That headline doesn't work since they were never head to head to begin with.
Struggling to keep up doesn't imply you were ever head to head does it? You could struggle to keep up with someone for an entire race and always be behind them.
> “From everything I’m looking at, we’re gaining share in all top 20 markets, which is where 80 percent to 90 percent of rides happen,” said Lyft President John Zimmer.
I don't think it's quite that simple, though I don't see mentioned the rate of Lyft's growth in key markets.
I assume Houston is a top 20 market at least.
Yet Lyft doesn't operate there.
Why assume that? Houston wasn’t one of the first 20 domestic or foreign markets for Uber: http://cl.ly/3g1Z081h1Q2G (link is an image originally from uber showing timeline of new markets opened)
Isn't Houston larger than Chicago now?
Houston is a much more driver-"friendly" city. Everything has parking. They're always building more roads. The city itself is very spread out. Nearly every household owns one or more cars. That's not the kind of environment in which services like this would thrive.