canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/lyft/lyft

# Lyft

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for Lyft, keeping it validated and agent-ready. The Lyft API estimates and books passenger rides. It returns cost and pickup-time estimates, lists available ride types and nearby drivers, requests and cancels rides, updates a ride's destination and rating, and reads ride history and receipts. A sandbox lets an integration rehearse ride states. Responses are JSON, so an agent can quote a trip, request a ride, and track it without building its own dispatch layer.

## For AI agents

Estimate ride cost and ETA, list ride types, request and cancel rides, and read ride history and receipts.

## Scope

Estimates and books passenger rides through Lyft's rider endpoints; it does not manage driver accounts, payouts, or business fleet administration.

## Capabilities

- Estimate ride cost between points
- Get pickup ETAs and list available drivers
- List available ride types
- Request and cancel a ride
- Update a ride's destination and submit a rating
- Read ride history and receipts

## Use cases

### Quote a trip before booking

Riders want to know cost and wait time before committing. The Lyft API returns cost estimates between two points and pickup ETAs for a location, so an application can present a quote up front. Ride types let the caller compare options such as standard and shared.

Example prompt: Return the cost estimate and pickup ETA for the requested trip.

### Request and track a ride

Booking a trip means requesting a ride and following it to completion. The Lyft API requests a ride to a destination, reports the ride detail, and can cancel it, letting an application manage a trip end to end. Receipts and ride history record what happened after the trip.

Example prompt: Request a ride to the destination and return the ride detail.

### Rehearse ride flows in sandbox

Testing a ride integration needs controllable ride states. The Lyft API exposes sandbox operations to preset ride types, prime-time pricing, and propagate a ride through its statuses, so a team can validate handling without real trips. This lets an integration cover cancellation and completion paths safely.

Example prompt: Advance a sandbox ride through its statuses to test the integration.

### Agent-driven ride booking

An AI agent can quote and book a ride for a user without a developer wiring each call. Through Jentic the agent matches an intent such as 'book a ride to the airport' to the Lyft request-ride operation, runs it, and tracks the ride. The OAuth2 credential stays in the user's Jentic One instance and never reaches the agent's prompt.

Example prompt: Estimate the trip, request the ride, and return its status.

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/cost` | Estimate the cost of a ride between points. |
| GET | `/eta` | Get pickup ETAs for a location. |
| POST | `/rides` | Request a ride. |
| GET | `/rides/{id}` | Get the detail of a given ride. |
| POST | `/rides/{id}/cancel` | Cancel an ongoing ride request. |
| GET | `/ridetypes` | List the types of rides available. |

## Key resources

- **Estimates** — Cost estimates, pickup ETAs, and available drivers.
- **Rides** — Request, read, update, cancel, and rate rides.
- **Ride types** — The types of rides available in an area.
- **Sandbox** — Preset ride types, prime-time, and ride statuses for testing.

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 69 / 100
- **Maturity:** AI-Aware
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 74 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 57 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 57 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 88 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 66 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/lyft/lyft/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring Lyft yourself means managing an OAuth2 client-credentials or authorization-code token, quoting trips, and tracking ride states. With Jentic you install once, import Lyft from the API Directory, and store the credential a single time.
- **Permission scoping:** Jentic lets you grant your agent only the operations it needs, such as estimating costs and requesting rides without sandbox controls, and enforces that on every call.
- **Credential handling:** Your Lyft OAuth2 credential is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance. It is injected when a call runs and never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents find Lyft through Jentic's intent search, matching a request like 'book a ride to the airport' to the right operation without hardcoded endpoints.

## Related APIs

- **Transit** — Public transit and mobility routing.
- **Radar** — Geofencing, geocoding, and location tracking.
- **Foursquare Places** — Rich place and point-of-interest data.

## FAQ

### What can an AI agent do with the Lyft API through Jentic?

An agent can estimate ride cost and ETA, list ride types, request and cancel rides, and read ride history and receipts. Through Jentic the agent matches an intent to the right operation and runs it with your credential injected at execution time.

### How do I authenticate with the Lyft API?

Lyft uses OAuth2. Public endpoints such as cost, ETA, and ride types use a client-credentials token via Client Authentication, while user-scoped endpoints such as profile and rides use an authorization-code token via User Authentication. You store the credential once in your Jentic One instance, and it is added to each call at run time.

### Does the Lyft API include a sandbox for testing?

Yes. The API exposes sandbox operations to preset ride types, prime-time pricing, and ride statuses, so an integration can rehearse ride flows without real trips. This helps validate cancellation and completion handling before going live.

### Where does the Lyft OpenAPI specification come from?

Jentic maintains this OpenAPI specification for Lyft and keeps it validated and agent-ready. It is the specification used to run the API through Jentic, and it is checked against the operations the API exposes.

### Can I control which Lyft operations my agent can call?

Yes. Jentic lets you allow only the operations your agent needs, for example estimating costs and requesting rides while withholding sandbox controls. Your Jentic One instance enforces that boundary on every call and keeps the credential outside the agent's context.