Lyft Sees Major Rise In Bike, Scooter Use In Pandemic

SANTA MONICA, CA — Lyft saw a major rise in the pandemic, especially in Santa Monica, with more than 52K new riders in 2020 using Lyft's bicycles and scooters.

The increase in shared micromobility services, which include Lyft's bikes and scooters, was a trend across the U.S., the company told Patch. As communities were impacted by the the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of people across race, gender, socioeconomic status, including critical workers, started using Lyft's services beyond ridesharing.

“If you want to reduce personal car ownership and bolster public transit systems in cities, this data clearly shows that shared micromobility plays an important role in building a multimodal alternative that meets the needs of riders,” Caroline Samponaro, Head of Transit, Bike and Scooter Policy at Lyft, said in a statement.

“The pandemic has changed the way people get around, and we are seeing encouraging signs that shared bikes and scooters are creating positive impacts on equity, sustainability, and the built environment in our communities,” Samponaro said.

More than 89K new riders tried Lyft’s shared scooter service in 2020 across the U.S., the company reports. And, 81% of U.S. riders have used shared micromobility services to get to or from public transit, with 53% of riders identifying as members of racial and/or ethnic minority groups.

In 2020 in Santa Monica, 33% of people using Lyft's shared micromobiltiy services identified as women, 18% identified as members of LGBT+ community and 33% were students. The average age for people using bikes and scooters was 31 years old.

The median household income for riders in Santa Monica was $45K, and 57% of riders identify as members of racial and/or ethnic minority groups. Among the racial or ethnic breakdown, 11% were Black, African American, or AfroCaribbean; 40% were Latino or Latinx; and 10% were Asian, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander.

In Santa Monica, about 18% of riders with household incomes under $50K use shared micromobility to connect to public transit on a weekly basis. About 38% of riders in Santa Monica do not own or lease a personal vehicle.

Lyft reported that 14% of riders in Santa Monica said they started taking more shared micromobility trips since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; 41% of those riders said that this was in order to change up their routine and to get outside during lockdown. And, 50% of riders reported that it would have been difficult or even impossible for them to access essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic without the availability of shared micromobility.

For more news and information about the vaccine rollout in California, visit Patch's information hub. Also, be sure to check out How To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In California.

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