Lyft Inc. stated that demand for rides improved in the first quarter compared with much of last year, when the pandemic sank ridership.The ride-hailing company on Tuesday reported 13.5 million active riders for the January through March stretch. That was up roughly 8% from the last quarter of 2020, though active riders were still down by more than one third year-over-year.“More people started moving again,” finance chief Brian Roberts said.The company reported almost $609 million in revenue for the initial quarter, down from $955.7 million for the same period last year but ahead of the $558 million that analysts polled by FactSet predicted.The pandemic sliced into demand at Lyft and rival Uber Technologies Inc. as many consumers cut back on business trips, canceled vacations and shifted to working from home. Both companies reduced staff and other costs. Lyft stated that it saved $360 million last year in all. Bookings, however, have been picking back ups as vaccines are distributed.