As the two dominant ride-hailing services in the United States, Lyft and Uber roll out a lot of policy changes and new features within days of one another.
To Protect Its Turf, Lyft Follows Uber in Cutting Prices
The move affects 33 markets.
Lyft
Case in point: Six days ago, Uber announced a sweeping price cut for rides in 100 cities. And now today, Lyft says that it’s doing the same thing in 33 markets, including San Francisco, Washington and Los Angeles (but not New York!). A statement from the company says that the move is to “help ensure our drivers are in high demand.” Put more simply: We can’t lose riders to Uber.
Uber’s recent price cuts were not without controversy; every time Uber lowers its prices, its drivers get furious because they say it’s money that just comes out of their pockets. Uber said that the increased demand for cheaper rides shouldn’t hurt driver take-home pay, but that “if drivers aren’t busier, prices will go back up again.”
When Lyft has cut prices in the past, it has predictably pissed off drivers, as well. Given the nationwide backlash from drivers over Uber’s latest price reduction, Lyft’s decision will probably get a similar reaction.
In an email sent to Re/code announcing the fare slash, a Lyft spokesperson said that the company pays drivers more than any comparable service, and that driver average hourly earnings increased 13 percent in 2015.
We’ve asked a Lyft representative for more details about how the news will impact driver take-home pay, and we’ll update here when we hear back. In the meantime, here’s the full list of cities affected by the changes:
Detroit, Baltimore, Bakersfield, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Cincinnati, Washington, Denver, Fresno, Spokane, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Orlando, Memphis, Modesto, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orange County, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Norfolk (Virginia), Pittsburgh, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Sacramento, Sonoma/Napa Counties, Toledo, Tampa, Tulsa, Indianapolis and Raleigh-Durham.
Like Uber’s cuts, price changes will vary market by market. You can read more about the announcement in a blog post on Lyft’s website.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
