BONUS: Lyft CEO David Risher Talks Company Expansion

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0:37Ed Ludlow:back to tech earnings shares of lyft higher the company reported growing demand for premium rides also strengthened european markets super interesting kind of the global expansion story lyft ceo david risher is with us there is a very specific data point actually that i'd like to start on and that is that in markets specifically San Francisco where you have Lyft rides and Waymo rides you said San Francisco grew 20 % year on year that's right explain the the causal or casual relationship within that data point yeah so you know our industry is going through a big transformation and it is the sort of bringing on of these self-driving vehicles Waymo of course is the market leader in that.

1:21Anytime you see a transformation like this, one or two things can happen. You can either see sort of a substitution or you can see a market expansion. And in this case, we're seeing a market expansion. And it's not that surprising when people take self-driving cars, they tend to like them a lot. They're a very reliable product. They're a nice private product. So you can feel like you could have a private conversation. But at the same time, it doesn't seem to take away from people's interest in being driven by humans who can help with luggage or have a good conversation. So it really is accretive.

1:46Ed Ludlow:This is a micro case study. It's one market, San Francisco. But the questions are, is Lyft gaining market share from Waymo in this city? Or is it that this is an issue of supply? So because somebody cannot get into a Waymo within a reasonable time frame, they go to the Lyft app, which is happening. Probably both, honestly. Probably both. So interesting. Yeah. And I think this is such an interesting thing that's going to play out. My expectation over time is what will dominate will be the market expansion. And again, the reason is sort of simple. You have a cool new product coming onto an existing platform.

2:20And what we believe the hybrid network, which is, you know, human driven cars plus AVs, really kind of creates the best possible outcome for everyone. But we'll, you know, we'll all have to see how that works.

2:29Ed Ludlow:I think that you and I've discussed on several occasions the idea that the introduction of the robo taxi and maturity of the market expands the overall TAM for ride hailing. Just recap that argument. I think that's exactly it. So, I mean, And look, people take, just in the United States, about 160 billion rides a year in their private cars. Today we deliver a billion. Maybe the other guys deliver two billion. So let's call that three billion. Out of 160 billion, and it's a good experience. You're sitting in the back seat. You're able to text. You're able to have your own space. What holds it back?

2:59Well, for whatever reason, some people might not want to be driven by another driver or someone else in the car. This takes that away. I'll tell you a very specific story. So I was just with an old friend of mine. I just ran into the airport. Her son had a tragic, tragic accident a couple of years ago. Absolutely devastating. a physical accident. He's in rehabilitation. For him, the idea of getting in a self-driving car where the doors open wide, maybe there's not even a driver there. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just gives him more space to sort of be in his own zone. It's actually going to be something...

3:26Ed Ludlow:It's a technology and an engineering story, a design story. It's a design story, exactly. And so anyway, I'm very optimistic about this. And then when I look at our capabilities around fleet management and, you know, kind of matching supply and demand, I get really excited about the future. Lyft is, let's go back to the core business and earnings, but Lyft is pushing outside the United States. You know, every time you've been on the show over the last year, there's been a development on that front. But what did we actually learn through your earnings about how you're growing ex-USA? So here's what's really cool.

3:57So Lyft was primarily a domestic company up until about a year ago, maybe call it 18 months ago. Then we started to expand in Canada. That's gone very well. Now we acquired a company called FreeNow and a couple of other smaller our companies overseas. Okay, what's happened since then? We're in the process of transforming ourselves to a truly global company. Some of that is internal stuff, back of the house, multi-currency, GDPR, all these sorts of things. But we're also beginning to introduce new functionality to customers. So I was just in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago. I was very lucky to be there.

4:23I got a chance to check out on our beta app the ability to use the Lyft app, not a new app, but the Lyft app, to hail local supply, local taxi cab in Barcelona. I did it four times, work flawlessly. So good, because I don't have to do a different app. I already know the user interface and so forth and so on. FreeNow, the company we acquired, they're also growing now too because of some of the innovation, the technology we've been able to add to their stack. So it's, look, our service levels are really good. And I love that about our product. And now we can take that to a more global audience and hopefully continue to grow as a result.

