# Why is LYFT so busy now?



## Steveyoungerthanmontana (Nov 19, 2016)

The past few weeks LYFT has gotten busier and busier and now I'm barely getting UBER rides when just a few months ago it was the other way around. LYFT use to be so slow that I would forget to turn it on, and I'd just go with UBER. Now LYFT is so busy that I forget to turn on UBER. 

I've been asking customers and they are saying LYFT is cheaper now. Is that true? The rides from LYFT seem just as bad as UBER now. So what's going on? Is LYFT finally taking over?


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## RussellP (Dec 9, 2016)

People have had enough of Uber's moral bankruptcy... There's dozens of reasons and examples of how Uber is screwing everybody involved, from charging passengers more than the published rates, to taking more than 50% of the fare from drivers... and redefining the entire basis of driver contracts with 2 days (take it or quit) notice...

At some point, people get fed up with the bullshit and switch. Maybe Lyft isn't much better in some ways, but atleast I dont feel screwed over by them for something new every week.

Personally? I think anyone with any self respect ought to quit Uber, and do Lyft or something else. Eventually Uber will be stuck with a stigma of crappy drivers and passengers.


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

A lot of people are deleting Uber and Google has infused cash into Lyft so I think they are subsidizing rides and creating new rider incentives. I saw one offer for $5 off 10 rides


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

I've seen same thing in my area. What used to be 70/30 is now about 50/50. A couple of weeks ago Lyft was non stop. Made about $300 on Lyft that weekend VS about $80 on Uber.



RussellP said:


> Eventually Uber will be stuck with a stigma of crappy drivers and passengers.


Eventually?


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## UberKevPA (May 14, 2016)

Many Lyft riders complain of Uber's skeevy image and a few really do want to tip via the app.


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## Frontier Guy (Dec 27, 2015)

Have had several female pax comment that after the sexual harassment stuff came out, they stopped using Uber completely.


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## charmer37 (Nov 18, 2016)

RussellP said:


> People have had enough of Uber's moral bankruptcy... There's dozens of reasons and examples of how Uber is screwing everybody involved, from charging passengers more than the published rates, to taking more than 50% of the fare from drivers... and redefining the entire basis of driver contracts with 2 days (take it or quit) notice...
> 
> At some point, people get fed up with the bullshit and switch. Maybe Lyft isn't much better in some ways, but atleast I dont feel screwed over by them for something new every week.
> 
> Personally? I think anyone with any self respect ought to quit Uber, and do Lyft or something else. Eventually Uber will be stuck with a stigma of crappy drivers and passengers.


 The last time I was driving for uber was two months ago , When uber increased their commission and the drivers didn't get a pay increase I was done. Too much bullshit for little money is not right and morally I knew I couldn't be a part of a company that don't give two shits about their drivers, All I see is crappy cars and crappier passengers these days ubering.


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## PepeLePiu (Feb 3, 2017)

I think is also that more drivers are moving to Lyft or at least driving for both, that makes the service available for more people with less wait. I don't see this trend slowing down anytime soon. I been told by a good number of pax that the reason they still ordering Uber is because there is no Lyft drivers nearby.


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## Steveyoungerthanmontana (Nov 19, 2016)

RussellP said:


> People have had enough of Uber's moral bankruptcy... There's dozens of reasons and examples of how Uber is screwing everybody involved, from charging passengers more than the published rates, to taking more than 50% of the fare from drivers... and redefining the entire basis of driver contracts with 2 days (take it or quit) notice...
> 
> At some point, people get fed up with the bullshit and switch. Maybe Lyft isn't much better in some ways, but atleast I dont feel screwed over by them for something new every week.
> 
> Personally? I think anyone with any self respect ought to quit Uber, and do Lyft or something else. Eventually Uber will be stuck with a stigma of crappy drivers and passengers.


One guy I was talking to who was using lyft said that he didn't care about the politics, that Lyft started being cheaper so he just started using lyft. I don't see a difference.


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## Chauffeur_James (Dec 12, 2014)

RussellP said:


> People have had enough of Uber's moral bankruptcy... There's dozens of reasons and examples of how Uber is screwing everybody involved, from charging passengers more than the published rates, to taking more than 50% of the fare from drivers... and redefining the entire basis of driver contracts with 2 days (take it or quit) notice...
> 
> At some point, people get fed up with the bullshit and switch. Maybe Lyft isn't much better in some ways, but atleast I dont feel screwed over by them for something new every week.
> 
> Personally? I think anyone with any self respect ought to quit Uber, and do Lyft or something else. Eventually Uber will be stuck with a stigma of crappy drivers and passengers.


