Trends: Uber vs. Lyft

http://www.diklein.com/blog/2014/11/17/trends-uber-vs-lyft

by willthelaw • 12 years ago

156 113 12 years ago

Or, really, he quit using uber.

(TL;DR - they are possibly evil)

cheeze• 12 years ago

I also deleted the app earlier today. Even mentioning threatening journalists is incredibly ridiculous. I'm happy to see Lyft getting bigger in my city, and have had great experiences with them.

joelrunyon• 12 years ago

I like Lyft, but the app usability could seriously use some work.

memonkey2• 12 years ago

I've only done Lyft and Uber a few times in LA and I'm almost inclined to say that those who drive for Lyft and Uber are eerily projecting the company they're working for. Lyft the company is far from being saintly, but the drivers I've encountered have been much more mature than the Uber drivers I've had (I once got a guy who insinuated that he drives under the influence). They have been a kind of odd experience. I am curious how many new drivers are following the politics.

tomphoolery• 12 years ago

I wish I could delete the US Government for this same reason. :)

But seriously, I would love it if Lyft came to Philly...I think they're waiting to see what happens with UberX around here. I know this probably isn't going to be a popular opinion around HN, but should Uber succeed at circumventing the law in Philadelphia, Lyft and Sidecar will surely follow. Prior to UberX, other companies like Sidecar attempted to set up shop and got shot down by the state. Perhaps that's one good thing that came out of all this mess, since Uber isn't afraid to step on toes to get places, they've caused one hell of a discussion in Philadelphia and have forced the cab companies to really step up their game, providing better services, cleaner vehicles and easier dispatching. It used to be so difficult to get a cab, nowadays I can't even imagine walking anywhere just because I think maybe cabs will be out there...

onewaystreet2• 12 years ago

This is why no one will beat Uber. Its competitors aren't willing or aren't capable of winning the fight themselves. If Uber dies the ridesharing industry dies with it.

fixedd2• 12 years ago

I really haven't kept up with this at all (I saw the articles, but didn't read), but I'm wondering why saying to journalists (and I'm happy to be corrected if I'm mistaken) "if you try dig up dirty laundry on us as an attempt to discredit us, we'll do the same to you" is unfair? Isn't this just a "reap what you sou" type scenario?

sswezey• 12 years ago

This article lacks any kind of substance: it is a short summary of a couple of links about Über with an accompanying graph of the blogger's Über/Lyft usage.

stockkid• 12 years ago

Yep. Just what I thought.

memonkey2• 12 years ago

Meh, the article is a collection brief on pretty much everything that's been posted on HN. You're right though, it could have been summarized and sorted out better. Nobody is going to click and read every single article.

robbiejonson• 12 years ago

There's not much content, no. But there is something there: a brief story about how someone lost faith in a product/service. I like that instead of waxing lyrical about why they deleted the app, they point us to references instead. It's good enough for me.

rtpg• 12 years ago

The author has stated that he has reached his breaking point, and others should consider whether they have too.

Disruptive companies have this narrative of being some sort of underdog fighting against the corrupt elite of a broken industry. If I'm going to agree with letting them take their huge margins (partly due to illegally not implementing regulations/collecting the proper taxes), they can at least pretend not to treat people as shit. Not like they need to penny-pinch anyways.

At the end of the day, we always seem to end up becoming greedy exploiters of some underclass.

kjksf2• 12 years ago

Uber breaks the law, everybody knows about it and yet no one goes to jail or get sued.

How does that happen? How does Uber avoids any consequences for their flagrantly illegal (according to you) behavior?

Do they have magic "get out of jail" card?

Did they manage to buy police, district attorneys, judges, the whole enchilada?

Is it time to turn to street to overthrow our government, which, at least according to you, is incapable of performing it's function of preserving law and order in the face of those blatant criminals from Uber.

onewaystreet2• 12 years ago

Did David quit using Facebook too?

chatman• 12 years ago

Just an assortment of links and rant. Nothing substantial in the article.

