It’s no secret that Uber and Lyft are the leading companies in rideshare. If you have a cell phone, a place to be, and a few dollars in your pocket, then you’re a candidate for this billion dollar business. Uber is an American worldwide online transportation network company, while Lyft labels their company as a privately held American transportation network. Both companies’ headquarters are based in San Francisco, California.
Uber and Lyft continue to dominate the roads and passengers’ pockets by shaping the future of mobility. Earlier this year, General Motors made a $500 million investment in Lyft, valuing the ride-hailing company at $5.5 billion, making Lyft and General Motors a partnership-match made in heaven. As for Uber, General Motors doesn’t say no to the possibility of working with Uber in the future. GM President Dan Ammann explained to Bloomberg, “We’re really aligned about where we see the future… and we’re really aligned culturally,” implying their bond with Lyft is strong and moving. Though Lyft may have the upper hand with General Motors, Uber is updating their brand in a major way. Maven, GM’s 10-month-old car-sharing division, will begin letting Uber drivers rent cars by the week. The new pilot program, which is showcasing in San Francisco, is just the latest addition to Uber’s slate of leasing and car-rental options for drivers, which include similar deals with Enterprise and Hertz.
Both companies excel in the producing quick, easy, and affordable service. In fact, when Lyft introduces a new driver promotion, Uber does the same. According to Ridester.com, “Uber and Lyft compete incredibly heavy on pricing… we find that both companies charge around $1.00 to start a ride, and then charge $1.50 per mile, and then .25 cents per minute. When we think about an average cost per mile after computing these particular costs, we find that the average tends to be about $2.00 per mile which still, when compared to a taxi, is much more cost effective.” The clash of the rides seems to have the new General Motors-Uber arrangement excited for what’s in store. Earlier this year when GM introduced Maven, the program united with Lyft’s own goal of reducing car ownership by offering peer-to-peer car-sharing and car rentals. In the past, Lyft and GM partnered to create “Express Drive,” a car-rental program that allows Lyft drivers to rent cars, but every creation eventually needs expansion, and that’s what both Uber and Lyft partnerships did. Uber’s partnership with GM currently exists only in the Bay Area, while Lyft’s is in 10 U.S. cities, including Boston, Washington, D.C., Denver, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose, California.
