Lyft
Contents
History
Logan Green and John Zimmer founded Lyft in 2012. These two men originally created a company called Zimride in 2007, which was very similar to Lyft but was geared towards long distance rides connecting people through Facebook. [1] The lack of short distance journeys was what seemed to be missing from this company, which is why they created Lyft. Lyft was officially launched in 2012 in San Francisco, California-the headquarters for this company. [2]
Passenger Application Features
How to Start Using the Application
In order to request a ride, users must create an account linked to their phone number and credit card, Google Wallet or PayPal account. When using the app, Lyft uses GPS tracking to determine the location of the user and the available cars around them. In order to request a ride, a user must confirm the pickup location and choose the type of car they would like. The user can then add their destination, view the “prime time” surge of pricing, and view a price estimate of how much it will cost to arrive at their destination. The user then taps the “Requests Lyft” button.
Once a driver is available within the vicinity of the user, they become connected and the application is given an estimated arrival time based upon the distance between the car and the user. The name of the driver, their rating, the type of car, and the license plate number will appear on the screen as the Lyft approaches. A user can track the location of their car on the application’s map. Users can view the estimated time until the car arrives, can contact the driver, split the fee for the ride with friends, send the ETA to others, and cancel the ride from this screen. [3]
In March 2015, Lyft made it possible for users to add profiles about where they are from, favorite music, and other details about themselves to encourage connections between passengers and drivers. [4]
Different Cars
Lyft
This is Lyft’s most basic car service that is also the lowest cost option. This car seats up to four-passengers.
Lyft Plus
This car seats up to 6 passengers and is more expensive than the basic Lyft car.
Lyft Premier
This car is a luxury sedan that seats up to 4 passengers. This type of car is only available in New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles. These types of cars are luxury vehicles with leather interiors, such as Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar.
Lyft Line
This service is similar to a carpool service that pairs you with other nearby passengers that have the same end destination. This service is helpful to users who are commuting or have a commonplace end destination such as the airport. The Lyft application pairs you with a Lyft driver driving along your route and will pickup and drop off users along the way. This service tends to be up to 60% cheaper than requesting a regular Lyft as you are splitting the fee with other customers and is only available in big city markets. [5]
Pricing Equation
Pricing
Calculating ride payments are based off of 5 different factors: cost per mile, cost per minute, base charge, service fee, and prime time. The distance is the cost per each mile traveled during the trip. The time is the cost per minute during the trip. The base charge is the flat charge the ride assesses at the beginning of the trip. The service fee is the Lyft platform charge for each ride. Prime time is an additional percentage added during the busy times, which a user is notified of before requesting a Lyft. [6]
Lyft Prime Time
Prime time encourages drivers to be on the roads during the busy times of the day where demand is high. Prime time varies each second depending on how many people are requesting Lyft. If there is a Prime Time surge happening in the location, the user will receive a notification pop up with the added percentage requiring confirmation of their ride. For example, if a ride costs $10 (before other fees) and there is a 150% Prime Time, the ride will cost $25 (+ other fees). [7]
Two-Way Ratings
At the end of the ride, the driver and the passenger have the chance to rate each other on a scale of 1-5 stars. If either the passenger or the driver rates one another under 3 stars, they will never be paired again. If a driver is consistently getting low ratings, Lyft has the power to deactivate the driver from the application. Each driver receives a weekly summary of their ratings with comments left by passengers. [8]
Political Involvement
Lyft is donating $1 million over the next four years to the ACLU in response to the executive order that places limits on travel to the U.S. from certain countries in concern for terrorists infiltrating the U.S. signed by President Donald Trump. [9]
Ethics
See Also
External Links
References
- ↑ Zimride. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimride
- ↑ https://successstory.com/companies/lyft/
- ↑ https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/213584098-How-to-Request-a-Ride
- ↑ Company Site. https://www.lyft.com
- ↑ http://www.ridesharingdriver.com/whats-the-difference-between-lyft-lyftplus-and-line/
- ↑ https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/214218147-Calculating-the-Cost-of-a-Lyft-Ride
- ↑ https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/213818898-Prime-Time-for-Passengers
- ↑ https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/213586008-Driver-and-Passenger-Ratings
- ↑ http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/29/14429452/lyft-donating-1-million-american-civil-liberties-union
