A new study released Tuesday by ridesharing service Lyft found that after getting a ride in Denver, Lyft passengers spent $63 million at restaurants and other local businesses last year.
The company also invested an undisclosed amount in paying local drivers and opening a new Driver Hub facility in the Sun Valley neighborhood. Its presence in Colorado is growing, said Gabe Cohen, general manager for the Colorado operation, which employs 27 people.
“This is the first year Denver has been included in the Economic Impact Report released by Lyft,” he said, of the annual report.
The national report found that Lyft drivers in 2017 completed 375 million rides and earned $3.6 billion, excluding tips, which was double the driver earnings from 2016. Tech news site TechCrunch reported that Lyft had 23 million different passengers, a 92 percent increase from the prior year.
Lyft has operated in Denver since at least 2013, several months before Colorado became the first state to regulate ridesharing services. In 2014, Lyft beat rival Uber to be the first ridesharing service working with the Denver International Airport.
Neither have shared how many drivers are in Colorado but both became embroiled in a state Public Utilities Commission crackdown of unqualified drivers. Uber is currently protesting a $8.9 million penalty for allowing 57 people with past criminal or motor vehicle offenses drive for the company. Lyft paid the PUC at last $224,375 in civil fines for its violations.
On Tuesday, Lyft also shared the makeup of its Denver-area drivers: one-third identify with a minority group, one-third are female and 16 percent are over 50 years old. The vast majority — or 92 percent — drive less than 20 hours per week, while 70 percent say they are the primary earners of their household.