Another on-demand car service has fired a shot in the war with Uber and Lyft for customers — GetTaxi, also known as Gett, is offering a $10 flat fee for any and all riders in Manhattan through the end of the year. [More]
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Lyft Claims Uber Employees Requested Then Canceled 5,600 Rides
By 8.12.14
People cancel car service requests for any number of reasons – change of plans, not ready in time, trying to sabotage the company. Wait, what? Officials with ride-sharing service Lyft allege that reps for rival company Uber attempted to hurt Lyft by requesting-and-canceling thousands of rides. [More]
Uber And Lyft Now Open For Business In Houston
By 8.7.14
When Uber and Lyft opened for business in Houston, the same thing happened that has happened in many cities with existing livery industries: taxi companies freaked out and sought help from the city government. Now both ride-sharing services are open for business in the city, with some additional rules in place that are intended to help traditional taxi companies compete with them. [More]
Lyft Is Too Successful In New York City, No Cars Available
By 7.28.14
In New York City, early adopters of the car-summoning smartphone app Lyft got a special gift: fifty free rides with a fare of up to $25 each in the first fifteen days that the service is open for business. It’s an impressive promotion…or it would be if there were any drivers available. [More]
Lyft Can Launch In New York City, Only Using Commercial Drivers
By 7.25.14
Two weeks ago, car-sharing service Lyft was supposed to launch in New York City, allowing car-owners to receive cash for driving strangers around. The state’s attorney general stopped the launch, saying that the company is a livery service in disguise and should be regulated as one. Today, the AG’s office announced that they’ve come to an agreement with Lyft, which will be able to launch in New York City using only already-licensed commercial drivers. [More]
New York State Attorney General Tries To Shut Down Lyft Before Tonight’s NYC Launch
By 7.11.14
Seven hours from now, people in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens were supposed to be able to dial up a vehicle from ride-sharing service Lyft and coast through traffic in a cloud of peer-to-peer vehicular bliss. “Not so fast!” the New York state government said to the service, its drivers, and their pink-mustachioed cars. [More]
Uber & Lyft Will Defy Order From Virginia DMV To Stop Picking Up Passengers
By 6.6.14
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles made its feelings about ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft very clear yesterday, telling them in no uncertain terms to cease operations in the state until they obtain the proper permits. But both companies say they are doing nothing wrong and will keep on picking up (and presumably dropping off) passengers. [More]
Lyft Ditches Pink, Furry Mustache For Unveiling Of Sleek Premium Ride Service
By 5.8.14
It looks like car-sharing service Lyft has taken a page from Pimp My Ride and, well, pimped its rides for the unveiling of a new premium car service. [More]
San Antonio Police Watching For New Public Menace: Lyft Drivers
By 3.27.14
Out of all of the issues that people who drive for ride-sharing services might have, we didn’t imagine this one: wondering whether your next passenger is a cop. Yet Lyft drivers in San Antonio received that warning from the city’s chief of police. Could other cities where these apps are doing battle with governments that regulate taxi medallions do the same? [More]
Innovations In Ride-Sharing: Lyft Introduces The Opposite Of Surge Pricing
By 3.18.14
One of the controversial features of car-summoning app Uber is that the company modulates supply and demand for rides with surge pricing. Think about all of the times that it’s hard to get a cab: Uber solves this problem by hiking rates, incentivizing drivers to stay on the road, and incentivizing people without money to take the bus. This approach is controversial, and competitor Lyft is seeking attention by doing the exact opposite. [More]
Uber And Lyft Expand Insurance, Now Cover Drivers Between Jobs
By 3.14.14
UberX and Lyft are services that let ordinary drivers ferry strangers around for extra cash. When there’s a crash or other disaster, there can be a gap between where the driver’s personal auto insurance coverage ends and the ride-sharing service’s coverage for drivers begins. Today, competitors UberX and Lyft announced extra insurance for drivers who are technically off-duty. [More]
Why Picking Up Extra Money Through Ride-sharing May Not Be So Wise
By 1.27.14
Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft have been in the news lately, mostly because of the controversial pricing structure and clashes with the taxi industry that these companies are trying so hard to disrupt. If all of this coverage has made you think, “Hey, I want to drive strangers around for some extra cash,” that’s possible with Lyft or the lower-end UberX service. There may be a danger that you hadn’t anticipated, though. [More]
