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Lyft announces huge Midwest expansion, launching in 54 cities and four new states

Lyft announces huge Midwest expansion, launching in 54 cities and four new states

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Hello, Fond du Lac

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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales/The Verge

Good news, residents of Sheboygan, Wisconsin! Lyft, the ride-hailing company not currently plagued by a sexual harassment scandal, is coming to your town — as well as 53 other cities. Most of the cities are concentrated in the Midwest, with a few on the East Coast and Southern states. It’s the company’s largest expansion to date, and brings the total number US cities served by Lyft up to 300.

Last month, Lyft announced it would be launching in 100 additional markets in 2017. Today’s launch brings the total expansion to 94 new cities since the beginning of the year. That means it only has six cities left with 10 months to go in the year.

“In just the first two months of 2017, we’ve introduced Lyft to 94 new cities, thanks in large part to today’s launch,” said Jaime Raczka, head of Early Stage Markets and Expansion, in a statement. “We look forward to continuing this rapid momentum, bringing Lyft’s safe, affordable rides to even more cities this year.”

Lyft still has a long way to go to catch up with Uber, which is available in over 560 cities around the globe. So far, Lyft has remained within the US, but it seems likely the company will seek to expand into other countries soon enough. The company formed an anti-Uber alliance with a handful of Asian ride-hailing companies, though the status of that alliance is unclear since Uber sold its Chinese business to one of the members, Didi Chuxing.

As Lyft continues to grow, the company also stands to profit from Uber’s tailspin of negative publicity. An ex-engineer’s allegations of rampant sexism and a toxic work culture has sparked chaos at the much larger ride-hailing company, with customers deleting their accounts in protest and top executives vowing a swift investigation. This came weeks after Uber experienced its most significant backlash to date in response to the company’s bungled response to President Trump’s immigration ban and CEO Travis Kalanick’s decision to advise Trump on economic issues — although Kalanick eventually backed out.

Here are the cities where Lyft is launching: Lakeland, FL; Ocala, FL; Pensacola, FL; Port St. Lucie, FL; Fort Myers, FL; Fredericksburg, VA; Springfield, MA; Pittsfield, MA; Worcester, MA; Amherst, MA; Amarillo, TX; Bismarck, ND; Fargo, ND; Grand Forks, ND; Ames, IA; Cedar Rapids, IA; Davenport, IA; Des Moines, IA; Dubuque, IA; Iowa City, IA; Sioux City, IA; Waterloo, IA; Carbondale, IL; Decatur, IL; Kankakee, IL; Evansville, IN; Gary, IN; Muncie, IN; Terre Haute, IN; Manhattan, KS; Topeka, KS; Flint, MI; Jackson, MI; Kalamazoo, MI; Midland, MI; Saginaw, MI; Mankato, MN; Rochester, MN; St. Cloud, MN; Youngstown, OH; Eau Claire, WI; Fond du Lac, WI; Janesville, WI; La Crosse, WI; Sheboygan, WI; Birmingham, AL; Augusta, GA; Brunswick, GA; Columbus, GA; Macon, GA; Martinsburg, WV; Morgantown, WV; Huntington, WV; Parkersburg, WV