Lyft to hire hundreds more staff in Toronto amid plans to open new tech hub

Toronto will become Lyft's second-largest technology hub in North America as the company plans to open in 2026.

Ride-hailing platform Lyft says it will open a new technology center in downtown Toronto next year as it plans to bring hundreds more employees to the city.

“Our expansion into the GTA will allow us to attract exceptional talent.”

A Lyft spokesperson told BetaKit that the company has “several hundred” employees in Toronto and plans to increase that number to “several hundred” with the new hub. Toronto will become Lyft's second-largest technology hub in North America, behind Lyft's headquarters in San Francisco, the spokesperson added.

“Our expansion into the GTA will allow us to attract exceptional talent in engineering, product manufacturing, operations and more, allowing us to build world-class teams that will drive innovation across all areas of our business,” Jason Vogrinets, Lyft's executive vice president of core systems and platforms, said in a statement.

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The new office is part of Lyft's global growth strategy. The company provides ride-sharing and taxi services in nearly 1,000 cities in 11 countries. It also provides bike sharing programs in 86 cities in 16 countries.

Lyft's Toronto office comes as Lyft sees growth in its Canadian business, with rides in the country expected to grow more than 20 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2025. Cass Zawadowski, Lyft's executive creative director in Toronto, said in a statement that the new office will be “a hub of innovation that our team is truly excited about.”

Lyft entered the Canadian market in Toronto and Ottawa in December 2017 The company says it has had dedicated teams in the Quebec cities of Longueuil and Montreal for several years. Ride-hailing company got permission launch its app in Montreal and Quebec City earlier this year. Lyft has also implemented the technology behind Bikeshare Toronto and other bike-sharing systems across Quebec.

The data shows that in 2024, about 500,000 Canadians provided services through ride-hailing platforms such as Lyft. StatCan. The prevalence of part-time jobs has attracted close attention from labor critics And government. Ontario has signed up British Columbialeads in July with Digital Platform Workers Rights Actwhich set standards for the minimum wage for the time spent by drivers on trips.

Image courtesy of Lyft.

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