Lyft Study Says Ride-Sharing Co. Boosted S.D. Economy by $48.5 Million

The ride-hailing company Lyft said it will have given the San Diego economy a $48.5 million boost by the end of 2016, according to a study the company commissioned.

Land Econ Group LLC, the San Francisco-based company that conducted the study, said Lyft users in San Diego will have saved $18 million in travel time value and more than 692,700 travel hours in 2016.

Bill Lee, senior partner at Land Econ Group, said Lyft users in the 20 metro regions the Land Econ Group studied used the time they saved through the ride-hailing company to stay out longer, explore more areas and even visit local businesses more often.

According to the study, access to Lyft saved passengers more than $500 million and 26 million travel hours compared to other transportation methods, Land Econ Group concluded.

In San Diego, the study also found that the region saw a more than 19 percent year-over-year increase in the percentage of people who visited more inaccessible parts of the city via Lyft. That increase was the highest of the seven cities that were included in Lyft's last survey.

The study also found that in San Diego, 69 percent of passengers use their personal vehicle less because of Lyft, 61 percent of passengers spend more at local businesses, 49 percent of Lyft drivers have established a new friendship or business contact by driving for the company and that 24 percent of rides start in underserved areas.

Lyft, founded in 2012, is in more than 200 cities.