17 ms·

> unless it's a "network effect" situation like a social network, you probably don't need to grow fast. Uber seems like a weird example of this. It was said (a

by freyr 11y ago

> unless it's a "network effect" situation like a social network, you probably don't need to grow fast. Uber seems like a weird example of this. It was said (and remains said) that they're operating in a winner-take-all space, and they expanded as if they were a social network. Despite the aggressive expansion and marketing, a majority of people I know in the Bay Area now use Lyft exculsively. The last few times I've said "I'll get an Uber," somebody's actually paused and said "Wait, why don't we take Lyft?" I'm not even sure why. When asked, they just reply that they don't like Uber for some non-specific reason. They're expanding around the world and into new products and concepts, but haven't even seemed to nail down a loyal customer base on their home turf. Anecdotally speaking.

flashman 11y ago
Uber's version of achieving loyalty/lock-in is literally to run the competition into the ground and make sure their customers have no other options. That's a long way from achieving it by offering the best service, and I don't think driver/passenger ratings bridge the gap: it's the difference between encouraging or rewarding good behaviour, and subtly threatening people for breaking the rules.
- mindcrime 11y ago
  They don't seem to be doing a very good job of "running the competition into the ground lately". Everything I've been hearing is how Lyft is gaining ground on them. I know I've been doing more business with Lyft lately (see above) and from talking to a lot of drivers who do both (or used to do both) I definitely get the vibe that a lot of drivers are dropping Uber (at least in my area).
TheAceOfHearts 11y ago
This is really interesting to me, because I've noticed the same thing in the Bay Area. I would conjecture that Uber constantly being under attack (i.e. having lots of negative articles about them) has played a significant role in this. So when people have to pick between Lyft and Uber, they go for the one that seems "less evil". Perhaps the reason Lyft doesn't come under fire as much is because they haven't grown enough to divert attention from Uber? If we consider the long-term outcome, is this actually a problem for Uber? If you move between places where both Lyft and Uber are available, and places that only have Uber, it doesn't seem unreasonable that you'd just stick to using Uber. But anyway, once you have an account with one of the two services, what incentive do you have to create an account with the other one?
- ianstormtaylor 11y ago
  Uber's problems aren't caused simply by being the frontrunner. They're cultural problems that come from straight the leaders of the company itself. They've repeatedly proven that they are misogynists[1][2][3], and that they don't have the same morals that most people value[4][5]. It's a disturbing trend that some of these unicorn startups are valuing growth at the expense of morals, and that VC's are complicit in pushing for growth above all else. It gives the industry a bad name, and I wish it wasn't so. Luckily Zenefits seems to be dismantling itself because of its antics, so hopefully it will prove to be a lesson in how not to create a company culture for others in the future. I can't speak for others, but that's why I always prefer Lyft. [1]: https://pando.com/2014/10/22/the-horrific-trickle-down-of-asshole-culture-at-a-company-like-uber/ https://pando.com/2014/10/22/the-horrific-trickle-down-of-as... [2]: http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/french-uber-bird-hunting-promotion-pairs-lyon-riders-with-a#.mlOpeyowEz http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/french-uber-bird-hunti... [3]: https://pando.com/2014/02/27/we-call-that-boob-er-the-four-most-awful-things-travis-kalanick-said-in-his-gq-profile/ https://pando.com/2014/02/27/we-call-that-boob-er-the-four-m... [4]: http://valleywag.gawker.com/more-proof-uber-fights-dirty-against-the-competition-1627110347 http://valleywag.gawker.com/more-proof-uber-fights-dirty-aga... [5]: http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/uber-executive-suggests-digging-up-dirt-on-journalists#.xqq79GplJz http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/uber-executive-suggests-dig...
  - rewqfdsa 11y ago
    Yes, that's it. According to the unimpeachable Gawker and Buzzfeed, Uber is failing because its founders aren't SJWs.
  - seivan 11y ago
    Those sources say more about your credibility than they do about Ubers. I think Uber actually relies on people like yourself, you have to understand that it's slowly harming your validity more than theirs. To give you a comparison it's like those conspiracy theorists back in the days who claimed NSA was snooping on everyone and then later claimed the president is an Alien from planet Xenu.
cstejerean 11y ago
I think it's popular now in the SV circles (and this site) to hate on Uber. I'm not even sure why, but I'm fairly certain it's localized. I have traveled and used Uber all over the country and internationally as well. They seem to be doing just fine.
- techdragon 11y ago
