# Uber and Lyft drivers reveal the biggest differences they've noticed between the 2 ride-hailing giants



## KevinH (Jul 13, 2014)

https://www.businessinsider.com/difference-between-uber-and-lyft-according-drivers-2019-7

*Graham Rapier*








Lucy Nicholson/Reuters


*Uber and Lyft have made big business out of providing an extremely similar service.*
*We spoke to 10 drivers about their experiences on the competing ride-hailing apps.*
*Depending on the market, there are major differences in maps, customer service, and the riders themselves, drivers said.*
*Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.*

Uber and Lyft do basically the same thing.
Sure, one is pink and the other is black; one is global while the other is focused only on the US and Canada; and one has plans for flying taxis while the other doesn't. But when it comes to getting from point-A to point-B, there's not much difference.
That's good for drivers, a massive fraction of which drive for both Uber and Lyft (and even for other smaller companies in markets large enough to have competitors like Via).
Most of the time, the experience on the competing apps is roughly the same. But after hundreds if not thousands of rides, drivers start to notice the little differences. In many cases, these vary from market to market.
Business Insider spoke to 10 drivers about their experiences. Here's what they see as the biggest differences between the two largest ride-hailing companies.

*"This is the number one question I get from passengers," Ray, a driver from Miami, said. "I say which ever one where the passenger actually leaves a tip."*







AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

*"Uber is far more organized and understands that by helping the drivers, it improves the customer experience," Roger, a driver in North Carolina said.*









Jeff Chiu/AP Images

*"The only reason I give Lyft a slight edge over Uber is because Uber has not updated the map in my region in a long time," Darron, a driver in Virginia, said. "One way streets have turned into two-way streets and Uber still has it as one-way."*








REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

*"Uber has more riders in my area," Max, a driver in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said. "Lyft sometimes adds passengers to my queue without asking."*







.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

*"Lyft gives you more information about the customer," Michael, a driver in Dallas, said. "I like being able to see how long someone has had an account or how many rides they've taken. It makes me more comfortable."*










Drew Angerer/Getty Images

*"Lyft advertises itself as more driver-friendly but that hasn't been my experience," Aris, a driver in New York City, said "The distance and time to pickup averages double usually so I stick to Uber."*









Spencer Platt/Getty Images

*"The only major difference is that Uber has way more calls in my area," Horacio, a driver in Orlando, said, echoing Aris' comments.*







AP/Brennan Linsley
*"Uber is far more organized and understands that by helping the drivers," James, a driver in Orlando, said. "It improves the customer experience."*







Madeline Stone / Business Insider
"Lyft, on the other hand, is uncaring and hides behind the internet and email," he continued. "If I treated my riders the way Lyft has treated me, I would receive a 1-star rating."

*"There are differences in surge pay, differences in drive time per day, and in their support teams," Jenny, a driver in New Jersey, said. "Uber shadily up-charges business-class passengers who take the same trips every week (they've admitted to this), and many, many more."*







Robert Galbraith/Reuters
*"Lyft riders in my area are like Walmart shoppers whereas the Uber riders are like Macy's shoppers," Tim, a driver in New Jersey, said.*







Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images
https://www.businessinsider.com/int...itm_campaign=40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

They used a sample size group of 10 drivers......10.

Hardly earth shaking in the least. The guy could have read UP instead and learned more.


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)

Main difference is the spelling .


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

In next week's issue, Business Insider asks:

How's it going? Is it busy tonight?


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## kc ub'ing! (May 27, 2016)

I’m in a small market. Uber doesn’t offer quest or any driver bonus here. Lyft offers the challenge bonus. Xtra $70 a week for me. Almost 2 tanks a gas. So Lyft gets priority day to day.


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

ANT 7 said:


> They used a sample size group of 10 drivers......10.Hardly earth shaking in the least. The guy could have read UP instead and learned more.


Yeah, 10 is 1/10th the number of ants who get hired every 10 minutes in every 1/10th of the town being driven.


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## Polomarko (Dec 20, 2016)

To me the difference beatvin U and Lyft are:1/ Insurance U is better 2/ Cancelation polices U is better
3/ Pay per trip Lyft is better 4/ Frequncy U is better 5/ ETA for pick up U is better. 6/ Driver support line U is better
7/ Rider identification Uber is better 8/ Uber GPS is much faster than Waze or google all use google map which accuracy is questionable. 8/ Lyft line is better pay than U pool 10/ Uber express pool is dangerous.
Similarity bot exist only because they rip of drivers.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

KevinH said:


> https://www.businessinsider.com/difference-between-uber-and-lyft-according-drivers-2019-7
> *Graham Rapier*
> 
> 
> ...


Wait. Did he really say "Uber is far more organized"??!! That driver must have some scary Lyft stories.


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## Trek Shuffler (Feb 13, 2019)

*"Lyft gives you more information about the customer," Michael, a driver in Dallas, said. "I like being able to see how long someone has had an account or how many rides they've taken. It makes me more comfortable."*

*Huh? The only thing I ever see is a very tiny font with a customer alias, usually one letter, and a 5.0*


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## Drivincrazy (Feb 14, 2016)

Lyft pay is lower than an overdrawn checking account...I've done 4,400+ rides on Lyft, mostly before the pay cuts...about 80 rides a week. I now do about 3 rides a month on Lyft...just to stay active. I make twice as much, per ride, on Uber in LV cuz i drive 98% surge and 2% df.


