In the wake of a series of controversies surrounding the transit-on-demand giant Uber, its competitor service Lyft was able to capitalize and sign up new users. According to Lyft spokesperson Erin Simpson, last week the company saw its biggest week of rides ever.
While Lyft wouldn't reveal any specific information as to the number of rides or percent increase from previous weeks, the company indicated that the influx of new users was large enough that Lyft's community team has decided to roll out an email campaign to help its new customers answer frequently asked questions about the ride service. The emails, according to Lyft, will begin rolling out this afternoon and address common questions like whether users are required to sit in the front seat or fist-bump drivers.
According to the app tracking site App Annie, Uber's download rank has fallen from 24th to 41st since just last week, after reports that revealed that a BuzzFeed News reporter's ride had been tracked without her permission and that another Uber executive had suggested the company might investigate journalists who wrote critically of Uber.
While it's only a thin slice of data from one week of the year, it's a notable uptick for Uber's rival in the cutthroat transportation industry going into the holiday season.