Lyft vs. Uberx, my thoughts

[Slick Vik]

Took lyft today and uberx last week.

My thoughts: both are essentially the same thing. Same concept and nearly identical prices.

Pros of Lyft: 35% off right now, which means I would take it as long as that's going on

Pros of uber: fare estimator on the app that lyft doesn't have which is enormously helpful however you can use whatsthefare.com to find lyft fares

So if in a bind I would use these but if in no hurry public transport is still cheapest

[kylejack]

I take Uber because nobody needs to know that I'm arriving via rideshare via the pink Lyft mustache. I'm none too impressed with Uber employees' tortious interference where they book fake Lyft trips and then cancel the trip, though.

[Slick Vik]

The lyft car I had didn't have a pink mustache. It's optional for the driver to have it.

[kylejack]

hmmm, seems to me that they're required to have either the carstache or a pink mustache decal on their car: https://www.lyft.com/drive/help/article/1455160

Anyway, I think I'll not take my chances.

[Slick Vik]

Ok I'm just relaying what the driver told me. As long as lyft is 35% off it's a better deal than uberx right now. I'm sure uberx will match soon though, I'm honestly surprised they haven't yet.

[kylejack]

Uber employees seem to be engaged in tortious interference to try and sabotage Lyft, so maybe they feel like they won't need to lower prices once they drive Lyft out of business.

[Slick Vik]

True

[UtterlyUrban]

I would not ride in either company's offerings. Not until the very real and possibly very problematic insurance issues are resolved.

http://www.laweekly.com/informer/2014/06/19/uber-lyft-riders-might-not-be-covered-by-insurance-industry-claims

Driving a car has risks. That's why most states require insurance to drive your personal car. Unfortunately, there seems to be significant gaps in insurance with these services.

[IronTiger]

The pink mustaches are pretty stupid, but there just seems to be too much of a liability issue--like what if someone threw up in the back of your Lyft/Über car?

[Slick Vik]

The pink mustaches are pretty stupid, but there just seems to be too much of a liability issue--like what if someone threw up in the back of your Lyft/Über car?

I think there's a fine for that

[JLWM8609]

The pink mustaches are pretty stupid, but there just seems to be too much of a liability issue--like what if someone threw up in the back of your Lyft/Über car?

 

I've also heard that using your personal car as a taxi for Uber or Lyft can void your vehicle's warranty, since most warranties are voided if it's discovered that you've used the car for limo/taxi/livery service. There are special warranties out there for cars used as limos, taxis, hearses, and other professional vehicles, but I guess that's not an issue if you have an older vehicle that's out of warranty.

[Slick Vik]

I've also heard that using your personal car as a taxi for Uber or Lyft can void your vehicle's warranty, since most warranties are voided if it's discovered that you've used the car for limo/taxi/livery service. There are special warranties out there for cars used as limos, taxis, hearses, and other professional vehicles, but I guess that's not an issue if you have an older vehicle that's out of warranty.

Key words if it's discovered

[JLWM8609]

Key words if it's discovered

 

Vehicle warranties are also voided if the manufacturer discovers that the vehicle has been autocrossed, or taken to a track day event.I have heard of manufacturers sending people to those events for the purpose of recording plate numbers and comparing it to VINs to see if the car is under their warranty, and if it is, voiding the warranty. As a result, some owners run their cars in those events with the plates covered or removed. I would not be surprised if they do the same thing with cars that have visible indicators of being used for Uber or Lyft, especially since you can't run plateless or with covered plates on public roads.

[IronTiger]

Key words if it's discovered

 

Ah, so the taxi services rely on "being dishonest". No wonder Uber's booking fake rides on Lyft...seems like that's legit under the same idea, too. 

[Slick Vik]

Vehicle warranties are also voided if the manufacturer discovers that the vehicle has been autocrossed, or taken to a track day event.I have heard of manufacturers sending people to those events for the purpose of recording plate numbers and comparing it to VINs to see if the car is under their warranty, and if it is, voiding the warranty. As a result, some owners run their cars in those events with the plates covered or removed. I would not be surprised if they do the same thing with cars that have visible indicators of being used for Uber or Lyft, especially since you can't run plateless or with covered plates on public roads.

What would be such visible indicators?

Ah, so the taxi services rely on "being dishonest". No wonder Uber's booking fake rides on Lyft...seems like that's legit under the same idea, too.

Not really. Taxi services will be gone soon. This is the wave if the future. Try it then get back to me.

[IronTiger]

Not really. Taxi services will be gone soon. This is the wave if the future. Try it then get back to me.

Don't bet on it. First, taxis use company cars, that's why in CARPOOL, a local TAMU group giving drunks a free ride home after the bars, use donated cars by dealerships (not personal vehicles). Secondly, wait until some high-profile incident where someone takes advantage of Lyft/Uber to commit some kind of crime (kidnapping?) not possible with regular taxis. 

