Chances are, if you're in a larger metropolitan city, you've either taken Uber or Lyft, or at the very least, heard of their service. Both heavy hitters known for their ride-sharing service, Uber and Lyft have been bitter rivalries since the early 2010's. Lyft, known for its friendly, fist-bumping persona, and Uber as the efficient and readily-available business feel, have been battling for ultimate market share as they claw their way into a self-driving model.
Most ride-sharing consumers have a preference when it comes to one or the other, and from my own inquisitions have noticed that the split is often quite close to a 50/50 split! However, given the recent decisions, trends, and consumer perspective towards Uber, I think that's all about to change, and not in Uber's favor.
By now, Uber's underhanded pricing tactics have become well known. From tracking drivers and users who use both Uber and Lyft applications, to removing the ability for riders to see/negotiate/fight surge-pricing gouges, Uber has done some serious work in muddying up their name. Just recently, Uber decided to remove the barely visible surge pricing indicators from their application, so when costs are high, you'll never know it unless you know the average rates before hand. These shady tactics seem to be compiling with each passing update.
One of the most recent updates from Uber brought tipping to the platform. Argued since day one as a feature they did not prefer, Uber executives have since reneged on their original vision and given drivers some opportunity for extra cash. While this could be seen as a good thing, if you look behind the veil, you'll notice Uber is squeezing profits from the driver and the consumer by placing the cost the driver would have received from the fair and imposing that on the rider in the form of gratuity. Uber increases it's profits, reduces costs, and places the burden solely between the driver and rider. Genius...Shady, but genius.
It is no secret that Uber has been pushing hard for a self-driving model moving forward. If the company is going to have a future, they will need to adopt, integrate, and grow the autonomous vehicle mentality. Up until recently, it appeared that they were making fantastic headway with all the needed steps, until the disastrous news surround Google and Alphabet's intellectual property made headlines. Uber's race to try and solidify itself as strongly as possible into the market has seemed to have backfired, and quite publicly at that. A former engineer at Google, who was working within the self-driving space, acquired a large number of confidential documents that was then shared with Uber. Anthony Levandowski, the engineer in question, left Google to start up Otto, which Uber then acquired (along with all those juicy, fraudulent secrets).
We have to assume Uber knew full well what they were acquiring. Regardless of who stole what and when, Uber is now fully responsible for any infringements upon that intellectual property, and rightfully so owes Google a proverbial shit ton of money. Uber took a risky bet and appears to be losing big.
While everyone is capable of making up their own decision on what ride-sharing platform they prefer, from this rider's perspective, Lyft has won. I've since deactivated by Uber application and plan on sticking with Lyft from here on out. From loud-mouthed executives to shady business practices, Uber has shown it's lack of respect for the very community that helped grow it into the behemoth that it is today. Such a shame. #FarewellUber Let's face it...Google will likely win out in the end anyway! But for now, Lyft wins my loyalty...
If you're not yet a member of Lyft and would like to sign up for some free credits, you can use my referral code. You'll get some free rides and I will too :)
Code: CHRIS37279
