In March of 2009, founders, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, launched an app called Uber. The idea was brilliant; Uber is a ride-sharing service application that can be accessed with a smartphone. It allows people to request a private car right from their phones. In just minutes, a driver shows up because the company has drivers in so many locations that there is always one within a few blocks.
Over time, Uber has become more popular. Now, the company gets one million requests every week, and completes about 800,000 rides each week.
In 2012, another private transportation network company was founded called Lyft. Founders, John Zimmer and Logan Green, launched Lyft in the summer of 2012. With these two companies offering such similar services, they quickly became rivals.
Uber tried to get rid of the competition through a price war. Since Uber was known to be expensive, the company made efforts to get as much business from its competitor by lowering its prices. In addition, Uber has even resorted to sabotage. Recently, CNN reported that over 5,560 Lyft rides were ordered and then cancelled by Uber employees all over the country.
Uber denied this, of course, and is being accused of lying to the media, investors, and customers. Uber replied by saying, “Lyft’s claims against Uber are baseless and simply untrue.” The company then fought back by accusing Lyft of the same actions.
Chloe Stern ’18, a fan of Lyft, says, “Lyft is much better because you can get free rides and you can’t do that with Uber. Also, the drivers are really nice, and I like not having the name of the company on the front window of the car.”
Taylor Sitomer ’18 believes, “Uber is better. Since I am not the most tech-savvy person, I prefer Uber because it is easier to navigate, and the drivers come more quickly.”
Time will tell which of the two popular car services is truly the best.