 

I think it will probably succeed in cities where taxis don't have a huge presence (Sunbelt cities in particular), but not so much where taxi companies are established and have influence (Chicago, NYC).

[Slick Vik]

Don't bet on it. First, taxis use company cars, that's why in CARPOOL, a local TAMU group giving drunks a free ride home after the bars, use donated cars by dealerships (not personal vehicles). Secondly, wait until some high-profile incident where someone takes advantage of Lyft/Uber to commit some kind of crime (kidnapping?) not possible with regular taxis.

I think it will probably succeed in cities where taxis don't have a huge presence (Sunbelt cities in particular), but not so much where taxi companies are established and have influence (Chicago, NYC).

It's already succeeded in New York. No licensing cost is huge for drivers.

[skwatra]

I use Lyft and Uber in SF when visiting there because it can be nearly impossible to get a standard cab. You actually end up paying more for Uber, but you get better service. In NYC (I haven't been and utilized taxis there since it really took off) when you can almost always get a yellow cab within a minute of walking outside, are Uber and Lyft comparable in how fast you can get one? Honestly when I'm moving around alone there I always take the subway, and if we're in a group cost is divided and a few bucks doesn't make a difference, we're going for speed.

 

In Houston I had a bad experience with Uber once. It took 5 minutes for him to get to our location in Midtown, we tracked him no problem. He arrived and he decided he didn't want to take us and claimed he didn't know what we were talking about. Even though Uber described his car and gave his GPS location. We weren't even that drunk and looked respectable. So I said 'f this' we turned around and saw a yellow cab and were home in 5 minutes. I've been using the hail-a-cab app for a couple of years now and it is great. Just hit a few buttons and i get a cab assigned that I can track and its usually there pretty quick. I only use them when I'm going out, so we just get one to the house and they are quick. To get home I can almost always just hail them on the street since we are in the areas they are out. Though I use the app late at night too when we're a little off the beaten path, and again they are there in minutes. 

 

So its cheaper on Uber and Lyft for now, but not really worth it for me. We usually have 2-4 people, so saving a few bucks if that (for my type of trips) is not a big deal. My number one priority is speed, then fare (assuming safety is not a question). I gave Uber and Lyft a shot here to satisfy my hipster needs, but didn't really see any advantage (and one negative experience on Uber). My house to MMP is $7 on Uber and $10 on yellowcabhouston.

[Slick Vik]

We weren't even that drunk may be the reason the uber guy said no. That is a jerk move though.

[JLWM8609]

What would be such visible indicators?

 

 

There could be decals on the car saying Lyft or Uber that would tip them off. Dealers could also get suspicious when you're coming in frequently for oil changes, tire rotations, or filter changes at a higher rate than your average driver due to racking up more miles in a short period of time, but they could also attribute that to the driver having a job that requires them to frequently travel long distances.

[Slick Vik]

There could be decals on the car saying Lyft or Uber that would tip them off. Dealers could also get suspicious when you're coming in frequently for oil changes, tire rotations, or filter changes at a higher rate than your average driver due to racking up more miles in a short period of time, but they could also attribute that to the driver having a job that requires them to frequently travel long distances.

I guess. I Change my own oil and there are many places besides dealers that do it

[skwatra]

We weren't even that drunk may be the reason the uber guy said no. That is a jerk move though.

 

It was 2:30am near Main and McGowen, what did he expect? It would be one thing if he said something about not wanting to take us because of our state (i would still be annoyed but less so), but he just claimed he was not Uber (though he stopped with hazards on the corner where we hailed it) and told us to get out.

 

[IronTiger]

It's already succeeded in New York. No licensing cost is huge for drivers.

Yes, and if the taxi companies have any political power (which I'm sure they do), they could substantially change Uber/Lyft's business model, if not kill it entirely. All it takes is a sympathetic judge or jury in any pending lawsuits across the country.

 

It will be interesting to watch since I don't have a super-strong opinion one way or the other.

 

Either way, there's already lawsuits pending regarding the disabled/blind riders not being able to use the system effectively.

[august948]

Yes, and if the taxi companies have any political power (which I'm sure they do), they could substantially change Uber/Lyft's business model, if not kill it entirely. All it takes is a sympathetic judge or jury in any pending lawsuits across the country.

 

Props for the clever use of links. 

 

[Sparrow]

Just an off-the-wall, rambling, passing thought, but I thought I'd mention it anyhow...

 

Would it be practical, and I suppose would it be legal, for a ridesharing start up like these to develop bus service? Or at least a more vanpool-like service.

 

I'm not sure precisely what the business model would be, perhaps more of a prior planning sort of thing (4 days a week I need to leave from X location and be at Y location by z-o'clock), but I can't help but think with all the METRO gripes, that perhaps the private sector could handle mass transit/commuters in a better manner much as both Uber and Lyft are trying to do for Taxi service.

