Both Lyft and Uber have certainly made their mark on the world. In the past few years, the use of ride-sharing companies has increased dramatically–going from 1.9 billion in 2016 to 4.2 billion in 2018. Furthermore, Lyft found that they provide over a million rides every single day, not to mention the 5,000 rides using driverless cars in 2018.

Whereas just a few years ago, few people had even heard of either Lyft or Uber, now they are becoming national sensations that provide both safety and convenience. Alice Ding (11) agrees that both companies have “really made it more convenient, especially for students that are not able to drive yet.” However, Lyft has constantly struggled to catch up with Uber. While Uber has between 70 and 72 percent of the U.S. ride-sharing market, Lyft only has between 28 and 30 percent. This disparity was only supported by the rising popularity of UberEats, a food delivery service that has allowed Uber to maintain a steady revenue.

Recently, both companies have revealed that they have plans of going public. Lyft was the first to let the information reach the public, and they announced that their preliminary initial public offering will be between $62 and $68 per share. The company has also revealed that they will decide on the final price after a meeting with the investors and that they will officially go public on March 29th. This will likely be a great opportunity for Lyft, as they are planning to offer over 30 million shares, with 4.6 million for investment banks. Overall, going public could potentially raise over $2 billion and increase the value of the company to up to $23 billion (PBS).

Meanwhile, Uber has set the date for their IPO to April, according to Reuters. In fact, both Lyft and Uber filed for their IPOs in December- which does not seem to be a coincidence. Luckily, it will be better for both companies that Lyft is going public first. Not only will the smaller company have the chance to promote their stocks without competition, but it will also allow Uber to gain interest and potentially raise their own prices.

The most pressing question seems to be why both companies have decided to go public. The truth is, neither company is doing as well as expected. Last year, Lyft reported having lost $911 million in 2018 and Uber $1.8 billion. This is partially because the ride-sharing companies are beginning to run out of the funds that they raised while initially starting up their companies. Additionally, Uber has suffered from a series of scandals and criminal investigations that have hurt their reputation. Hopefully, going public will allow both companies to regain trust from their investors and increase their revenue.

While there is no guarantee that the IPOs of Lyft and Uber will be successful, it is certainly something to look out for. Both companies are highly influential and could be a major part of the future of transportation.