The funny part about that statement is Lyft is the shady one, you can say what you want, but at least Uber is open for the little part about what they are doing. They are even now showing you what the rider paid. Lyft has the same BS upfront price scheme as Uber, they are just a smaller company and are wisely quiet about what they are doing. They are both horrible companies but again, Uber is upfront about it at least. I also haven't heard many people say they feel like they were throttled right before hitting their guarantees, but that is a constant topic in the Lyft threads.


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## Steveyoungerthanmontana (Nov 19, 2016)

Chauffeur_James said:


> The funny part about that statement is Lyft is the shady one, you can say what you want, but at least Uber is open for the little part about what they are doing. They are even now showing you what the rider paid. Lyft has the same BS upfront price scheme as Uber, they are just a smaller company and are wisely quiet about what they are doing. They are both horrible companies but again, Uber is upfront about it at least. I also haven't heard many people say they feel like they were throttled right before hitting their guarantees, but that is a constant topic in the Lyft threads.


Lyft is a joke. I wrote something on here a few months ago about their hipster or cool image that they portray while they pay us the same as UBER. Lyft is just better at marketing, and keeps its nose clean compared to the fiasco that is UBER.


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## Chauffeur_James (Dec 12, 2014)

Steveyoungerthanmontana said:


> Lyft is a joke. I wrote something on here a few months ago about their hipster or cool image that they portray while they pay us the same as UBER. Lyft is just better at marketing, and keeps its nose clean compared to the fiasco that is UBER.


Yep, they just know how to keep their mouth shut and let Uber take all the rap for everything. The only thing I like more about Lyft is the capability of actually seeing where your Pax is in real time. It makes it way easier to find them, especially in an apartment complex. I could care less about the tipping option anymore. I make 10x the tips from my Uber Pax than I do with Lyft


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## Steveyoungerthanmontana (Nov 19, 2016)

Chauffeur_James said:


> Yep, they just know how to keep their mouth shut and let Uber take all the rap for everything. The only thing I like more about Lyft is the capability of actually seeing where your Pax is in real time. It makes it way easier to find them, especially in an apartment complex. I could care less about the tipping option anymore. I make 10x the tips from my Uber Pax than I do with Lyft


I can't stand Lyft customers, they are super arrogant and needy. Front seat riders who want you to entertain them the whole trip OR ELSE. And tips? Sure, maybe after you walk their dog, fix their toilet, and cook them dinner, but only maybe.


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## MiddleClassedOut (Jun 11, 2015)

Haven't any of you bothered to compare the pax apps?

Lyft is definitely cheaper. Just in the last week this route based pricing BS has caused a minimum fare ride downtown to go from a standard $6 for up to 3 miles to 7.5-8. There is no rhyme or reason to the prices I'm seeing in Philly, distance doesn't seem to matter or pickup location. They're just higher across the board and seem very random. 

So it's not just the price it's the consistency....most rides in center City downtown will only be $6 on Lyft unless traffic is super bad.


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## Duro (Dec 22, 2016)

Steveyoungerthanmontana said:


> The past few weeks LYFT has gotten busier and busier and now I'm barely getting UBER rides when just a few months ago it was the other way around. LYFT use to be so slow that I would forget to turn it on, and I'd just go with UBER. Now LYFT is so busy that I forget to turn on UBER.
> 
> I've been asking customers and they are saying LYFT is cheaper now. Is that true? The rides from LYFT seem just as bad as UBER now. So what's going on? Is LYFT finally taking over?


Why did you throw to Terrel Owens 20 times in Jerry Rice's last game with the 49ers. I remember WATCHING that game perplexed. Jerry Rice was a class act. Think he deserved a better parting gift.


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## kevink (Apr 18, 2016)

Agreed. Lyft is definitely getting busier. I have made more on Lyft (with less trips) than Uber these past two weekends. Used to be a 85/15 for Uber, now it's turned to 60/40 Lyft.


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## MADAME LYFT (Aug 8, 2017)

Steveyoungerthanmontana said:


> I can't stand Lyft customers, they are super arrogant and needy. Front seat riders who want you to entertain them the whole trip OR ELSE. And tips? Sure, maybe after you walk their dog, fix their toilet, and cook them dinner, but only maybe.


