Wednesday, December 17, 2014
pdf how uber lyft insurance work or do NOT work by rideshareguy
http://ridesharedashboard.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/How-Insurance-Works-in-a-Lyft-or-Uber-Accident.pdf?374dd4
Consumer complaints for Uber Technologies - San Francisco, Oakland, San Mateo, and Northern Coastal California BBB
Consumer complaints for Uber Technologies - San Francisco, Oakland, San Mateo, and Northern Coastal California BBB: "184 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years | 172 closed in last 12 months
Complaint Type Total Closed Complaints
Advertising / Sales Issues 15
Billing / Collection Issues 91
Delivery Issues 1
Guarantee / Warranty Issues 1
Problems with Product / Service 76
Total Closed Complaints 184
Additional Complaint Information"
'via Blog this'
Complaint Type Total Closed Complaints
Advertising / Sales Issues 15
Billing / Collection Issues 91
Delivery Issues 1
Guarantee / Warranty Issues 1
Problems with Product / Service 76
Total Closed Complaints 184
Additional Complaint Information"
'via Blog this'
Confessions of an Uber Driver Comments (44) By LA Weekly oct 27 2014
First Person
Confessions of an Uber Driver
Comments (44)By LA Weekly
Mon, Oct 27, 2014 at 7:08 AM
UPDATE: Soon after this story published, Uber's PR team tried to pull a fast one on us.
The author is a current Uber driver who shared his experiences on the condition that we not use his real name.
I never thought I would be an Uber driver. But last Christmas I came to the startling realization that, in fact, money does not grow on trees. Not even my parents’ trees. And there was just too much month at the end of my money.
Not one to shirk responsibility, I applied simultaneously to work both for Lyft and for Uber. Well, not simultaneously, per se; that’s impossible. But you get my point.
Did you know that there are more starving artists in Los Angeles than there are unproduced screenplays in Los Angeles? Hence, Uber.
Upon comparing the Uber and Lyft websites, the former struck me as pretentious while the latter seemed corny but fun. When Lyft responded to my application immediately, I figured we’d be a match, pink mustache and all.
I took my first Lyft ride as a passenger at Sundance while they were doing a free ride promotion. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, “Hey, if you were so broke, why were you at Sundance?” To answer your question, shut up. I had the fortune to ride in the self proclaimed Hip-Hop Lyft driven by a dreadlocked dude who quizzed me on all things hip hop. Somehow I overcame my Caucasian roots and passed the test, earning cool Lyft prizes like a flimsy iPhone case and pink earrings. That last prize wasn’t for me, I swear. Lyft’s MO was clearly make it fun. And I liked that.
See also: I Was a Web Cam Performer
Fast-forward to a month later where I found myself “Lyfting” around L.A. as a driver, relatively impressed with the functionality of the app and the casual rapport I was having with passengers. Most were proud converts (“Taxis suck! Thank God for ridesharing!”) and I couldn’t blame them. Despite the absurd mustache calling card on my front bumper, it was easy-peasy and the money wasn’t bad. I even made a friend or two.
Then, suddenly, a strange passenger appeared. His destination was only a couple blocks away and he used that distance to “refer” me to UberX, claiming I’d get $500 for joining and driving 20 rides plus zero commission for the first month. I had no dog in this fight and money talks, so I did it.
Passenger X was smart. He made his commission for bringing me to the dark side. He knew how to work the system to his advantage. As it turns out, so did Uber.
Once I joined Uber, there seemed to be no looking back. I scored $500 for joining, $500 or $250 for referring friends to the platform, $40 per hour guarantees on Friday and Saturday nights. My first night I made about $300, mainly due to a 7.5 surge price on a trip from West Hollywood to downtown L.A. which cost the passenger more than $100. Unethical? You betcha. Did I care? Not a bit! I finally had a part-time gig that paid like it was full-time. I could make more in a weekend than some people make all week. Having worked many dismal minimum wage jobs, this was a godsend. But even God knows the devil is in the details.
I started to witness the ruthless machinations of a libertarian monopoly. While evading most taxi regulations and delving into ethically murky waters, Uber was aggressively trying to eliminate the competition, free-market style. It wasn’t exactly subtle: “Earn $500 for referring Lyft drivers!” Hmm. The money was good, but where was it coming from? How long could it last? And at what expense? The answers, respectively, are Google, not long and everyone’s expense.
I’ll elaborate.
Of the $1.2 billion Uber has raised in capital, Google Ventures has invested $258 million. So that’s how they could afford all those generous bonuses. Although the latest valuation estimates the company’s worth at $18.2 billion, the long-term market value of the company could be $200 billion or more, according to Google Ventures. Yes, that’s $200 billion with a b. That’s half the GDP of Austria. Although, to be fair, the GDP of Austria will likely be much higher this year… because now there’s Uber in Austria — and 44 other countries. Über impressive.