  For a while, before WW2, it looked like Germany was "doing fine" under Adolf Hitler too. Doing fine doesn't mean anything, you need to look deeper at the reasons people are hating Uber. There is growing evidence of systemic "social issues" that Uber is either amazingly still ignorant of, or more likely are being wilfully ignorant of in an attempt to maximise their profits. People are just reacting to this evidence based on their individual moral compasses.
  - elliotec 11y ago
    Uber == Nazi Germany
    - mattnewton 11y ago
      That's why you need to use ===
      - AI_Overlord 11y ago
        Fuck me. What does that stand for? I know =,==, but not ===
        freyr 11y ago
        It's strict equality in JavaScript. 17 == "17" // TRUE 17 === "17" // FALSE
        beambot 11y ago
        Heh, just looking at the code rather than the text, my first thought was "type error". JavaScript. Wat? https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/wat https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/wat
mindcrime 11y ago
I am a perfect example of somebody who was a "loyal Uber user." They were here (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) before Lyft, and I was already familiar with them and had an account and all from having used the service while I was in San Francisco visiting. And so when my car broke down and I decided to go car-less for a while, I started using Uber all the time (along with walking and bicycle riding). And then... Uber lowered their rates. Good for me, right? Rides are cheaper now. BUT... it appears that as a result, a LOT of local Uber drivers have quit doing Uber and over the past month, it's become increasingly difficult to even get an Uber here. More and more often, I fire up the app and get "No UberX available" (and usually no UberXL or UberSelect either). So I installed the Lyft app, and I consistently find that Lyft can get me a ride when Uber can't. I still usually at least try Uber first just out of habit, but they're definitely ceding ground to Lyft in this area, just due to availability if nothing else. OTOH, Uber does do some neat stuff... like I noticed that in Portland, they have "UberPedal" where you can get a car with a bike rack. I find myself hoping they expand that to our area, as it would be nice to be able to bike to work, knowing that if it's raining or cold or something later, I can call up an UberPedal bike-rack equipped car for the trip home.
- bsbechtel 11y ago
  This is interesting because much of what has been written about Uber and lowering prices + surge pricing is the idea that Uber is trying to perfectly match supply and demand. If rides are consistently unavailable, that would be an indicator to me that their pricing is too low, and they aren't doing as good of a job as expected with this.
- s_q_b 11y ago
  Their service here in Washington, D.C. is awful. I used to love Uber, evangelized it to friends, was even the first to show Sanju Bansal how it worked when we were at a gala. Everyone else was fumbling for their S-Class keys while our twin black Navigator vehicles proceeded to pick us up at the entrance. That, to me, was the Zenith of Uber. The entire VC set of the city was waiting for cars and drivers gridlocked in the garage and lot, while some kid with an app summoned two fully appointed SUVs as if from nowhere. I wore Uber shades, tried the various promotions. I was thrilled, absolutely certain that they were one partnership away from Google to automate city transport and leapfrog our ailing transport grid. Then something changed. The lines between Uber and UberX blurred, and UberX drivers changed from well-dressed folks owner-operating, or working for car fleets, to guys with Jack Daniels hats, ponytails, and (this is literal) body odor. Uber decreased in quality, both in fleet and drivers. Ubers used to be spit-polished tire-black shined towncars, and the drivers were excellent. Never an open door missed, a bottle of water offered, mints stocked, radio preference, and an AC at a comfortable temperature, which the driver would immediately offers to adjust. It wasn't just the network that made Uber. It was the service. It literally outclassed the transportation of millionaires, with service options of the Four Seasons at the price of a Motel 6. The service has now become so bad, that power users are like sailors following the rats off a sinking ship. Then it's disclosed that one of the main showrunners has been spending all his time on some fucking branding project? And when it's finally released, the material he produced looks like it was created by a sentient bag of cocaine. "We're particles that unite to form atoms, to something... something... interaction between meatspace and cyberspace.... unity, and particles and shit. Yo, you gonna hit that?" Are you serious? In summation: No moat, no network effect. It was nice of you to pave the way for self-driving car fleets, but unless you reorganize management from the bottom of the floor up, your balloon's about to deflate faster than Napster. Peace guys. *Full disclaimer: I did turn down a second round interview at Uber due to their policies regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act. My consulting rate is $500/hr, and I'd consider fixing this mess with the ADA for half that. I wish I had the opportunity to speak to your board for five minutes about the damage their ADA policies are causing. Imagine a girl, unable to move unassisted, alone in the snow, as her driver throws her wheelchair to the curb screaming at how he doesn't accept people "like her."