Interesting POV Steveyoungerthanmontana. I always get the same complaint from riders that UBER drivers are rude, arrogant, and unfriendly which is why they choose Lyft. I never understood this since a lot of Lyft drivers also drive for UBER. I think rider and driver personalities vary on a day to day individual basis and has nothing to do with whatever ride share app they choose.

To quote Depeche Mode: 
People are people so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully
So we're different colors
And we're different creeds
And different people have different needs.


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## Veju (Apr 17, 2017)

I deleted lyft. Most of their riders seem like the type that got banned from Uber for being scum bags.


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## PickEmUp (Jul 19, 2017)

Steveyoungerthanmontana said:


> The past few weeks LYFT has gotten busier and busier and now I'm barely getting UBER rides when just a few months ago it was the other way around. LYFT use to be so slow that I would forget to turn it on, and I'd just go with UBER. Now LYFT is so busy that I forget to turn on UBER.
> 
> I've been asking customers and they are saying LYFT is cheaper now. Is that true? The rides from LYFT seem just as bad as UBER now. So what's going on? Is LYFT finally taking over?


Lyft has recently begun sending out discounts for multiple rides. Before that, they were losing ground due to their treatment of drivers.



MiddleClassedOut said:


> Haven't any of you bothered to compare the pax apps?
> 
> Lyft is definitely cheaper. Just in the last week this route based pricing BS has caused a minimum fare ride downtown to go from a standard $6 for up to 3 miles to 7.5-8. There is no rhyme or reason to the prices I'm seeing in Philly, distance doesn't seem to matter or pickup location. They're just higher across the board and seem very random.
> 
> So it's not just the price it's the consistency....most rides in center City downtown will only be $6 on Lyft unless traffic is super bad.


Without surges or prime time, pricing is nearly identical between Lyft and Uber in my market.


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## Yulli Yung (Jul 4, 2017)

Steveyoungerthanmontana said:


> The past few weeks LYFT has gotten busier and busier and now I'm barely getting UBER rides when just a few months ago it was the other way around. LYFT use to be so slow that I would forget to turn it on, and I'd just go with UBER. Now LYFT is so busy that I forget to turn on UBER.
> 
> I've been asking customers and they are saying LYFT is cheaper now. Is that true? The rides from LYFT seem just as bad as UBER now. So what's going on? Is LYFT finally taking over?


Lyft is offering lots of special promos. In my area, lyft is 5 cents per mile higher


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## PTUber (Sep 16, 2015)

Lyft is certainly gaining some ground but Uber is still way ahead when it comes to market share something like 75% Uber 25% Lyft. From what I read on these posts other than a few markets Uber is still far busier than Lyft but Lyft requests seem to be growing slowly. 

I still laugh when drivers say "Lyft is so much better" or "Uber is so much better". They are so similar its not even funny. The PAX are the same, many use both to shop the best price and availability. Yes some left Uber when the #deleteuber campaign started but many Uber riders don't even know who Lyft is. Lyft used to appear that they treated drivers better "hey we have in app tipping"! But they don't, ignore a request and you get scolded, their support is brutal and their incentive programs are a joke. They do a good job staying out of the news which as we all know Uber hasn't been real good at. Uber seems to have realized they need to treat us better so far they seem to be improving. They still have a PR problem but we'll see when the new CEO comes in what happens.

My advice continue to drive for both if one is surging or on Primetime turn off the other. If they both are which ever is paying more use that app. If its a little slow turn on both and get a ride on either platform. Remember you only make money when a PAX is in the car! I know you can make $ with cancelations but not enough to sustain a decent wage.


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## Terysmit (Jun 17, 2017)

Last night killing time at the airport eating dinner waiting for a ride Uber and Lyft were neck and neck in the waiting when holy crap I got a Lyft ride first. Shocked never happen before


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## zigo230 (Aug 7, 2017)

I'm a fairly new driver on both platforms. UBER is busier but LYFT takes fewer fees which I like. The biggest difference to me is the clientele. I don't know if it's just my area and I don't mean to offend anyone...but UBER has been mainly business people, young professionals, couples going out.. LYFT has been mostly..well, not that. I assumed LYFT was offering big promotional discounts for riders so maybe they were creating riders who normally wouldn't use a ride share service.


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## unPat (Jul 20, 2016)

1/2 off 5 rides this week. $2 off $5 off after certain amounts. Lyfts killing it.


