Lyft Silver
Lyft Silver is a product designed specifically for older riders, an AARP-endorsed alternative that helps seniors keep their independence without getting behind the wheel. Launched nationwide in early 2025, it reimagines the ride experience around accessibility, confidence, and autonomy.
By the numbers
- 86%
- Self-serve adoption once familiar with the app (USC study)
- 55%
- More likely to have rides booked by someone else vs. younger riders
- 57%
- Higher no-show rate among older riders before product improvements
- 2×
- More likely to cancel when matched with a pickup truck
The problem
Older adults use rideshare far less than younger riders. Research showed a technology gap: unfamiliar interfaces, fear of doing the wrong thing, and reliance on caregivers. They are 55% more likely to have rides requested by someone else, with 15% of platform riders acting as caregivers for older adults.
Approach
The team's hypothesis: given the right tools, seniors can build confidence and use the app independently. Design and engineering focused on reducing cognitive load, adding human support when needed, and matching rides with vehicles that are physically easier to enter.
My contribution
I worked on the growth and support side of Silver: how an older rider gets invited onto the product, how their family stays connected to them, how they get help, and the campaign that put Silver in front of new riders.
Invites and onboarding
Built the invite system that brings older riders onto Silver end to end: SMS and push delivery, deep links that route a tapped invite to the right place in the app, and gift cards so family can cover a first ride. Later extended it so invites sent from Lyft Family behaved identically.
Trusted contacts
Shipped the home card prompting riders to add a trusted contact, so a family member can follow a ride without the rider setting anything up mid-trip.
Contextual help API
Built the endpoints serving in-app help content and the path to a live agent, backed by a CMS so the content team can change what a rider sees without an app release. I pushed for the CMS over the static-file approach originally proposed, and added alerting so content changes are visible to the team.
Silver is Gold
Built coupon eligibility and the in-app card for Lyft's Grandparents Day campaign, part of the Silver is Gold launch with Billie Jean King. Added a dashboard from taps through to redemption, and designed it so later campaigns could reuse the same path.
Silver is Gold, Lyft Blog ↗
What we built
Simplified home screen with two primary actions (ride now and schedule later) plus 1.4× larger text for readability
Live "Get Help" support connecting riders to agents daily from 8am–9pm ET
Mandatory pickup and dropoff confirmation before a ride is dispatched
Reduced ride modes to Standard and Extra Comfort to avoid choice overload
Preferred vehicle matching that deprioritizes high step-height cars (e.g. pickup trucks) based on field research with seniors
Next
Lyft Teen
Access-control foundation for teen rides: defining what a teen account is, and closing the flows that shouldn't be open to minors.
Learn more →