# Could RydenGo business model be Uber And Lyft's demise?



## AliciaLyftdriver (Feb 26, 2017)

Could RydenGo business model be Uber And Lyft's demise? I saw them on twitter talking with the Taxistandhour podcast show in a tweet. Their business model seems to be driver beneficial, which is a good thing. Since were the ones doing the hard work on the streets, shouldn't we make more. There's Juno, Gett & Moovnn too, but I don't know much about them either. RydenGo looks interesting though. 

I used to drive with Uber and Lyft, but stopped with Uber, horrible ethics as a company IMO. Now I just drive Lyft. However I would like to have more options than just two. 

More options for us drivers the better... 

Alicia


----------



## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

AliciaLyftdriver said:


> Could RydenGo business model be Uber And Lyft's demise?


Ha! At this point, I sometimes wonder if a strong gust of wind could be Uber's demise. 


AliciaLyftdriver said:


> I saw them on twitter talking with the Taxistandhour podcast show in a tweet. Their business model seems to be driver beneficial, which is a good thing. Since were the ones doing the hard work on the streets, shouldn't we make more.


RydenGo is only in "*beta*" now, whatever that means. Also limited to selected cities: Orange County CA, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Seattle, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Miami, Portland, Denver, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Philadelphia and New York City.

Potential Cons:

I interpret "Beta" as "for the adventurous that love lots of software bugs".
It sounds good for drivers to set rates, but opens up possible cut-throat competition between drivers. Result may be lower earnings than either Uber or Lyft.
RydenGo is NOT free. There's a $20 a month introductory subscription fee, not a lot if you drive several days a week and get a reasonable number of pings, 2 big ifs. Plus you can bet the fee will go up after Beta.



AliciaLyftdriver said:


> There's Juno, Gett & Moovnn too, but I don't know much about them either. RydenGo looks interesting though.


I suggest that for income, signup with more established companies in your region. I agree that "RydenGo looks interesting" and may be worth signing up now, but I'd also "wait and see" how the beta works out.


AliciaLyftdriver said:


> More options for us drivers the better.


Agree.


----------



## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

Well...

I see several upsides and several downsides for us.

1. Set your own rates
2. No % lost to the company.

1. cutthroat competition forcing rates down
2. no insurance coverage will/is be provided for $20 a month
(you would need to purchase full commercial coverage)

All in all,

I can really see this "theoretically" ending up being a lot better than uber for the full timers. For the part timers you will need to pay more per trip for insurance than a full timer would. It wouldn't make sense just to do a few trips a month.

Other theoretical upsides...
1. Cheapo McCheapskate will go for the lowest bidder all of the time, if your middle of the pack you will filter out some of the "worst" customers automagically.
2. If you kept your rates higher than uber with no surge and lower than uber WITH surge, you can probobly keep yourself busy.



Maven said:


> Ha! At this point, I sometimes wonder if a strong gust of wind could be Uber's demise.


Personally i think Uber is on the edge... who is going to invest money into them at this point? It's almost better to put a billion into a no-name startup than to bail out uber... I think the market is going to reflect that.


----------



## AliciaLyftdriver (Feb 26, 2017)

Maven said:


> Ha! At this point, I sometimes wonder if a strong gust of wind could be Uber's demise.
> 
> RydenGo is only in "*beta*" now, whatever that means. Also limited to selected cities: Orange County CA, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Seattle, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Miami, Portland, Denver, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Philadelphia and New York City.
> 
> ...


I checked out the Rydengo twitter page and their website. I sent Rydengo an email and filled out their beta application for more info. I'll relay it back when I hear back.

Setting prices is a free market system, which is good. I prefer that over Uber or Lyft telling me what I'm worth. Some of us are better drivers and more personable ( we make the ride more fun ), and we should be able to set what we think we're worth anyways. That is after all what independent/self employed people do. Since I just bought a brand new fully loaded Prius this week, my price would reflect that a little bit too if I could set my price. I like that a lot.

Competition is always a good thing, like having four gas stations at four corners competing for my business. I like choices, that's the American way! 

