While Lyft’s landmark revival of its cheaper pooled rides at airports is incredibly good news, this has sparked debate in the community. Here’s the scoop.
Cheap pooled rides are back
Bloomberg recently reported that Lyft is reviving its cheaper shared trips at airports, canceling out the decision it made two years ago to discontinue this ride option, since it believed then that it is competing with Uber in courting inflation-weary consumers.
Now, with the shared rides at airports back, consumers can save up to 20 percent.
In 2023, Lyft discontinued its pooled rides, a feature that was present in its competitors, such as Grab in Southeast Asia. This change was part of the new policies under the new chief executive officer at the time.
“The problem with shared trips is that they take people out of their way,” CEO David Risher told the media then. “At some point, you have to pay attention to what your customers want.”
Thus, it became one of the slate of revolutionary product changes that Risher implemented and enacted since he assumed the CEO post. Lyft became the first platform to launch shared rides in 2014, followed by Uber’s Uber Pool.
However, it was on and off. Lyft halted pooled rides during the pandemic, only to reintroduce it in 2022.
“I think that’s an example of two different companies looking at a problem and coming to two different answers,” Risher stated. “I think we came to the one that customers like better.”
Debates
The revival of the cheaper pooled rides at airports has sparked discussions and debate in the community.
Over on LinkedIn, a netizen named J Goel commented on Natalie Lung, who shared about this news.
“Race to the bottom? While this is good for consumers in short term, I hope they both do it in a sustainable way where unit economics can still be preserved,” Goel commented.
Another netizen responded to his post, Dmitry Shkipin, saying, “J Goel, price-fixing is a felony in the US, and it is never good for consumers. Each driver that uses either app, must set their own prices for their services independently. That is the law.”
Shkipin added that “neither Uber, nor Lyft compete on pricing, because [neither of them offers] any transportation services.”
What do you think of this news? Good or bad for you? Share your thoughts by signing up for your account here on Ridesharing Forum.
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