 

METRO has had great success with its Park and Ride bus routes. Vanpooling is an option that METRO provides. Does METRO have an app or any other means to match people up for vanpooling, or is it just more of a "if y'all get a group together, we'll rent you the van"? If it is the latter, there's a huge opportunity being missed for people that don't vanpool because they may not even know there are other people commuting in a manner similar to themselves. Maybe there's not a Park and Ride bus from the Kuykendahl P&R to where you work, but by using social networking/app/Big Data, METRO could in addition to the bus route downtown add vanpool routes to Uptown, Westchase, the Energy Corridor, the Medical Center, UH, etc.

 

If enough people say they want to park their car at the P&R and ride to blank blank location, make a vanpool route. If enough vanpool routes are established between the P&R and blank blank location, then you upgrade to bus service. Once bus service reaches a certain level of demand, then you would upgrade to rail service. Just as buses are more flexible than rail, vans are more flexible than buses.

 

Perhaps even diversify the van pool offerings by allowing people commit to driving in-bound and out-bound at certain times to allow for van hopping. Perhaps a rider needs to go in at 6a and leave at 8p, but no one else has the same schedule--but someone else goes in at 6a, and another person leaves at 8p. You would sign up as a vanpooler for each leg you wish to ride. Let the drivers use the service free of charge (it's the perk for being a pseudo-employee).

 

Maybe I even skipped a step--if you don't have enough people for a van set up a carpool. Even before that I suppose, a ZipCar/Uber/Taxi sort of service, for when nobody wants to go where you are going anytime close to when you are going.

 

Carshare/Rideshare/Taxi. Carpool. Vanpool. Bus. Rail. Never without an option, always the most efficient means of getting there.

 

My apologies for the rambling.

[Slick Vik]

Just an off-the-wall, rambling, passing thought, but I thought I'd mention it anyhow...

Would it be practical, and I suppose would it be legal, for a ridesharing start up like these to develop bus service? Or at least a more vanpool-like service.

I'm not sure precisely what the business model would be, perhaps more of a prior planning sort of thing (4 days a week I need to leave from X location and be at Y location by z-o'clock), but I can't help but think with all the METRO gripes, that perhaps the private sector could handle mass transit/commuters in a better manner much as both Uber and Lyft are trying to do for Taxi service.

METRO has had great success with its Park and Ride bus routes. Vanpooling is an option that METRO provides. Does METRO have an app or any other means to match people up for vanpooling, or is it just more of a "if y'all get a group together, we'll rent you the van"? If it is the latter, there's a huge opportunity being missed for people that don't vanpool because they may not even know there are other people commuting in a manner similar to themselves. Maybe there's not a Park and Ride bus from the Kuykendahl P&R to where you work, but by using social networking/app/Big Data, METRO could in addition to the bus route downtown add vanpool routes to Uptown, Westchase, the Energy Corridor, the Medical Center, UH, etc.

If enough people say they want to park their car at the P&R and ride to blank blank location, make a vanpool route. If enough vanpool routes are established between the P&R and blank blank location, then you upgrade to bus service. Once bus service reaches a certain level of demand, then you would upgrade to rail service. Just as buses are more flexible than rail, vans are more flexible than buses.

Perhaps even diversify the van pool offerings by allowing people commit to driving in-bound and out-bound at certain times to allow for van hopping. Perhaps a rider needs to go in at 6a and leave at 8p, but no one else has the same schedule--but someone else goes in at 6a, and another person leaves at 8p. You would sign up as a vanpooler for each leg you wish to ride. Let the drivers use the service free of charge (it's the perk for being a pseudo-employee).

Maybe I even skipped a step--if you don't have enough people for a van set up a carpool. Even before that I suppose, a ZipCar/Uber/Taxi sort of service, for when nobody wants to go where you are going anytime close to when you are going.

Carshare/Rideshare/Taxi. Carpool. Vanpool. Bus. Rail. Never without an option, always the most efficient means of getting there.

My apologies for the rambling.

Uberpool and lyft line exist already and use this idea

[ricco67]

Actually, the jitney fulls this market.

supposedly, they have to stick to a particular route but can deviate to drop people off close to the route.

[Ross]

Metrostar info here - http://www.ridemetro.org/Services/CarVanPool/Van.aspx

[Sparrow]

So how do we get Metro to partner with someone like Uber to bring MetroStar to the next level? What better way for Uber or Lyft to showcase their month old carpooling features than to streamline an entire metro region's operations. Seems like the ground work is in place and is very successful, but perhaps the associated tech and marketing haven't caught up yet.

 

Is "STAR" an acronym?

[IronTiger]

So how do we get Metro to partner with someone like Uber to bring MetroStar to the next level? What better way for Uber or Lyft to showcase their month old carpooling features than to streamline an entire metro region's operations. Seems like the ground work is in place and is very successful, but perhaps the associated tech and marketing haven't caught up yet.

 

Is "STAR" an acronym?

 

Uber and Lyft are at least interesting and new ideas, if nothing else. How would saddling them with an incompetent transit agency further their goals?