Ridesharing platform Lyft is rolling out across Europe this month, starting with early access in Barcelona and Hamburg. Over the course of October, Lyft app will become available in a number of major European cities, including London, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Athens and Warsaw.
By the end of October, travellers in Ireland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, England, Scotland, Austria, France and Germany will be able to use the same app when travelling from North America to Europe.
Lyft is an American transport company that offers, among other things, taxi services, rental cars and shared e-scooters, as well as shared bikes. In 2024, Lyft handled over 800 million rides.
Users from North America can use the same app in the United States, Canada and Europe. No new download is required. With new technology, the Lyft app can be linked to external mobility platforms. This lays the foundation for the company’s further international expansion.
Behind the scenes, Lyft has developed a new back-end framework that allows the app for travellers to be connected to external mobility platforms. As a result, users gain access to the offering from drivers on those platforms. The technology was developed specifically for the European expansion. Its introduction marks the first application of it and makes it possible to connect more mobility platforms in more countries in the future.
Travellers in Europe can continue to use their existing Lyft app, account and payment methods from the US and Canada. Over the coming year, it should also become possible, when taking a ride, to choose between paying in their own currency, such as US dollars, or the local currency, such as euros.
For the time being, European users can continue to use the existing Freenow by Lyft and Gett by Lyft apps. For drivers on these platforms, the expansion provides a new source of demand, as North American travellers can use their Lyft app in Europe.
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