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

Trek Shuffler said:


> *"Lyft gives you more information about the customer," Michael, a driver in Dallas, said. "I like being able to see how long someone has had an account or how many rides they've taken. It makes me more comfortable."*
> 
> *Huh? The only thing I ever see is a very tiny font with a customer alias, usually one letter, and a 5.0*


 I have no idea where he got that from, unless there's something piloting in certain markets for that .. That's something I've wanted in the app for a long time, think I even sent it as a suggestion to both apps at one point


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## Rosalita (May 13, 2018)

Trek Shuffler said:


> *"Lyft gives you more information about the customer," Michael, a driver in Dallas, said. "I like being able to see how long someone has had an account or how many rides they've taken. It makes me more comfortable."*
> 
> *Huh? The only thing I ever see is a very tiny font with a customer alias, usually one letter, and a 5.0*


I seldom have a pax with a photo anymore. Asked Lyft to make posting a photo an account requirement for driver and pax safety. You would have thought I was asking them to cut off their right arms.

The only difference that makes any difference is the rate of pay, the demand for rides, and the ability to earn more money per ride.


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

Rosalita said:


> I seldom have a pax with a photo anymore. Asked Lyft to make posting a photo an account requirement for driver and pax safety. You would have thought I was asking them to cut off their right arms.
> 
> The only difference that makes any difference is the rate of pay, the demand for rides, and the ability to earn more money per ride.


I agree. There needs to be a platform overhaul, especially for Lyft


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## KenLV (Jun 23, 2017)

I get asked "Which is better?" "Which pays better?" "Which do you like driving for more?" etc... all the time.

I always answer with some variation of the following:

"Honestly, though they both would like the public to think they're different, for us, they're pretty much the same. Regardless of how much they're charging you, they both pay just 60 cents a mile for X/regular Lyft - that barely covers a driver's operating expenses. So my income pretty much comes from tips. Since this is how I pay my bills, what really matters is which riders tip better and I find that Uber/Lyft (choose one) passengers tip better."


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## 1.5xorbust (Nov 22, 2017)

Obviously none of those ten drivers has been in an accident or the $1500 difference in deductible would have been mentioned.


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## YouBeer (May 10, 2017)

The Gift of Fish said:


> In next week's issue, Business Insider asks:
> 
> How's it going? Is it busy tonight?


Follow up article to that will be:
'Hows Traffic?'


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## Jimnmel (May 25, 2019)

*"Lyft sometimes adds passengers to my queue without asking."*

This one was spot on! I really hate when Lyft does this. Every time it happens I will cancel those riders. I want to know at least something about what I am going to pick up. If it is a Shared ride, low rated passenger, maybe sometimes a long ride, I don't want it. There is no telling what you will end up with when you just accept whatever they add to your que.


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## New2This (Dec 27, 2015)

Roger and James must be new. Or Uber shills


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## Fat Man (May 17, 2019)

First off these people NEED to go drive both platforms in different markets to see for themselves! Asking 10 people doesn't tell them squat about anything about safety features one has over the other or which one is better over the other. People are biased. Such as which one sends them out of their way due to application issues and how frustrating it is for the driver AND the passenger. Take the Phoenix market I am in for example. One app that has outdated maps makes a pax wait 5 min longer in 110 degree heat over the other. That is HUGE for the experience. Don't get me wrong, both companies have issues driving for them. However, if you are going to tell the story, YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE it and write about it first hand.


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)




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## itendstonight (Feb 10, 2019)

Rosalita said:


> I seldom have a pax with a photo anymore. Asked Lyft to make posting a photo an account requirement for driver and pax safety. You would have thought I was asking them to cut off their right arms.
> 
> The only difference that makes any difference is the rate of pay, the demand for rides, and the ability to earn more money per ride.


Half the damn pax now have cartoons as their profile pictures ?



Jimnmel said:


> *"Lyft sometimes adds passengers to my queue without asking."*
> 
> This one was spot on! I really hate when Lyft does this. Every time it happens I will cancel those riders. I want to know at least something about what I am going to pick up. If it is a Shared ride, low rated passenger, maybe sometimes a long ride, I don't want it. There is no telling what you will end up with when you just accept whatever they add to your que.


I now instantly turn on 'last ride' the moment I accept a ping on LYFT to prevent this from happening!


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## njn (Jan 23, 2016)

paid ad.


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## Friendly Jack (Nov 17, 2015)

No difference. They're both four letter words.


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## Wolfgang Faust (Aug 2, 2018)

Friendly Jack said:


> No difference. They're both four letter words.


no...five
LUBER


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## Uberisfuninlv (Mar 22, 2017)

Main difference? They compete with each other to see who can pay drivers the lowest and rip off passengers the most


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## B - uberlyftdriver (Jun 6, 2017)

Cliff notes: Fuber/Gryft

still a shit sandwich, with drivers in the middle


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

itendstonight said:


> Half the damn pax now have cartoons as their profile pictures ?
> 
> 
> I now instantly turn on 'last ride' the moment I accept a ping on LYFT to prevent this from happening!


There's too many things to address, there needs to be an actual driver panel similar to postmates but more organized.

The picture and name thing is my biggest itch, the other day I was pinged for bugs bunny


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