oneloop 11y ago
Can anyone make a rational argument why uber-type companies are winner takes all?
- Spooky23 11y ago
  You tend to coalesce into a few big brands when you sell a commodity with little differentiation. Also, just as cabs did, über will erect regulatory barriers to entry for smaller players.
- technotony 11y ago
  The network effects come from the driver side of the market. If you have all the drivers, then you have the quickest pick-up/most availability which means best passenger experience and then most customers. This in turn means best utilization for drivers, so you get more drivers etc etc etc.
  - prostoalex 11y ago
    Network effect usually implies some kind of lock-in. Unless Uber is willing to go exclusive and qualify the drivers as employees, getting more drivers out on the road also means getting more Lyft and Gett drivers on the road, as most will just have multiple apps running.
    - pfarnsworth 11y ago
      It's hard to switch between apps. I've asked all my drivers the same question, and they all say that it's more trouble than it's worth because at least in the Bay Area, there work is constant as an Uber driver.
      - woah 11y ago
        I feel like almost every über I see has a lyft sticker too. The UX of switching apps seems like a minor inconvenience given that most of them use waze to navigate anyway.
  - 11y ago
patio11 11y ago
Coke and Pepsi or, closer to the point, Coke and "sparkling water." Choice of how to reach your destination is less about product differentiation and more about personal differentiation. Some people don't want to be "the kind of person that uses an Uber."
- cgag 11y ago
  Not sure why this is downvoted. I use Lyft and this feels like why to me.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
AlwaysBCoding 11y ago
I always take Lyft over Uber because they actually TELL YOU THE COLOR OF THE CAR on the app. Uber not showing you the color of the drivers car is one of the weirdest UI decisions I can ever remember.
- mindcrime 11y ago
  I always take Lyft over Uber because they actually TELL YOU THE COLOR OF THE CAR on the app. Uber not showing you the color of the drivers car is one of the weirdest UI decisions I can ever remember. Yeah, that's one thing Lyft definitely go right. For the life of me, I can't understand why Uber doesn't do that as well.
  - skuhn 11y ago
    It might stem from Uber's roots, since all of the Uber Black cars are by definition black. It is pretty annoying when using their billions of other offerings -- not everyone can spot a particular Honda Civic from two blocks away.
    - SeoxyS 11y ago
      I took a white town car on UberBLACK back in the day. It was pretty cool, it had a disco ball and pink lights inside.
      - skuhn 11y ago
        Interesting, I've used it a bunch over the years and never encountered a non-black car. Which is actually kind of silly when you think about it -- a silver Mercedes is just as classy as a black one, if that's what you're concerned with (I'm actually more interested in getting a livery driver who knows what they're doing).
- bboreham 11y ago
  Well, that's weird: I got into an argument with my Uber driver at SFO last week because the app said his car was gray and I didn't notice it waiting there because to me it looked black. Maybe it's supported for different grades of service?
ajmurmann 11y ago
I pretty much stopped using Uber because every time I ask a driver who works for both whom they prefer they tell me that they prefer Lyft. I don't really see much of a difference between the two as a consumer so I use who the drivers prefer.
patmcguire 11y ago
I've seen the difference, it's much more pronounced with women. I talk with drivers, a lot drive for women, they notice significantly more women on Lyft. I've heard a combination of complaints about Uber leadership being dudebros and Uber drivers sexually assaulting riders as the reason why. I don't know if Lyft actually provides a safer ride, but they don't say shitty things in public and don't have as many well known incidents.
- fosk 11y ago
  Lyft has a lower volume and penetration, which means it's making way less rides than Uber worldwide. That could be a reason. Plus the media finding out that being against Uber brings more clicks.
nickonline 11y ago
But there's other examples of this, McDonalds in the USA is lowest of the fast food but around the world their stores are held to higher standards and output higher quality food. Maybe Uber has given up on the USA as a whole, the USA after all is only 300 million people in a world of 8 billion+ Why bother competing at all when you can go overseas where there's little to no competition.
kpennell 11y ago
Really makes me happy to hear that Uber is being punished for all the sketchy shit they've pulled over the last couple of years. I thought I was the only one who went for Lyft.
tryitnow 11y ago
Weird. I've experienced a similar thing, except most people I know haven't given up on Uber, they just prefer Lyft. Not sure why. And I don't think network effect is all that sustainable of a competitive advantage here. Switching costs are just downloading a new app and entering your credit card information. Frankly, I think this market is still open in the very long term.

