Get The Wheel

Depending on who you ask, ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft are the next Google or overvalued companies doomed to crumble under regulation. This blog tracks all things ridesharing and is maintained by Dave Copeland, an ex-journalist who drives for a ridesharing service as part of his PhD research on the sharing economy.

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Uber Taking A Bigger Cut Of UberX Fares, Fees

How low can Uber go? UberX drivers who read the fine print notice lower commission, higher fees.

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Here's How Uber Can Use The $10 Phone Fee To Make Drivers Happy

Drivers hate Uber's phone fee. Here's how the company can make drivers love it.

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Is Uber Inflating Job Creation Figures?

The company keeps upping the number of jobs it claims to create each month, even when the math is easily called into question.

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Uber Spokesman “Unaware” Of $1 Safety Fee

As drivers complain about increased fees and lower fares, Uber's spokesman seems to be in denial about just how much the company takes for every ride.

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When Will Uber, Lyft Give Straight Answers On Insurance Questions?

With all the hype around ridesharing, it's borderline amazing that Uber and Lyft can still keep mum on their insurance policies.

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Quick Swap Of Uber-Lyft Trade Dress

For those of you who still think it's a good idea to drive for multiple services at the same time, this may be useful...

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Can Uber Placate Disgruntled Drivers?

It's hard to ignore the timing of two new driver incentive programs from Uber, which come just as driver complaints are on the rise.

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What Secrets Are Hiding In Uber, Lyft Insurance Policies?

Lyft and Uber are fighting to block the release of "proprietary business information" in Ohio. Read more.

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Not Every Bureaucrat Hates Ridesharing

Well this is different: a government official who says he can’t wait for Uber to come to his town.

Alan Newman, a member of the Burlington, Vermont Airport Commission, said he wants to make Uber the “official taxi service of the airport.” Uber recently launched UberX in 22 college towns but Burlington, home to the University of Vermont and St. Michaels College, did not make the cut.

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Early reports suggest that the unofficial end of summer and the Labor Day Holiday Weekend have resulted in an uptick in business for ridesharing drivers.

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How to Request UberX at the Airport - Ride Sharing Report

This Brit claims he has found a way for people to request UberX rides at their airport

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Someone with better math skills on me tries to answer the age old question: is owning a car more expensive than taking Uber everywhere?

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Sometimes you just want a ride to the airport, right? Sometimes you want to rest without having to make nice with the host. But there's another aspect too. I don't like services that kind of muddle commercial transactions with friendships.

Pooja Bhatia, on the oversharing that is becoming part of the sharing economy experience. Listen to more.

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The more we discover about their casual-labourer-driving-any-old-car business model, the more these car ride apps look like embarrassingly old-school*, cheapskate taxi firms. The 'tech startup' and 'sharing economy' labels are nothing more than gimmicks designed to swing web-smitten regulators in their favour.

Andrew Orlowski, writing in The Register. Read more.

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Wired, And Most Of The Tech Press, For That Matter, Doesn't Get Uber

Wired is challenging the stability of Uber's business model, saying that throwing all this cash at its effort to recruit more and more drivers does not bode well for future growth.

The problem, of course, is that Wired is comparing Uber with software companies like Google, Facebook and Dropbox and not the legacy cab companies it is disrupting. Uber is, first and foremost, and perhaps last most, part of the service industry.

You might as well compare Merry Maids with Google or your local health club with Facebook. The tech press needs to stop thinking of every company with an app as a tech company.

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A New York Times writer says Lyft and Uber are now commodities since there is little that distinguishes the services from one another. And I’m having a hard time disagreeing with him.

Having trouble with hyperlinks on Tumblr today, so here:…

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Lyft? Uber? Does Which One Matter anymore?

A New York Times writer says Lyft and Uber are now commodities since there is little that distinguishes the services from one another. And I'm having a hard time disagreeing with him.

Having trouble with hyperlinks on Tumblr today, so here: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/uber-and-lyft-have-become-indistinguishable-commodities/

My own observations after driving all summer (and having driven for Lyft in December and January before taking a semester-long break) is that passengers are going to go with the service that offers the best rate and the most convenient service in their market.

Lyft passengers, for the most part, are treating the service like UberX: they don't want to fist bump and drivers are increasingly driving for both. The pink mustache on the grill is quickly entering the realm of "Remember when..."

Put it this way: I like Diet Coke, but when I go to a restaurant and they say they serve Pepsi products, I'm okay with it, and so are most other customers.