Apps for requesting rides have gotten increasingly popular over the last few years, with services like Uber and Lyft being the two most notable offerings. Both services are similar in just about every way, as users can request rides from within an app right on their smartphone and pay using any number of easy mobile options with no need for cash or credit cards.Even the prices are similar, as both Lyft and Uber offer up normal rates and increased pricing based on times of high demand for rides in populated areas. Uber calls this price increase “surge pricing” while Lyft refers to it as “primetime.”
Although the rates for the increased costs during times of high demand are relatively similar as well, Lyft users are likely soon to be experiencing some more expensive costs as Lyft has recently removed the cap on its Primetime fares that it previously had on the service. The cap was in place to limit the amount of a price increase charged by drivers, reaching up to an amount of 200% of the normal rates. Without the cap though drivers are essentially allowed to set their own rates. Lyft says that the move to take away the cap on their Primetime fares was decided on so that they could better compete with Uber.
A number of drivers would be working for both companies, but during busy times when everyone wanted a ride, it was possible to make more money with Uber, which would cause drivers to shift to Uber over Lyft. This would in turn cause there to be less Lyft drivers on the road and leave more customers with higher wait times to receive a requested ride. Drivers being able to set higher rates without a cap means higher prices for riders, but it should also mean more drivers on the road and less time waiting during times of busy traffic when everyone is trying to request a ride at the same time. The cap removal, while it seems like a bad move on Lyft’s part, seems to be essential to keeping their business flourishing but it would have been less of a shock for riders had Lyft made the decision to alert them about the changes.