by freyr 11y ago

flashman 11y ago

Uber's version of achieving loyalty/lock-in is literally to run the competition into the ground and make sure their customers have no other options. That's a long way from achieving it by offering the best service, and I don't think driver/passenger ratings bridge the gap: it's the difference between encouraging or rewarding good behaviour, and subtly threatening people for breaking the rules.

mindcrime 11y ago
They don't seem to be doing a very good job of "running the competition into the ground lately". Everything I've been hearing is how Lyft is gaining ground on them. I know I've been doing more business with Lyft lately (see above) and from talking to a lot of drivers who do both (or used to do both) I definitely get the vibe that a lot of drivers are dropping Uber (at least in my area).

TheAceOfHearts 11y ago

This is really interesting to me, because I've noticed the same thing in the Bay Area. I would conjecture that Uber constantly being under attack (i.e. having lots of negative articles about them) has played a significant role in this. So when people have to pick between Lyft and Uber, they go for the one that seems "less evil". Perhaps the reason Lyft doesn't come under fire as much is because they haven't grown enough to divert attention from Uber? If we consider the long-term outcome, is this actually a problem for Uber? If you move between places where both Lyft and Uber are available, and places that only have Uber, it doesn't seem unreasonable that you'd just stick to using Uber. But anyway, once you have an account with one of the two services, what incentive do you have to create an account with the other one?

ianstormtaylor 11y ago
Uber's problems aren't caused simply by being the frontrunner. They're cultural problems that come from straight the leaders of the company itself. They've repeatedly proven that they are misogynists[1][2][3], and that they don't have the same morals that most people value[4][5]. It's a disturbing trend that some of these unicorn startups are valuing growth at the expense of morals, and that VC's are complicit in pushing for growth above all else. It gives the industry a bad name, and I wish it wasn't so. Luckily Zenefits seems to be dismantling itself because of its antics, so hopefully it will prove to be a lesson in how not to create a company culture for others in the future. I can't speak for others, but that's why I always prefer Lyft. [1]: https://pando.com/2014/10/22/the-horrific-trickle-down-of-asshole-culture-at-a-company-like-uber/ https://pando.com/2014/10/22/the-horrific-trickle-down-of-as... [2]: http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/french-uber-bird-hunting-promotion-pairs-lyon-riders-with-a#.mlOpeyowEz http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/french-uber-bird-hunti... [3]: https://pando.com/2014/02/27/we-call-that-boob-er-the-four-most-awful-things-travis-kalanick-said-in-his-gq-profile/ https://pando.com/2014/02/27/we-call-that-boob-er-the-four-m... [4]: http://valleywag.gawker.com/more-proof-uber-fights-dirty-against-the-competition-1627110347 http://valleywag.gawker.com/more-proof-uber-fights-dirty-aga... [5]: http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/uber-executive-suggests-digging-up-dirt-on-journalists#.xqq79GplJz http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/uber-executive-suggests-dig...
- rewqfdsa 11y ago
  Yes, that's it. According to the unimpeachable Gawker and Buzzfeed, Uber is failing because its founders aren't SJWs.
- seivan 11y ago
  Those sources say more about your credibility than they do about Ubers. I think Uber actually relies on people like yourself, you have to understand that it's slowly harming your validity more than theirs. To give you a comparison it's like those conspiracy theorists back in the days who claimed NSA was snooping on everyone and then later claimed the president is an Alien from planet Xenu.

cstejerean 11y ago

I think it's popular now in the SV circles (and this site) to hate on Uber. I'm not even sure why, but I'm fairly certain it's localized. I have traveled and used Uber all over the country and internationally as well. They seem to be doing just fine.

