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Comment by ryanglasgow | Hacker News Reader

I love Lyft and have been using the service for almost a year now, but they've gotten greedy with their pricing model. About once a month I'll take a Lyft home from work, and the same ride has steadily become more expensive. What once costed $12, now costs $18, when a cab would charge $14. It's an easy way for them to boost profits, but I think riders will catch on and look elsewhere as cabs start to get their act together. Flywheel is an app for hailing cabs, and you can pay through your phone just like Lyft. Cab drivers attitude has significantly improved over the course of a year and I'm now no longer opposed to taking one like I once was.

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I've been using Lyft/Sidecar (mostly Sidecar) and I've noticed the same exact thing.

It's common for any pricing model (slow rise, without passing the customer's "worth" threshold).

The cab drivers' disdain for taking credit still annoys me enough to use Lyft/Sidecar, but regular cabs are cheaper most of the time now in the City.

All that said, this is a GREAT raise - and those numbers wouldn't be possible without letting their pricing model rise.

Why would they charge less than a cab? It's clear they are not a ride sharing service, unless your $12 ride was for 50 miles ($.55/mile * 50 miles / 2 people ~= 12).

Taxi drivers are professionals, Lyft drivers are amateurs. I'm not being rude, but that's what they are. Taxi's are under strict regulation and guidelines, and require a medallion to operate. Lyft drivers constantly get lost, take the slowest routes to get around, and have taken me to the wrong place multiple times.

I've taken Lyft twice and both times I had to direct the driver. Which isn't a problem, really, but they are indeed amateurs in the real sense of the word compared to the Uber drivers and most cab drivers. It's kind of neat though since they're just people from the area and even though they don't know where everything is they're interesting to talk to for the most part.

How the heck do people get lost with navigation systems? Or, why would an amateur cabbie not have a navigation system?

They have navigation systems built into the Lyft (and Uber) apps, actually, but it was more of me saying my destination and the guy saying "Should I go left or right to get started?" whereas a cabbie just knows exactly where you're headed.

I'm unfamiliar with Lyft -- do Lyft drivers only pick people up on their way somewhere? Or do they go out of their way to pick people up?

If it's the latter, then it's not really helping the environment much more than cabs, correct? For me, that means taking a cheaper option (and supporting someone's profession, rather than someone who's just making extra money on the side), is better.

1) Lyft drivers operate similar to a taxi and wait around until they are summoned via the app to give someone a ride.

2) It's not helping the environment more than cabs, and probably does more damage than cabs. I've seen a Ford F-350 Superduty with a pink mustache picking someone up. Cab's are usually Toyota Prius'.

3) As of recently, it's not cheaper than a cab.

4) It does allow drivers, who often have full-time jobs during the day, make extra money on the side.

It's the latter. Lyft and Sidecar started in SF, a city in which it is notoriously difficult to catch a cab. The goal isn't to help the environment but to create a marketplace to allow drivers and passengers to easily connect. When they began they were both cheaper than cabs; from my personal experience they now cost about the same. They do make catching a ride far easier though.

I'm curious, is it a popular service because of a dearth of other options like public transit (buses), or because people prefer cab-style transportation despite the higher cost?

A bit of both, but more column A than column B IMO. SF's transit is pretty notoriously bad - dirty buses and trains, never on time, very slow, stops (too) frequently, and there's a (probably well-founded) perception of danger on some routes to boot.

Mass transit coverage (see: BART or MUNI light rail) is also non-existent in the vast majority of the city, making sketchy, infrequent buses the only alternative.

This is combined with an extremely corrupt taxicab lobby that has successfully prevented the growth of the cab fleet despite an increasing population, making SF a notoriously difficult city to get a cab during busy times (Thurs, Fri, Sat nights). Taxicabs are also poorly regulated, quite often picking up a passenger on the way to another fare and simply abandoning the request, as well as sketchiness with accepting and processing credit cards.

SF is really the perfect storm of regulatory and governmental failure that has allowed the rise of Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, etc.

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