Lyft

Lyft is an on-demand transportation company based in San Francisco, California. It develops, markets, and operates the Lyft car transportation mobile app. Launched in July 2012, Lyft operates in 300 US cities, including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and provides over 1 million rides per day. The company was valued at US$11.5 billion as of December 2017, and has raised a total of US$4.11 billion in funding. Lyft expanded into Canada in December 2017.

Riders must download the Lyft mobile app to the iOS or Android mobile phone, sign up, enter a valid phone number, and enter a valid form of payment (credit card, or link to Apple Pay, Android Pay or PayPal driver). Passengers can then request a ride from the nearby driver. Once confirmed, the app will show the driver's name, ratings by past passengers, and photos of the driver and the car. Drivers and passengers can add personal information to the profiles about the hometown, music preferences and other details to encourage drivers and passengers to converse during the ride. After the ride is over, the rider is given the opportunity to give the gratitude to the driver.

Lyft was launched in the summer of 2012 as a long-distance ride-sharing company, and is focused on ridesharing that can offer a lift for some drunk passengers home. All drivers must undergo the safety processes: criminal background check goes back seven years and includes national and county-level databases, as well as national sex offender registries, in-person interviews with current Lyft drivers, drivers must be 21 years old and above, and no tolerance on drug and alcohol policy.

After the ride is completed, the drivers and passengers can then rate 1 to 5 stars. Any driver averaging a lower rating will then be dropped out of the service. Lyft does not allow passengers to know the rating.