Here’s the Ridesharing Service You Should Choose
By now, you in all probability know the gist of driving with ride-sharing companies: You employ an app to attach with individuals who want rides. You drive them someplace in your individual automobile, they usually pay mechanically via the app.
The 2 greatest gamers within the area — Uber and Lyft — proceed an intense rivalry, regardless of providing just about the identical service and neither riders nor drivers often realizing why they select one or the opposite.
For those who’re occupied with becoming a member of the ranks of rideshare drivers, you is perhaps selecting blindly.
May you lose cash with the fallacious alternative?
That can assist you work out what’s greatest for you, we’ll examine the similarities and key variations between Uber and Lyft that can assist you decide which is greatest for drivers
Lyft vs. Uber: What Each Apps Supply Drivers
How every app works for drivers is essentially the identical:
You possibly can signal as much as drive on-line or via the app.
You log in once you wish to work, look forward to a notification which means somebody’s hailed a trip, then decide them up and drop them off at their vacation spot.
You earn cash based mostly on what number of rides you are taking, and also you mechanically receives a commission every week (or extra typically, if you happen to select) via direct deposit. Identical for every.
Driver Necessities for Uber and Lyft
| Uber | Lyft | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meet min. age/metropolis | Meet age rule/area | |||
| 1 12 months driving expertise (or 3 years if you happen to’re underneath 25) | 1 12 months driving experienc | |||
| Legitimate U.S. driver’s license (Some states require separate license.) | U.S. driver’s license | |||
| Legal/DMV background examine | DMV/background checks | |||
| Proof of state residency | Proof of insurance coverage | |||
| n/a | iPhone or Android telephone |
Car necessities range based mostly on state or native laws. They’re comparable for each companies, with a few notable variations.
Car Necessities for Uber and Lyft
| Uber Car Necessities | Lyft Car Necessities | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meet metropolis age guidelines | Meet area age guidelines | |||
| 4 doorways | 4 doorways | |||
| 5 seatbelts, together with driver | 5-8 seatbelts | |||
| Good situation | Go security inspection | |||
| Proof of registration | Present registration | |||
| Proof of insurance coverage | Proof of insurance coverage | |||
| No industrial branding | n/a |
For those who don’t have a automobile that meets the necessities, every firm provides rental choices or reductions to purchase in sure cities.
For those who don’t have a automobile that meets the necessities, every firm provides rental choices or reductions to purchase in some cities:
- Uber’s Car Options permits you to lease a automobile by the hour or the week, apply for a versatile lease with limitless mileage and funds deducted out of your Uber earnings.
- With Lyft’s Specific Drive rental choice, you possibly can lease companion Lyft automobiles with a versatile lease and no long-term dedication.
You possibly can even use the automobile you lease as your on a regular basis automobile, no matter how a lot you drive it with Uber or Lyft.
How A lot Can You Earn With Lyft vs. Uber?
Like some other sharing-economy gig or freelance work, Uber and Lyft drivers are thought-about unbiased contractors in all 50 states as of this writing.
Meaning your earnings are largely based mostly on how a lot you wish to work and the way you handle your time.
For instance, this man was incomes $750 every week driving 45 to 50 hours every week with Lyft in Philadelphia.
Driver earnings for the apps are comparable: Riders pay a base price plus additional price per minute and per mile.
As a driver, you earn based mostly on what number of rides you are taking, and the way far you drive for every. You’ll get an earnings increase once you drive throughout high-demand occasions — like rush hour or throughout a neighborhood particular occasion — referred to as “surge pricing” with Uber and “peak hours” with Lyft.
Each Lyft and Uber provide suggestions, which drivers get to maintain 100%.
California Gig Employee Ensures
The state of California kicked off a push towards reclassifying rideshare drivers and supply drivers as workers in 2020 with a state appeals court docket ruling adopted by a reversal on the polls with the approval of Proposition 22 in November 2020.
Beneath Prop 22, California rideshare drivers are nonetheless contractors, however you’re assured 120% of the native minimal wage per hour you’re engaged, $0.30 per mile in bills and a medical insurance stipend if you happen to common greater than 15 hours per week.
Additionally underneath Prop 22, you possibly can’t work greater than 12 hours a day with out a break of not less than six hours. (Lyft now units this restrict for drivers throughout the board, whereas Uber drive cut-off dates range by state.)
Upstate New York Uber Drivers Can Acquire Unemployment
An unemployment lawsuit in upstate New York in 2021 labeled rideshare Uber drivers particularly as workers for the aim of amassing unemployment, in keeping with the Nationwide Regulation Assessment.
