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Lyft adds a new app for drivers

businessinsider.com

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Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#71

Post by kcanini »

cdrark wrote: post #56
BinaryIdiot wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had at least a dozen Uber drivers suggest something similar when I road with them more than once. Almost all of them wanted to setup something so I'd pay less and they'd make more. I hadn't done it as I usually don't need Uber / Lyft much but most of the people I know who have used Uber / Lyft have also gotten similar offers so it must be pretty common I would think.

That works until there is any sort of an accident and the driver's insurance doesn't cover them operating their vehicle as a business. Part of the commission that gets paid goes to providing insurance.

I imagine that when reporting it to the police/insurance agency, many (most?) drivers would omit the fact that they were driving for business purposes when the accident occurred.

Not saying this is legal/ethical, just that it would come to mind in that situation.

Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#72

Post by Fomite »

throwaway3589 wrote: post #42

Why is this front page worthy? Uber has had these features for a while now. As someone else mentioned, Didi has had these features too. 71 upvotes so far. This just further reinforces my view that there is an active voting ring on HN manipulating Uber and Lyft stories in Lyft's favor, which is ironic since many of the comments on such stories talk about Uber being shady. Throwaway because I fully expect the voting ri…

Because the mechanics of how these companies make these decisions, insight into a job I don't do, and competition in a space where, a year ago, I had simply assumed Uber won was interesting.

If I'm part of an organized voting ring, I didn't get the memo.

Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#73

Post by kcanini »

giarc wrote: post #64
hkmurakami wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes I wonder what makes this different from the Homejoy situation

The difference with Homejoy was that many people on their site already had existing cleaning companies. They were using Homejoy for customer acquisition. Once that customer was acquired, there was no need for Homejoy. Once Homejoy was out of the picture, the cleaners regular liability insurance would still be in play. Obviously there were some cleaners that did not have a business. The difference with Uber/Lyft is th…

> The difference with Uber/Lyft is that these drivers don't have a business outside of the app.

Doesn't this discredit Uber's argument that drivers are independent contractors?

Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#74

Post by criddell »

cdrark wrote: post #56
BinaryIdiot wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had at least a dozen Uber drivers suggest something similar when I road with them more than once. Almost all of them wanted to setup something so I'd pay less and they'd make more. I hadn't done it as I usually don't need Uber / Lyft much but most of the people I know who have used Uber / Lyft have also gotten similar offers so it must be pretty common I would think.

That works until there is any sort of an accident and the driver's insurance doesn't cover them operating their vehicle as a business. Part of the commission that gets paid goes to providing insurance.

Is it different than when I give a friend with a truck $50 to help me get mulch from Home Depot to my house on a Saturday morning?

Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#75

Post by criddell »

cfreeman wrote: post #57
jngreenlee wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The culture of Lyft (which will merge with the culture of Uber over time I believe) has been more friendly, more conversational where I live. I always sit up front and talk with the person, learn what else they do, how long they've lived in the area. When I try this with Uber (esp in SF), they often show me a thumb pointing towards the backseat instead!

Here in Portland almost every driver uses both apps so I don't find a difference in driving. I prefer Uber simply because there's less expectation of tipping and the price is about the same.

> there's less expectation of tipping

What on earth gave you that idea?

Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#76

Post by criddell »

timcederman wrote: post #59
Kiro wrote: post #8

So this is of course anecdotal but the only time I book taxis is when it's very important I get somewhere in time, like catching a plane early in the morning. Given the nature of Uber/Lyft it would take a lot before I would trust them with this.

I tried to use the Uber pre-ordering for a taxi to the airport a couple of weeks ago. Magically a surge started in my area a couple of minutes before the order was executed. After a driver had been routed, they notified me there was a surge, but did not tell me the amount. It wasn't until the ride finished that my estimated $30 trip actually cost me $85.

Do you live in a wealthy neighborhood? If so, Uber charges you more.

Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#77

Post by sabujp »

jswny wrote: post #26

I think this is a very good idea! I know many people around where I live who use local Uber drivers whom they trust to schedule early-morning rides to the airport and things like that. The rider will have the driver come to his/her house at the specified time, and then the driver and the rider will both turn on Uber and the rider's request will be filled by that driver because nobody else is nearby that early. This w…

> trust to schedule early-morning rides to the airport and things like that

It's nice that you can schedule things like this, but if I have a 6AM connecting flight to a once in a two year trip outside the country, I'm booking a rental the night before and dropping the car off early in the morning before my flight. What happens if the driver for some reason can't make it that morning? Is there a backup driver? I'd need to be guaranteed with a backup list at least 10 deep to go with the lyft option here.

Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#78

Post by ihsw2 »

jngreenlee wrote: post #22
rjuyal wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a frequent user of Uber. I don't use Lyft at all. I don't see any reason to use Lyft over uber. It's price estimation is wrong. Uber says $39 for airport, Lyft says $35 - $46 for airport. Estimated time of arrival is also wrong. Uber says it will take 4 mins for driver to come while Lyft will say drive will reach in one minute. I mean I can see on the map there is no way driver can reach in one minute. Whenever…

The culture of Lyft (which will merge with the culture of Uber over time I believe) has been more friendly, more conversational where I live. I always sit up front and talk with the person, learn what else they do, how long they've lived in the area. When I try this with Uber (esp in SF), they often show me a thumb pointing towards the backseat instead!

I have never experienced this, always sat up front. Hundreds of rides.

Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#79

Post by djsumdog »

rjuyal wrote: post #21
jngreenlee wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So this is of course anecdotal but the only time I use Lyft (I avoid Uber) when it's very important I get somewhere in time, like catching a plane early in the morning. Given the nature of Taxis, it would take a lot before I would trust Taxis with this. Edit: The last time I booked a taxi it was 2-3 years ago for a 4am ride to PDX. I booked two to be safe, only one came anyways.

I am a frequent user of Uber. I don't use Lyft at all. I don't see any reason to use Lyft over uber. It's price estimation is wrong. Uber says $39 for airport, Lyft says $35 - $46 for airport. Estimated time of arrival is also wrong. Uber says it will take 4 mins for driver to come while Lyft will say drive will reach in one minute. I mean I can see on the map there is no way driver can reach in one minute. Whenever…

For a while there was a story every week about Uber on HN. Stories of high up executive hires leaving the company, blogs about their toxic culture, revelations of programs like greyball that used machine learning to help avoid government agents, their "Hell" map which uses fake users on other Taxi/Lyft platforms to track all their competitors, how Uber drivers get paid 1/3 of what they did three years ago in many cities, and the list goes on and on and on.

The place is a figurative shit show. Even if the drivers get paid the same from Uber vs Lyft, and even though all companies do shady things, I think I'd still rather give my money to Lyft than anything to Uber.

Re: Lyft adds a new app for drivers

#80

Post by marssaxman »

Kiro wrote: post #8

So this is of course anecdotal but the only time I book taxis is when it's very important I get somewhere in time, like catching a plane early in the morning. Given the nature of Uber/Lyft it would take a lot before I would trust them with this.

Having been severely burned on two occasions by taxis booked for a flight, which didn't show up, and the dispatcher not caring at all and telling me another car would come in "45-60 minutes", by which time I would no longer need to go to the airport as my flight would have left without me... Well, I would trust pretty much any other option before I would ever try to use a traditional cab for an early morning airport trip again.
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