NamTaf• 12 years ago

It's a summary of why they feels they're done with Uber, drawing attention to publicised incidents. What substance did you expect, exactly?

dalovar• 12 years ago

Never used UBER. But from what i heard they don't seem friendly people

ethanhunt_• 12 years ago

Only got through the first two links before I stopped reading.

First link: says that Uber CEO Travis comes off as a bit of an ass in interviews, and therefore Uber should hire a PR person. So you're switching to Lyft because they have better PR people?

Second link: an article with a headline that is misleading and would have a good run at being ruled libelous. TLDR: Travis said "I love [self driving cars] all day long. The Uber experience is expensive because it’s not just the car but the other dude in the car. When there’s no other dude in the car, the cost [of taking an Uber] gets cheaper than owning a vehicle." You have a problem with a business identifying a way to eliminate one of their biggest expenses? Humans driving cars around is a complete waste of time; anyone saying otherwise is a luddite (the best kind of luddite: one with a twitter account).

chadillac• 12 years ago

Biggest expenses AND biggest liabilities.

If I could take a self driving Uber/Lyft/taxi I would do it in a heart beat, my experiences with Uber/Lyft have been much better than a run of the mill taxi which is why I tend to use them over taxis whenever possible. That being said, a self driving car with no personal motives, road rage, cell phone, etc. sounds like an even better experience.

afro88• 12 years ago

They seem to be in chronological order, from oldest to newest. Obviously this is a "straw that broke the camel's back" situation, not one where each individual thing is reason enough to stop using Uber.

siculars• 12 years ago

I was just in SF on business and had never used Uber or Lyft before. Obviously, voting with my dollars, I used Lyft and it was great. Lyft line was fast, cheap and got me where I needed to go.

eksith4• 12 years ago

And this, folks, is why taxi regulation is a thing. Of course, there is crime and corruption and they have their own variety of scams[1]. But what you won't see is a sweeping sense of impunity because if you go out of bounds to this degree so blatantly (and at regular intervals, it seems), a rather large hammer will come down on you and your union. Taxi drivers in general are well aware of this.

But a bunch of broexecs, who answer to no one, setting the tone for everyone else is unlikely to feel any need to change any time soon.

[1] http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/tlc-22-000-cab-drivers-p...

nemothekid• 12 years ago

So taxi regulations are in place to ensure faceless execs don't make mean remarks? Uber might not be startup of the month right now, but given the choice of excellent service for customers at the cost of a couple assholes in a boardroom somewhere versus crappy service while the execs try to please everyone, I'd choose excellent service every time. Ignoring the fact that, of course, taxi regulations don't stop people from being assholes; after all it has never stopped drivers from not picking up minorities.

comrh4• 12 years ago

I think regulations have more to do with the drivers not taking you on 20 mile detours, trying to sexually assault or yelling at a cancer patient (all Uber stories).

eksith4• 12 years ago

No, taxi regulations are in place so this kind of nonsense gets your license revoked: http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/26/6067663/this-is-ubers-play...

gonzi25• 12 years ago

The Taxi drivers in Seattle protested by blocking downtown traffic in their cabs on multiple occasions when the Uber/Lyft vote was going on. Uber and Lyft are now capped at 150 cars each.

moab5• 12 years ago

I think what'll come out of this entire experiment is something very, very similar to the current taxi industry - simply with better apps and dependability, and I will not complain at all. A little part of me suspects that this will not be Uber (at least in America, where the regulatory blockade feels really impenetrable as an engineer), although at this point it's anyones game.

eksith4• 12 years ago

My honest hope when I first heard of Uber was that it would give a huge wakeup call to the industry. Let's face it, America is a service industry and many of its services suck. The attitude is marginal at best, horrifying at worst. I hoped this level of customer scrutiny on performance would bring it up to the same level as in Japan.

