# What Are The Differences Between Lyft and Uber?



## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

Pro Lyft

in-App tipping
Pays 100% of cancellation fees

Pays return tolls
Pays time between arrival and rider's appearance.

Better (subjectively) customer service
Pro Uber

More & Closer Pings per hour due to larger market share
Pays selected surcharges that Lyft does not (example: Conn. into NYC)
Talk in-person to company representative in Greenlight Hubs
UberEats provides additional delivery option for drivers to profit
Similar

In most cities, similar base pay, per mile and per minute
UberPool similar to Lyft-Line
Similar general driver policies on deactivation, service animals, etc.
No consequences for low acceptance rate, but excessive cancellations penalized.
*What do you think? What have I left out?*


----------



## Old Smokey (Sep 13, 2015)

Maven said:


> Pro Lyft
> 
> in-App tipping
> Pays 100% of cancellation fees
> ...


You better take me and my dogs where I want to go, no time limit on 2 stop fares "take your time," maybe one is a little more friendly to those of the "alternative lifestyle" hence pink.


----------



## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

1099 obfuscation methodology, mainly


----------



## MrMikeNC (Feb 16, 2017)

I hate that with Lyft you need at least $50 to cash out. Uber on the other hand their threshold is much less ($1) but at the same time, see the threads I've responded on where they "force" you to use GoBank Card instead of your commercial bank (credit unions seem to be fine but I'm not part of a credit union so that doesn't help me).

Customer Support: Lyft's response time is better than Uber's, and less canned-responsey, but on the other hand, Lyft seems pro rider and almost anti-driver in a lot of instances.

I like Lyft's app interface better.

The one thing I like about Uber over Lyft is that (unless its changed in the last month since I've used them), YOU the driver can cancel without penalty. Lyft on the other hand they say there's an acceptance rating system that can get you deactivated if you cancel too many rides. Mileage varies on that, since a lot of folks here have said they cancel and have a low acceptance rate (with nag texts to accept more rides) but are fine.

And of course, what Lyft has over Uber, like the OP mentioned, in-app tipping.

As for the Greenlight Sessions...what's weird its when I first started with Lyft they had an equivalent, but they seemed to have stopped for some reason. Uber though has those on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, I'm starting to see that they're three times a week and bi-weekly for my area.

I've heard mixed things about UberEats, so I'm thinking instead I might sign up for GrubHub and try it out.


----------



## charmer37 (Nov 18, 2016)

In


MrMikeNC said:


> I hate that with Lyft you need at least $50 to cash out. Uber on the other hand their threshold is much less ($1) but at the same time, see the threads I've responded on where they "force" you to use GoBank Card instead of your commercial bank (credit unions seem to be fine but I'm not part of a credit union so that doesn't help me).
> 
> Customer Support: Lyft's response time is better than Uber's, and less canned-responsey, but on the other hand, Lyft seems pro rider and almost anti-driver in a lot of instances.
> 
> ...


 In my past ubereats experience i would definitely try grubhub.

There are pros and cons between uber and lyft, In my experience the pay is the same and both are pro rider than driver.


----------



## PTUber (Sep 16, 2015)

Some will tell you Lyft PAX are better than Uber PAX. I have not found that to be true in fact they are basically the same people. It makes sense for PAX like drivers to use both. Uber surging use Lyft. No Lyft drivers around use Uber. 
Also Uber tends to surge more meaning more $ for the driver. 
Both have weekly driver promotions some good some not so good. Figure out which ones work best for you. 
Apps are similar Uber's does a better job of showing where the surge is compared to Lyft's showing PrimeTime.
Although minimal Lyft pays for wait time and even has a built in 5 minute count down clock.
All in all they are very similar I will add Lyft does a much better job staying out of the news. Uber seems to have a weekly screw up.


----------



## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Maven said:


> Pro Lyft
> 
> in-App tipping
> Pays 100% of cancellation fees
> ...


Pro Uber

- Uber knows that they are a bunch of dooshbags and admit it.

Anti Lyft

- Lyft tries to hide the fact that they are a bunch of dooshbags with references to a non-existent "Lyft community" composed of drivers, pax and the company itself
- Annoying pax who get in the car and say, "I take Lyft because they treat the drivers so much better!". Then, as well as spouting that nonsense which is 100% false, they don't tip.



PTUber said:


> All in all they are very similar I will add Lyft does a much better job staying out of the news. Uber seems to have a weekly screw up.