The advantage of a free market is that it fosters competition, so Uber could only stay popular if it matched Lyft’s prices, toned down its insane surge pricing schemes and managed to keep enough drivers on the road for the service to be reliable. So that’s exactly what the company did. They cut their prices nearly in half, thereby lessening the surge prices and, since drivers were now losing out on a big chunk of change, Uber kept bribing — I mean, incentivizing — us with bonuses to drive on weekend nights. Smart, perhaps. But about as sustainable in the long run as the Hindenburg.
Uber was delayed in processing a mysterious inspection form that was suddenly required seven months into my driving. So while I waited for them to get their act together, I decided to drive Lyft for the evening. It was at that moment that I realized how effective Uber’s scorched-earth strategy had been. In the time I would have given seven or eight rides with Uber, I only gave three with Lyft, in between several bouts of aggressive thumb-twiddling. Lyft was losing, drivers were losing and, ultimately, when drivers realize it’s not worth their time anymore, customers will lose too.
At the end of the day, Uber, despite its faux German name, is purely American. It wants to be No. 1 and will do anything to get there with little regard for collateral damage.
So you still want to be an Uber driver? Forget its F rating by the Better Business Bureau. Lyft got the same thing. Forget the infinite customer complaints and the notoriously bad customer service for passengers and drivers, accessible via email only. Forget the many technical and GPS-related issues. And forget that Uber is taking over the world while fighting off clever competitors left and right.
If you’re as broke as I was and are still thinking about giving it a shot, all you need to do is the math: Add about $15 per hour you want to drive, subtract the Uber fee (20 percent), subtract the $10 weekly “device fee” for using their iPhone, subtract your car payments, your insurance, your DMV fees, your gas, your taxes and sometimes your dignity.
What you will likely have left is nothing more than a chance to say “a $200 billion company depends on me but I can’t pay my rent.” You might say that’s wrong. They might say it’s genius. I say it's über American.
Now, here's what happened right after this piece was published.
The author is a current Uber driver who shared his experiences on the condition that we not use his real name.
I never thought I would be an Uber driver. But last Christmas I came to the startling realization that, in fact, money does not grow on trees. Not even my parents’ trees. And there was just too much month at the end of my money.
Not one to shirk responsibility, I applied simultaneously to work both for Lyft and for Uber. Well, not simultaneously, per se; that’s impossible. But you get my point.
Did you know that there are more starving artists in Los Angeles than there are unproduced screenplays in Los Angeles? Hence, Uber.
Upon comparing the Uber and Lyft websites, the former struck me as pretentious while the latter seemed corny but fun. When Lyft responded to my application immediately, I figured we’d be a match, pink mustache and all.
I took my first Lyft ride as a passenger at Sundance while they were doing a free ride promotion. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, “Hey, if you were so broke, why were you at Sundance?” To answer your question, shut up. I had the fortune to ride in the self proclaimed Hip-Hop Lyft driven by a dreadlocked dude who quizzed me on all things hip hop. Somehow I overcame my Caucasian roots and passed the test, earning cool Lyft prizes like a flimsy iPhone case and pink earrings. That last prize wasn’t for me, I swear. Lyft’s MO was clearly make it fun. And I liked that.
See also: I Was a Web Cam Performer
Fast-forward to a month later where I found myself “Lyfting” around L.A. as a driver, relatively impressed with the functionality of the app and the casual rapport I was having with passengers. Most were proud converts (“Taxis suck! Thank God for ridesharing!”) and I couldn’t blame them. Despite the absurd mustache calling card on my front bumper, it was easy-peasy and the money wasn’t bad. I even made a friend or two.
Then, suddenly, a strange passenger appeared. His destination was only a couple blocks away and he used that distance to “refer” me to UberX, claiming I’d get $500 for joining and driving 20 rides plus zero commission for the first month. I had no dog in this fight and money talks, so I did it.
Passenger X was smart. He made his commission for bringing me to the dark side. He knew how to work the system to his advantage. As it turns out, so did Uber.
Once I joined Uber, there seemed to be no looking back. I scored $500 for joining, $500 or $250 for referring friends to the platform, $40 per hour guarantees on Friday and Saturday nights. My first night I made about $300, mainly due to a 7.5 surge price on a trip from West Hollywood to downtown L.A. which cost the passenger more than $100. Unethical? You betcha. Did I care? Not a bit! I finally had a part-time gig that paid like it was full-time. I could make more in a weekend than some people make all week. Having worked many dismal minimum wage jobs, this was a godsend. But even God knows the devil is in the details.
