Trying to compete with ride-hailing giant Uber in the Chicago area, Lyft launched a major expansion Monday, growing its service area in the northern suburbs to Milwaukee and west to Elgin.

"The main reason is we saw a lot of dropoffs in those areas, but people couldn't get picked up in those areas," said Jean-Paul Biondi, Chicago marketing lead for Lyft.

Biondi said the company already has many drivers in the far west and northern suburbs and expects to pick up more with the expansion. Lyft's service south of Chicago already goes to Joliet. The expansion, scheduled to begin at noon Monday, is part of a nationwide 2017 expansion in 100 markets, Biondi said.

Uber, which already operates in the western and northern Chicago suburbs, declined comment on Lyft's expansion plans.

The news comes as Lyft has seen a boost in popularity because of its public stand against President Donald Trump's immigration ban. Calling the ban "antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values" in a Jan. 29 blog post, the company promised to donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years.

Uber, meanwhile, was targeted by a trending social media campaign, #deleteUber, after it announced it would drop surge pricing for trips to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Some saw the move as an attempt to undermine a strike by New York City cabdrivers to protest the order barring entry from seven Muslim-majority countries. Uber said this was not true, as it did not announce the surge pricing drop until after the strike was over.

Also, Uber promised in a Jan. 29 email to drivers $3 million for immigration defense costs, and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick on Thusday stepped down from Trump's economic advisory council.

Nevertheless, the social media campaign against Uber apparently had an impact — App Annie, an analysis firm, found that on Jan. 29, Lyft for the first time saw more downloads than Uber. Uber regained its lead last Wednesday, according to App Annie. Both Uber and Lyft are based in San Francisco.

"Right now is the perfect time for Lyft to expand and catch up to Uber when it comes to market share," said Harry Campbell, an Uber driver who writes the blog "The Rideshare Guy." Campbell said that besides the wave of app downloads, drivers across the country told him they have seen a "noticeable increase in request volume" when driving for Lyft.

Lyft rides a wave of anger to the top of the App Store Hayley Tsukayama

These days, everything is political: even the ride-sharing app you use.

This weekend, Uber and Lyft — and their reactions to the Trump administration's immigration order — illustrated how important a company's political views have become to consumers. Lyft took a public stand against the order...

These days, everything is political: even the ride-sharing app you use.

This weekend, Uber and Lyft — and their reactions to the Trump administration's immigration order — illustrated how important a company's political views have become to consumers. Lyft took a public stand against the order...

(Hayley Tsukayama)

"When you combine that with the fact that Lyft tends to have a more driver friendly culture and allows in-app tipping, you can bet that many drivers are eager to see Lyft expand — it's just a matter of getting more passengers," Campbell wrote in an email.

Lyft said late last year that it was trying to take on Uber in the Chicago area, the nation's second-biggest ride-hailing market, with discounts and more marketing, while attracting more drivers. Lyft Chicago general manager David Katcher said in a December interview that Lyft had doubled its market share in a little more than a year, but he would not give specific numbers.

Also trying to compete in the Chicago area is the ride-sharing service Via.

In other ride-share news, Mayor Rahm Emanuel mentioned in a Monday speech at the Stanford Graduate School of Business that he had met earlier with Uber executives. Emanuel's brother, Ari Emanuel, is an Uber investor.

mwisniewski@tribpub.com

Twitter @marywizchicago

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