Precisely. Lyft is just as bad as Uber; the only difference is that Lyft has the good sense not to say idiotic/imprudent/misogynistic/avaricious/drunken nonsense in public where there are cameras/dashcams/reporters.


----------



## MrMikeNC (Feb 16, 2017)

I've only taken advantage of the surge thing (or is it Primetime? I conflate the terms all the time sorry) on Lyft, can't seem to ever get it on Uber.

Yes its roughly the same as far a both having jerk pax, but I've encountered more jerks with Uber. But the split is close, I'd say 55:45 in favor of Uber. Though the pit stop pax ("Hey can you take me to 7-11 its on the way home") have always happened exclusively on Lyft.


----------



## SEPA_UberDude (Apr 18, 2017)

I'm not sure if it's a Lyft thing, or just because I drive from home and live in a rural area, but after recently going online with Lyft the ride requests have come from pax more than 25 minutes away, and from urban areas close to Philly where it's reasonable to assume that they will either be short rides, or take me farther away from home. When I let the requests time out, I get a text from Lyft telling me to sh*t or get the pot if I'm not available to drive.

With Uber the pings come from locations closer to home or further out in remote areas where I feel confident the drive will be long enough to pay for itself and then some.

I contacted Lyft support to ask if there's a way to set a time/distance radius for requests and it took a couple days to get a response (which was "No, but thanks for asking."). But whenever I have needed to contact Uber support I get a response within an hour.

YMMV.


----------



## MrMikeNC (Feb 16, 2017)

I would get far away pings from Lyft too, beginning at the start of this year. I emailed Lyft about it, they explained that the longer I am online, "the wider my radius becomes" depending on available Lyft drivers. So when I cut it on I won't instantly get a 25+ minute away ping, but if I stay online long enough I will. They suggested cutting off the app, or switching to rider mode and back, to sort of "reset" that. I typically do the latter every 10 minutes, but this process also means if you opt in for power bonuses, that require you to stay logged in at least 55 minutes straight, you won't get it.

I also asked about the "stacking pings" thing, they said the only solution to this is to make whatever ride you're on the last ride. I typically do this when I do Lyft at the airport.



SEPA_UberDude said:


> I contacted Lyft support to ask if there's a way to set a time/distance radius for requests and it took a couple days to get a response (which was "No, but thanks for asking."). But whenever I have needed to contact Uber support I get a response within an hour.
> 
> YMMV.


My experience has been the exact opposite. Lyft will take no _less_ than an hour, but they'll respond. Uber on the other hand, 24/48 hours later.


----------



## autofill (Apr 1, 2016)

Most Lyft pax are cheap, promo code user (free rides), and rarely tip. If they do tip, it's like $1 - $2 but no more than $5. You'll never get a $20 tip from a Lyft pax while it's pretty common from Uber pax.

Lyft is very strict on acceptance rate. They will harass you relentlessly with "you have low acceptance" by email, text, and during incoming request "low acceptance warning" pop up. They also harass you if you quit or airplane mode during incoming request. This is the number one reason why Lyft will never be as successful as Uber during late night or early morning hours because drivers will simply log off rather than being online getting bombarded with 15 - 20 minutes away requests.


----------



## PTUber (Sep 16, 2015)

SEPA_UberDude said:


> I'm not sure if it's a Lyft thing, or just because I drive from home and live in a rural area, but after recently going online with Lyft the ride requests have come from pax more than 25 minutes away, and from urban areas close to Philly where it's reasonable to assume that they will either be short rides, or take me farther away from home. When I let the requests time out, I get a text from Lyft telling me to sh*t or get the pot if I'm not available to drive.
> 
> With Uber the pings come from locations closer to home or further out in remote areas where I feel confident the drive will be long enough to pay for itself and then some.
> 
> ...


Has a lot to do with the fact that there are fewer Lyft drivers so you get requests from long distances.


----------



## KMANDERSON (Jul 19, 2015)

PTUber said:


> Some will tell you Lyft PAX are better than Uber PAX. I have not found that to be true in fact they are basically the same people. It makes sense for PAX like drivers to use both. Uber surging use Lyft. No Lyft drivers around use Uber.
> Also Uber tends to surge more meaning more $ for the driver.
> Both have weekly driver promotions some good some not so good. Figure out which ones work best for you.
> Apps are similar Uber's does a better job of showing where the surge is compared to Lyft's showing PrimeTime.
> ...


