Dive Brief:
- Following a recent Canadian expansion announcement, Lyft began offering rides in Toronto this week.
- Toronto is Lyft's first market outside of the U.S. The company also offers ride-sharing services in more than 300 cities in all 50 U.S. states.
- As part of the expansion, Lyft is offering users the opportunity to sign up for a "round up and donate" program in the month of December, which rounds fares up to the nearest dollar and donates the difference to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, according to TheStar.com.
Dive Insight:
Lyft made headlines in October when the company announced it would launch services in Sioux Falls, SD, beating Uber in the race to reach all 50 states. This latest expansion into Toronto continues the growth pattern for Lyft, and while it's not yet clear if the company will expand even further into markets overseas, Lyft already has a number of partnerships with international ride-sharing platforms.
Considering Toronto's significant year in smart city development, it's unsurprising that Lyft would select that city as its first international market. Just this year Toronto unveiled a partnership with Sidewalk Labs for a "digital city" venture, received $30 million in public transit infrastructure funding and positioned itself as an attractive location for Amazon's HQ2. The city is becoming a breeding ground for smart innovation and, while Uber had already infiltrated Toronto, the addition of Lyft will boost Toronto's mobility access and continue to propel it down a path of service-oriented growth.
Uber also dabbled in some international expansion this week, announcing a partnership with Bangkok-based taxi fleet operator, Howa Taxi. The company also recently made a deal with Singapore-based taxi company, ComfortDelGro. Though other ride-sharing services are continually entering markets around the world, it is likely that Lyft and Uber will continue to drive these trends internationally, at least in the foreseeable future.