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## IrishIronMike (Apr 19, 2017)

My recent experience over the last month driving for both has been that the number of Lyft requests is staying about the same or slightly higher, but the rides have been getting longer. Most Uber rides have been minimum fares. I haven't had a single minimum fare on Lyft during that time.


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## JTTwentySeven (Jul 13, 2017)

#DELETEUBER


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## Dchap08 (Jul 29, 2017)

Frontier Guy said:


> Have had several female pax comment that after the sexual harassment stuff came out, they stopped using Uber completely.


I hope they realize that most lyft drivers are uber drivers also...


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## Transportador (Sep 15, 2015)

Terysmit said:


> Last night killing time at the airport eating dinner waiting for a ride Uber and Lyft were neck and neck in the waiting when holy crap I got a Lyft ride first. Shocked never happen before


Lyft kicked Uber's butt at SFO several nights in the past few weeks for me. Lyft beat Uber to the first pings. Lyft asked me to return to the queue after a short trip (up to 10 miles) and gave me another airport ping before I even got back in queue. And the most important feature = Lyft destination filter works like magic at SFO, while Uber will not even let you in the queue with it on.

The only downside is Uber still surges like crazy at SFO, while Lyft hardly ever does!


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## Goduckies (Mar 23, 2017)

Really can do f2f there? How long is your wait usually? Seems like the que is always high.


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## Transportador (Sep 15, 2015)

Goduckies said:


> Really can do f2f there? How long is your wait usually? Seems like the que is always high.


Lyft queue is always high so one day I chose to ignore it because there was 30 cars in the lot while Lyft said 100. I got a ping in 3 minutes...don't trust their queue number

And if you have both apps on who cares...first come first serves unless there is surge involved.


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

So far this week, I've been online with Lyft about 9 hours. I've had one low-rated Line ride that I didn't accept, one cancellation by rider, and another Line ride that I let expire because I was on an UberXL ride and had forgotten to go offline with Lyft.

Lyft does well when they give rides away. I know other drivers in Miami who do well with Lyft, but not the part of town I drive.


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## RideshareSpectrum (May 12, 2017)

Demand will always be driven by price and PAX will opt for the cheapest rides 9 out of 10 times. In bigger competitive markets like SF, LA, SEA, CHI the back and forth will be the norm moving forward as UberLyft races itself to chapter 11.. losing money on every single dirt cheap ride with subsidized driver payouts.


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## Frontier Guy (Dec 27, 2015)

Dchap08 said:


> I hope they realize that most lyft drivers are uber drivers also...


It's not the drivers, it's the corporate level.


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## HenryDankis (Jul 28, 2017)

Im a full time driver and have also used both as a passenger a significant number of times. Whether or not this is true, people seem to think lyft has a much better image than Uber. I'm somewhat inclined to agree, but as previously stated, they're basically the same thing. I think lyft passengers expect more from their drivers, and I'm happy to deliver; I have a 5.0 on lyft after 600 rides. (Yes I know, lyft rounds up and is only based on the last 100 vs 500 with Uber) I have a 4.98 with lyft (a 5.0 in the eyes of the pax) and I get a TON of tips as a result. I get better rides and WAY more tips with lyft in my personal experience. About a third of the rides I get with lyft result in a $5+ tip. I'm happy to get more tips and support the underdog if it's sustainable for me, and it has been recently.


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## REDSEA (Jun 8, 2017)

I was in Chicago for lollapalooza and went with the cheapest ride share company and 9 out of 10 it was lyft. U of A kids just came back and lyft has lit tucson up like a magenta Christmas tree. It seems like all the Kids came back with only lyft installed on thier iPhones. F Uber...


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## Lag Monkey (Feb 6, 2015)

Lyft is cheaper for me most of the time so I usely ride Lyft. Also I think a lot of people had bad experiences with UBER and when all the terrible PR hit a lot of people gave Lyft a try a realized it was a better experience



Steveyoungerthanmontana said:


> One guy I was talking to who was using lyft said that he didn't care about the politics, that Lyft started being cheaper so he just started using lyft. I don't see a difference.


