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We Interviewed 40 Uber and Lyft Drivers – You Might Be Shocked By What They Said

Here at The Rideshare Guy, we enjoy hearing from drivers about what driving is like in their city, their tips and strategies for working smarter, not harder, and the things they struggle with. However, there’s nothing like speaking with drivers face to face to really get a good perspective on the driving experience. RSG contributor Sergio Avedian went out to speak with drivers in the wild and shares some of the shocking things he learned.

Do you want to share your thoughts on rideshare driving but prefer to remain anonymous? Take our 2019 drivers survey! You’ll be entered to win some pretty great prizes and will remain anonymous.

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For the longest time, I have wanted to go out and interview UberX and Lyft drivers off the streets. While Harry has interviewed thousands of drivers via anonymous surveys and compiled his findings in the 2018 Uber and Lyft Survey Results, I wanted to speak to drivers face to face and see what they had to say about Uber and Lyft.

Now obviously this study of drivers was by no means scientific and some of the findings even conflict with our survey results but I think it was enlightening to hear from real drivers. So recently, I visited the Lyft and Uber holding lots of the Los Angeles Airport (LAX). There, I interviewed drivers (primarily UberX drivers) and what I found was surprising! A summary of their responses, and my takeaways, are below.

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Disrupting the Disruptors: Can Nomad Rides Challenge Uber and Lyft?

With all of the driver pay issues surrounding Uber and Lyft, many drivers are wondering why there hasn’t been a competent challenger to Uber and Lyft. Recently, drivers reached out to us about a new company called Nomad Rides, which seeks to disrupt Uber and Lyft and take over as the truly driver-friendly company. We had RSG contributor Sergio Avedian take a look at Nomad, what it promises drivers, and the likelihood it will succeed below.

Nomad Rides is a new driver-centered rideshare company, whose intent is seemingly to overthrow Uber and Lyft by appealing to drivers, with a much more generous pay system than Uber/Lyft currently have. With driver pay and incentives getting cut what seems like every few months, there certainly is a lot of discontent to go around. I’m surprised a challenger to Uber and Lyft hasn’t arrived sooner! Is Nomad Rides the David that will take on the Goliath’s of the rideshare industry?

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Los Angeles City Council Looking To Regulate Uber and Lyft Drivers

City councils have a lot of power to say what can and cannot happen within city limits, and we are beginning to see what this type of local control could look like in Los Angeles, CA. RSG senior contributor Sergio Avedian outlines the latest proposal from the LA City Council to regulate rideshare drivers.

Safety of passengers as well as drivers comes up every time either a passenger or a driver gets killed. Unfortunately, Uber and Lyft have not been able to come up with a concrete solution to this problem. Granted, it is a very difficult task to achieve considering the sheer scale of rideshare industry these days. Close to 10 million rides take place on a daily basis on both platforms. Guaranteeing safety 10 million times is likely impossible – but local governments want to see if they can help.

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Lyft Plays Hardball in New York City

It was a busy week and weekend for Uber and Lyft, from earnings calls to TLC crackdowns in New York City. RSG contributor Sergio Avedian breaks down how Lyft, in particular, is handling these new regulations below.

A lot is happening right now in New York City and the implications could impact rideshare regulations across the entire country. But for now, what you need to know is that back in June, Lyft instituted a new policy that prevents drivers from logging on to the company’s app during periods of low demand. Now, drivers have to wait until ride requests pick up, or drive to a busier neighborhood like Midtown, Brooklyn or Manhattan.

On August 7, 2019, N.Y. TLC (Taxi Limousine Commission) extended the cap on Uber and Lyft vehicles and instituted new rules on “cruising”. If you remember, almost a year ago to the day, the New York TLC made the historic move to cap and freeze the number of rideshare vehicles in order to reduce congestion. Lyft did not actually challenge the cap itself in court, but rather focused its litigation on the TLC’s approach to setting the pay formula. Specifically, Lyft challenged the company-specific utilization rates, which they argued would lead to lower earnings over time. Of course, that’s not necessarily how drivers saw it.

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How Micromobility Could Be Double Trouble for Uber and Lyft’s Profitability

As scooters become more ubiquitous and noticeable in many cities, we wondered how “scooternomics” fit in with profitability for Uber and Lyft. Are Uber and Lyft making more with scooters? How do other scooter companies play a role? RSG contributor Sergio Avedian dug in to see how Uber/Lyft profit from short rides, how scooter rides have cut into that profitability and what that means for rideshare and scooter companies.

As per recent Uber and Lyft data, most Uber and Lyft rides are around 6 miles, but the most profitable are the short ones (2-3 miles). For drivers, those minimum fare rides can be rough and sometimes the distance driven to the pick-up location is longer than the actual ride itself.

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