I'm still hoping someone will make it happen. Or rather, perhaps an entire army of services will make it happen as we've seen, a de facto monopoly, yields terrible results.

prawn2• 12 years ago

Why haven't taxi companies done this themselves to see off the upstart competitors?

krrrh• 12 years ago

Über's ran into legal problems in Germany, but a city like Berlin has a very same regulatory system. Taxi licenses are available at a reasonable processing charge, drivers have to be licensed for driving skill and commercially insured, and the majority of drivers are single or a few car small businesses. Also, the cars are plentiful, inexpensive, clean and modern (there's some variery, but a random hail will usually net a Mercedes with leather seats). It's mostly what Uber says they want, except that if they play by the sensible rules here then they don't have any competitive edge.

There are multiple apps like mytaxi which add a layer of usability, estimated pick up time and cost, pay from app, interactive maps, and driver rating.

msoad• 12 years ago

I stopped using Uber about six months ago. Lyft is both cheaper and more fun. Most of drivers I rode with were not full time driver. For me it's always fun to meet new people who are doing all sort of different things in their life.

philwelch2• 12 years ago

Lyft sounds like it's more for extraverts--to me, the idea of sitting in the front seat, fist-bumping the driver, and riding around in a car with a stupid pink mustache on it sounds horrifying in much the same way that going on a cruise ship or getting caught in a cheesy tourist trap sounds horrifying. I think it's great that there are different services for different customers though.

wutbrodo2• 12 years ago

Lyft sounds like it's more for extraverts--to me, the idea of sitting in the front seat, fist-bumping the driver, and riding around in a car with a stupid pink mustache on it sounds horrifying in much the same way that going on a cruise ship or getting caught in a cheesy tourist trap sounds horrifying.

I've taken both Uber and Lyft dozens of times each over the last couple of years, and I really don't understand the sharp distinction that people seem to draw between their model of service. I get that their _marketing_ might differ (apparently Lyft was marketed as the smiley friendly Uber originally), but my experience has been literally identical: I sit in the seat I want to sit (I've never even thought about it..) and if I feel talkative, I talk to the driver and he/she always tends to talk back. If I don't feel talkative, Uber and Lyft drivers alike will leave me alone.

They are 100% interchangeable services: just remember that when you get a ride with either, you're consuming the actual service, not the advertising.

yummyfajitas3• 12 years ago

Why do we dislike Uber? Lets go through the links.

1) Stuff about the CEO's personal life.

2) CEO wants to automate business processes. Those of us in tech would never consider replacing humans with machines, right?

3) Trying to compete for workers. (Didn't we hate Apple/Google for agreeing not to do this?)

4) We love Peter Thiel and he hates it.

5-7) A few Uber drivers are crazy (Uber is helping the cops). Note that if most of these incidents happened in a taxi, the cops would have little info unless the passenger remembered a license #.

8) Standard french advertising in France.

9) Standard PR.

10) Exec discusses hiring journalists to do journalism to journalists. You know, digging up stuff about their personal life, kind of like (1) on this list.

Are these the real justifications? Or are we simply engaging in internet mobbing because we get to feel self righteous, and the CEO is kind of a jerk?

Disclaimer: I've used Uber maybe 3-4x in my life and was happy every time. Lyft rejected my CC. I use autowale.in whenever I can't flag one off the street.

CaptainZapp2• 12 years ago

looking at your comment history you seem emotionally highly invested into a company, which according to your claim, you have used 3x4 times in your life.

yummyfajitas3• 12 years ago

I have no idea why you believe I'm "emotionally highly invested" in Uber - could you explain?

I don't like mob behavior and intellectual dishonesty. There has been a lot of it on HN lately which drives me to comment (also, due to an injury, I have way too much time on my hands).

comrh4• 12 years ago

There is plenty of very real, legitimate criticism.

- http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2014/07/28...