This is the main reason why Lyft is gaining on UBER. It's price. App interface or political affiliations don't really matter in the long term. Lyft is usually cheaper that is the main reason why UBER is loosing out to Lyft At least in the SF, LA market


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

PTUber said:


> Lyft is certainly gaining some ground but Uber is still way ahead when it comes to market share something like 75% Uber 25% Lyft. From what I read on these posts other than a few markets Uber is still far busier than Lyft but Lyft requests seem to be growing slowly.
> 
> I still laugh when drivers say "Lyft is so much better" or "Uber is so much better". They are so similar its not even funny. The PAX are the same, many use both to shop the best price and availability. Yes some left Uber when the #deleteuber campaign started but many Uber riders don't even know who Lyft is. Lyft used to appear that they treated drivers better "hey we have in app tipping"! But they don't, ignore a request and you get scolded, their support is brutal and their incentive programs are a joke. They do a good job staying out of the news which as we all know Uber hasn't been real good at. Uber seems to have realized they need to treat us better so far they seem to be improving. They still have a PR problem but we'll see when the new CEO comes in what happens.
> 
> My advice continue to drive for both if one is surging or on Primetime turn off the other. If they both are which ever is paying more use that app. If its a little slow turn on both and get a ride on either platform. Remember you only make money when a PAX is in the car! I know you can make $ with cancelations but not enough to sustain a decent wage.


The "desert driver" agrees.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

Transportador said:


> Lyft kicked Uber's butt at SFO several nights in the past few weeks for me. Lyft beat Uber to the first pings. Lyft asked me to return to the queue after a short trip (up to 10 miles) and gave me another airport ping before I even got back in queue. And the most important feature = Lyft destination filter works like magic at SFO, while Uber will not even let you in the queue with it on.
> 
> The only downside is Uber still surges like crazy at SFO, while Lyft hardly ever does!


Did you have to stay online on your way back to the queue?


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## Gerardoac1 (May 25, 2016)

I make more money with Lyft lately than Uber. Plus the tip app for Uber doesn't even work.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

you guys are highly misguided if you think one is better than the other. Both Lyft and Uber are the devil


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## PTUber (Sep 16, 2015)

Gerardoac1 said:


> I make more money with Lyft lately than Uber. Plus the tip app for Uber doesn't even work.


What do you mean it doesn't even work? Works for me.


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## Gerardoac1 (May 25, 2016)

PTUber said:


> What do you mean it doesn't even work? Works for me.


I mean, I get no tips at all. People are so used to not tipping to Uber drivers, they don't even rate you.


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## Boom611 (Nov 8, 2016)

Gerardoac1 said:


> I mean, I get no tips at all. People are so used to not tipping to Uber drivers, they don't even rate you.


Lyft insurance deductible is $2500
Uber $1000
We drivers are stupid accepting Lyfts deductible


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## PTUber (Sep 16, 2015)

Gerardoac1 said:


> I mean, I get no tips at all. People are so used to not tipping to Uber drivers, they don't even rate you.


I'm not saying everyone tips but I am getting as many in app Uber tips as I get with Lyft.


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## Gerardoac1 (May 25, 2016)

Boom611 said:


> Lyft insurance deductible is $2500
> Uber $1000
> We drivers are stupid accepting Lyfts deductible


Yeah that's another story.



PTUber said:


> I'm not saying everyone tips but I am getting as many in app Uber tips as I get with Lyft.


Good to hear that, i guess im just being unlucky .


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## Telsa34 (May 7, 2017)

Steveyoungerthanmontana said:


> The past few weeks LYFT has gotten busier and busier and now I'm barely getting UBER rides when just a few months ago it was the other way around. LYFT use to be so slow that I would forget to turn it on, and I'd just go with UBER. Now LYFT is so busy that I forget to turn on UBER.
> 
> I've been asking customers and they are saying LYFT is cheaper now. Is that true? The rides from LYFT seem just as bad as UBER now. So what's going on? Is LYFT finally taking over?


I drive both and most of my passengers say it's cheaper, that being said Uber is still a much higher demand, what money I make for Lyft pay for my gas which is more profit.


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## Transportador (Sep 15, 2015)

Hagong said:


> Did you have to stay online on your way back to the queue?


I did stay online. I don't know if it worked if you go offline and then back on near the airport. I was worrying about an off airport ping also.


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## NYCTLC (Mar 23, 2017)

Its basic psychology. Uber is the brand name of all brand names in the App based black car industry. Uber gets the blame for everything. Uber will be the fallout app guy. All those stories you hear on the news about females getting sexually harassed/assaulted, Uber is to blame!!! Even if the driver had Lyft/Juno/Gett app on all at the same time. So now that Uber is getting all the blame, Lyft is looking more like the golden gem for everyone (passengers) to run to.


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