I started to witness the ruthless machinations of a libertarian monopoly. While evading most taxi regulations and delving into ethically murky waters, Uber was aggressively trying to eliminate the competition, free-market style. It wasn’t exactly subtle: “Earn $500 for referring Lyft drivers!” Hmm. The money was good, but where was it coming from? How long could it last? And at what expense? The answers, respectively, are Google, not long and everyone’s expense.
I’ll elaborate.
Of the $1.2 billion Uber has raised in capital, Google Ventures has invested $258 million. So that’s how they could afford all those generous bonuses. Although the latest valuation estimates the company’s worth at $18.2 billion, the long-term market value of the company could be $200 billion or more, according to Google Ventures. Yes, that’s $200 billion with a b. That’s half the GDP of Austria. Although, to be fair, the GDP of Austria will likely be much higher this year… because now there’s Uber in Austria — and 44 other countries. Über impressive.
The advantage of a free market is that it fosters competition, so Uber could only stay popular if it matched Lyft’s prices, toned down its insane surge pricing schemes and managed to keep enough drivers on the road for the service to be reliable. So that’s exactly what the company did. They cut their prices nearly in half, thereby lessening the surge prices and, since drivers were now losing out on a big chunk of change, Uber kept bribing — I mean, incentivizing — us with bonuses to drive on weekend nights. Smart, perhaps. But about as sustainable in the long run as the Hindenburg.
Uber was delayed in processing a mysterious inspection form that was suddenly required seven months into my driving. So while I waited for them to get their act together, I decided to drive Lyft for the evening. It was at that moment that I realized how effective Uber’s scorched-earth strategy had been. In the time I would have given seven or eight rides with Uber, I only gave three with Lyft, in between several bouts of aggressive thumb-twiddling. Lyft was losing, drivers were losing and, ultimately, when drivers realize it’s not worth their time anymore, customers will lose too.
At the end of the day, Uber, despite its faux German name, is purely American. It wants to be No. 1 and will do anything to get there with little regard for collateral damage.
So you still want to be an Uber driver? Forget its F rating by the Better Business Bureau. Lyft got the same thing. Forget the infinite customer complaints and the notoriously bad customer service for passengers and drivers, accessible via email only. Forget the many technical and GPS-related issues. And forget that Uber is taking over the world while fighting off clever competitors left and right.
If you’re as broke as I was and are still thinking about giving it a shot, all you need to do is the math: Add about $15 per hour you want to drive, subtract the Uber fee (20 percent), subtract the $10 weekly “device fee” for using their iPhone, subtract your car payments, your insurance, your DMV fees, your gas, your taxes and sometimes your dignity.
What you will likely have left is nothing more than a chance to say “a $200 billion company depends on me but I can’t pay my rent.” You might say that’s wrong. They might say it’s genius. I say it's über American.
Now, here's what happened right after this piece was published.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Lyft's cofounder on how Uber has helped it succeed Joh Zimmer
Lyft's cofounder on how Uber has helped it succeed
IMAGE: LYFT
"Sorry, I was in the zone," John Zimmer says on the phone when he calls me back. He's feeling productive and in good spirits. Pumped, even. Ready and excited to talk.
On the one hand, this shouldn't be too surprising. Lyft, the company he cofounded with Logan Green in 2012, has undoubtedly been one of the bigger successes of 2014. It raised an impressive $250 million in funding earlier this year, and has expanded into dozens of new markets. It also debuted Lyft Line, a new carpooling option, and Lyft for Work, a service for commuters, both of which Zimmer believes push Lyft closer to his ultimate goal: replacing the need to own a car.
It's when talking about this ambitious — and some might say, impossible — goal that Zimmer really gets excited. He launches into the story of a light going on in his head after a professor in one of his Cornell classes explained that more than 80% of seats from cars on the road are empty. He talks briefly about Zimride, a university carpooling service that marked the cofounders' first attempt at addressing this issue, which they sold in 2013 to focus on Lyft. And then he dives into the economic, environment and even social benefits of a ride-sharing service like Lyft.
"We've designed our worlds with screens all around us, and designed ourselves into isolation, where we go from our garage alone to our car alone to our cubicle alone," Zimmer says. "We could solve all of these components through a very simple, elegant solution of bringing more people together."
For all that well-earned optimism, there have been plenty of unpleasant moments for Zimmer and Lyft this year. The company continued to run up against regulators in various markets. Lyft was vastly out-funded by chief rival Uber, which has tried to poach its drivers and undermine its funding efforts. Just last month, the company sued its former chief operating officer for allegedly stealing internal document before defecting to an executive job at Uber. And if all that isn't enough, more outlets are criticizing Lyft's iconic pink mustache.