- http://www.cnet.com/news/uber-disputes-kidnapping-claims/

moab5• 12 years ago

I feel like you're playing the devil's advocate here. Despite the recent witch-hunt surrounded the company lately (which I won't try to defend), you can't deny the fact that they've engaged in some fairly unscrupulous business tactics in order to 1) acquire drivers from competing ride-sharing services, and 2) significantly drop wages (primarily due to competition in cities with multiple ride-sharing services) at the cost of workers pulling fairly inhuman hours.

The latter point is not just Uber's problem, but the ride-sharing industry's as a whole. I point it out mainly to argue that as the leader in the industry, Uber has at least some obligation to treat the pawns on the board a little better.

To succinctly answer your question: there are real justifications, and it's a combination of Uber's business tactics, and the way they're treating their human capital.

yummyfajitas3• 12 years ago

I'm simply pointing out more or less nonsensical arguments and mob behavior. The Uber CEO may be an objectivist jerk, but that doesn't mean everything he does is evil.

2) significantly drop wages (primarily due to competition in cities with multiple ride-sharing services)...

Companies competing for workers drops wages? That's an interesting economic theory. I guess the Uber people who were hiring lyft cars in order to try and recruit the driver were saying "come join Uber, we'll pay you less?"

I'm confused here.

downandout2• 12 years ago

Re: 4, you forgot to mention that Peter Thiel is an investor in their competitor, Lyft. He's not exactly being altruistic.

physcab2• 12 years ago

Why do I dislike Uber?

1) They readily treat their drivers like second-class citizens (I was one of them at one point in time)

2) They use "Special Promotion" as a euphemism for "this wage cut is coming in 2 months, you better start shifting your spending habits"

3) In aggregate, their public persona is one of douche-baggery

3beard• 12 years ago

They readily treat their drivers like second-class citizens

Sure, but that is pretty much par for the course for any low-education job anywhere in the world. Can't blame Uber for being like the rest.

commentzorro• 12 years ago

1) Stuff about the CEO's personal life.

You need to get over this. It is absolutely ABSOLUTELY valid to boycott, speak negatively about, and/or hate a company for the personal life and actions of any CEO, board member, or public facing employee of any company!

m_t• 12 years ago

  8) Standard french advertising in France.

Guy doesn't live in France or is highly delusional.

hyh1048576• 12 years ago

Uber solves my problem and I think that's good. if Lyft ever expand to Beijing I might want to try it.

In China Uber faces equally fierce competition, but they are doing well and expanding. (They are No.3 in China I guess)

It's always nice to see more players get into this space.

birken3• 12 years ago

If you live in San Francisco, you might consider getting a bike and/or using public transportation instead of ride-sharing services. Either of them are better for the city by reducing congestion and pollution, and biking in particular is surprisingly fast and convenient.

If you are interested in getting introduced to biking, there are a bunch of free classes by the SF Bicycle Coalition that I highly recommend you look into:

https://www.sfbike.org/resources/urban-bicycling-workshops/

For public transportation, here are a couple of "far too specific" guides for different types of public transit:

Light Rail: http://fartoospecific.tumblr.com/post/63733141599/fartoospec...

BART: http://fartoospecific.tumblr.com/post/100628937344/fartoospe...

sinak3• 12 years ago

So I cycle around SF, but am considering stopping. The data varies depending on which source you use, but it seems like cycling is about 3 times less dangerous than motorbiking, and considerably (at least ~5-10x) more dangerous than driving. Most people who've lived in SF have plenty of anecdotal evidence of friends who've been hurt, often seriously, by bike accidents.