Rydengo's subscription fee is nice, all upfront, and I can actually calculate what my earnings might be since I can figure out how to price myself depending on the time of day, or what day of the week it is. Even if they charged 20 dollars a week, I can make more than 20 dollars in 1 or 2 drives out of all the drives I do on a good day. Of course I drive 3 to 6 days a week.

I hate how Uber treats people, however now we know it was going on in the company too, so I'm not surprised how they looked down on us drivers ( character & ethics start at the top of every company ), looking at Rydengo's site I like their ethics and mission for us regular people. Change is needed, and I'm for anything that knocks Uber off their arrogant pedestal.  Also being a women, the stuff that was in the recent news really angered me, I was glad to have deleted Uber many weeks ago.

Lyft will work for now for me, however us drivers deserve a lot better, and a company that respects us too.

That said, I'm gonna head out to do a few more Lyft drives tonight before calling a night.

Nite nite fellow drivers 



Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Well...
> 
> I see several upsides and several downsides for us.
> 
> ...


Totally agree with you on these points...
1. Set your own rates
2. No % lost to the company.

As for competition it's no different for Amazon customers as it would be for Rydengo customers I believe. With Amazon you put your product request in, then receive a selection of stores with their pricing, With Rydengo I assume customers/passengers would enter their ride request and then receive from the drivers their pricing in the area. It's really Amazon for rideshare transportation.

The huge upside is us drivers would be in control of our business and value.

Didn't think about this angle. Excellent business idea Sir. You get an A+ for ingenuity. 
2. If you kept your rates higher than uber with no surge and lower than uber WITH surge, you can probobly keep yourself busy.

Yeah full timers would definitely like Rydengo's approach, even the fleet industry too.

"2. no insurance coverage will/is be provided for $20 a month
(you would need to purchase full commercial coverage)"

I think Rydengo's $20 a month is just introductory from what I read on their website. Still, if it was $20 a week I would still make way more money. Uber and Lyft got many times that from my drives in just a week. I can pay that $20 in 1 to 1 1/2 drives in my first hour on a Monday. So the subscription would be paid for quickly.

Don't forget you could write off the subscription as a business expense. I do that now with a lot of things related things to my drive business.

Your part about the pricing helping in weeding out the cheapo customers is so true. Upside for sure!

I sent Rydengo an email last night. So when I hear back I will relay the info back here. All and all the company is coming out the gate with good and moral ethics unlike that frat boy Uber corp etc. I read Rydengo's ceo letter, Kalanick never talked like that. However I would also worry that one of the big rideshare boys would buy them up and shut them down before they could become a problem to their business model.

I was happy to delete Uber many weeks ago and just drive for Lyft, however I took a money hit for doing so, less drives.  But a better conscience fills the void......



Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Personally i think Uber is on the edge... who is going to invest money into them at this point? It's almost better to put a billion into a no-name startup than to bail out uber... I think the market is going to reflect that.


 I couldn't agree with you more. Wouldn't make sense to keep funding Uber.

We need better rideshare companies run by better ethical people that's for sure. Interesting times were in, that's for sure.

Alicia


----------



## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

I'm REALLY curious to know about the insurance situation with them. I'd gladly pay $300-400 a month if it included commercial coverage.. assuming they had a decent amount of business.


----------



## AliciaLyftdriver (Feb 26, 2017)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> I'm REALLY curious to know about the insurance situation with them. I'd gladly pay $300-400 a month if it included commercial coverage.. assuming they had a decent amount of business.


I'm guessing that you would pay to use Rydengo's network and technology, kinda the same way you do with any technology subscription services in many other industries. However I assume you need to be an insured driver. My parents, as well my siblings all work in industries as independent contractors, so I understand the self employed life, which is you must assume your own responsibilities and insure yourself. Like any business Rydengo would have an umbrella insurance for their company like all others do. Of course I'm just guessing about all this.

