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G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

nytimes.com

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Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

#2
I don't know whether this is a real difference or not, but Lyft "feels" like a much nicer company than Uber. I'm not thrilled about Lyft's rampant hipster-branding, but Uber seems like a company run by pricks.

Maybe it's just because they're the underdog, but I'm really rooting for Lyft.

Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

#3

I don't know whether this is a real difference or not, but Lyft "feels" like a much nicer company than Uber. I'm not thrilled about Lyft's rampant hipster-branding, but Uber seems like a company run by pricks. Maybe it's just because they're the underdog, but I'm really rooting for Lyft.

If nothing else, I'm rooting for Lyft so that Uber is not the only one out there. I'm scared of what would happen to service / prices if Uber had no real competition. For that reason, I only use Lyft.

Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

#4
"GM and Lyft said they will work together to develop a network of self-driving cars that riders can call up on-demand."

Pretty interesting. Especially considering Ford has been linked to working with Google on developing self-driving cars. [0] Though, it seems the Ford family is also involved with investing in Lyft.

[0] http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-talks-google-build-self-0...

Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

#5
Interesting idea to have the short term car rental. I assume this will include proper insurance which I think is one of the big 'hidden costs' that these services aren't covering.

Very good way for Lyft to increase the amount of drivers on their network without people having to finance vehicles of their own (which isn't worth it unless you drive a lot for them).

Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

#6

I don't know whether this is a real difference or not, but Lyft "feels" like a much nicer company than Uber. I'm not thrilled about Lyft's rampant hipster-branding, but Uber seems like a company run by pricks. Maybe it's just because they're the underdog, but I'm really rooting for Lyft.

Think back to Uber's beginning. It was incredibly elitist - only black cars, twice what a taxi cost, etc. Even the name reflects that.

They're almost at parity now though, at the normal person level in Chicago at least. I get nearly killed by either on my bike just as easily :)

Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

#7

I don't know whether this is a real difference or not, but Lyft "feels" like a much nicer company than Uber. I'm not thrilled about Lyft's rampant hipster-branding, but Uber seems like a company run by pricks. Maybe it's just because they're the underdog, but I'm really rooting for Lyft.

All the evidence that I've seen shows the Uber folks don't care about the law, their drivers or the general public.

I don't know that Lyft is better, but I haven't seen the same level of disregard for others.

Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

#8

I don't know whether this is a real difference or not, but Lyft "feels" like a much nicer company than Uber. I'm not thrilled about Lyft's rampant hipster-branding, but Uber seems like a company run by pricks. Maybe it's just because they're the underdog, but I'm really rooting for Lyft.

When I was in Colorado Springs, Lyft was much more available than Uber so I used it for the first time after only having ever used Uber for the past year.

The major thing I found different was the driver wanted me to sit in the front and was much more enthusiastic about conversation. It wasn't bad but it was definitely different and somewhat offputting. Not sure if that was just a single event, but I wonder if each company encourages those differences in driver interaction.

Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

#9
So Google+Ford, Lyft+GM, Tesla on both sides software/hardware... Where is Uber's Hardware going to come from now?

I wonder if this is an instance where the personalities involved with Uber are having a detrimental effect on these sorts of long-term needs. Or is there something yet to be announced?

Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft

#10

I don't know whether this is a real difference or not, but Lyft "feels" like a much nicer company than Uber. I'm not thrilled about Lyft's rampant hipster-branding, but Uber seems like a company run by pricks. Maybe it's just because they're the underdog, but I'm really rooting for Lyft.

I haven't used either, but generally competition is good for the consumer. The option to go the competition always makes things better.

The software business tends to like monopolies as the price to build the first one is usually quite expensive but the cost to build each additional one is fairly cheep. That combined with the more people (drivers and riders in this case) use the software the better it gets leads to fewer big companies with more users.

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