I'd love to be proven wrong about this: I love cycling and particularly like getting built-in exercise in my routine. And I'll continue to donate to the SF bicycle coalition, and vote for improving infrastructure to support cyclists. It just seems most rational to stop actually cycling.

ihaveajob• 12 years ago

It has been shown that the biggest factor in bike safety is the number of cyclists on the road. The more bikes, the more aware drivers are of our presence. In SF, Critical Mass had (I've learned) a huge impact in breaking ground for bike infrastructure. Currently, the Bay Area Bike Share has become a strong factor. If we stop biking now until it's safer, it might never be so.

birken3• 12 years ago

There is no doubt that biking is more dangerous than driving. However, biking is still extremely safe.

And for the safety conscious person, especially for a beginner, I'd suggest only biking routes that you are familiar with and that include safe bike lines. For many people, especially people working in SOMA, this could probably include your daily commute. If you don't believe there are safe options, or you are unfamiliar with the route, then don't bike it and use another transportation option.

I don't want to pretend that biking is safer than it is, but there is a big difference in difficulty between biking on market st at 4:30pm on a weekday vs biking through GGP on a sunday. So I'd say instead of giving up biking entirely, just perhaps phase out a the trips that you are uncomfortable with, or try to find a different route for those.

stanleydrew2• 12 years ago

I've ridden my bike to and from work in SF nearly every day for the past 4 years and have only once come close to being in an accident with a car.

But every day I see plenty of other cyclists making overly-aggressive moves that put themselves and other people in danger. You may claim that I'm blaming the victim, but from what I've observed many cyclists kind of enjoy a little (in their opinion) justified indignation at the behavior of car drivers. And they'll intentionally put themselves in positions to feel that justified rage.

How many times have you seen a cyclist in the right-hand bike lane try to overtake a car signaling for a right turn while both are approaching an intersection, rather than yielding to the car who will clearly reach the intersection first? And then the cyclist acts surprised and offended when the driver begins to turn into them.

Of course this is a recipe for disaster, and I see it multiple times per week from my position a safe distance back from the turning car, which I can observe and then safely pass on the left.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to be safe on a bike. Just use your head and ride a bit defensively.

ibmthrowaway218• 12 years ago

In population wide studies the health benefits of regular cycling vastly outweigh (no pun intended) the increase in accidents/fatalities.

WalterBright• 12 years ago

I live in Seattle, and gave up biking on the streets years ago. Just too dangerous.

I remember a public service commercial on TV in the 60's which would exhort people to drive defensively, even when they were in the right. The tag line was "don't be dead right".

I see more and more cyclists on the road, and too many ride like they're invulnerable if they're in the right. They'll do things like stop in the middle of the road around a blind corner. They'll ride on the stripe that separates the bike lane from the road. They'll force overtaking drivers to move into oncoming traffic to get around them.

I've talked to local bike activists, and their attitude is if they're in the right, it's the car driver's problem. I just don't get it. What good is being in the right if you're dead?

codezero7• 12 years ago

I just started biking to/from caltrain and in the first week, I've already had someone try to steal my bike off the train and have nearly been hit by several cars in completely un-extraordinary circumstances.

I'm sticking with it, but it doesn't paint a great picture for biking over other forms of convenient, readily available transport. Also the initial cost of biking, even when going for a super cheap bike and gear was ~$400, which will only pay for itself after ~6 months assuming I don't need to buy more gear (I already know I will, to deal with rain, and repairs).

My alternative was paying $50 for monthly parking at the caltrain station. My cost estimate includes the price of gas to get to and from the caltrain station.

dredmorbius4• 12 years ago

I was going to say that $400 is going to pay for itself in dramatically less than six months if you're paying City prices for parking. $50/mo for CalTrain is a steal -- if you're parking _in_ SF anywhere near downtown or SOMA / South Park, that's a couple of day's charges, possibly a week's worth if you're walking a few blocks.

I'd factor in a few other points on cycling in that you're getting exercise, replacing at least some of a gym or other cost. And your bike will almost certainly last more than six months. A decent bike will last a lifetime, or at least a good ten years. You'll want to factor in service and parts but if you're spending more than $100-$200/year, you're likely using it for more than just casual commuting. That's a few tanks of gasoline for a car.

birken3• 12 years ago

City biking does have a bit of a learning curve, and I do highly recommend you look into those classes that I linked to above (or find similar ones in your area).

