued the city of Chicago for banning advertising inside the private cars used by Uber, Lyft and other ride-share company drivers.
Vugo, founded in 2015 and looking to expand its digital advertising business to ride-sharing vehicles here, filed a federal lawsuit…
A Minneapolis technology company has sued the city of Chicago for banning advertising inside the private cars used by Uber, Lyft and other ride-share company drivers.
Vugo, founded in 2015 and looking to expand its digital advertising business to ride-sharing vehicles here, filed a federal lawsuit…
(Mary Wisniewski)
Uber then promised to provide $3 million to help its drivers with immigration costs. But the campaign against Uber apparently had an impact — App Annie, an analysis firm, found that on Jan. 29, Lyft for the first time saw more downloads than Uber, according to media reports. Both companies are based in San Francisco.
"Right now is the perfect time for Lyft to expand and catch up to Uber when it comes to market share," said Harry Campbell, an Uber driver who writes the blog "The Rideshare Guy." Campbell said that besides the wave of app downloads, drivers across the country told him they have seen a "noticeable increase in request volume" when driving for Lyft.
"When you combine that with the fact that Lyft tends to have a more driver friendly culture and allows in-app tipping, you can bet that many drivers are eager to see Lyft expand — it’s just a matter of getting more passengers," Campbell wrote in an email.
Lyft said late last year that it was trying to take on Uber in the Chicago area, the nation’s second-biggest ride-hailing market, with discounts and more marketing, while attracting more drivers. Lyft Chicago general manager David Katcher said in a December interview that Lyft had doubled its market share in a little more than a year, but he would not give specific numbers.
Number of Chicago taxi drivers hits 10-year low as ride-share companies take off Leonor Vivanco
Chicago cabdriver Manuel Rosales takes off only three days a month — half of what he used to — and has increased his hours to 70 to 80 a week in an effort to compensate for a drop in the number of passengers he shuttles around the city.
“We’re struggling,” said Rosales, 42, who has been driving…
Chicago cabdriver Manuel Rosales takes off only three days a month — half of what he used to — and has increased his hours to 70 to 80 a week in an effort to compensate for a drop in the number of passengers he shuttles around the city.
“We’re struggling,” said Rosales, 42, who has been driving…
(Leonor Vivanco)
Also trying to compete in the Chicago area is the ride-sharing service Via.
mwisniewski@tribpub.com
Twitter @marywizchicago
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
