US: Lyft downloaded more than Uber for first time

By Barry Eitel

SAN FRANCISCO (AA) - After activists campaigned to boycott Uber due to perceived support of President Donald Trump, its rival, Lyft, surpassed it in app downloads for the first time ever, analysts reported Monday.

After Trump signed an executive order last week that suspended the intake of all refugees and blocked immigrants from seven majority-Muslim nations for 90 days, thousands of protesters demonstrated at airports across the nation.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a union for taxi drivers, asked all drivers, whether for traditional cabs or rideshare services like Uber, to stop pickup at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for one hour in a show of solidarity with refugees.

Uber, however, soon claimed it had turned off surge pricing for those traveling to the airport, a move seen as an attempt to undermine the strike.

That, along with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s decision to serve as a Trump advisor, caused protestors to start a “Delete Uber” campaign and switch to Lyft, which announced it was donating $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Analyst firm AppAnnie revealed that Lyft was 39th in app downloads for the U.S. on Saturday morning, but rocketed to fourth place by Monday afternoon, beating out Uber for the first time ever, as well as Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook.

“This weekend, Trump closed the country's borders to refugees, immigrants, and even documented residents from around the world based on their country of origin,” Lyft said in a statement Sunday. “Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values. We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community.”

Kalanick attempted to cool the fiasco Sunday by announcing Uber would pledge $3 million to help any of its drivers affected by Trump’s executive order, but many protesters, including some celebrities, were not moved.

“Goodbye Uber,” actress Susan Sarandon tweeted Monday. “Hello Lyft. #DeleteUber”