You will get better with experience though, and the better you get the more you'll be able to understand how to bike defensively and reduce any sort of close calls.

rhizome• 12 years ago

which will only pay for itself after ~6 months

It can also replace a gym membership.

halayli• 12 years ago

I see. So you check the CEO of all your apps before using them? You are obviously swayed left and right by media.

Why do you trust your media sources so much?

finnn• 12 years ago

Last time I tried Lyft it wouldn't let me login without a Facebook account. Has that been fixed?

dnautics2• 12 years ago

You can now do it via email only. If you are often in heavily crowded areas (like bars around 2am), I strongly recommend uploading a picture so the driver can recognize you in the masses.

I can also get you a referral code :) pm me.

dnautics2• 12 years ago

There are too many instances of immaturity, deception, corruption, and negligence.

As an uber and lyft driver (I prefer lyft) who has created a runway to launch a startup nonprofit by driving for both, lyft has had its share of immaturity and negligence, you just haven't heard about it as much. But only 2/4 is an improvement. What worries me is that in many cases lyft has looked at uber and done exactly what they do. In most cases so far it's been merely superficial, but I worry it is only time until it becomes more than that.

A common mantra in the dual driver community is "uber is evil; lyft is incompetent"

mikeleeorg• 12 years ago

If you are willing to share more, I would love to hear more about your experiences with each. The Uber news definitely drowns out the Lyft news, and it would be great to get a balanced view of each.

Animats• 12 years ago

Uber won't be using driverless cars. They'd have to buy and maintain them. That would kill their "lightweight" business model.

Their "car financing" deal is awful for buyers. See "http://valleywag.gawker.com/uber-and-its-shady-partners-are-...

general_failure• 12 years ago

This is silly. Make decisions based on actual experiences rather than hearsay in media.

It is honestly appalling that you are attributing thus decisions to some sort of higher moral ground. If you are an american, that country wages war and kills at will. IPhone are made at foxconn, most products are made in China who gives a shit about our planet. I could go on. Did you quit all these already?

sinak3• 12 years ago

The idea of any one company owning such a large proportion of global transport infrastructure seems scary to me. And the fact that Uber's leadership seems to have a very poor ethical compass makes the path we're headed down seem pretty ominous.

I've been trying to think of better, less centralized solutions, and they're not too hard to imagine. An open transportation marketplace, populated by independent vendors, isn't so far-fetched. In fact it'd probably look quite similar to Craigslist, except with better handling of user identities and reputations, and a much better mobile-focused user experienced. Anyone could list a delivery service in one of a number of different categories, with custom price rules, and categories might include taxi/human transport services, food delivery, package delivery, etc. A review system, payment integration and mapping would come built into both the provider and user's mobile apps, but insurance etc. would be up to the individual vendors. Fees for listing services would be nominal, and almost all the revenue would go directly to the vendors themselves.

The trouble with this kind of service is that it'd end up being quite a bit less safe and quite a bit more messy than interacting with a single company like Uber. But the lower transaction costs should make services significantly cheaper, and power would be much less centralized.

logn• 12 years ago

I think the solution is taxi cabs. If you want to disrupt taxis, petition your city/state politicians.

leeber• 12 years ago

If (keyword if) the CEO is as much of a douchebag as the media makes him out to be, he likely won't continue to be CEO for much longer.

rpm33• 12 years ago

I was expecting a more analytical analysis or a personal reason on why the OP decided to quit Uber.I'm not undermining the articles in the press, but those could happen to anyone. On keeping with the quality of HN I think we need to have a more deeper understanding of how companies should function.

spacefight• 12 years ago

Regarding its CEO: "When I tease him about his skyrocketing desirability, he deflects with a wisecrack about women on demand: “Yeah, we call that Boob-er.”"