4:52Ed Ludlow:It could be Europe, Spain specifically, but how are those markets different to the United States? How does the consumer behave differently? You know, there are subtle differences. I mean, a very significant, I guess, difference, not subtle, is the role of the taxi cab in a lot of Europe is very significant. You know this. They're culturally entrenched in many economies in Europe, as an example. Very much so. And unlike maybe in a New York where people almost begrudgingly take a cab, for example, in a place like Spain and certainly London. You're going to have New Yorkers phoning into this program now.

5:22And I get that. And New Yorkers have opinions about their taxi cabs, right? But in Spain, it tends to be almost a career. You get in the car and it's probably someone who's been doing it for many years. Maybe his father did it as well. Certainly in London, everyone knows the knowledge. I mean, it's an all sorts of incredible thing. So that's a really significant difference. And for us, it favors us because FreeNow is strong in taxis. And the sort of double click there is because taxis seem to be quite regulated, the relationship that that company and our company has with governments tends to be quite strong, which, back to the AV question, really matters a lot.

5:55AB is new technology, and for a lot of governments, it feels maybe a little bit intimidating, and we can help there. So it's a really nice sort of set of circumstances that tends to sort of favor our business.

6:06Ed Ludlow:In markets outside of the United States, Uber is already there in some cases, Bolt, etc. How are you going to make Lyft different from a technology perspective or just a product perspective? Yeah, so stay tuned on this. This is actually a very, very live conversation we're having internally. I can use some of the examples of the U.S. maybe and give you a little sense. Please. So in the U.S., we've really redoubled our innovation. And you know some of these products, Women Plus Connect. I've just heard that we've given over 175 million rides between women and women in the U.S. over the last couple of years.

6:36Lift Teens, Lift Silver, this is real innovation. We're hoping to bring some of that innovation to the European space for sure. And then there's also a lot of conversation around, you know, let's say the reputation of those guys in Europe isn't necessarily super, people don't necessarily love the company. I'll just say it that way. And we hope we bring some joy to the conversation as well.

6:56Ed Ludlow:Internally, where is your biggest focus on the technology side? What are the types of people you're trying to bring in and things you're building, rebuilding, code migration, literally anything on the tech side? Yeah, for sure. So many interesting things. So I'll give you a couple of examples. Some of it's basic, some of it's more far-reaching. Here's the basic thing. We now pick people up on average, so 75 % of the time, we will pick you up either the same or faster than our big competitor. Okay, why is that kind of a big deal? Because our market share is smaller. So doing that reliably 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because people are busy.

7:28They want to get to where they are. That's an awesome accomplishment. I'm hugely proud of our Marketplace team for accomplishing that. And then bigger picture, I'm really excited about Lifting, one of our newest products that allows teens to get in and get constant messaging back to their parents to make sure the parents know that they're safe and sound. It's just a good—I look at this as almost a generational thing. A new car now costs like 800 bucks. It's going to be 800 bucks a month,$50 ,000. Yeah, on at least basis. On at least basis. plus maintenance, plus gas, all these sorts of things.

7:55Lyft is just a better answer for a lot of people. And so I'm sort of excited when I look two, three, four, five years out at some of the kind of teen innovation now because I think that'll help change a whole generation.

8:06Ed Ludlow:Lyft CEO David Bisher, thank you very much for coming in and thank you for being back on the show. Whether it's help with hormone therapy, weight management, or sexual health, every woman should have access to affordable prescription medication and personalized care that understands the whole woman. Join me, Dr. Doug Lucas, clinical lead of hormone optimization and longevity at LifeMD, along with other leading experts on the podcast, Here's Something Good on Women's Health and Longevity. To learn more, go to LifeMD.com slash iHeart.