Lyfting on electrons

I joined Lyft in March after meeting the founder of Zimride at a sustainable mobility conference. He mentioned that his new dynamic ridesharing service was going to be huge. He was right. In fact Lyft is so disruptive that the CPUC delivered a cease-and-desist letter and fined Zimride. $20,000. It has been banned, along with Uber and Sidecar, in other major cities like NYC and Washington DC because of concerns about passenger safety and a lack of consumer protection, among other issues.   

Lyft is a platform for connecting people who are driving with people who need a ride. Riders request a ride through the app, get picked up at a location they specify by placing a pin and dropped off within 60 miles of the city and then donate a suggested amount to the driver within 24 hours though a mobile payment service. Drivers get a ride request, navigate to the rider using Waze or Google navigation, pick up, drop off and rate the rider. They get paid every two weeks. A driver has multiple phone and in-person interviews along with a comprehensive car check up.

I signed up for three reasons. First, I wanted to expose riders in SF to an electric taxi which from a user experience perspective should be more premium because of the smooth ride and lack of engine noise. Also, inner city mobility service users report having an environment and new technology interest, and I want their feedback and response to the Nissan Leaf. Second, I wanted to test the Nissan Leaf’s usefulness as a taxi (can it go far enough, can I find charging, etc.). Third, I joined for the social and community aspects of this exciting new service. Lyft has regular food-truck parties and other social events. Both drivers and riders have extremely broad and interesting backgrounds and personalities. Fist bumps all around.

My experience using the service - both as a driver and as a rider - has been extremely positive. I’ve given about a dozen rides, all between 1 and 10 miles (2 mi average), and I make twenty to thirty dollars an hour. Lyft is the most time and cost effective way to get around the city, hands down. When I’ve requested Lyfts in the past, the waiting time has ranged from 2-8 minutes. The cost of a ride - which is merely a suggested donation with room for a tip - is at least 10% less than that of a taxi. The rider has 24 hours to pay the driver through Lyft’s mobile payment system.   

To date, there is no academic evidence that mobility services like Lyft take away from Taxi or public transit revenue. On the contrary, because they sell their car(s), users are potentially more likely to need to use public transit, taxis and car sharing as each of those services fit a different use case. On a number Lyfts, riders confessed to having shed cars. This fulfils goals of public transit and parking regulatory communities.
Stay tuned for more stories about my experience as a electric Lyft driver.