Lyft has officially opened for business in Toronto, its first market outside the U.S. The Canadian expansion was announced last month, and December 12 is the first day of official operations with ride-hailing services available in the city.
Lyft service in Toronto includes standard Lyft service, Lyft Plus, Lyft Premier, Lyft Lux and Lyft Lux SUV rides. It also can be used to hail a ride to and from Toronto’s Pearson Airport for travelers.
This has been a busy year for Lyft, which has more than doubled its total number of rides given, and managed to rack up its most recent 100 million rides in only three months, compared to taking four years to reach that number for its first 100 million. It’s also now offering service to around 95 percent of the U.S. population, having increased its coverage by around 76 percent year-over-year.
All eyes will be on Toronto and how it manages to compete with legacy taxi services and rival Uber in the market (as well as a scattering of much smaller startup services), as it’s likely this is just the start of a broader international growth strategy to follow.