I’m sure the continuous debate between whether Uber or Lyft is better may never truly be answered. They both offer almost exactly the same product and their rates are (mostly) equal to each other, depending on the market. My experiences with both services have been almost identical; they provide a reliable, cashless way to get home from the airport or an evening at my favorite breweries. However, there is one detail that I find slightly sets one company apart from the other – Lyft allows tipping your driver. As a result, I am going to pick a winner based on overall fairness to everyone involved in the transaction.
Typically, many people would rather just go for the cheaper option overall, which may appear to be Uber since you don’t have to tip. Furthermore, you may find the option for tipping with Lyft sometimes leaves you feeling guilty if you don’t give one. Financially, this makes for an easy choice and picking a winner easy, right? For the rider, yes, but for the driver, no.
Let’s take look at the fare charge from the perspective of the driver. When driving for each company, a portion of the fare is given to the corporation right off the bat to help their respective system improve and grow. Then the driver only gets a portion of what’s left from the total fare based on however they have outlined in there business model, which in many cases is not very much. They only make around 60% of the total fare, which is very little, especially on short trips. During many conversations with drivers, most say that driving for Lyft or Uber isn’t really worth your time if you have another job lined up elsewhere that pays better. (So if you’re thinking of becoming a driver, definitely breakdown all the costs for maintenance on your car, time, etc. before you make the leap.) At the end of the day, the driver seems like they get the short end of the stick treat this as just another “job.”
Comparing the two perspectives, most people would say that the cheapest option wins in a free market, making Uber (sometimes) better. But before we make a final judgement, let’s look at the overall experience. I have found that Lyft drivers tend to provide a little better product throughout the ride. This makes sense, since they are hopeful you will give them a little extra cash at the end of the ride. Uber and Lyft are a transportation service. Since they are in the service industry, you would want to reward someone for overall quality, no? You tip your server according to how well they provide for your dining experience – many times they can make or break for the overall impression you get from the restaurant, food, etc.
So now that we’ve gone through all the comparisons for each service, which one is better? In the end, I feel this debate will always come down to personal preference. Each option has their positives and negatives. For me, I love Uber, but lately I have been trending towards using Lyft more option to make sure everyone wins in the deal. Which one do you prefer?
