9 ms·

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 servic

by 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.
        furioussloth 9y ago
        From what I have read on driver subreddits Lyft takes far shorter time like 2 days to approve drivers as opposed to Uber which takes 2 weeks.
      - pimlottc 9y ago
        In my experience, driving for both about two years ago, Lyft did require an in-person visit from a "mentor" to get approved, while Uber did not. Neither required any sort of technical inspection or mechanic check.
  - AceyMan 9y ago
    If "ride quality" is some kind of chimera, then these ride-sharing businesses are spinning their wheels trying to gather satisfaction metrics at the end of each ride provided (e.g., "Please rate your experience/driver/&c." questions prompted by the respective app). My latest tactic is to answer these questions in an unnaturally enthusiastic, — yet earnest — manner, while at the same time avoiding commenting whatsoever on the ride itself. "Kevin is proving to be a very valuable member of the team with a promising future ahead!" or some similar piffle. I suggest everyone try it; it's an interesting challenge to invent a new variation following every ride. (And I just imagine what such constructions do to the filtering AI they probably send these through. My goal is to have each one reach human eyeballs, but seeing as I'll never know for sure it's akin to a message in a bottle. It's still fun, though.)
- upvotinglurker 9y ago
  For me, implied pressure to socialize with the driver ("fist bumping" etc.) would be a bug, not a feature.
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.

by ng12 9y ago

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.
      - furioussloth 9y ago
        From what I have read on driver subreddits Lyft takes far shorter time like 2 days to approve drivers as opposed to Uber which takes 2 weeks.
    - pimlottc 9y ago
      In my experience, driving for both about two years ago, Lyft did require an in-person visit from a "mentor" to get approved, while Uber did not. Neither required any sort of technical inspection or mechanic check.
- AceyMan 9y ago
  If "ride quality" is some kind of chimera, then these ride-sharing businesses are spinning their wheels trying to gather satisfaction metrics at the end of each ride provided (e.g., "Please rate your experience/driver/&c." questions prompted by the respective app). My latest tactic is to answer these questions in an unnaturally enthusiastic, — yet earnest — manner, while at the same time avoiding commenting whatsoever on the ride itself. "Kevin is proving to be a very valuable member of the team with a promising future ahead!" or some similar piffle. I suggest everyone try it; it's an interesting challenge to invent a new variation following every ride. (And I just imagine what such constructions do to the filtering AI they probably send these through. My goal is to have each one reach human eyeballs, but seeing as I'll never know for sure it's akin to a message in a bottle. It's still fun, though.)
upvotinglurker 9y ago
For me, implied pressure to socialize with the driver ("fist bumping" etc.) would be a bug, not a feature.

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.