Lyft runs a mobile app that connects riders with drivers for on-demand rides. Besides regular rideshare, the app offers taxis, private hire vehicles, executive chauffeur services, car sharing, and shared bikes and scooters. Drivers are independent people who choose when to drive, and riders use the app for commutes, errands and nights out.
Substantially all of its revenue comes from its ridesharing marketplace, where it collects service fees and commissions from drivers. It also earns money from licensing and data access agreements, bike and scooter rentals, selling bikes and bike station equipment, advertising, renting cars to drivers through its Express Drive program, and selling its service to businesses. Lyft names Uber as its main ridesharing competitor, and Bolt as another rival in taxi and private hire apps.
In 2025 Lyft expanded beyond North America by buying Freenow, a European taxi app, and TBR Global Chauffeuring, a luxury chauffeur company. It now operates in thousands of cities across six continents. At the end of 2025 it had 3,913 full-time employees worldwide. It also works with partners on self-driving vehicle technology.