What a big big douche.

chx• 12 years ago

This is a company that pushed subprime loans on its drivers then substracts the debt from their income. That's called indentured servitude. http://valleywag.gawker.com/uber-and-its-shady-partners-are-...

downandout2• 12 years ago

Uber will lose a few principled customers when, for example, a tech blogger blows something an executive said way out of proportion for their own financial gain. However, the market as a whole simply doesn't care about an executive that vents at a party, or that they engage in anti-competitive behavior, or that the CEO is kind of a jerk.

People care that their ride shows up on time and gets them there safely. For the most part with Uber, that happens. Like it or not, Uber has attained critical mass and is here to stay.

physcab2• 12 years ago

One of the things I've always hated about Uber is that they are in expert in euphemisms for wage cuts to consumers.

"February is a slow month! We're gonna make this deal sweet for you by lowering prices 20%!"

"March Madness, 20% off all rides!"

"Summer Special, 20% off all rides!"

"Summer Special is here to stay! 20% off all rides is permanent!"

Now, lets not kid ourselves here. Uber is always going to get their cut. If you talk to any Uber driver (I was one of them at one point in time), they'll tell you their hourly wage has dropped from $30/hr to about $18/hr now. Still not bad, but now factor in the longer hours, the maintenance fees, the city fines...not so much a good deal anymore for the other side.

wutbrodo2• 12 years ago

One of the things I've always hated about Uber is that they are in expert in euphemisms for wage cuts to consumers.

Oh please. Your average Lyft/Uber consumer has no clue about and no interest in what the labor-vs-capital cost breakdown is of ANY product they buy. It's really stretching the facts beyond all comprehension to say that calling it a price cut is a "euphemism": the people they're talking to with those messages only interact with the price and it's a price cut. No euphemisms involved.

Complaints about whether the wages for their drivers are too low are completely fair game, but intellectual dishonesty and nonsense about how they use "euphemisms" to hide wage cuts is just Grade-A bullshit.

kokey• 12 years ago

It's interesting how taxi brokers are also like other fads and people will align to them according to their own values. Since before Uber there are many taxi companies with their own Uber-like service and taxi brokers similar to Uber. I know of people who switched company or broker based on statements the owner of the one company made on radio about cyclists. When Uber is new in town it is a 'cool' thing to do, but once they are not so new people find reasons to change. This makes for an interesting and dynamic market. I think companies like Uber hope to dominate the market and keep doing better at it through economies of scale, but passenger personal emotive preferences will probably always leave room for alternatives.

joshfraser• 12 years ago

My primary form of transportation is a bike, but my ride-sharing trends are pretty similar to David's. I've been using Lyft far more than Uber lately even though I view them as completely interchangeable services and I'm not known for having strong brand loyalty. In SF, Lyft and Uber are comparable on both price and speed, so it's an easy decision to use one service over the other, even if you only have a slight preference. For me the shift hasn't happened out of outrage at Uber, but because I like the Lyft experience so much more. Lyft drivers are overwhelmingly friendly and Lyft Line tends to attract similarly friendly people. I've had some great conversations while sharing rides on Lyft Line where I actually didn't want the ride to end so soon. I've swapped contact info with some cute girls, met a potential hire, and landed a couple new customers all while sharing rides on Lyft.

I like that Lyft has a reputation for taking care of their drivers. In the words of one driver I rode with, "there are no drivers protesting outside the Lyft office". Instead, their drivers speak highly of the company. As a company, they seem like they are starting to find their stride. Their mission from the beginning was to get people to shares rides and fill up all those single-passenger cars you see everywhere. They're making good progress on that mission today and cutting down on traffic is something I care about as well. Uber has a ride-sharing option too, but they don't seem to be nearly as motivated by that purpose. I'm not sure what Uber's mission is actually.

Trends: Uber vs. Lyft

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