The choice doesn’t apply to all of New York (it doesn’t attain New York Metropolis). It might not even apply to Lyft drivers, because the swimsuit was solely towards Uber Applied sciences, Inc. And its ramifications past unemployment aren’t clear.
Later in 2021, a statewide transfer for laws that will let rideshare drivers unionize did not cross, reaffirming drivers’ standing as contractors.
Rumblings Across the Nation
After small shifts in California and New York, analysts anticipate the push to reclassify drivers as workers to proceed and unfold to different states within the coming years, which may trigger a seismic shift in what it means to be a rideshare driver.
New Jersey lawmakers launched a invoice in 2019 to set clear parameters on who may and couldn’t be labeled as an unbiased contractor, mirroring the small print of California’s profitable AB 5. The invoice seems to have stalled in committee.
The Nationwide Labor Relations Board has invited briefs to find out whether or not it ought to change its requirements for classifying unbiased contractors versus workers which might have implications nationwide.
What Lyft Presents That Uber Doesn’t
In 2017, Lyft expanded to 40 “full” states, which means it lets drivers decide up anyplace in these states, not restricted to a metro space. In response to Lyft, this implies the platform covers greater than 94% of the U.S.
Lyft additionally provides Amp, a nifty system that makes it simpler for drivers to attach with riders at busy spots — and for drivers who’re deaf or arduous of listening to to remain on prime of recent rides
What Uber Presents That Lyft Doesn’t
For years, Uber has had one large benefit over Lyft: It was in additional locations. However now each companies can be found in all 50 states and in most areas inside these states.
Now Uber’s principal benefit is that extra riders are more likely to learn about it. Many individuals outdoors of coastal cities might solely have heard of Lyft previously few years because it’s expanded to their areas, they usually would possibly simply want Uber as a result of they knew it first.
Supply With Uber Eats
Uber’s 2014 enlargement into bundle and meals supply gave it a lift over Lyft for some drivers, too.
If it’s obtainable in your metropolis, Uber Eats provides you a strategy to earn cash once you don’t have (or don’t need) passengers. It additionally has much less strict necessities: The minimal age could also be decrease in some cities, and your automobile solely wants two doorways.
In some cities, you possibly can even make deliveries in your bike or scooter if you happen to don’t have a automobile — you solely need to be 19 years outdated to ship by scooter and 18 to ship by bicycle.
Lyft Providers vs. Uber Providers
Relying on the place you reside and what you drive, you would possibly discover you’re a greater match for both Uber or Lyft due to the companies obtainable in every app. Right here’s a comparability of the companies riders can order via every app.
(Providers range by metropolis, and rider limits is perhaps decreased on account of COVID-19.)
Lyft Providers vs. Uber Providers
| Lyft App | Uber app | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonplace Lyft (as much as 3 riders) | UberX (as much as 4 riders) | |||
| Lux (luxurious automobile as much as 3 riders) | Uber Black (luxurious automobile) | |||
| Lux Black (black automobile service as much as 3 riders) | n/a | |||
| Lyft XL (SUV as much as 5 riders) | Uber XL (as much as 6 riders) | |||
| Lux Black XL (luxurious SUV as much as 5 riders) | Uber Black SUV (luxurious) | |||
| Shared (share with riders headed in similar path) | Uber Pool (similar as Lyft) | |||
| Precedence Pickup (quicker service, larger value) | Uber Reserve upfront | |||
| Wait & Save (cheaper price, longer wait) | UberX Saver (like Lyft) | |||
| Most popular (rider can request quiet and alter automobile temperature) | Hourly (a number of stops) |
Lyft or Uber Who Wins?
The underside line is there’s in all probability no clear winner. Lyft versus Uber is a bit like a Mac versus PC debate. It’s important to decide what works in your way of life and funds.
As a result of every firm provides some clear benefits, many drivers work with each in cities the place each can be found.
This technique permits you to maximize the riders you possibly can join with and earn cash with much less downtime. The businesses don’t love competing for drivers, although, so maintain an eye fixed out for restrictions or insurance policies that restrict how simply you possibly can swap between apps when you’re working.
Dana Sitar is a Licensed Educator in Private Finance and has been writing and enhancing for on-line audiences since 2011, overlaying private finance, careers and digital media. She is a former staffer at The BaghdadTime. Her work has appeared within the New York Occasions, CNBC, The Motley Idiot, Inc. and extra.
