Lyft CEO David Risher on paying drivers more and the shift to robotaxis

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Vox Media Podcast Network

Technology, Business

4.3 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2025

⏱️ 84 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

David Risher was on Lyft's board for years, but only stepped in as CEO in 2023, to help turn the company around. He's done pretty well so far, but there are still a lot of open questions for him to face. It's not just competition for riders and drivers Lyft has to deal with; it’s the future of transportation itself, and new AI tools that might take apps like Lyft out of the equation entirely. Links: Lyft’s first ‘robotaxis’ are live in Atlanta | The Verge Tensor robocar will be “Lyft ready” out of the factory | Engadget Congrats, Lyft | The Verge Lyft’s AI assistant offers drivers advice on how to make money | The Verge Lyft gets toehold in Europe with FreeNow acquisition | The Verge Lyft co-founders to step down as company struggles | New York Times How Silicon Valley enshittified the internet | Decoder Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It's time for Black Friday at Dell Technologies.
0:02.7	Save big on PCs like the Dell 16 Plus featuring Intelcore Ultra Processors.
0:07.3	Shop now at Dell.com.
0:08.3	It's time for Black Friday at Dell Technologies.
0:12.8	Save big on PCs like the Dell 16 Plus featuring Intelcore Ultra processors.
0:17.5	Shop now at Dell.combeck forward slash Black Friday.
0:20.3	It's time for Black Friday at Dell Technologies.
0:22.9	Save big on PCs like the Dell 16 Plus featuring Intelcore Ultra Processors.
0:27.6	Shop now at Dell.coma EK forward slash Black Friday.
0:31.9	Hello and welcome to Decoder.
0:33.5	I'm Neal-Eadier-in-Chief of The Verge, and Decoder is my show about big ideas and other problems. Today I'm talking with David Risher, the CEO of Lyft. And I'll just say it from the jump. You're going to like this one. David is refreshingly direct and doesn't pull a lot of punches. He'd been on the board of Lyft for years, but only stepped in a CEO just a couple years ago to help turn it around.
0:59.1	He's done well with that so far, but he's pretty straightforward that the company was not doing well,
1:01.4	and he had to make real changes to fix it.
1:05.9	That also means he has a clear thesis about what kind of company Lyft really is,
1:09.6	a service company that operates in the real, physical world.
1:11.9	That's opposed to a tech platform,
1:17.0	which is very much how its big competitor, Uber, sees itself. Uber comes up a lot in this conversation, actually. The competition between Uber and Lyft is just as fierce as ever, and
1:21.2	you'll hear David make a lot of references to the other guys throughout this episode. But it's
1:25.4	not just competition for riders and drivers that Lyft has to
1:28.3	deal with. It's the future of transportation itself, and new AI tools that might take apps like Lyft
1:33.8	out of the equation entirely. David and I talked a lot about autonomous vehicles and how they'll
1:39.5	impact riders and especially drivers. I always ask my ride share drivers, what I should ask the CEOs when I do these interviews.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.