Are Uber and Lyft really just the same company?

Are Uber and Lyft becoming the same company? Lyft recently changed their bonus structure so that it’s almost identical to Uber. That got me thinking, how are the companies similar and how are they different? Stick around, at the end of the video I’m going to point out the biggest difference and I’m going to recommend one of these companies is still the best one to drive for, if you have a choice.

What are the big similarities and differences between Uber and Lyft?

The first thing that’s similar is the rate, the primetime, the surge levels and the payout. Now, the current payouts are about 75%. In San Francisco, the rates are virtually identical and whenever there’s a primetime spike with Lyft, there’s a surge spike with Uber.

Here’s a good example of how they’re very similar. This Monday, started an event called Salesforces. It’s called Dream Force, a huge convention. Look here, you can see how on the left, Uber, their surge is at 2.5, that means it’s one and half increase and Lyft, their primetime is at 150%, also one and a half. So, they are virtually the same.

Bonuses have become very similar

On the very basics, they are almost exactly the same company. Similarity number two is now, the bonuses. It used be that Uber had a very flexible bonus and Lyft had peak hours and you had to keep your acceptance rate above 90%. But, that’s not the case anymore. Now, you can drive whenever you want. There’s no specification as to the acceptance rate. You can even get paid out in three different sections, throughout the week, just the way you can with Uber.

On the bonuses, they’re virtually the same. The amounts are a little bit different but same to same.

Their corporate images are becoming very similar

The third big similarity and where they’re starting to come together is in their corporate image. Lyft has always been the softer, the gentler, the pinker of the two companies. Uber had a CEO who was very abrasive. He was berating a driver on YouTube video and now they’ve got a new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi and he’s really seems to be turning things around in terms of the image of the Uber. Uber’s listening, right?

We’ve heard that before. They had their 180 days of improvements for the driver experience. They’re both becoming a friendlier and softer and gentler. There isn’t the big gap that there used to be.

Key differences between Uber & Lyft

Let’s look at still what are some significant differences. For me, a huge difference between Uber and Lyft is that Lyft has the arrive button. So, when you approach your passenger, you can click that you’ve arrived and then see exactly where you’re going. This gives you a lot more flexibility to determine if this is the ride you want to take or not. With Uber, you got to start the ride which you don’t usually do till you see the customer get in your car and then it’s very difficult to cancel a ride that way.

For ease and flexibility and for being able to control what rides you take, you got to give this one to Lyft.

Tipping: Lyft customers tip more

The second big difference is tipping. Since Lyft started, you’ve always been able to tip, the passenger has always been able to tip. With Uber, they weren’t allowing tipping for the longest time and now, of course, passengers can tip with Uber but in my experience, those passengers don’t tip very much whereas with Lyft, I get lots and lots and lots of tips. I’d say on a weekly basis, when I drive 50 hours a week, it’s like a $100 difference in the amount of tips that I can get driving for Lyft versus driving for Uber.

Lyft provides more destination filters

The third and biggest difference is the destination filters. With Lyft, I get a total of six destination filters and I use them all day long. With Uber, you only get two. Destination filters have really made a big difference for me especially when I’m driving on the weekends because I can program these long rides from one end of the bay to the other and that really gets my dollar earning per hour way, way up. This is the most important difference for me is this difference in the amount of destination filters that we have.

When it’s all said and done, yes, Uber and Lyft are becoming much more the similar type of company. They’re melding into the same kind of entity. But, when it comes to the driver experience, better tips, the arrival button and the destination filters, having six instead of just two, I got to give the nod to Lyft.

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Y’all go out there and have a great day.