We talked with Zimmer about the unintended benefits of competing with Uber, why the company is re-thinking the giant pink mustache and whether he sees an IPO in Lyft's future. (This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Q&A with John Zimmer
Mashable: Lyft has always had a more playful persona with the pink mustaches and fist-bumping drivers. Some have criticized that branding more recently, with one prominent publication suggesting Lyft may be "too cute to fight Uber." Did Lyft make a mistake with the branding, or wait too long to change it?
John Zimmer: It's a story that people want to read about, given the competitive environment. But the fact is we just brought on the creative director from Virgin America. If you look at the website today, it's different than it was yesterday. We are going to keep many elements of it, but we are also going to ... continue to evolve the brand. I think Virgin America is a really good example.
So does that mean the pink mustache will be phased out, or fade into the background?
There's no big mustaches anymore. We stopped shipping those a couple months ago.There's no big mustaches anymore. We stopped shipping those a couple months ago. All the press images that are out there, that's kind of part of our launch strategy. We actually did it [the mustache] longer than we expected because it increased our word of mouth and awareness incredibly well. There's a way to mature and polish the brand experience and that will have a new place in a different way, and not in the way we launched it.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about Lyft these days, either among the media, consumers or businesses?
I think the biggest misconception is that we are trying to build a better car service or taxi company. We are actually trying to replace the need for you to own a vehicle, and that's very different. It's much bigger and broader: every car, every driver, every seat.
At least one of your competitors has experimented with delivering meals,supplies and kittens, suggesting aspirations to go beyond transportation, and become more of a logistics company. Lyft hasn't really gone this route, at least not yet. Do you have plans to?
We're open to that, and we see that just as anyone else sees those opportunities peripheral to what we're doing.We're open to that, and we see that just as anyone else sees those opportunities peripheral to what we're doing. But the innovation cycle in this space is still extremely early. Lyft Line, as an example, is a few months old ... Focus is super important. It's not to say we won't.
Analysts I've spoken with generally agree the ride-hailing space will not be a winner-take-all market, though it may be a winner-take-most market. Are you approaching it with the goal to win, or do you believe there's plenty of opportunity, here, even if you come in second?
We play to win, and we feel like we have the best platform and strategy to do that. I agree that it will be a couple players in the market that have a successful offering, and there will be levels of differentiation. But we're confident in our strategy and our ability.
Uber, in particular, seems to be playing the winner-take-all game, which once included aggressive marketing against Lyft and, allegedly, a "sabotage campaign" against your company and its drivers. How do you respond to those brass tactics inside the company?
We used to acknowledge it, but now we are focused on what we do. We are incredibly competitive in our way. Part of that is focusing on our vision.
Some startups in this space have told me that Uber's aggressive tactics and jaw-dropping funding have actually helped them raise awareness and funding. Do you think Uber's tactics and the attention it generates have helped Lyft?
The space getting a lot of attention, and people realizing what a big opportunity it is, is beneficial for all.The space getting a lot of attention, and people realizing what a big opportunity it is, is beneficial for all.
You noted in one recent interview that Uber'sattempts to undermine your last funding round "didn't work." Care to elaborate?
In that specific situation, we went out to raise $150 [million], and we raised $250 [million]. It either didn't have an impact, or was positive. There's so many different elements to the tactics and the competitive things, I'm sure there are some that are more distracting than others. Overall, the growth we've seen, the attention we've seen for Lyft in the space has been a good thing.
Every week now, we seem to hear about regulatory battles and safety complaints in this space. Were you expecting all that when you were thinking about entering this space?
When we were thinking in 2007 about what we wanted to do about creating a service that people could use for every ride, that people could use multiple times a day to replace a car, we weren't as focused on the regulatory component. But when we launched Lyft in 2012, we did realize there would be challenges. I haven't lately been surprised. One thing that I think is important is that people know on the safety front that they need to have a holistic view of all the safety components.
Thirty percent of drivers on our platform are women, and the majority of passengers are women. That's not true on other platforms.Thirty percent of drivers on our platform are women, and the majority of passengers are women. That's not true on other platforms. Our background-check criteria restricts DUIs and criminal convictions, and that's not always the case for specific other industries.
Do you see Lyft becoming a public company in the foreseeable future, or do you think it will be better served staying private for the next few years?
I think both over the next several years are real options. We just brought on a CFO and a CMO, and we are excited about building up a team, but I can't comment on when we would go public.
So what do you expect will be your biggest challenge in the year ahead?
The biggest challenge, I think, probably continues to be on the regulatory front to make sure people understand the larger vision we are going after, and how rules that are made now can effect what steps three and four look like for the vision.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
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