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Amid Covid-19 Pandemic, Nationwide Rideshare Usage Down Over 20% From March 2 for Lyft & Uber

Rideshare usage in Washington and California have fallen more steeply than in the country as a whole.

Key Takeaways

• Rideshare usage in Washington and California have fallen more steeply than in the country as a whole

• In comparison, in New York State, Uber and Lyft have seen 9% less customer spending the past two weeks than in the previous two weeks (8% less for Uber, 11% less for Lyft).

• To learn more about how to reduce the spread of COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website.

Over the last few days, we’ve seen an increase in protective measures from state and local governments to try and flatten the curve of Covid-19, from the Bay Area shelter-in-place order to Virginia prohibiting more than 10 people in restaurants, bars, and fitness centers. As a result of these safety precautions, all industries that rely on consumer purchases -- from the restaurant sector, service sector, and gig economy to the big box retail, grocery and others -- are facing potential impact on their businesses.

To quantify the effects that Covid-19 have had on these industries, Edison Trends will be rolling out reports to investigate these e-commerce developments. To start, Edison Trends took a deep dive into over 900,000 Uber and Lyft transactions to see how Covid-19 has affected the rideshare industry so far, with an additional focus on the states most impacted by the outbreak: Washington, New York, and California.

How has Covid-19 impacted rideshare usage nationally?

Figure 1a: Chart shows estimated nationwide spending on rideshare services by week comparing Lyft and Uber from January 6, 2020 to March 15, 2020. Note: This analysis was performed by Edison Trends on over 900,000 Uber and Lyft transactions

Uber and Lyft, which had been growing at a rate of 3% and 4% per week from January 13 through the week of February 24, have seen their customer spending fall in the last two weeks. Spending during the period of March 2 - March 15 is down 15% for each company in comparison with the prior two-week period (February 17 - March 1).

Spending dropped more sharply last week (March 9) than it had the week before; while Uber and Lyft dropped 5% and 7% respectively in the week of March 2 (compared to the previous week), they dropped 21% and 19% last week (compared to the week of March 2).

How has Covid-19 impacted rideshare usage in virus hot spots Washington, California, and New York States?

Figure 2a: Chart shows estimated Washington spending on rideshare services by week comparing Lyft and Uber from January 6, 2020 to March 15, 2020. Note: This analysis was performed by Edison Trends on over 15,000 Uber and Lyft transactions.

In Washington State, the initial US epicenter of the virus, the dropoff in rideshare usage has been greater than in the US as a whole. Spending on Uber and Lyft the past two weeks has slipped 41% from the prior two weeks (42% for Uber, 39% for Lyft).

Figure 2b: Chart shows estimated California spending on rideshare services by week comparing Lyft and Uber from January 6, 2020 to March 15, 2020. Note: This analysis was performed by Edison Trends on over 160,000 Uber and Lyft transactions.

In California, rideshare usage has also dropped off more steeply than in the US as a whole. Here, rideshare was down 22% overall — consumers spend 23% less on Uber last week than they had the week before, and 20% less on Lyft. The drop for both Uber and Lyft first began the week of March 2.

Figure 2c: Chart shows estimated New York spending on rideshare services by week comparing Lyft and Uber from January 6, 2020 to March 15, 2020. Note: This analysis was performed by Edison Trends on over 140,000 Uber and Lyft transactions.

In New York State, the dropoff in rideshare spending has been less steep than Washington State. Taken together, Uber and Lyft have seen 9% less customer spending the past two weeks than in the previous two weeks (8% less for Uber, 11% less for Lyft).

To learn more about how to reduce the spread of COVID-19, read up on the guidelines listed on the CDC’s website.

As the market evolves, we will continue to stay on top of the latest trends. To learn more about how Edison Trends can help your business, contact us at bizdev@edison.tech. For more up-to-date insights in the e-commerce space, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on Twitter at @EdisonTrends.

*The data shown is based on a sample of anonymized and aggregated e-receipts from millions of consumers in the United States.

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