Will Uber and Lyft Become Different Things?
Ride-hailing companies are diversifying away from their core business, but right into more direct competition.
For most people, an Uber is a Lyft and a Lyft is an Uber.
Uber’s roots are in the black-car business, while Lyft’s predecessor, Zimride, was a carpooling app. Yet over the last six years, as the two ride-hailing companies have been in direct competition around the nation, Uber and Lyft have essentially served as exact substitutes. Drivers seem to find them interchangeable, too, often suctioning two phones to their windshields—one for Uber, one for Lyft.
Lyft has tried to differentiate itself as the kinder, gentler Uber. But under the newish CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber has become the kinder, gentler Uber. So ... where does that leave Lyft?
Today, Lyft announced a new passenger app that represents its vision for the
