Ride-hailing company Lyft is celebrating a milestone — it just launched in 10 additional U.S. markets, making for 100 cities added to the list of places it’s available in 2017. That was the target Lyft had originally set for itself as its year-end goal, but it’s only been three months and the company has already crossed that marker.
Thursday’s launch in 10 new cities follows expansion to 40 cities in January and more than 50 cities in February, which means Lyft now offers ride-hailing in 300 cities across the U.S. in total. It’s pressing the pedal on growth at a key moment in the ongoing saga of its competition with Uber, the leading rideshare provider by volume and reach, which is facing significant challenges because of sexual harassment issues within its workforce, a CEO who has trouble keeping his cool around drivers and a regulatory evasion tactic.
Lyft’s ability to capitalize on its rival’s current vulnerability will definitely be impacted by reach. Many involved in the #DeleteUber campaign that has sprung up in response to the issues listed above offer Lyft as an alternative suggestion, driving a lot of sign-ups — but if the service isn’t available, it’s obviously going to miss out on some of those conversions.
Lyft says this puts it nine months ahead of its anticipated schedule in rolling out to new markets. Jaime Raczka, Lyft’s head of early-stage markets and expansion, said the company plans to use its head start to continue growing.
“In just the first quarter of 2017, we’ve introduced Lyft to more than 100 new cities,” she shared in an emailed statement. “This puts us nine months ahead of schedule in our rapid growth plan, and we are excited to continue this momentum of bringing safe and affordable rides to even more cities throughout the nation.”
Still no word on international expansion, however — Lyft has been reported to be working on that next stage of its growth, but, so far, its milestones and progress in 2017 have been concentrated on its existing U.S. market.