The ride-hailing firm Lyft LYFT noticed vital progress within the fourth quarter of 2023, due to stadium rides to the profitable excursions of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

What Occurred: The ride-hailing firm Lyft noticed a greater than 35% improve in stadium rides in 2023, largely pushed by the concert events of Swift and Beyoncé, The Guardian reported on Tuesday. This surge in stadium rides and enhancements in airport pickups contributed to the corporate’s progress.

This got here after Uber Applied sciences Inc CEO Dara Khosrowshahi additionally confirmed the existence of the “Taylor Swift impact,” acknowledging the numerous enhance in enterprise in the course of the artist’s concert events. “Uber undoubtedly ups its sport for Taylor when she involves city,” Khosrowshahi mentioned earlier this month.

Lyft’s CEO, David Risher, who took over final 12 months, led the corporate by a restructuring plan that included layoffs and the elimination of administration layers. These modifications aimed to drive the corporate in direction of profitability. Lyft laid off 1,200 staff in April and decreased general prices by 12%.

See Additionally: Nvidia, AMD Shares Slip Premarket Regardless of Value Goal Boosts: What’s Going On?

The corporate introduced final week that it will compensate drivers in the event that they earned lower than 70% of what riders paid after exterior charges. This transfer got here after Lyft and Uber agreed to pay $328 million to New York ride-share drivers in November, following accusations of wage and advantages withholding.

Regardless of these initiatives, issues about security, job safety, and the general public’s unease with synthetic intelligence have created a hostile sentiment round autonomous automobiles. To deal with this, Lyft has partnered with Motional to supply over 100,000 self-driving rides throughout the U.S.

Why It Issues: The “Taylor Swift impact” has been a recurring theme within the enterprise world. The pop star’s live performance tour was estimated to have added $5 billion to the economic system by the Federal Reserve in 2023. Her Eras Tour additionally broke a Guinness World Document for the highest-grossing music tour, additional solidifying her impression on the trade.

The surge in Lyft’s progress on account of dwell occasions, significantly Swift’s concert events, aligns with the current trade traits. Lyft’s fourth-quarter monetary outcomes confirmed quarterly gross sales of $1.22 billion. The corporate additionally guided for gross bookings of someplace round $3.5 billion to $3.6 billion 

Regardless of issues about security and job safety, Lyft’s partnership with Motional has seen vital progress in offering self-driving rides.

Learn Subsequent: Peter Schiff Mocks Bitcoin’s Surge Past $50K, Attributes It to ‘4-Day’ Tremendous Bowl And Valentine’s Day Exuberance: ‘I Marvel When the Bloodbath Will Start’

Photograph through Shutterstock