Lyft vs. Uber practices

[mindstalk]

Things I've been told by recent Lyft drivers:

* Uber and Lyft "take the same percentage", but Lyft charges more so they get more.

* Uber cheats on mileage, holding out until an attorney general was called in.

* If your ride estimate was e.g. $31, but actually was worth $22, Lyft charges you $22; Uber charges you $31, but pays the drive for a ride of $22, pocketing the difference.

* Uber often charges you surge price but doesn't pay out as a surge. Which, I note, rather defeats half the alleged point of surge pricing (luring more drivers onto the road.)

* Lyft surges based on demand, Uber often surges by the clock.

* Lots of drivers are switching to Lyft.

* Edit to add: Lyft is a lot easier for the drivers to contact and talk to when there's a problem, and more responsive.

Certainly I've been seeing a lot more Lyft availability in Boston than I did a few years ago.

Edit to add: comment below got me wondering about relative pay. A few sources:

http://www.ehow.com/info_8522975_much-average-cab-driver-make.html
http://oureverydaylife.com/much-average-cab-driver-make-9448.html
http://work.chron.com/much-fare-taxi-drivers-keep-22871.html

In 2012-2013, taxi drivers were reporting $12/hour on average. This Vox article https://www.vox.com/2014/12/17/7402311/lyft-driver-pay suggests Lyft in 2014 was similar, but that drivers were enthusiastic about the flexibility.

The Chron.com link suggests taxi companies take a 1/3 cut, and that the drivers may have to pay for gas and vehicle use out of what's left, too.

Comments

[ironyoxide]

I won't use either, but, a lot of Uber's business around here seems to be Uber Eats--basically, local food places using Uber as delivery drivers.

If Lyft actually does treat their drivers slightly better, this might be something for them to look into.

[mindstalk]

Sounds like they treat their drivers a lot better.

I'm also not sure taxi drivers get paid more. A lot of the higher cost of taxis is going to pay the owner of the taxi medallion, a government-created shortage.

[heron61]

They are - my partner teaotter is a forensic accountant and part of her job is calculating lost income for self-employed people who have been an vehicle accidents, which has included many cab drivers and more recently some Uber and Lyft drivers. The key word in reporting $12/hour on average is reporting. All Uber and Lyft payments other than tips are electronic and thus reported to the IRS.

However, even today it appears that between 1/3 and 1/2 of payments to cab drivers are in cash, and cab driver culture across the US seems universal in never reporting this cash on their taxes, which results in both notably lower reported incomes and teaotter talking to many exceptionally unhappy cab drivers who realize that they'll only be paid for their reported income (minus expenses), and not their notably higher actual income.

[mindstalk]

Yeah, there was one other link I didn't share, with people saying massive unreported cash income. Have heard various stories of drivers breaking credit card machines, or saying they were broken, to keep getting cash income.

On the one hand, still not an awesome job, and people's livelihoods; OTOH, the combination of tax evasion, government restriction, and inferior service does not really make me sympathetic. And lower prices mean more people get to take pseudotaxis, albeit they need a smartphone and credit card, so there is a mild class barrier there.

[heron61]

OTOH, the combination of tax evasion, government restriction, and inferior service does not really make me sympathetic.

I entirely agree. W/o the tax evasion, I'd be far more sympathetic to taxi drivers, but w/o the tax evasion, Uber would never have made inroads into many cities, because the argument they used was that their drivers' pay was the same as taxi drivers'. I feel sorry for the taxi drivers, but the taxi companies (who it seems in at least some cases are telling new drivers not to report cash) deserve no sympathy.

Of course, this is all a fairly short term issue, since in less than a decade I expect (at least in the developed world) taxi driver to be a rapidly vanishing profession due to automatic cars.

[mindstalk]

Are the expenses comparable?

[heron61]

It depends, but if there's a difference, they're higher for Uber & Lyft drivers (some taxi companies pay maintenance on cabs, others require it of drivers (who own their cabs).