techdragon 11y ago
For a while, before WW2, it looked like Germany was "doing fine" under Adolf Hitler too. Doing fine doesn't mean anything, you need to look deeper at the reasons people are hating Uber. There is growing evidence of systemic "social issues" that Uber is either amazingly still ignorant of, or more likely are being wilfully ignorant of in an attempt to maximise their profits. People are just reacting to this evidence based on their individual moral compasses.
- elliotec 11y ago
  Uber == Nazi Germany
  - mattnewton 11y ago
    That's why you need to use ===
    - AI_Overlord 11y ago
      Fuck me. What does that stand for? I know =,==, but not ===
      - freyr 11y ago
        It's strict equality in JavaScript. 17 == "17" // TRUE 17 === "17" // FALSE
        beambot 11y ago
        Heh, just looking at the code rather than the text, my first thought was "type error". JavaScript. Wat? https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/wat https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/wat

mindcrime 11y ago

I am a perfect example of somebody who was a "loyal Uber user." They were here (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) before Lyft, and I was already familiar with them and had an account and all from having used the service while I was in San Francisco visiting. And so when my car broke down and I decided to go car-less for a while, I started using Uber all the time (along with walking and bicycle riding). And then... Uber lowered their rates. Good for me, right? Rides are cheaper now. BUT... it appears that as a result, a LOT of local Uber drivers have quit doing Uber and over the past month, it's become increasingly difficult to even get an Uber here. More and more often, I fire up the app and get "No UberX available" (and usually no UberXL or UberSelect either). So I installed the Lyft app, and I consistently find that Lyft can get me a ride when Uber can't. I still usually at least try Uber first just out of habit, but they're definitely ceding ground to Lyft in this area, just due to availability if nothing else. OTOH, Uber does do some neat stuff... like I noticed that in Portland, they have "UberPedal" where you can get a car with a bike rack. I find myself hoping they expand that to our area, as it would be nice to be able to bike to work, knowing that if it's raining or cold or something later, I can call up an UberPedal bike-rack equipped car for the trip home.

bsbechtel 11y ago
This is interesting because much of what has been written about Uber and lowering prices + surge pricing is the idea that Uber is trying to perfectly match supply and demand. If rides are consistently unavailable, that would be an indicator to me that their pricing is too low, and they aren't doing as good of a job as expected with this.
s_q_b 11y ago
Their service here in Washington, D.C. is awful. I used to love Uber, evangelized it to friends, was even the first to show Sanju Bansal how it worked when we were at a gala. Everyone else was fumbling for their S-Class keys while our twin black Navigator vehicles proceeded to pick us up at the entrance. That, to me, was the Zenith of Uber. The entire VC set of the city was waiting for cars and drivers gridlocked in the garage and lot, while some kid with an app summoned two fully appointed SUVs as if from nowhere. I wore Uber shades, tried the various promotions. I was thrilled, absolutely certain that they were one partnership away from Google to automate city transport and leapfrog our ailing transport grid. Then something changed. The lines between Uber and UberX blurred, and UberX drivers changed from well-dressed folks owner-operating, or working for car fleets, to guys with Jack Daniels hats, ponytails, and (this is literal) body odor. Uber decreased in quality, both in fleet and drivers. Ubers used to be spit-polished tire-black shined towncars, and the drivers were excellent. Never an open door missed, a bottle of water offered, mints stocked, radio preference, and an AC at a comfortable temperature, which the driver would immediately offers to adjust. It wasn't just the network that made Uber. It was the service. It literally outclassed the transportation of millionaires, with service options of the Four Seasons at the price of a Motel 6. The service has now become so bad, that power users are like sailors following the rats off a sinking ship. Then it's disclosed that one of the main showrunners has been spending all his time on some fucking branding project? And when it's finally released, the material he produced looks like it was created by a sentient bag of cocaine. "We're particles that unite to form atoms, to something... something... interaction between meatspace and cyberspace.... unity, and particles and shit. Yo, you gonna hit that?" Are you serious? In summation: No moat, no network effect. It was nice of you to pave the way for self-driving car fleets, but unless you reorganize management from the bottom of the floor up, your balloon's about to deflate faster than Napster. Peace guys. *Full disclaimer: I did turn down a second round interview at Uber due to their policies regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act. My consulting rate is $500/hr, and I'd consider fixing this mess with the ADA for half that. I wish I had the opportunity to speak to your board for five minutes about the damage their ADA policies are causing. Imagine a girl, unable to move unassisted, alone in the snow, as her driver throws her wheelchair to the curb screaming at how he doesn't accept people "like her."

oneloop 11y ago

Can anyone make a rational argument why uber-type companies are winner takes all?

