Lyft is about to launch a massive expansion across the US

Cadie Thompson

Jan 25, 2017, 20:06 IST

Lyft

Lyft is rapidly expanding the number of US cities it operates in this year.

The ride-hailing company plans to launch in 100 new US cities by the end of 2017, bringing the total number of cities it serves to 300, Jaime Raczka, the head of early stage markets and expansion at Lyft, told Business Insider.

The company isn't waiting to grow its market, either. Lyft will roll out service in 40 of the 100 cities on Thursday.

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To put that into perspective, Lyft launched in 40 cities during all of 2016.

"We dramatically increased our launch pace in the second half of 2016 and are obviously going to continue and accelerate that in 2017," Raczka said.

The San Francisco-based company currently offers its service in 200 cities around the country and services about 177 million people or 55% of the country, the company said.

After the expansion, Lyft will be in 300 cities, service 231 million people, or about 72% of the US, the company claims.

Despite Lyft's market expansion, it still lags behind Uber, which currently operates in 450 cities worldwide. However, Lyft's aggressive US growth suggests the company is planning to launch its service outside the US soon.

Lyft currently partners with DiDi Chuxing and Grab to provide rides in other countries. But CNBC reported earlier this month that the company plans to expand its own service in other countries sometime this year.

Raczka would not comment on when Lyft plans to expand outside the US, but she emphasized that 2017 will be a big year for Lyft's market growth.

"The aim of how we think about the international expansion is independent from our efforts here in the US. So right now we are really focused on getting a broad footprint in the US," Raczka said.

"We have a lot of great growth leverage and we are going to ride that momentum and bring our service to communities across Americas and make sure we are serving people here."

Check out the full list of cities where Lyft will launch on Thursday below.

Redding, CA

San Luis Obispo, CA

Victorville, CA

El Centro, CA

Merced, CA

Yuba City, CA

Chico, CA

Clarksville, TN

Johnson City, TN

Dover, DE

Erie, PA