The CEO of Lyft says the company’s focus on improving the rideshare experience for both passengers and drivers has led to a near doubling of its share price since he took the job one year ago.

“Customers are really responding to what we’re doing,” David Risher told BNN Bloomberg’s Andrew Bell during an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

Risher said the San Francisco-based company, which operates in more than a dozen Canadian cities, is focused solely on rideshare, unlike Uber, which has branched out to food delivery and other services.

“We only do rideshare. Uber is in all kinds of different things, and I think you can do that as a strategy, but it’s hard to be great at rideshare, and food delivery, and rentals, and parking,” he said.

“We’re 100 per cent focused on rideshare, so drivers and riders; they’re our customers and we’re growing fast as a result.”

Lyft has yet to expand outside the U.S. and Canada. Risher said he thinks that decision has been a wise one so far, but added that he’s “super excited” about expanding outside of North America “when the moment is right.”

The company first went public in 2019 as rideshare was gaining traction in the broader transportation services industry, but it was hit hard during the pandemic and its stock price has never fully recovered.

But Risher said the stock is looking increasingly attractive to investors thanks to strong quarterly growth over the past year, adding that Lyft’s focus on “customer obsession” is a big reason for the recent success.

“(Customers) are looking at our on-time pickup promise at the airport, they’re looking at Women+ Connect… In the U.S., it allows woman riders and woman drivers to choose to ride with each other,” he said.

“We’ve really been focused on innovating in the sector, and we’ve been growing at 10 per cent, 17 per cent, 20 per cent and 26 per cent – that’s quarter after quarter – and I think that growth just shows customers are responding.”

To watch Risher’s full interview with BNN Bloomberg, click the video above.