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.
Why do you think it could be substantively different between Uber and Lyft? It seems incredibly unlikely to me. I see basically no cultural difference between these platforms.
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.
As a woman who uses Lyft often, I can confirm that I've been treated like shit by a number of drivers in ways that I can't imagine a man would be treated. Stuff like how they would park a block away from me and make me walk the whole way to their cars (invariably, the people who do this are men who come from countries where women's rights are unheard of).
I'm at the point where I'm seriously upset that Lyft doesn't allow women to specifically request a female driver. Hell, I'd be willing to pay extra to guarantee that my driver be a woman.
I've asked my lyft drivers in san francisco if they've noticed any difference in ridership lately (they almost all drive for both uber and lyft), and heard things like 'yeah, all the women are taking lyft now.'
This conversation has been going on for years. I rarely see Uber or Lyft drivers participating and when i do they generally just want the company to take a bit less out of the deal, that’s it.
You are correct, but from my (admittedly anecdotal) experience, none of them became as commonly used as Uber/Lyft were, before or after. This maybe would have changed eventually, had the situation persisted longer.
As a former driver I have to say lyfts logic is accurate. Also, why should a company with less dispatches be subjected to different rules from those that don't?? That's extremely anti-driver.
I don't think this is a reflection of Lyft taking market share...more likely that the ridesharing industry has just matured.
I remember getting so much joy out of requesting an Uber back in the earlier days. Nowadays I get about as much joy out of Uber(pool) as using the bus, sometimes less because the wait time has increased so much.
Among my peer group (Denver) it's been the same. It has alot more to do with what we hear from drivers about the respective companies. For whatever reason drivers are happy to shill for Lyft and are often almost hostile towards Uber. At some point you just get the feeling that Uber isn't what we really wanna be supporting.
I should note: my peer group isn't particularly tech oriented.
Lyft in NYC is virtually a different company from what I can tell. I guess the sharing economy model for vehicle ownership isn't scaleable in NYC since so few people own cars. It went from 'riding with your best friend' to riding in a black car with a pink mustache.
Really? I've talked to multiple Lyft drivers who've told me they recently switched over to Lyft because they've noticed the volume of fares go down driving for Uber.
Also, anecdotally, I can say that in my group of friends a lot of people have switched.
I think this analogy breaks down with ridesharing services because there isn't any lock-in, and barrier to entry is low (now that Uber has plowed through the regulations).
Many Uber drivers are already logged into Lyft at the same time, despite a disparity in demand.
It used to seem to be the drivers of Lyft tended to be more doing it part time and fun to talk to, versus the much more business oriented and cold Uber community made up of former taxi drivers and truckers. I always assumed this had to do with the branding and the way they targeted potential drivers. I liked the Lyft feel a lot more.
But lately they both seem to be a mix of both communities to me, so I don't know if that has changed or if it was even a real effect to begin with.
My primary form of transportation is a bike, but my ride-sharing trends are pretty similar to David's. I've been using Lyft far more than Uber lately even though I view them as completely interchangeable services and I'm not known for having strong brand loyalty. In SF, Lyft and Uber are comparable on both price and speed, so it's an easy decision to use one service over the other, even if you only have a slight preference. For me the shift hasn't happened out of outrage at Uber, but because I like the Lyft experience so much more. Lyft drivers are overwhelmingly friendly and Lyft Line tends to attract similarly friendly people. I've had some great conversations while sharing rides on Lyft Line where I actually didn't want the ride to end so soon. I've swapped contact info with some cute girls, met a potential hire, and landed a couple new customers all while sharing rides on Lyft.
I like that Lyft has a reputation for taking care of their drivers. In the words of one driver I rode with, "there are no drivers protesting outside the Lyft office". Instead, their drivers speak highly of the company. As a company, they seem like they are starting to find their stride. Their mission from the beginning was to get people to shares rides and fill up all those single-passenger cars you see everywhere. They're making good progress on that mission today and cutting down on traffic is something I care about as well. Uber has a ride-sharing option too, but they don't seem to be nearly as motivated by that purpose. I'm not sure what Uber's mission is actually.
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