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Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

nytimes.com

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Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#101

Post by puranjay »

gremlinsinc wrote: post #8

I feel like Lyft is the underdog coming back to strike the killer blow to Uber... The year Uber has had I wouldn't be surprised to see them disappear altogether by 2018/2019. Lyft seems to be doing things a lot better, but helps that their CEO isn't out starting fires instead of putting them out.

Uber has monumentally pissed off its driver pool in India. They came out with huge incentives, told drivers that if they "invested" in the company by buying cars, they would benefit even more.

Now there are drivers who bought their cars and have car loans to pay. But Uber stopped the incentive spigot and suddenly drivers are earning half of what they were making earlier.

Most drivers I speak to here are struggling to pay off their car loans. Some have resorted to sleeping in their cars and driving 12-18 hours a day just to make ends meet (not ideal for drivers or passengers).

The moment someone comes in with even a remotely better offer, most of them will jump ship.

Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#102

Post by Fricken »

pgodzin wrote: post #20

With how much Google had previously invested in Uber, without the Waymo lawsuit it's safe to say this deal would have been struck with Uber instead. Has nottt been a good few months for Uber, and Lyft has really taken advantage.

In June 2015 Uber acquired a bunch of mapping assets from Bing, and hired away ~100 engineers from Bing's mapping program to develop their own maps (I don't know what the current status is on that initiative), which was the first signal that, for whatever reason, Google and Uber weren't planning any sort of long term strategic partnership. But Google holds itself to high ethical standards, and I doubt Google expected to Uber to behave so badly. I mean, Uber has always behaved badly, but up until the point they stopped being the underdog we were all cheering Uber on.

Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#103

Post by nullnilvoid »

alistproducer2 wrote: post #14

When I use lyft now, I'm coming across drivers that only drive for lyft. The tide has definitely shifted against Uber. I'm not really sure there's a way back at this point. The one advantage Uber had was network effect, but in my experience that has diminished. Lyfts come just as fast as Ubers now because they have enough drivers on the road to support the response time. I'll never go back to Uber.

I have not taken Uber for a long time. Lyft is my first choice even if it takes a little longer and costs more. I really hope Lyft can catch up in terms of market share in the US.

Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#104

Post by omarforgotpwd »

mattnewton wrote: post #59
omarforgotpwd wrote: post #26

Uber and Lyft are pretty much the exact same thing in markets where both are available. hell, they even have the same set of drivers as many drivers sign on to both. I think time will prove that Lyft was quite undervalued compared to Uber, especially as autonomous vehicles hit the market.

Personally, there are nicer touches in the Lyft app- the colored signs, color-accurate picture of the make and model of the car, and generally friendlier driver instructions make getting into the car and riding more pleasant for me.

Not to mention the fact that you can easily tip, knowing how tough things are for drivers with base pricing.

Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#105

Post by usegolang »

jorgenev wrote: post #91
Larrikin wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Chicago and Richmond atleast the drivers I've talked to that are doing it for a full time job tend to drive Uber, Lyft and every other small start up in the area. The drivers that aren't just getting started said they use Uber for volume but will take a Lyft over Uber because of the better pay. The only drivers I've had that are Uber only are just getting started/trying it out. The drivers I've talked to that just…

> I've also heard more than once that Lyft customer's tend to be more well behaved in the car for whatever reason. I have also heard this as well from lyft drivers and I am very curious as to why

Just speculation, but if you are willing to boycott a business for being shitty, you likely aren't going to go out and be a shitty passenger yourself. I'm sure that isn't all of it, but I could see it having a partial effect.

Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#106

Post by prostoalex »

saulrh wrote: post #11
prostoalex wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The major costs in taxi operation are fuel and humans. What about vehicles themselves?

Car costs $30k-$60k lifetime (repairs and such). Not many taxi services run luxury vehicles. Paying a single person full-time probably runs $30k-$40k/year, and you're probably running two to keep the duty cycle up. Gas is probably another $10k/year. Car lasts, what, five or ten years? Fifteen if you're careful and buy for reliability? Yes, people and fuel are the most expensive components.

> Car lasts, what, five or ten years? Fifteen if you're careful and buy for reliability?

My Blacklane airport ride who operated a small black car business in LA area told me his vehicles generate 70-90,000 miles a year and are sold off after 12-18 months of service (estimates of being driven 300 days a year, 6 hours a day on average @ 60 mph seem reasonable and end up being over 100,000 miles a year).

Expenses for transportation-for-hire vehicles cannot be compared with a generic family sedan that spends most of its time in the garage.

Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#107

Post by mahyarm »

justinzollars wrote: post #49
spike021 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Odd. I'm in the Bay Area and have taken many Lyft's lately both in the south bay and also the peninsula. Usually the drivers I get drive for both even up to this point. Could just be regional, not really sure? I feel like even with Uber's issues many drivers who do ride-sharing as a "job" won't want to just drop Uber as it may mean losing out on income (not sure if they can make up the loss with driving more for Lyft…

Also odd. I'm in San Francisco and I've found most drivers that only drive for Lyft too. When I talk to drivers (now I talk with every driver out of curiosity), they genuinely hate Uber. Maybe they were once Uber, but they've moved networks.

How often do you use uber?

Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#108

Post by adameast9000 »

spike021 wrote: post #37
alistproducer2 wrote: post #14

When I use lyft now, I'm coming across drivers that only drive for lyft. The tide has definitely shifted against Uber. I'm not really sure there's a way back at this point. The one advantage Uber had was network effect, but in my experience that has diminished. Lyfts come just as fast as Ubers now because they have enough drivers on the road to support the response time. I'll never go back to Uber.

Odd. I'm in the Bay Area and have taken many Lyft's lately both in the south bay and also the peninsula. Usually the drivers I get drive for both even up to this point. Could just be regional, not really sure? I feel like even with Uber's issues many drivers who do ride-sharing as a "job" won't want to just drop Uber as it may mean losing out on income (not sure if they can make up the loss with driving more for Lyft…

Ive taken a ton of lyfts (and Ubers before the scandals) in the NYC and Philly areas and have never seen a lyft driver who didn't also have an Uber sticker on the windshield. This is not the case with most Uber drivers in my experience, who only drive for Uber (again mostly).

Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#109

Post by jpatokal »

puranjay wrote: post #101
gremlinsinc wrote: post #8

I feel like Lyft is the underdog coming back to strike the killer blow to Uber... The year Uber has had I wouldn't be surprised to see them disappear altogether by 2018/2019. Lyft seems to be doing things a lot better, but helps that their CEO isn't out starting fires instead of putting them out.

Uber has monumentally pissed off its driver pool in India. They came out with huge incentives, told drivers that if they "invested" in the company by buying cars, they would benefit even more. Now there are drivers who bought their cars and have car loans to pay. But Uber stopped the incentive spigot and suddenly drivers are earning half of what they were making earlier. Most drivers I speak to here are struggling to…

Uber has serious competition in India in the form of Ola -- and most drivers seem equally unhappy with both.

https://qz.com/908802/uber-and-ola-drivers-in-india-are-now-...

Re: Lyft and Waymo Reach Deal to Collaborate on Self-Driving Cars

#110

Post by pyromine »

paulddraper wrote: post #66
ridgeguy wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Valuation differs from cash in the bank. Uber could be valued at a gazillion $, but if it can't make payroll in 90 days, it's got a problem that would be tough to fix, given the apparent lack of a profitable business model.

Sure, but they could sell 1% of their company (loans, equity) and have one percent of a gazillion dollars.

The money doesn't roll in ad infinium
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