Lyft Ridesharing Services Explained - Lyft, Lyft Line, Plus, Premier and LUX

Comparing Lyft car services

Lyft has grown so much in so little time but has expanded on an incremental and logical way so it won't overreach its performance efficiency levels. This means that Lyft offers a good and comprehensive service and has increased its car categories over time.

Today there are a number of car categories that serve different customer needs. This article will review these services.

The Lyft Categories

While there are a number of different Lyft services available, not all the services are available in every city, so before you consider placing a request for the more luxurious categories, check online or in the app to see what service is offered in your city or the city you are visiting.

  • Lyft is the first level service and provides a standard ride for up to four passengers
  • Lyft Plus is a vehicle that will seat up to six or more passengers and is more expensive than the basic Lyft car.
  • Lyft Line is the Lyft ride-share sharing system that allows for many passengers to ride in one car to a similar destination. The price per passenger is lower than Lyft, but the ride is longer. (Later)
  • Lyft Premier is the first level luxury ride with a four seating sedan with leather upholstery.
  • Lyft Lux is the top of Lyfts services, a prestigious and luxurious line of expensive cars. Usually all lack with black interiors.

Lyft Explained

Lyft started out as a direct competitor to Uber; it offers an identical service with special instances unique to its own brand name. Lyft's services are offered through their app, and all customers need to sign on, download the app and can then manage their daily driving needs.

All Lyft drivers pass a stringent background check, and all cars are expected to meet specific requirements. All cars are expected to be clean, fresh and comfortable, and all drivers to be courteous, polite and safe.

Lyft Plus is Lyfts SUV and Minivan service, and it usually requested when a group of five or more passengers need a roomier ride or intend to ride together. Lyft Plus offers plenty of luggage space too, so this is considered to be a perfect airport run car for families or groups of travelers.

Lyft Line is Lyft’s pool service that is only available in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Most new Line passengers don’t realize that a pool ride means that the driver is going to zig-zag around like a school bus, picking up passengers along the way, but not exactly along the shortest route to the final destination. Don’t upset at the driver, it’s the nature of the ride, and that is why it is cheaper for you.

Since it is effectively only one ride, as all the fares are joined together to pay on the final amount. Sure, drivers do get a slightly bigger income, but per fare, you are getting more hassle, and driving around for a long time having to deal with irate passengers and traffic. The other factor is the parking for each pickup, finding a place to park or stand for every passenger is not as easy as it sounds, especially when police are prowling around and also weaving in and out of traffic can be problematic. The driver has to concentrate more, look out more and be aware of everything while dealing with a growing load of passengers.

Since Lyft Line is priced at public transport levels, it creates more congestion on public lanes as more and more pool cars converge with their loads. More cars and added to the same level of public transport lead to more congestion. This is an unfortunate side effect of all pool ridesharing, so be patient when traveling in congestion and rush hours.

The big "what if." What if everyone is happy sharing a ride? This never happens. Since these are a group of different people, converging together in a confined space, it can lead to some heated discussions. Especially when discussing political issues, although you do get some interesting heated arguments on any number of subjects such as religion, technology, sex, sport, it just takes one jerk to be stubborn and loud, and the whole situation will spin out of hand. So we suggest that if you do meet such a person, your Pool nemesis, try to ignore him/her and smile. The ride will be over soon, and you can mention the incident in the rating section so the driver will know in future about the incident and passenger in question.

Lyft Premier?

Premier is available in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, New York City, Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C. and the cars in this service include Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, BMW and Lincoln. Lift premier is a perfect solution for a more comfortable airport ride if you don't have too much luggage.

Lyft Lux

This is Lyfts top-level service, luxurious Black leather interiors designed to provide the ultimate driving experience in the ultimate cars on the road. Cars in this category must be at least 5 years old, and their drivers must be rated at 4.6 or higher. The Lyft Lux driver is essentially a limousine driver and the driving experience, while being expensive, is aimed to provide a top-level service. The driver must have either a commercial insurance policy, a TCP or livery license.

Lyft versus Uber

Both Lyft and Uber offer similar services, but they use different names that can make comparing between services hard. This is the basic comparison chart:

  • Lyft = UberX
  • Lyft Plus = UberXL
  • Lyft Line = Uber Pool
  • Lyft Premier = Uber Select
  • Lyft Lux = Uber Black