I actually prefer uber passangers.


----------



## ddelro219 (Aug 11, 2016)

PTUber said:


> Some will tell you Lyft PAX are better than Uber PAX. I have not found that to be true in fact they are basically the same people. It makes sense for PAX like drivers to use both. ......


I've hard the same thing but have yet to see a difference in the quality of pax between the two. both have their fair share of a-holes as well as very pleasant riders.

a couple differences I've noticed is lyft pax tend to cancel the ride before you get there notably more often than uber pax. uber's driver app is better executed than lyft's except I don't know why uber can't calculate earnings right away like lyft. I kinda like that uber has a separate app for rider and driver - easier to spot other drivers without switching modes.

other than that, they're virtually one in the same and one doesn't have a substantial advantage over the other, in my experience at least.


----------



## Clark Kent (Mar 24, 2017)

So I've been driving only a month on Uber and a week on Lyft. Just noticed one big difference in app that no one has mentioned. Uber shows in the app what I am earning. Lyft seems to show what I've racked up for the night BEFORE taking out their fee. Is this right?


----------



## KMANDERSON (Jul 19, 2015)

Clark Kent said:


> So I've been driving only a month on Uber and a week on Lyft. Just noticed one big difference in app that no one has mentioned. Uber shows in the app what I am earning. Lyft seems to show what I've racked up for the night BEFORE taking out their fee. Is this right?


Yes


----------



## LVC (Jun 28, 2016)

Clark Kent said:


> So I've been driving only a month on Uber and a week on Lyft. Just noticed one big difference in app that no one has mentioned. Uber shows in the app what I am earning. Lyft seems to show what I've racked up for the night BEFORE taking out their fee. Is this right?


Yep, you have to go into your dashboard to see exactly what you will get paid from Lyft after their cut.

There are times, what I get paid from Lyft is actually more than what they show. Reason is in app tips are not included in the ride payments that are displayed, but they are shown in the dashboard where you see the amount Lyft will pay you.


----------



## DocT (Jul 16, 2015)

Lyft Cons

Farther pings.
Less riders (compared to Uber).
Seems to be former Uber riders who were banned or have ratings so low on Uber, no one will pick them up.
Quality of pax on Premier seem to be on par with Uber*X*.

Lyft Pro

Ability for pax to tip in-app.
Post 5-minute wait expiration counts towards time rate payment, if trip starts. I wish Uber would incorporate this!

Uber Con

Well, all have already been listed.

Uber Pros

Higher ridership quantity vs Lyft (Select and Premier)


----------



## MichaelMax (Jan 5, 2017)

Are you sure Lyft pays return tolls with no passenger in car?


----------



## Chauffeur_James (Dec 12, 2014)

DocT said:


> Lyft Cons
> 
> Farther pings.
> Less riders (compared to Uber).
> ...


I've only done 3 a Premier pings, but they were all really cool. Even though one guy had a 3.2 rating I took it. Turned out to be a really nice pilot.

Uber at least in Phoenix does now count wait time for the trip.









The only thing I absolutely love about Lyfts app is the ability (not always) to see exactly where the pax is at. I can even tell when they are walking towards my car.


----------



## Unkar's Muffins (Mar 9, 2017)

I've got 2000 rides now on Lyft, and have been at it aboyt 6 months.

The tipping feature is not as useful as it sounds. And customer service is not very good.

The in-app tipping is mediocre in two ways: One, very few people tip, and of those who do the tips are very small. And Two, I'm under the strong impression that Lyft tracks your tips and uses them against you. The user "Trump Economics" mentioned this. But my experience is that while ride numbers per week and paycheck should vary a bit each week, my paycheck is almost always the same, regardless of how busy it is supposed to be out there or how many long rides I give. If the system were more natural, I should expect a little more dynamism in my weekly checks. But it's clear to me that Lyft's algorhythm is making sure that I get about the same amount of money every week, despite tips or busy days.

Regarding small tips, I dunno about other drivers, but I have gone through a lot of effort to make customers happy and comfortable, and it is rarely rewarded. At Christmas time, I had decorated the interior of my vehicle with lights, ornaments, tinsel, christmas music, and pine essential oil scent. Nearly all my passengers raved about how good it made them feel and the commended me on it all. BUT here's the kicker: it made ZERO difference in my tips. I was still getting the same amount as when my car had no decoration at all. I decorated for New Years too, and again nothing. I always vacuum my car every day, check that the windows are clean and clear, and wash the vehicle about every 3 days. But tips for a clean or fun vehicle are very minor. Maybe 8%. People do not appreciate any of it, except perhaps with a pat on the back. I've even taken Lyfts myself around town, and many other Lyfters do not keep their car as clean or well kept up as I do.

