Lyft Pushes Into New York’s Outer Boroughs, Rideshare Competition For Uber
Rideshare service Uber is already established in New York, but competitor Lyft is about to launch its service in the city as well, beginning with Queens and Brooklyn. From Lyft’s perspective, this isn’t just about edging into a market to keep pace with a competitor--it’s about bringing a much-needed service to areas that need it.
“Brooklyn and Queens are vastly underserved by public transit options compared to the rest of New York City,” reads a Lyft blog post. “In fact, just one of New York’s 23 subway lines passes solely between boroughs, and 95% of taxi pickups happen in Manhattan or a local airport.”
If Lyft can grab a chunk of this apparently untapped market, it will be a huge get. The company states that its service is cheaper than taxis anyway, its background checks for drivers are more stringent, and it offers more than triple the insurance coverage for its drivers ($1 million) than the minimum required for taxis.
Lyft is launching in Queens and Brooklyn at 7pm EST on Friday, and all new New York passengers will get two weeks of free rides to celebrate the kickoff.
“Brooklyn and Queens are vastly underserved by public transit options compared to the rest of New York City,” reads a Lyft blog post. “In fact, just one of New York’s 23 subway lines passes solely between boroughs, and 95% of taxi pickups happen in Manhattan or a local airport.”
If Lyft can grab a chunk of this apparently untapped market, it will be a huge get. The company states that its service is cheaper than taxis anyway, its background checks for drivers are more stringent, and it offers more than triple the insurance coverage for its drivers ($1 million) than the minimum required for taxis.
Lyft is launching in Queens and Brooklyn at 7pm EST on Friday, and all new New York passengers will get two weeks of free rides to celebrate the kickoff.
