I have been a driver on the Lyft platform for the past 6 years. I use Lyft as a filler for my main rideshare app Uber or I drive for them when they only show me the money.
Over the past 6 years, I have seen Lyft lose market share to Uber in the driver as well as passenger headcount. I drive in Los Angeles where Uber’s rider demand outpaces Lyft’s by a three-to-one margin.
However, about a month ago I woke up to the news that the founders of Lyft Logan Green, and John Zimmer were out as CEO and President.
They chose an ex-Amazon and Microsoft veteran David Risher as the new CEO of the company.
He certainly has a tough task ahead as Lyft is left for dead as far as Wall St. is concerned. He is really in a David vs Goliath fight, I wish him the best since Uber should not be allowed to become a monopoly.
As you can see in the screenshot below, Lyft stock is down by about 90% since its IPO at $72 roughly 4 years ago, definitely not a good picture. I absolutely blame the outgoing management for the company’s demise.
New Management Leads to New Ideas
I have always said, without drivers, there is no gig economy. But what is being done to attract drivers back to the Lyft platform?
I would say the changes have come fast and furious. If anyone interviews a thousand Lyft drivers, their number one common complaint would be the infamous Switcheroo.
How many times have you accepted a request, you would be on your way to the passenger, literally a mile away from the pick-up address, and then you would be switched without notification to another passenger?
Now you are totally in the dark, you don’t know where this passenger is going, you don’t know what their rating is nor do you know what you are going to get paid.
Lyft Ends Switcheroo & Drivers are Loving It
Well my brothers and sisters on wheels, say no more. Lyft has ended the dreaded Switcheroo.
Now the driver is given all the information upfront, we even have the choice of accepting or rejecting the replacement trip. Hallelujah for transparency!
Come on, let’s celebrate, if this was the doing of the new CEO, thank you from all the drivers Mr. Risher.
I always mentioned this as the number one complaint of drivers on the Lyft platform when I talked to executives of the company.
So far I am very impressed with the changes the new management is implementing. I have not spoken so highly of Lyft for years since they always seem to follow Uber’s lead.
I even celebrated the ending of the Switcheroo on SMTMC (Show Me The Money Club) and the comments left for that video are unequivocally positive. See for yourself below!
My Conclusion and Takeaways
Companies need a fresh start once in a while, I am certainly pleased with the first few weeks of Mr. Risher’s reign as the new CEO.
The first line of business for Mr. Risher was to lay off about 25% of Lyft’s workforce in a cost-cutting attempt. I completely agree with that decision, why does Lyft need 4,000 high-paid coders to run a simple business like rideshare? It is picking up at Point A and dropping off at Point B.
Next came the restructuring of internal departments in an effort to consolidate existing teams.
I even have developed a Twitter relationship with the new CEO of Lyft, he seems to really care about drivers and engage when necessary on social media.
Take a look at the following exchange regarding driver safety!
So far so good Mr. Risher, we are willing to wait and see how we are treated by the new management.
I hope you are going to listen to the driver community who has suffered during the last regime. We are here to help you to bring Lyft back as a worthy competitor to Uber.
Please chime in with your comments, what do you guys think? Are you liking the changes at Lyft, is the new sheriff in town going to be able to straighten the ship out?
