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In my experience, and I have driven for both, Lyft actually has been more humane to me in the role of driver. Uber's customer service (remember, drivers pay to

In my experience, and I have driven for both, Lyft actually has been more humane to me in the role of driver. Uber's customer service (remember, drivers pay to use the network) is if you don't like it, you can leave. Lyft on the other hand has taken responsibility for every mistake they have made with me and has fixed it. They have also viewed my feedback about processes and offerings as a gift not a nuisance. And Lyft's incentives are geared in a way where they give a lot, even up to where it looks to me like a loss on paper, to any driver who is dedicated and is bringing something good to the table. The bottom line is, driver compensation sucks because people aren't willing to pay what the service is actually worth. They pay $10-$30 a day to Rideshare, and ignore the fact that a new car TCO is 2-3x that. And they get to spend their time doing something else instead of driving. Some people work, some socialize with their friends, some seek entertainment from their devices. And then there are those who avoid the $10,000 DUI.

xapata 10y ago
Things are "worth" the price that the market will bear. If rides were worth more, at the current supply, then Lyft would charge more. Why should a new car be valued by market principles but rides not? To increase price, you must decrease supply.
- CodeWriter23 10y ago
  That's hilarious. Uber and Lyft alike are running on a VC-subsidized business model. Leaving the comparisons of personal transport solutions aside, neither of them are turning a profit.
  - xapata 10y ago
    Doesn't matter. I mean, we can argue about the intrinsic value of a ride, but the only way to know the market value of something is to sell it. Or to buy it, if you're on the other side of the situation. I'm not saying the value won't change in some years when the VC money dries up and the market shifts. Of course it will. To think otherwise would make me like the taxi medallion owners complaining about their mistaken investments. Another way to look at it is that buying a car is a bad investment, because it's tough to recover the cost of ownership. Perhaps people buy them for non-business purposes and are driving the price up.

xapata 10y ago

Things are "worth" the price that the market will bear. If rides were worth more, at the current supply, then Lyft would charge more. Why should a new car be valued by market principles but rides not? To increase price, you must decrease supply.

CodeWriter23 10y ago
That's hilarious. Uber and Lyft alike are running on a VC-subsidized business model. Leaving the comparisons of personal transport solutions aside, neither of them are turning a profit.
- xapata 10y ago
  Doesn't matter. I mean, we can argue about the intrinsic value of a ride, but the only way to know the market value of something is to sell it. Or to buy it, if you're on the other side of the situation. I'm not saying the value won't change in some years when the VC money dries up and the market shifts. Of course it will. To think otherwise would make me like the taxi medallion owners complaining about their mistaken investments. Another way to look at it is that buying a car is a bad investment, because it's tough to recover the cost of ownership. Perhaps people buy them for non-business purposes and are driving the price up.