Spooky23 11y ago
You tend to coalesce into a few big brands when you sell a commodity with little differentiation. Also, just as cabs did, über will erect regulatory barriers to entry for smaller players.
technotony 11y ago
The network effects come from the driver side of the market. If you have all the drivers, then you have the quickest pick-up/most availability which means best passenger experience and then most customers. This in turn means best utilization for drivers, so you get more drivers etc etc etc.
- prostoalex 11y ago
  Network effect usually implies some kind of lock-in. Unless Uber is willing to go exclusive and qualify the drivers as employees, getting more drivers out on the road also means getting more Lyft and Gett drivers on the road, as most will just have multiple apps running.
  - pfarnsworth 11y ago
    It's hard to switch between apps. I've asked all my drivers the same question, and they all say that it's more trouble than it's worth because at least in the Bay Area, there work is constant as an Uber driver.
    - woah 11y ago
      I feel like almost every über I see has a lyft sticker too. The UX of switching apps seems like a minor inconvenience given that most of them use waze to navigate anyway.
- 11y ago

patio11 11y ago

Coke and Pepsi or, closer to the point, Coke and "sparkling water." Choice of how to reach your destination is less about product differentiation and more about personal differentiation. Some people don't want to be "the kind of person that uses an Uber."

cgag 11y ago
Not sure why this is downvoted. I use Lyft and this feels like why to me.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

AlwaysBCoding 11y ago

I always take Lyft over Uber because they actually TELL YOU THE COLOR OF THE CAR on the app. Uber not showing you the color of the drivers car is one of the weirdest UI decisions I can ever remember.

mindcrime 11y ago
I always take Lyft over Uber because they actually TELL YOU THE COLOR OF THE CAR on the app. Uber not showing you the color of the drivers car is one of the weirdest UI decisions I can ever remember. Yeah, that's one thing Lyft definitely go right. For the life of me, I can't understand why Uber doesn't do that as well.
- skuhn 11y ago
  It might stem from Uber's roots, since all of the Uber Black cars are by definition black. It is pretty annoying when using their billions of other offerings -- not everyone can spot a particular Honda Civic from two blocks away.
  - SeoxyS 11y ago
    I took a white town car on UberBLACK back in the day. It was pretty cool, it had a disco ball and pink lights inside.
    - skuhn 11y ago
      Interesting, I've used it a bunch over the years and never encountered a non-black car. Which is actually kind of silly when you think about it -- a silver Mercedes is just as classy as a black one, if that's what you're concerned with (I'm actually more interested in getting a livery driver who knows what they're doing).
bboreham 11y ago
Well, that's weird: I got into an argument with my Uber driver at SFO last week because the app said his car was gray and I didn't notice it waiting there because to me it looked black. Maybe it's supported for different grades of service?

ajmurmann 11y ago

I pretty much stopped using Uber because every time I ask a driver who works for both whom they prefer they tell me that they prefer Lyft. I don't really see much of a difference between the two as a consumer so I use who the drivers prefer.

patmcguire 11y ago

I've seen the difference, it's much more pronounced with women. I talk with drivers, a lot drive for women, they notice significantly more women on Lyft. I've heard a combination of complaints about Uber leadership being dudebros and Uber drivers sexually assaulting riders as the reason why. I don't know if Lyft actually provides a safer ride, but they don't say shitty things in public and don't have as many well known incidents.

fosk 11y ago
Lyft has a lower volume and penetration, which means it's making way less rides than Uber worldwide. That could be a reason. Plus the media finding out that being against Uber brings more clicks.

nickonline 11y ago

But there's other examples of this, McDonalds in the USA is lowest of the fast food but around the world their stores are held to higher standards and output higher quality food. Maybe Uber has given up on the USA as a whole, the USA after all is only 300 million people in a world of 8 billion+ Why bother competing at all when you can go overseas where there's little to no competition.

kpennell 11y ago

Really makes me happy to hear that Uber is being punished for all the sketchy shit they've pulled over the last couple of years. I thought I was the only one who went for Lyft.

tryitnow 11y ago

Weird. I've experienced a similar thing, except most people I know haven't given up on Uber, they just prefer Lyft. Not sure why. And I don't think network effect is all that sustainable of a competitive advantage here. Switching costs are just downloading a new app and entering your credit card information. Frankly, I think this market is still open in the very long term.