
Why Some New York Drivers Prefer Lyft to Uber - prostoalex
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/lyft-uber-drivers.html
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glenra
The title of the story on the site is "We Asked 10 Black-Car Drivers If They
Prefer Working for Lyft or Uber — Here's Why Lyft Won By a Landslide"

The _actual_ reason Lyft "won by a landslide" is that the method used to find
those ten drivers was: hail current Lyft drivers then ask them if they've also
worked with Uber. (The fact that somebody who has used both is currently
working with Lyft means they like Lyft enough to stick with it; anyone who
liked Uber a lot better would probably not still be using Lyft)

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adaml_623
It is the most blatant example of sampling bias I've ever seen in the
introduction to an article

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th0br0
I hadn't known that Uber doesn't users allow to tip from within the app. Tax-
issues, aside, it's a bummer that they don't. I found the opportunity to tip
drivers with Lyft quite welcoming; after all, people tend to tip in most
places in the service industry - so why not for these rides which cost me
significantly less than a regular taxi ride - as well?

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CalRobert
I agree with you as regards consistency, but I would welcome a move away from
tipping culture. If a taxi ride is going to cost x+10%, just charge me x+10%
in the first place. Same for restaurants, barbers, etc.

With Lyft I suppose it makes sense since they are, supposedly, sharing rides
rather than a taxi (though it sure feels different from rideshares on Zimride
or Craigslist). Even so, tipping is annoying and confusing.

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peatmoss
I lived in New Zealand for a few years, and the almost total lack of a tipping
culture there rocked. Service didn't suffer. If anything, service was better
because maybe the employees were less inclined to engage in excessive tip-
seeking behavior (e.g. ultra-attentiveness, flirting). I talked to some kiwis
who found the notion of tipping for service mildly offensive--like casting off
some coins to the peasants based on your judgement of them.

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trjordan
So let me get this straight.

\- Lyft has social pressure to tip. Uber doesn't.

\- Lyft doesn't aggressively penalize drivers who can't communicate with
passengers. Uber does.

\- Lyft has fewer riders / drivers, making the experience more personal. Uber
is mechanical / efficient.

If I was a driver, I'd drive for Lyft. But as a rider, I'll take Uber.

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cauterized
I think the article was indicating that Uber penalizes drivers for
communication problems even if it's the passenger's language barrier. Or
should every cab driver be expected to be fluent in every language that a
tourist to NYC might have as their first language?

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johngd
I've taken a personal record number of UberX rides, 3, in the last week. I
prefer not taking them if I can help it, but safety trumps politics sometimes.

Regardless, each driver I met was absolutely fantastic; very friendly and
professional. The one complaint all of them had when I asked their opinion of
Uber: The GPS is horrible.

One guy was going to make the switch to Lyft JUST because the Lyft maps use
Google, and apparently it is simply just that bad.

I did witness this myself while on a work trip this past weekend - Uber GPS
led them off the highway and then back onto the highway adding an extra 5
miles for no apparent reason.

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jeffwass
I've never taken Lyft or Uber, but are the drivers required to go where their
GPS tells them? Or do they just not know the route?

Being used to traditional taxis myself, I find the need for these full-time
drivers to be so dependent on GPS a bit surprising.

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prostoalex
It's a suggestion, but if the driver takes a longer route and the customer
complaints, it will impact the driver's rating (and earnings). Learned it the
hard way after an UberX driver tried to get onto a bridge with tons of "Under
Construction" signs, as his GPS wasn't aware the bridge was being repaired.

