Autonomous vehicles may not need a driver, but they still need something deeply human to move forward: trust.
Last month, as part of an industry-wide advocacy day on Capitol Hill, I found myself talking to lawmakers from different states and political viewpoints, each grappling with the same question: How do we regulate something that's moving this fast? The conversation wasn't about whether AVs should come to their states, but how to make it happen safely and wisely, while cementing America’s global leadership. As someone who's spent the better part of his adult life navigating complex policy landscapes, I recognized something familiar: the hunger for pragmatic frameworks and forward-looking solutions that not only work across the patchwork of federal, state and local jurisdictions, but also thread the needle between protecting public safety and enabling breakthrough innovation.
Those conversations reinforced an empirical truth: breakthrough technologies thrive when innovation and smart policy steer in the same direction. For AVs, this means understanding that the promise of safer streets, more efficient transportation, and new economic opportunities for communities requires more than just better sensors and smarter algorithms. It demands thoughtful regulation, strategic public investment, and genuine partnership between the private sector and policymakers at every level.
A Decade of Navigating Regulatory Frontiers
When Lyft launched in 2012, ridesharing didn't technically exist as a legal category in most places. We weren't just utilizing novel technology to build a new business — we were inventing the regulatory framework to make it possible. Working with regulators and legislators in California, we helped craft the country’s first comprehensive transportation network company (TNC) regulations that became a template that spread from state to state across the U.S.
The process wasn't smooth. There were many thoughtful conversations with government officials, marathon hearings in state capitals, and countless conversations with community advocates who had legitimate concerns about this new model. But through it all, we learned something crucial: sustainable innovation demands trust and patient coalition-building.
That experience served us well as we expanded into micromobility — deploying physical, identifiable fleets of bikes and scooters on city streets around the world. Through Lyft Urban Solutions, we now operate bike and scooter systems in 57 cities across 16 countries, including Citi Bike — North America's largest bike share system — and Capital Bikeshare here in our nation’s capital. Each deployment taught us something new about what it means to earn a community's trust, whether that was working through permit processes with the city or sitting down with neighborhood advocates to make sure any new service added value to their community.
The results speak for themselves. Last year, more than 44 million people used Lyft for 828 million rides. More importantly, we've built credibility, something invaluable in the policy world. When we enter conversations with policymakers today, we're not seen as another tech company trying to move fast and break things. We're viewed as a partner with a track record of working within the system to expand opportunity while protecting public safety.
The Trust Deficit — and How to Bridge It
The AV industry faces a trust problem that’s both simpler and more complex than the one we encountered with ridesharing. Simpler, because the basic value proposition is clear: widespread adoption of autonomous technology will make transportation safer, more accessible, and more efficient. More complex, because the stakes feel higher — we're asking people to trust machines with their lives.
Consider the numbers: According to the latest AAA research, only 13% of U.S. drivers would trust riding in AVs today. That's not surprising — most people haven't had the chance to experience the technology firsthand. But here's what we've learned from cities where AVs are already operating: direct experience changes minds. In cities like Austin and Phoenix (and soon Atlanta, where we'll launch AVs this summer), autonomous tech has become more normalized as another legitimate transportation option.
This mirrors what we saw in ridesharing’s early days. In 2012, the idea of getting into a stranger’s car felt radical to many people. Trust was built gradually — one ride at a time, one positive experience at a time. The key was making that first experience as seamless and safe as possible.
That's why Lyft's role is so critical. For most Americans, their first AV experience won't be in a vehicle they purchase — it'll likely be through a rideshare service. And when that moment comes, millions of people will already have Lyft on their phones and years of experience trusting us to get them where they need to go safely. Our job is to make that introduction as comfortable and confidence-building as possible.
A Framework for Smart AV Regulation
Based on our experience with ridesharing and micromobility, we see three core principles that should guide AV regulation:
1. Federal Leadership, Local Flexibility
The patchwork approach that initially characterized rideshare regulation would be disastrous for AVs. Unlike ridesharing, which is fundamentally about connecting two humans through technology, AVs involve additional complexities regarding vehicle safety, product liability, and interstate commerce that demand federal coordination.
