I ride Uber more often than Lyft mostly due to the fact that I usually use rideshare services abroad in cities where Lyft does not have a presence, so I am more familiar with the Uber app interface than Lyft's.
A few weeks ago, I was going home from LAX. I took Lyft for the reasons outlined in my complaint email below, which I sent after stewing about the matter for a few days.
On September [redacted], 2017, at approximately 7:00pm, I took a Lyft ride from LAX (Tom Bradley International Terminal Rideshare Stop C) to my home at [a community in the San Fernando Valley] (the Lyft ride receipt incorrectly shows the destination as [the house number was way off, there is no address even remotely similar to what was listed]). Please refer to the detailed particulars below.
I ordered a ride from Lyft because I had a 10% discount code and Lyft's estimated pickup time was a few minutes earlier than Uber's. At no time before or after ordering the ride did I receive its estimated cost. I was not warned that there was surge pricing in effect (Uber didn't have any at the time). Since I had a discount code, I expected my ride home with Lyft to cost more or less the same as I usually pay Uber for similar trips. Numerous times during the approximately hour long ride I tried to check how much it was going to cost, however, the information was nowhere to be found in the Lyft app. The first time that I was informed of the cost was when I got the receipt. I was astonished to find that I was charged almost twice as much as the most that I have paid for similar rides with Uber.
The total charge was $69.83 before the 10% discount was applied. With the discount factored in and after I added a $5.00 tip, the total was $68.46. For comparison, on August [redacted], 2017, at approximately 8:30 pm, I rode Uber home from the same pickup spot at LAX (C). That trip was 25.05 miles long (slightly different than the 24.80 route taken by the Lyft driver) and took only 39:09 minutes (compared to the 57:11 minutes for the Lyft ride). The cost of the Uber ride was $37.00 before I added a $5.00 tip. While I do understand that a trip an hour or two earlier in the day which took almost 20 minutes longer would cost more, perhaps 10-20%, I think that a differential of almost 90% in the basic cost of the ride is exploitive and outrageous, especially given the total lack of transparency.
I have yet to take an Uber ride where the total cost of the trip was not fully disclosed up front before I could even order the ride.
Needless to say, due to your failure to inform me of the cost of the ride in advance and then charging me an unreasonably excessive price, I have no intention of ever use Lyft again.
Please delete my account.
Sincerely,
[TWA884]
I received the following reply:
Sep [redacted], X:XX PM PDT
Hello there [TWA884]!
My name is [redacted] from the Pay Team in Lyft, I am very concern about your ride with [redacted] on Sep [redacted], 2017, [~7:00] pm. First of all, receive a warm greeting and I hope you are having a good day.
I know how important is for you to have clear all your fare ride. Don't worry I am here to help you, after checking your ride I see that you were charged $68.46 after a coupon was applied to your fare, below I have added the breakdown, and as you can see you when you requested the ride there was 75% prime time.
Tip $5.00
Service fee $2.10
Prime Time $27.31
LAX Airport - Airport Fee $4.00
Trip Cost $36.42
Charges Sub Total $74.83
After coupon $68.46
After reviewing the details of your ride, we’ve gone ahead and refunded all of the Prime Time, as a one-time courtesy. You can expect to see the refund of $27.31 reflect on your card within the next 3-5 business days.
If there is Prime Time you will be notified on the app when you request a ride unless you enter pickup and drop-off locations before the ride.
If you enter the pickup and drop-off locations before the ride, the Prime Time will be in the total price that is shown in the upfront pricing. You can tap the upfront price to see the Prime Time details.
Having said that, please don't let your enthusiasm with Lyft. I'm sure that you will have lots of positive experiences with us.
Have an amazing day and I trust that this information is helpful for you in your next Lyft requests.
Was a pleasure to support you.
Best wishes,
[redacted]
Lyft Support Representative
I am grateful for the refund, which I received promptly, however, I am unclear about the surge pricing notification and upfront pricing.
Am I supposed to order a ride without entering a destination address? Between the time that I ordered the ride and the time that the driver showed up, I kept searching for the estimated cost, the only thing that I found was that there was a $5 charge for cancelling at that point (which brings to mind another Uber advantage, I have never been charged for canceling a ride with Uber).
How do I get the upfront pricing to display?