Lyft is a ride-hailing app: you ask for a car on your phone, a nearby driver accepts, and the fare is charged to the card you saved in the app. It started in San Francisco, came to Canada in December 2017 and now runs in several Canadian regions, including Metro Vancouver. In British Columbia it works only in the Lower Mainland, so it will not pick you up in Victoria, Nanaimo or anywhere else on Vancouver Island.
Where Lyft comes from
Lyft was founded on June 9, 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer in San Francisco, growing out of Zimride, a long distance carpooling service for students that the two had started in 2007. The company took the name Lyft in 2013, sold the Zimride service to Enterprise Holdings that summer and went public on the Nasdaq in March 2019. Lyft Canada is the Canadian side of the same app, with prices in Canadian dollars and drivers licensed under provincial rules.
How Lyft reached Canada
Toronto was Lyft’s first market outside the United States, opening on December 12, 2017. Ottawa followed on March 15, 2018. Metro Vancouver came later because British Columbia did not allow ride-hailing until the Passenger Transportation Board approved Lyft and Uber on January 23, 2020. Lyft launched in BC the next day, on January 24, first in a small area around downtown Vancouver, the Broadway corridor, the PNE and Vancouver International Airport. Over the following weeks the service area grew to cover most of the region, and in July 2020 Lyft added Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Belcarra, Langley, Lions Bay and Bowen Island.
Alberta joined on May 24, 2023 with Edmonton and Calgary, and southwest Ontario on November 28, 2023 with Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Niagara and Windsor. When the southwest Ontario launch was announced, Lyft said it had provided more than 68 million rides to over 2.5 million Canadians since 2017.
Does Lyft work in British Columbia?
Yes, in one part of it. The province licenses ride-hailing by zone, and Lyft is approved for the Lower Mainland and Whistler zone. In practice that means Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Delta, Langley, White Rock, New Westminster, Maple Ridge and the Tri-Cities. It is not approved for the Capital region or for the rest of Vancouver Island. The Board turned down applications from other companies that wanted to serve Greater Victoria, so for now the island still depends on taxis and, in some areas, other rideshare apps. Our guide on whether Victoria has Uber or Lyft follows that question.
If you are staying on the island, start with the Victoria taxi list or the Nanaimo taxi list, which show phone numbers and what we know about prices.
How the app works, step by step
- Download Lyft from the App Store or Google Play and create an account with your phone number or email.
- Add a payment method before you ride.
- Open the app, set your pickup spot and type in your destination. The app can use your location, or you can move the pin on the map.
- Choose a ride mode. Swiping to the side shows options with more seats.
- Check the price, which the app shows before you confirm, and request the ride.
- Follow your driver on the map. You will see their name, rating, car and licence plate.
- At the end, rate the driver and add a tip in the app if you want to.
The price is calculated for each trip from distance, time and demand, so the same ride can cost more when many people are asking for cars at once. The app shows the price first, and you can still decide not to go ahead.
What Lyft costs in Vancouver
When ride-hailing came to BC, the province set a minimum fare that matched the taxi flag rate, and it allowed higher prices in busy periods. In Vancouver’s downtown core between 7 am and 7 pm a small per-trip levy of 30 cents applies. Beyond that, Lyft publishes no rate card, which is why estimates are the best planning tool. Our Uber estimate calculator gives a price range from distance, ride type and demand using average rates, and the taxi fare estimator shows what a meter might say for the same trip. Neither is a Lyft quote, but they let you check that a price in any app is in a sensible range.
Paying for a Lyft ride
Lyft is cashless. The driver cannot take cash or a card in the car, and the fare is charged to the payment method on your account. Credit and debit cards work, and Lyft’s help pages list wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. If you only have cash, a regular taxi is the simpler choice, and many Vancouver companies take cards in the car. We list them in our guide on which Vancouver taxis take credit cards.
Safety and ratings
Riders and drivers rate each other on a five point scale, and drivers with consistently low scores can lose access to the app. Provincial rules also require drivers to pass criminal record and driving record checks. Before you get in, match the plate, the car and the driver’s photo to what the app shows, and ask the driver who they are picking up before you give your name. If you want a longer comparison of the safety tools, see Uber or Lyft safety features compared and our shorter guide on whether Lyft is safer than Uber.
Lyft or Uber in Vancouver?
Both launched in BC on the same days, both are licensed for the same zone and both work the same way: request in the app, see the price, pay by card. The differences are in prices at a given moment, in how many cars are near you and in small app features. Because those change by the hour, the practical habit is to open both apps for a long or expensive trip and compare. We set the two side by side in Lyft and Uber in BC.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lyft the same as Lyft Canada?
It is the same app. In Canada it uses Canadian dollars, Canadian phone numbers and provincial licensing rules.
Where is Lyft available in Canada?
Toronto and Ottawa, Metro Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, and Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Niagara and Windsor in southwest Ontario, as of Lyft’s own launch announcements.
Can I use Lyft in Victoria?
No. In British Columbia Lyft is approved only for the Lower Mainland and Whistler zone, not for Vancouver Island.
Can I pay for Lyft with cash?
No. Fares are charged to the payment method saved in the app.
Is Lyft cheaper than a taxi?
It depends on the trip and the moment. Taxis follow a published meter, while Lyft prices change with demand, so compare an estimate with the taxi figure before you choose.
Do I tip a Lyft driver?
Tipping is optional, and you can add one in the app after the ride.
Prices, areas and app features change, so check the Lyft app and its help pages for the current details before you travel.