Working with key federal and Congressional leaders, we're advocating for three critical federal actions:
Modernize Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS): Today's safety standards assume human drivers, requiring steering wheels, mirrors, and other controls that AVs don't need. Purpose-built AVs — especially those designed for ridesharing — can be safer, more efficient, and less expensive without these legacy requirements, thus enabling original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to deploy AVs at scale and bring autonomous transportation to millions more Americans.
Set Baseline Safety Standards: Federal standards should ensure all AVs pass the same competency tests, proving they can safely navigate mixed traffic environments, including interactions with cyclists, pedestrians, and human-driven vehicles. This isn't about stifling innovation — it's about creating consistent expectations that build public confidence.
Standardized Data Reporting: Transparent, standardized safety data builds trust and enables continuous improvement. We need systems that provide meaningful insights to regulators, researchers, and the public without compromising competitive advantages or privacy.
2. State-Level Integration
While federal leadership is indispensable, states will continue to play a crucial role in licensing, registration, and insurance frameworks. The goal should be ensuring AVs can be deployed seamlessly on existing platforms like Lyft's, operating under similar standards that govern ridesharing today. This includes working with states to align commercial AV insurance requirements with those for human-driven vehicles on rideshare platforms, while developing frameworks to address the unique liability considerations of driverless operations. This approach creates the lowest-friction pathway for AV companies to launch commercially, while enabling hybrid networks that can dynamically scale with both human-driven and autonomous vehicles to meet peak demand periods — ultimately making AV deployment faster and more economically viable.
3. Smart Infrastructure Investment
The rollout of AVs will require coordinated infrastructure investment, but it doesn't require rebuilding our transportation system from scratch. Smart, targeted investments in three areas will accelerate adoption:
Curb Management: High-demand urban areas need designated AV pickup and drop-off zones to optimize traffic flow and rider experience. This is something rideshare platforms already do with event venues and airports, but it will become increasingly important with AVs as we help them become more prevalent in cities.
Operations & Maintenance Infrastructure: Strategic siting, zoning, and permitting of AV maintenance and charging facilities, including strengthening electrical grid capacity at charging locations. Through our independent Flexdrive subsidiary, we know how critical this infrastructure is — managing fleets at 90% utilization requires seamless coordination between maintenance facilities, charging networks, and operational hubs. AVs can deliver meaningful benefits for the communities they serve, and cities and regulators should strive to make it easier to stand up local operations to enable their deployment.
Workforce Development: Training programs for AV technicians, remote operators, and fleet managers — creating good-paying jobs while building the skilled workforce this industry needs.
Why Partnership Is the Road to Progress
The rideshare era taught us that new transportation models thrive when innovation is paired with policy foresight. Today, rideshare operates under clear, comprehensive rules in every state.
The stakes for AVs are even higher. Done right, this technology can save tens of thousands of lives per year, unlock mobility for millions, and dramatically cut transportation emissions. But that future depends on sound regulation — and authentic partnership — starting now.
At Lyft, we’re not building the car or the automated driving system. But we’ve built everything else: the in-ride experience, safety layers, customer support, demand generation, and marketplace management. We don’t just want to host AVs on our platform. We want to help shape the future they drive toward. And to do that, we must leverage our history and expertise to be a connective tissue between cutting-edge technology and pragmatic public policy.
The future of AVs is being shaped today — inside city halls, state legislatures, and federal agencies. While AVs can drive themselves, the future can’t. It requires trust, vision, and the will to drive forward together.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this post are “forward-looking statements” about Lyft within the meaning of the securities laws, including statements about Lyft’s autonomous vehicle strategy and partnerships and related plans, expectations, technologies, and benefits for drivers and riders. Such statements, which are not of historical fact, involve estimates, assumptions, judgments and uncertainties. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those addressed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors are detailed in Lyft’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lyft does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events, except as required by applicable law.