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It’s interesting to see Lyft doing well here - the news was quite bad for Lyft it seemed just a year ago or so, with Uber dominating headlines and in users’ min

It’s interesting to see Lyft doing well here - the news was quite bad for Lyft it seemed just a year ago or so, with Uber dominating headlines and in users’ minds of those inclined to use ride sharing as well as such rumors circulating such as Lyft failing to find a buyer. Fast forward after numerous gaffes on Uber’s side including the former CEO, and there seems to be a lot of good will that has shifted to Lyft. Doesn’t necessarily mean Lyft will thrive, but it looks a lot more promising than a year ago.

delias_ 9y ago
Aside from the not-Uber aspect, istio and envoy have driven a lot of excitement around lyft from a tech perspective. I wonder how much that factors in here or if I'm overestimating the hype.
- 101km 9y ago
  I don't think anybody is using istio quite yet..
- KGIII 9y ago
  I notice they are also advertising more. I'm surprised to see their ads in the current football game.
ng12 9y ago
The level of differentiation is so small I don't think much of that matters. At the end of the day I care about getting from point A to be point B. Which service I use just depends on which app I feel like opening.
- MegaButts 9y ago
  > Which service I use just depends on which app I feel like opening. You could say the same thing about search engines, it's just a matter of which search engine you open. I'm sure you'll say 'but they give different results, and one is faster, and one doesn't track me, etcetera' - but you could make the same argument about Uber vs Lyft. At one point only one service offered tipping (although that's since changed). Initially Lyft drivers tended to fist bump their riders and would encourage them to sit in the front seat, although that seems to be less common. They do seem to be getting more and more similar, but it's not hard for them to differentiate themselves beyond price.
  - ng12 9y ago
    I honestly have no reason to prefer Uber over Lyft except if maybe one is surging and the other isn't. As an end-user the experience is indistinguishable, especially since most drivers drive for both services. At least with Bing I'm a little annoyed at worse results or that the videos don't go direct to YouTube.
  - gordon_freeman 9y ago
    Analogy of ride-hailing service with Search engine is flawed. At the end of the day ride-hailing apps just get us from Point A to Point B whereas search engine gets us vital information on time which depends a lot on "search quality". There is no such thing as "ride quality" when deciding on using either Uber or Lyft.
    - SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
      There is such a thing as ride quality; I choose to ride Lyft specifically because a representative from Lyft actually gets in a driver's car and rides with them before allowing them on the platform. Though the difference in quality is much less than the difference between Google and Bing for instance.
      - Karunamon 9y ago
        That depends on location. They recently expanded into my city and only wanted a self-inspection. Literally a checkbox that says “yes, I verified these things”. Uber at least demands a check sheet filled and signed by a mechanic from a list provided by them, and it has to be refreshed yearly.
        SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
        Perhaps it has changed in general. When I first started riding with Lyft two years ago that was policy everywhere. Maybe they realized it is not something that can be accomplished at scale. Which would be unfortunate because I know several people, women in particular, who found that policy to be a differentiator in the rideshare competition.
- gordon_freeman 9y ago
  > Which service I use just depends on which app I feel like opening. Which service I use just depends on 2 factors: Least of the estimated fares and speedier pick-up. And of course if the 'Pool' or 'Line' carpooling available on the route I am going.
- dheera 9y ago
  I regularly find Lyft to be more than twice the price of Uber. That price difference makes quite a difference to me, honestly.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
    Is this in the Bay Area? In Austin Lyft is slightly more expensive than Uber, but no more than 10-15% at any given time.
    - dheera 9y ago
      Yes I live in the Bay Area. Last time I took a $9 Uber ride, I checked Lyft and it was $21. This has happened enough times that I check Lyft prices increasingly less frequently.
      - lqdc13 9y ago
