Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Lyft Plus

get.lyft.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 110 posts

Re: Lyft Plus

#91

Post by paul_f »

Killah911 wrote: post #69
brk wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I don't care. I'm pretty much auto-ignoring any "request an invite" bullshit these days. Launch your product, or don't. But I'm not clamoring for an "invite". When it's actually for-real, then it's easy to compare the price/service ratio.

Maybe it's vaporware. With Lean Startup glasses on, this could be someone(s) trying to validate an idea. Although, I do admit, I thought the page was an April Fools leftover joke. Marketing critique aside if the idea has legs, people may be interested (perhaps with a better message). That's my takeaway. Practically, at the right price, I might use a service like that. 1. Don't have to drive 2. I can be somewhat assur…

This could be an MVP. Build a landing page. Drive traffic to it. See if anyone cares. If they do, then design the product. It's quite simple really.

Re: Lyft Plus

#92

Post by dilap »

tibbon wrote: post #5
dchuk wrote: post #2

"We started by reimagining ridesharing." I've always viewed Lyft as Uber X with a pink furry mustache. What exactly have they "reinvented" before this announcement that wasn't already "reinvented" by Uber before them?

Uber started at the top and then did Uber X to go down in pricing. Lyft started at the bottom and now goes up. My biggest problem with all of these services is that there aren't enough drivers (at least in Boston), and I can rarely actually find one on any service when I need it. And it seems a large % of the drivers are actually chilling at home, waiting for a ride (which is fine), but sometimes don't "move" on the…

As a point of comparison, in San Francisco (ground zero for these things), a city where flagging down a cab is very hit-or-miss, they're everywhere -- it works great.

Re: Lyft Plus

#93

Post by brk »

paul_f wrote: post #91
Killah911 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's vaporware. With Lean Startup glasses on, this could be someone(s) trying to validate an idea. Although, I do admit, I thought the page was an April Fools leftover joke. Marketing critique aside if the idea has legs, people may be interested (perhaps with a better message). That's my takeaway. Practically, at the right price, I might use a service like that. 1. Don't have to drive 2. I can be somewhat assur…

This could be an MVP. Build a landing page. Drive traffic to it. See if anyone cares. If they do, then design the product. It's quite simple really.

Technically I wouldn't call that an MVP. I'd call that a 'survey'.

Re: Lyft Plus

#94

Post by dotBen »

dcpdx wrote: post #75
tibbon wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has used both services (and others like Sidecar) they are all about the same to me. Generally, Lyft seems a little friendlier than Uber. However honestly all are light years ahead of a yellow cab- in which the drivers rarely accept cards (machine broken), refuse to use GPS, and talk on the phone nonstop (despite the laws on that).

I was a longtime Uber user who started using Flywheel a few months ago and haven't switched back. You get the convenience of an app as you would with Lyft/Uber along with the professionalism and expertise of a cab driver. I don't want to have to sit idle in the front seat of a Lyft for two minutes while the driver punches in the address on Google Maps, I want to say "Bush and Sansome" and have the driver take me ther…

You get the ... professionalism and expertise of a cab driver

Hmmmm, that's usually stated in inverted commas and the precise argument why Uber/Lyft is better.

Re: Lyft Plus

#95

Post by sd8f9iu »

izzydata wrote: post #22

Why do so many new sites use this exact style of website? It's like it is so supposed to be new, modern and minimalist, but it is getting old already.

I think Apple started the trend of large graphics alongside big marketing text. The pages look similar to this: http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/

Re: Lyft Plus

#96

Post by asanwal »

I used to work at Kozmo.com during the dot com gold rush. And I remember our escalating battle with UrbanFetch.

Economics went out the window as it was all about customer acquisition and beating and coming up with better deals for customers. Ultimately, the only person who made money from our ridiculousness were bike messengers and other service providers (real estate brokers)

A lot of what I'm seeing with Uber & Lyft reminds me of that time. Some of my observations on it here - http://4044walnut.com/uber-verus-lyft-kozmo-urbanfetch/

Re: Lyft Plus

#97

Post by localhost3000 »

tibbon wrote: post #5
dchuk wrote: post #2

"We started by reimagining ridesharing." I've always viewed Lyft as Uber X with a pink furry mustache. What exactly have they "reinvented" before this announcement that wasn't already "reinvented" by Uber before them?

Uber started at the top and then did Uber X to go down in pricing. Lyft started at the bottom and now goes up. My biggest problem with all of these services is that there aren't enough drivers (at least in Boston), and I can rarely actually find one on any service when I need it. And it seems a large % of the drivers are actually chilling at home, waiting for a ride (which is fine), but sometimes don't "move" on the…

Don't know what you're doing wrong. I live in the south end and use Uber and Lyft (mostly Lyft these days) all the time to get around Boston. Rarely do I wait more than 5 or 6 minutes. Often times it's 2-3 minutes. Both services have been pretty great on average. In Boston, I find Lyft drivers to be nicer (and Lyft marketing less douchey) so I try to use them when the wait times are similar. I'll wait an extra 3 minutes to ride Lyft if I have to but usually I don't have to.

Re: Lyft Plus

#98

Post by alex_doom »

icelancer wrote: post #79
brk wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I don't care. I'm pretty much auto-ignoring any "request an invite" bullshit these days. Launch your product, or don't. But I'm not clamoring for an "invite". When it's actually for-real, then it's easy to compare the price/service ratio.

This is the ultimate form of Lean Theory bullshit. It's parasitic and ridiculous.

It's not just Lean Theory/MVP blah blah. Microsoft has done this for years. Splashy PR announcement of a hot-shit new thing they cooked up in R&D. Then a year later, closed down.

Re: Lyft Plus

#99

Post by enraged_camel »

paul_f wrote: post #91
Killah911 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's vaporware. With Lean Startup glasses on, this could be someone(s) trying to validate an idea. Although, I do admit, I thought the page was an April Fools leftover joke. Marketing critique aside if the idea has legs, people may be interested (perhaps with a better message). That's my takeaway. Practically, at the right price, I might use a service like that. 1. Don't have to drive 2. I can be somewhat assur…

This could be an MVP. Build a landing page. Drive traffic to it. See if anyone cares. If they do, then design the product. It's quite simple really.

You can't have an MVP (minimum viable product) without product.

Re: Lyft Plus

#100

Post by brianbreslin »

ed wrote: post #74
nostromo wrote: post #72

I'm curious about the economics. I presume they're buying the SUVs? By getting into the game of managing a fleet of vehicles, I imagine their margins will look more like a cab company's and less like a software company's. It's as curious as if Airbnb started buying up hotels and their associated inventory risk.

Lyft won't actually own the new luxury rides, which were designed specifically for the company by West Coast Customs. Instead, individual Lyft drivers are buying the vehicles with some financial assistance from the company, according to a spokesperson. The move means Lyft won't have to deal with issues like car maintenance or storage, and also maintains the peer- to-peer element that has propelled the company. The co…

Lyft becomes the bank...
Post reply on HN