Our aspiration at Lyft is to be a public company for the public good. We are a business, but we also see ourselves as a critical part of the future of the ecosystem of city transportation—including transit, shared bicycles and e-scooters, and even land use. Our core business contributes to the life of cities and its people, and we aim to do more.
Today, more people are moving to cities than ever to seek the economic opportunities and quality of life that our urban centers provide. We view this development as a time to forge stronger connections between people—to each other, to their communities, and to their cities.
Every time a person shares a Lyft ride or uses our app to take a transit trip, we bridge people together—while they are connecting to work, school, healthcare, or just to go to the movies. In 2018, we were particularly proud to work with the National Urban League and other non-profit organizations to help individuals get to the polls and exercise their right to vote. We did so on a nonpartisan basis; and working together, we helped tens of thousands of people cast their ballots, helping to produce the greatest voter turnout on record for a midterm election.
Another aspect, perhaps less commonly known and appreciated aspect of our business, is the role our company plays in providing supplemental income and flexible work for 1.9 million drivers. The Lyft community is engaged in civic causes in cities all year round—not just on Election Day. Over the past two years, Lyft passengers have donated over $11 million to important charitable causes, such as Black Girls Code and the ACLU, through Lyft’s Round Up & Donate program. And earlier this year, during Black History Month, Lyft provided free rides to Black history museums, memorials, relevant cultural sites, and Black-owned businesses across 36 cities to recognize, celebrate, and support the important contributions of Black men and women in American history. These are just two examples of how Lyft, through transportation, is connecting communities to each other and important social issues every day.
We have only scratched the surface. There is so much more work we can do to improve transportation and transform cities. At Lyft, we take our civic responsibility seriously. We believe that providing accessible, affordable, reliable, and safe transportation services will expand economic opportunity in communities around the country. In addition, we continue to iterate on our ongoing effortsto support our drivers and cities through programs like Lyft Driver Centers, an ambitious economic initiative to help drivers succeed on their own terms; and Lyft City Works, which reinvests a portion of Lyft profits back into cities. It is my hope that organizations across sectors and industries will work with us to expand the ways in which we empower our cities and communities.