Regarding Lyft customer service, I don't know if you are referring to Lyft passengers or Lyft drivers, but for drivers, Lyft stinks. They treat you like a child and constantly try to remind you of policy, as if you are breaking policy.

A few other things: Lyft has a really high insurance deductible if you get in an accident ($2500, compared to Uber's $1000), and Lyft also has a no-weapons policy for drivers, not even non-lethal weapon like pepper spray. So if Brutus is about to kick your ass for driving into his hood, too bad for you - according to Lyft you can be deactivated if any weapon is in the vehicle. I would say that despite claims to the contrary, Lyft is more anti-driver than pro-driver.


----------



## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

autofill said:


> Most Lyft pax are cheap, promo code user (free rides), and rarely tip. If they do tip, it's like $1 - $2 but no more than $5. You'll never get a $20 tip from a Lyft pax while it's pretty common from Uber pax.
> 
> Lyft is very strict on acceptance rate. They will harass you relentlessly with "you have low acceptance" by email, text, and during incoming request "low acceptance warning" pop up. They also harass you if you quit or airplane mode during incoming request. This is the number one reason why Lyft will never be as successful as Uber during late night or early morning hours because drivers will simply log off rather than being online getting bombarded with 15 - 20 minutes away requests.


I have been as low as the single digits on acceptance rating on LYFT, all I get are friendly reminders.

I assume you are asking drivers and not the Miss America answer I give to PAX so I will release the hounds

LYFT

I completely disagree with anyone that says LYFT support is better than UBER, they both answer questions I don't ask, but feel LYFT protocol is to deflect, and then stall and then ignore you for a period of time and hope you give up.
I love the clock when you tap arrive, but wish it started automatically like with Uber.
Their cancellation policy needs to be updated and if you do get the fee should be part of your daily earnings window. I should not have to check on a separate website, and then wait for DNA testing to see if I got the fee.
I hate if I move, after I arrive, the trip automatically starts, which leads me to the points above and the next point
I should not have to fill out a form, and have to know information like the PAX name, address, time of acceptance or incident, to file a complaint. I should be able to go into a trip history like uber and open a complaint. In addition, I only did 2 rides one night and had an issue with one, I even clicked the correct ride in the click down box, and they claimed they couldn't find it.
Why ask me for a comment when rating a driver if you have zero intentions of sharing it with the PAX? Uber recently started making it easier for the pax to see their own rating, you should too

Thanks for finally showing the Primetime percentage at time of acceptance, but trying to see if you are in a heated area is still tough, and to be honest I don't even bother looking, as I just have the uber app on for the most part anyway. The map looks like a bad pimple outbreak

As a premier driver, I should be able to opt out of LINE, Uber allows me to opt out of POOL Lyft should allow me to opt out of LINE.
You should give me an option to accept a stacked ping. Not force it on me, only to find out after I finished a ride that it is LINE, which I cancel right away.
I have gotten requests as long as 43 minutes away, not that I care but combine this with all the LINE requests I ignore, I never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever have a chance of achieving any kind of bonus, and I could care less, but enjoy my proud single digit acceptance rating from all the LINE requests I ignore. Either pay us to go out that far or stop giving us ridiculous request from that far away and at least cap it at 30 mins.

They cap rides at $500 here, and not notify you or end the trip automatically, they just let you keep driving probably charge the rider the amount but pay the driver the capped commission amount.
I do love the fact that when you arrive you can see the destination to see if it is worth waiting or cancelling
Of course the tipping option is great
It seems like 43 times a day I lose contact with the Lyft system, not sure if it is me, or anyone else
I am online 155 hours a week on Uber, but with Lyft, even if I do zero premier rides for 14 hours, I still need to take a 6 hour break, which seems stupid.
Destination filter seems like it is completely useless compared to Uber, I estimate that when using the DF on both apps, for every 1 miracle ride I get on Lyft, I would get 30 on uber, many of them might be garbage rides that actually get in the way, but at least I get requests on Uber, and basically quits, how does an app just give up and quit?
Do you have to send me texts that a PAX cancelled? Trust me that notification that goes off is enough.

