Another national ride sharing service launched in eight Iowa cities on Thursday.

Until late 2014, Iowans who wanted to try services like Uber or Lyft had to go elsewhere, mainly larger urban areas. But Uber arrived in Cedar Rapids in December of 2014 and spread to a number of other locations in Iowa.

And on Thursday, national competitor Lyft began offering an alternative to cab service in Iowa as well.

Keith Zeigler said he started picking up riders through the Uber brand, mainly in Cedar Rapids, about a year ago. But with the start of Lyft service, he now wears two hats.

If customers summon him through the Uber app on his smart phone, then he shows up as an Uber driver. If they use the Lyft app, then he responds as a Lyft driver.

“I would just go with whoever is first, shut the other app down while I’m doing the Uber app or the Lyft app. It just depends on which one is first,” Zeigler said.

Ziegler said there are some differences in pricing for riders depending on the service used and also some technical differences for drivers. But he can easily switch back and forth and a number of drivers work for both services.

Some riders, like Chase Moffitt, said he welcomed the competition because it should mean a better experience for all customers.

“It’s never a bad thing to have competition to drive the market a bit to make sure what you’re getting is comparable to what other people are providing,” he said.

In addition to Cedar Rapids, Lyft also launched Iowa service in Waterloo, Dubuque, Iowa City, Ames, Des Moines, Davenport and Sioux City. The company added 54 new cities on Thursday. That’s the largest single-day expansion ever for Lyft.