        In San Francisco Lyft is cheaper. SF center to SFO is like $15-35 for Lyft Line while Uber charges $19-45. SoMa to Marina is $4.05 for Lyft today and > $5.50 for Uber
        dheera 9y ago
        Really? I regularly get $30-40 from downtown SF to mid-peninsula. Sometimes even less. To SFO much less than that. http://static.dheera.net/share/20170915/uber.png http://static.dheera.net/share/20170915/uber.png
        Eridrus 9y ago
        Both these companies have sophisticated price discrimination systems; two people catching the same ride at the same time will pay different prices, as I found out recently with a friend who gets much lower prices on Uber than I do.
        SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
- pentae 9y ago
  In the US, sure. But if you travel internationally as I do, Lyft isn't even Outside the US yet while Uber is in almost 100 countries. There's no comparison.
  - abraae 9y ago
    This is a big deal for many people. I arrived in Perth, summoned up an Uber, and it arrived in a few minutes, all billed to my regular credit card back home. Amazing really.
    - jouhy 9y ago
      Before what did you have to do? Find a horse?
    - _Codemonkeyism 9y ago
      I wonder how they manage taxes.
      - Belphemur 9y ago
        For European, if Uber is registered in Europe and is the service provider, it would be the taxes of the country of the client.
        _Codemonkeyism 9y ago
        It looks like this is not the case, "It is also this setup that also allows Uber to pay what their critics say is less than their ‘fair share’ of tax – Uber pays no VAT and, last year, only paid £411,000 in Corporation Tax." https://www.londonreconnections.com/2017/understanding-uber-not-app/ https://www.londonreconnections.com/2017/understanding-uber-...
  - dx034 9y ago
    While it does matter for me as well, most people won't care. The number of people who regularly travel abroad and use taxis there (most European tourists revert to public transport when on holiday or get transportation from an organiser) will be low. Uber is popular in London because they're the only one here (apart from Addison Lee which has a different focus). I don't think people are attached to the brand, they just like the price.
- enraged_camel 9y ago
  The apps may be similar but the companies aren't. Specifically, Lyft doesn't seem to be a raging dumpster fire.
- deevolution 9y ago
  "The level of differentiations is so small I don't think much of that matters" there are hundreds of additional subconsious decisions being made in a persons head that inform which app will ultimately be opened up. These companies public actions/reactions matter ALOT in terms of determining their success.
  - kdamken 9y ago
    The decision for me is always based solely on which one is cheaper for the trip I'm trying to make. I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case for a lot of people.
- andrei_says_ 9y ago
  Me, too. One important detail is that I uninstalled Uber's app after reading about it tracking me, about Uber's extremely toxic culture, about their poor treatment of drivers and illegal activities. So now it's Lyft. A nice bonus is that I absolutely love the UX.
- tenpies 9y ago
  > The level of differentiation is so small I don't think much of that matters. My experience has been otherwise. The apps are commodities, but Lyft drivers have been consistently nicer humans that seem to care more about their cars. I do get the occasional nice Uber driver, but most of them seem to have zero interest in what they're doing. If the car runs, it's good to go. They just want you in and out as fas as possible.
  - furioussloth 9y ago
    Except same people drive for both companies. There is a very tiny fraction of drivers driving for just one. And in general they make more money using Uber because of quests (bonus after finishing certain rides per day). The experience depends on your luck and which driver you end up getting.
- fhood 9y ago
  But Uber forgot how to not be evil.
tanilama 9y ago
Really? Uber is still the only app that I can almost frictionlessly use when flying over different cities.
- mrgordon 9y ago
  True but if people prefer Lyft over Uber in many markets then Lyft will do well and expand to more cities/countries. In San Francisco I find a lot of people prefer Lyft. Most were turned off by Uber's many scandals and a few mentioned they like the better refund policy if you cancel a ride. Uber was initially ahead on brand recognition and funding so they expanded aggressively. This may come back to haunt them as they have to fight every jurisdiction where they rushed in and often broke laws. Lyft could definitely move into more markets as the article says they plan to do.