Does Lyft have an incentive for riders that if they cancel 100 rides within 3 seconds they get a free ride?
a clearer explanation of the airport queue or system,
On uber I can text PAX, in fact I copy and paste messages to help me find pax easier and think it is safer, please allow us to text
UBER

Like lyft add a clock when the rider is notified to help us with cancellation fees, which I am sure will cut down on a lot of your support messages
Be able to add 2 stop trips
Not sure if Uber has it but on LYFT if you rate 3 or below you are never matched with the rider ever again.
If you arrive, we should be able to see destination, perhaps if we were able to, we would not cancel at least on a long fare.

I like criticism, more than compliments, one of the things I like about LYFT is that we are able to read complaints or reasons they may give me less than 5 stars, you should do the same so we can improve ourselves.
although the weekly bonus is unachievable for me on LYFT, it would be nice if Uber gave us a chance for less commissons or some kind of bonus every week, not just on busy event weekends.
Why cap the destination filter to 2 times a day? On Lyft it is unlimited, probably cause it doesn't work, but I can essentially use it all day.
Some people on Lyft put a profile pic up, not all, but I kinda like it cause it sometimes helps us find the pax easier, even though most times it is a crap picture.
LYFT tells us if it is a NEW customer, it would be nice if you tell us if it is a new customer like under 5 rides or some indication. I also think it would be great if you added total trips completed in addition to their rating
Thanks for having a greenlight hub, there is 2 locations in my market that I know of, and Lyft doesn't have anything that I know of like a Pink house or anything
Thanks for having programs to get free inspections, not sure Lyft has anything
Uber seems to have more promotions and at one point gave me business cards with codes on them, I am not sure if I even have a referral code on LYFT or any incentive to promote new Lyft drivers and get $5 and give new riders $20 off their first ride. I get the $5 every once in a while
It would be nice if we can opt out of advertisements like Xchange leasing
Sometimes you guys put a little Icon during busy events, I like that and wish Lyft would do the same thing
Your airport queue system seems superior to Lyft and clearer but is there anyway you can add the ETA and car count at the same time and make it available for all platforms? At least the car count, although I don't do pool, but pool should not be available at airports, if they can afford to fly they should be able to afford to get X
I love the new acceptance screen, but is there anyway you can put the address also?
I know when I missed a call on Lyft, however i don't on Uber, it would be nice if I knew somehow as easy as I do on Lyft
I am not 100% sure but I don't get kicked offline if I ignore a bunch of calls on Lyft, compared to 5-6 on Uber, but has been as high as 15 on uber when it is real busy
I need a cigarette


----------



## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

sanchez15 said:


> AS much as I hate to say it, Uber is better than Lyft in many ways. Especially if you have a car older than 2011. You are then forced to drive with Uber because you will get treated much better!
> http://www.hoodun.com/2017/05/02/why-uber-is-better-than-lyft/


Full thread at https://uberpeople.net/threads/uber-is-much-better-than-lyft.162146/


----------



## Unkar's Muffins (Mar 9, 2017)

Maven said:


> Full thread at https://uberpeople.net/threads/uber-is-much-better-than-lyft.162146/


Does Uber have a "peak hour" requirement like Lyft?

On Lyft, I now need 50% of my rides to be during peak hours. I can get about 30% but that leaves me short of the bonus I need to cover my lease.


----------



## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

Unkar's Muffins said:


> Does Uber have a "peak hour" requirement like Lyft? On Lyft, I now need 50% of my rides to be during peak hours. I can get about 30% but that leaves me short of the bonus I need to cover my lease.


Uber uses a different system, periodically offering individual drivers bonuses, promotions, and guarantees in specific areas during specified hours with additional conditions that must all be met to qualify. That's on top of surges.


----------



## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

Unkar's Muffins said:


> Does Uber have a "peak hour" requirement like Lyft?
> 
> On Lyft, I now need 50% of my rides to be during peak hours. I can get about 30% but that leaves me short of the bonus I need to cover my lease.


I think the only good reason to do LINE is during peak hours as each additional pax counts as a ride, I would rather wait for a PREMIER or LUX ride


----------



## Cynergie (Apr 10, 2017)

MichaelMax said:


> Are you sure Lyft pays return tolls with no passenger in car?


No they most definitely do NOT. Lyft has yet to refund me the empty return trips on rides across the bridge from Oaland/mainland back into SF penninsula


----------

