Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

Re:Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles by WaxProlix on Thursday March 02, 2017 @12:24AM (#13771653)

Lyft differentiates itself by throwing slightly more scraps to the drivers and not being Uber. It's shit, but cabbies aren't exactly working with a full benefits package and stock options either. I agree that Lyft is only marginally better than Uber, but it's hard to know where to go when basically every service industry seems to exist to exploit workers for profit. Do you just walk everywhere? Go live in the woods? It's a shit deal but we live in this system - worrying about 'ethical' consumption choices rather than trying to untangle root causes can feel like missing the point. Not that there's much chance of meaningful change there, either. Idunno.

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Re:Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles by techsupporter on Thursday March 02, 2017 @12:34AM (#13771703)

> it's hard to know where to go when basically every service industry seems to exist to exploit workers for profit

No argument there. I completely agree (with the caveat that some small niches or niche companies seem to be "playing fair" but they're, by far, the exception than he rule).

> Do you just walk everywhere? Go live in the woods?

I intentionally didn't mention it, but since you asked: I don't use either service because of my objections to them. Where I live, public transit and bicycle infrastructure is pretty good--at least compared to most of North America--so if I can't get there by train, bus, bike, rented or friend's car (when going as a group), or my own two feet, I just don't go. I 197% recognize that this is a choice that many people don't get to make, but I don't think it invalidates the question of "why is Lyft seen as so much better than Uber?"

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Re:Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles by WaxProlix on Thursday March 02, 2017 @01:14AM (#13771898)

Sure - I take a bus to work and back, light rail around town, bike when weather permits, walk and eat/drink/shop local. I still take a Lyft when I go out and get drunk or whatever - not a real alternative out there.

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