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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

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.)

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.)