Either way though, Rydengo's the first company I've seen that's business model is grounded in an ethical approach where the playing field for us drivers is more balanced and not run like an exploitation labor camp, such as Uber. The Rydengo CEO is definitely coming from the opposite direction for treatment of drivers than Uber's CEO. Which is a good thing for us 

My fear is Rydengo gets bought up by some silicon valley competitor and gets quietly tucked away to never be heard from again, and nothing changes for the better which is not good. I sent an email to Rydengo asking questions and offered up any assistance they could use in my local area if they need it. When I hear back I'll be sure to relay the info, but I got to imagine their pretty busy as hell too.

Alicia


----------



## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

If they didn't include commercial insurance... it's still probobly a good deal, and the part timers will probobly not get involved for just a few hours a week.. Comercial insurance is an arm and a leg. One of my biggest expenses when i was an Indy cab driver.


----------



## AliciaLyftdriver (Feb 26, 2017)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> If they didn't include commercial insurance... it's still probobly a good deal, and the part timers will probobly not get involved for just a few hours a week.. Comercial insurance is an arm and a leg. One of my biggest expenses when i was an Indy cab driver.


I agree, sounds like a good deal. Commercial insurance is high in all fields of business unless your a huge corporation that can cut a good deal with the provider. I've been with the flu for the past two weeks, just now coming back to life  Haven't driven for nearly two weeks....

One other problem being a driver, you get more germs, very important to eat well and stay healthy for jobs that interact with lots of various people daily.


----------



## Sgt_PaxHauler (Oct 21, 2016)

I'd love to see something like this with a subscription group insurance plan. As it is, it'd still be useful as a lead generator for taxi/livery drivers.
If they allow drivers to sign up to their platform w/o having proof of commercial insurance, they might also end up being a dispatcher for "gypsy" drivers, with a significant risk of legal liability for doing so if said "gypsy" drivers get into accidents.


----------



## AliciaLyftdriver (Feb 26, 2017)

Sgt_PaxHauler said:


> I'd love to see something like this with a subscription group insurance plan. As it is, it'd still be useful as a lead generator for taxi/livery drivers.
> If they allow drivers to sign up to their platform w/o having proof of commercial insurance, they might also end up being a dispatcher for "gypsy" drivers, with a significant risk of legal liability for doing so if said "gypsy" drivers get into accidents.


Well I'll assume that RydenGo will require proof. Thats's pretty standard though. Yeah, subscription group insurance plan would be cool. It would coincide with their subscription model too. The one thing that's needed for sure is change, because what's current, isn't working...

I just read the LA Times article on RydenGo and its Founder/CEO Michael Pappas. RydenGo definitely has their ethical/moral grounding in place from the beginning. It all starts at the top as they say. Uber needs Pappas at their helm, however then RydenGo would be screwed...

Well I'm getting ready to drive in a little while. Btw, I've noticed an increase in Lyft customers since all that Uber cr#p hit the wall..

Happy Driving 

Alicia


----------



## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

Unless Uber does something EXTRAORDINARILY suicidal no one's getting their share.

They're the 900lb gorilla, and upstarts face a monumental task to take away their name recognition and established, widespread customer base. Without that, everyone else is just picking up crumbs, unfortunately.

No one took Ebay's lunch money, ever, think about that. Ebay sucks, but no one has come close.


----------



## AliciaLyftdriver (Feb 26, 2017)

swingset said:


> Unless Uber does something EXTRAORDINARILY suicidal no one's getting their share.
> 
> They're the 900lb gorilla, and upstarts face a monumental task to take away their name recognition and established, widespread customer base. Without that, everyone else is just picking up crumbs, unfortunately.
> 
> No one took Ebay's lunch money, ever, think about that. Ebay sucks, but no one has come close.


Very true indeed. However maybe industry reform can come from it. Or getting Rydengo's CEO to help reform. We need an advocate with good beliefs to force positive change. To many drivers are getting exploited.

Yeah Uber is huge, but I always cheer for the David over the Goliath...  But I get what you mean though.

