Why Lyft's CEO says 'it would be insane' not to go all in on bikeshare
In the summer of 2023, Lyft was contemplating the sale of its micromobility business after receiving strong interest from prospective buyers.
In the summer of 2023, Lyft was contemplating the sale of its micromobility business after receiving strong interest from prospective buyers. Today, the ride-hail company is doubling down on its docked scooter and bikeshare operations, positioning itself as the ideal partner for cities looking to enhance their urban transportation networks.
Since acquiring shared bike and station provider PBSC Urban Solutions two years ago, Lyft has invested in building and deploying better quality e-bikes and docked e-scooters, as well as a new type of docking station that is solar-powered, modular and able to charge both bikes and scooters.
As CEO David Risher reviewed Lyft’s micromobility assets, he asked himself: “Do we sell the whole thing, or do we operate it?”
“E-bikes in particular are growing so fast globally. It would be insane not to take it on ourselves,” Risher told TechCrunch, noting Lyft’s e-bike rides increased 65% year-over-year through August to make up half of total rides. “So we said, let’s do this ourselves and bring it to the real standard of excellence that we have for our whole business.”
For Lyft, that means streamlining and integrating the two sides of its micromobility business – PBSC, which sells bikeshare-as-a-service to local operators and cities in 49 markets globally, and the eight Lyft-owned and operated bike and scooter share programs, like Citi Bike in New York City and Divvy in Chicago. The combined division will be renamed Lyft Urban Solutions, and Michael Brous, Lyft’s former head of operations, will head it up.
Risher noted the renewed focus on micromobility will also include a restructuring of its team and finances. A spokesperson for Lyft told TechCrunch less than 1% of staff on the tech side will be cut as the company shifts resources from R&D to sales, operations and deployment.
“We estimate that the ongoing benefit to the business of this restructuring is going to be on the order of $20 million a year, and it will be a net contributor to the business,” Risher said.