Lyft ride app rolls into Northwest Indiana

"In our largest launch to date, Lyft rolled out the welcome mat to 50-plus new cities today," the San Francisco-based company said in a statement. "The move is part of this year’s massive expansion, which we kicked off with a 40-city launch just one month ago. Now, millions more people across the US have access to reliable, affordable transportation."

Lyft, which was once known for bright pink mustaches on the hoods of cars but which has since rebranded, also launched in other Indiana cities, including Evansville, Terre Haute and Muncie. It's already popular in Chicago.

A report by 7Park Data last August found the much larger Uber has 87 percent of the U.S. market share, but Lyft has been gaining ground. It has grown to 131 more cities over the last three months, adding 37 million more users and entering seven more states. Lyft now says it covers 67 percent of the United States.

The company added Gary to the list of cities, and a coverage map on its website shows that it serves Lake and Porter Counties, as well as Michigan City. Service would depend on where Lyft drivers are operating at any given time.

The company has an app customers download on their phones and use to hail rides 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The base fare in the Gary metro area is $2, with an additional $1.50 per mile and $0.20 per minute. The maximum fare is $200, and there's a cancellation penalty of $5.

Payment is automatic after summoning a driver one one's phone because the customer's credit card information is already entered in the system.