delias_ 9y ago

Aside from the not-Uber aspect, istio and envoy have driven a lot of excitement around lyft from a tech perspective. I wonder how much that factors in here or if I'm overestimating the hype.

101km 9y ago
I don't think anybody is using istio quite yet..
KGIII 9y ago
I notice they are also advertising more. I'm surprised to see their ads in the current football game.

ng12 9y ago

The level of differentiation is so small I don't think much of that matters. At the end of the day I care about getting from point A to be point B. Which service I use just depends on which app I feel like opening.

MegaButts 9y ago
> Which service I use just depends on which app I feel like opening. You could say the same thing about search engines, it's just a matter of which search engine you open. I'm sure you'll say 'but they give different results, and one is faster, and one doesn't track me, etcetera' - but you could make the same argument about Uber vs Lyft. At one point only one service offered tipping (although that's since changed). Initially Lyft drivers tended to fist bump their riders and would encourage them to sit in the front seat, although that seems to be less common. They do seem to be getting more and more similar, but it's not hard for them to differentiate themselves beyond price.
- ng12 9y ago
  I honestly have no reason to prefer Uber over Lyft except if maybe one is surging and the other isn't. As an end-user the experience is indistinguishable, especially since most drivers drive for both services. At least with Bing I'm a little annoyed at worse results or that the videos don't go direct to YouTube.
- gordon_freeman 9y ago
  Analogy of ride-hailing service with Search engine is flawed. At the end of the day ride-hailing apps just get us from Point A to Point B whereas search engine gets us vital information on time which depends a lot on "search quality". There is no such thing as "ride quality" when deciding on using either Uber or Lyft.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
    There is such a thing as ride quality; I choose to ride Lyft specifically because a representative from Lyft actually gets in a driver's car and rides with them before allowing them on the platform. Though the difference in quality is much less than the difference between Google and Bing for instance.
    - Karunamon 9y ago
      That depends on location. They recently expanded into my city and only wanted a self-inspection. Literally a checkbox that says “yes, I verified these things”. Uber at least demands a check sheet filled and signed by a mechanic from a list provided by them, and it has to be refreshed yearly.
      - SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
        Perhaps it has changed in general. When I first started riding with Lyft two years ago that was policy everywhere. Maybe they realized it is not something that can be accomplished at scale. Which would be unfortunate because I know several people, women in particular, who found that policy to be a differentiator in the rideshare competition.
gordon_freeman 9y ago
> Which service I use just depends on which app I feel like opening. Which service I use just depends on 2 factors: Least of the estimated fares and speedier pick-up. And of course if the 'Pool' or 'Line' carpooling available on the route I am going.
dheera 9y ago
I regularly find Lyft to be more than twice the price of Uber. That price difference makes quite a difference to me, honestly.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
  Is this in the Bay Area? In Austin Lyft is slightly more expensive than Uber, but no more than 10-15% at any given time.
  - dheera 9y ago
    Yes I live in the Bay Area. Last time I took a $9 Uber ride, I checked Lyft and it was $21. This has happened enough times that I check Lyft prices increasingly less frequently.
    - lqdc13 9y ago
      In San Francisco Lyft is cheaper. SF center to SFO is like $15-35 for Lyft Line while Uber charges $19-45. SoMa to Marina is $4.05 for Lyft today and > $5.50 for Uber
      - dheera 9y ago
        Really? I regularly get $30-40 from downtown SF to mid-peninsula. Sometimes even less. To SFO much less than that. http://static.dheera.net/share/20170915/uber.png http://static.dheera.net/share/20170915/uber.png
      - Eridrus 9y ago
        Both these companies have sophisticated price discrimination systems; two people catching the same ride at the same time will pay different prices, as I found out recently with a friend who gets much lower prices on Uber than I do.
        SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
pentae 9y ago
In the US, sure. But if you travel internationally as I do, Lyft isn't even Outside the US yet while Uber is in almost 100 countries. There's no comparison.
- abraae 9y ago
  This is a big deal for many people. I arrived in Perth, summoned up an Uber, and it arrived in a few minutes, all billed to my regular credit card back home. Amazing really.
  - jouhy 9y ago
    Before what did you have to do? Find a horse?
  - _Codemonkeyism 9y ago
    I wonder how they manage taxes.
    - Belphemur 9y ago
      For European, if Uber is registered in Europe and is the service provider, it would be the taxes of the country of the client.
      - _Codemonkeyism 9y ago
        It looks like this is not the case, "It is also this setup that also allows Uber to pay what their critics say is less than their ‘fair share’ of tax – Uber pays no VAT and, last year, only paid £411,000 in Corporation Tax." https://www.londonreconnections.com/2017/understanding-uber-not-app/ https://www.londonreconnections.com/2017/understanding-uber-...
- dx034 9y ago
  While it does matter for me as well, most people won't care. The number of people who regularly travel abroad and use taxis there (most European tourists revert to public transport when on holiday or get transportation from an organiser) will be low. Uber is popular in London because they're the only one here (apart from Addison Lee which has a different focus). I don't think people are attached to the brand, they just like the price.
enraged_camel 9y ago
The apps may be similar but the companies aren't. Specifically, Lyft doesn't seem to be a raging dumpster fire.
deevolution 9y ago
"The level of differentiations is so small I don't think much of that matters" there are hundreds of additional subconsious decisions being made in a persons head that inform which app will ultimately be opened up. These companies public actions/reactions matter ALOT in terms of determining their success.
- kdamken 9y ago
  The decision for me is always based solely on which one is cheaper for the trip I'm trying to make. I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case for a lot of people.
andrei_says_ 9y ago
Me, too. One important detail is that I uninstalled Uber's app after reading about it tracking me, about Uber's extremely toxic culture, about their poor treatment of drivers and illegal activities. So now it's Lyft. A nice bonus is that I absolutely love the UX.
tenpies 9y ago
> The level of differentiation is so small I don't think much of that matters. My experience has been otherwise. The apps are commodities, but Lyft drivers have been consistently nicer humans that seem to care more about their cars. I do get the occasional nice Uber driver, but most of them seem to have zero interest in what they're doing. If the car runs, it's good to go. They just want you in and out as fas as possible.
- furioussloth 9y ago
  Except same people drive for both companies. There is a very tiny fraction of drivers driving for just one. And in general they make more money using Uber because of quests (bonus after finishing certain rides per day). The experience depends on your luck and which driver you end up getting.
fhood 9y ago
But Uber forgot how to not be evil.

tanilama 9y ago

Really? Uber is still the only app that I can almost frictionlessly use when flying over different cities.

mrgordon 9y ago
True but if people prefer Lyft over Uber in many markets then Lyft will do well and expand to more cities/countries. In San Francisco I find a lot of people prefer Lyft. Most were turned off by Uber's many scandals and a few mentioned they like the better refund policy if you cancel a ride. Uber was initially ahead on brand recognition and funding so they expanded aggressively. This may come back to haunt them as they have to fight every jurisdiction where they rushed in and often broke laws. Lyft could definitely move into more markets as the article says they plan to do.