Alicia


----------



## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

AliciaLyftdriver said:


> Very true indeed. However maybe industry reform can come from it. Or getting Rydengo's CEO to help reform. We need an advocate with good beliefs to force positive change. To many drivers are getting exploited.
> 
> Yeah Uber is huge, but I always cheer for the David over the Goliath...  But I get what you mean though.
> 
> Alicia


Oh, don't get me wrong....I want Uber's arrogance to bite them in the sack....but it it's going to take some mega upheaval. The best outcome, as you say, is reform and pressure from competitors can do it. Competition breeds excellence.


----------



## AliciaLyftdriver (Feb 26, 2017)

swingset said:


> Oh, don't get me wrong....I want Uber's arrogance to bite them in the sack....but it it's going to take some mega upheaval. The best outcome, as you say, is reform and pressure from competitors can do it. Competition breeds excellence.


Totally agree


----------



## raheem236 (Nov 19, 2016)

Id set my rate to 2 dollars a mile..during busy times and game times maybe 3 to 3.5 per mile


----------



## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

raheem236 said:


> Id set my rate to 2 dollars a mile..during busy times and game times maybe 3 to 3.5 per mile


Let us know how that works out for you, if you actually try it. I suspect that it may work for "Premium" rides, but you will be consistently undercut for UberX-type rides. That is, if you don't need to drive 20+ minutes to pickup because there are so few RydenGo customers.


----------



## raheem236 (Nov 19, 2016)

Maven said:


> Let us know how that works out for you, if you actually try it. I suspect that it may work for "Premium" rides, but you will be consistently undercut for UberX-type rides. That is, if you don't need to drive 20+ minutes to pickup because there are so few RydenGo customers.


Dont knock it till you try who knows what could happen,


----------



## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

raheem236 said:


> Dont knock it till you try who knows what could happen,


Apparently I was not clear.  I'm not "knocking it". In fact, I think it has great potential. However, I am skeptical of the many potential pitfalls. I would love to hear from actual drivers that have made it work for real. Maybe even you.  Until then, I remain unconvinced.


----------



## raheem236 (Nov 19, 2016)

The only thing i see that may be a pit fall in the need for proper insurance...and to that...i been commercially insured for rideshare and certified in boston by massport (i live in ct) but even setting the price cant be too hard...if im not getting below ubers prices i say its a good deal


----------



## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

raheem236 said:


> The only thing i see that may be a pit fall in the need for proper insurance...and to that...i been commercially insured for rideshare and certified in boston by massport (i live in ct) but even setting the price cant be too hard...if im not getting below ubers prices i say its a good deal


Sounds like to are ready to try it! My best wishes on your success.  Please let us know after a few weeks to a month if it has turned out as you expect.


----------



## raheem236 (Nov 19, 2016)

Maven said:


> Sounds like to are ready to try it! My best wishes on your success.  Please let us know after a few weeks to a month if it has turned out as you expect.


I signed up for the beta to maybe be one of the first drivers but yeah i will and show u the pay scale ....hate uber and lyfts comission


----------



## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

raheem236 said:


> ....hate uber and lyfts comission


Not surprised, since Lyft & Uber have virtually identical commissions/pay in CT,MA&RI. The only significant differences that I know of are:

Lyft will not match Uber's $15 NYC surcharge
Lyft will pay "return tolls". Uber will not.
Lyft gives 30 days to dispute a fare, Uber only 2 days.
I like Uber's Surge better than Lyft's "Heat zone". What about you?


----------



## raheem236 (Nov 19, 2016)

Maven said:


> Not surprised, since Lyft & Uber have virtually identical commissions/pay in CT,MA&RI. The only significant differences that I know of are:
> 
> Lyft will not match Uber's $15 NYC surcharge
> Lyft will pay "return tolls". Uber will not.
> ...


Exactly my thoughts ubers surge is more transparent to the driver to know,what ride they will get a bonus on, lyft u will never actually know which is stupid until the end of the trip


----------



## Aneed Momoney (Apr 3, 2017)

This looks excellent. A great way to market yourself personally as a driver, provide more, and if pax like you, youll get repeat pax and steady high quality ride fares.


----------

