Lyft

[csbosox]

Scott and I used Lyft last night. My experience was great. It is a ride sharing app. I indicated that I wanted to be picked up, the app knew I was at Eric's house, so it send someone over there and drove me home in their personal car. Lyft runs a DMW, criminal record report, examines the car and each rider rates the driver. This ride was free, but it would have cost $10 and a tip (even the amount) was strongly encouraged by the app. There is no exchange of money with the driver. The app shows the drivers picture and their car.

More info can be found on their website (https://www.lyft.com/) or in the many articles written about the service. Use this link to get a free $25 ride. www.lyft.com/invited/chris39175.

I'll be taking it to and from MCBC on July 3rd.

[malvarez]

Wow, I heard about this before. Thanks for posting!

[thomas15]

Thanks for the link, i signed up and installed the app. I havent entered my cc yet but i think I will try to use it to MCBC too. i still don't really understand how this works or how much it costs though. In general I don't get it...

[patrick]

Thanks for the link, i signed up and installed the app. I havent entered my cc yet but i think I will try to use it to MCBC too. i still don't really understand how this works or how much it costs though. In general I don't get it...

It's a ride share app. People with regular cars contract with Lyft (or Uber, which is the same type of app), and drive you where you want to go. Prices for trips are slightly less than it would take for a taxi. The basic process from the app point of view is,
1) you request a ride from the app
2) the app matches you with a driver close by
3) the driver comes and picks you up and takes where you want to go
4) the app charges your card, and pays the driver, so you don't directly pay the driver

[theisti]

Thanks for the link, i signed up and installed the app. I havent entered my cc yet but i think I will try to use it to MCBC too. i still don't really understand how this works or how much it costs though. In general I don't get it...

It's a ride share app. People with regular cars contract with Lyft (or Uber, which is the same type of app), and drive you where you want to go. Prices for trips are slightly less than it would take for a taxi. The basic process from the app point of view is,
1) you request a ride from the app
2) the app matches you with a driver close by
3) the driver comes and picks you up and takes where you want to go
4) the app charges your card, and pays the driver, so you don't directly pay the driver

Point 2) is a big advantage - for those of us who live outside of the city, cab companies routinely say they will be there in 20-30 minutes, and routinely take much longer than that. With Lyft (and Uber) you have an interactive map which tells you (based on gps) how long it will take for a car to get you. This is always an accurate estimate (unless the driver gets lost).

To me, this is a bigger advantage than the price difference.

[thomas15]

i see your point on #2 isti, my cab for boulevardia took about 45 minutes to show up... So do you tip in real life or on the card?

[patrick]

So do you tip in real life or on the card?

You tip on the app after the ride. I don't think Uber supports tips.

[scotter]

So do you tip in real life or on the card?

You tip on the app after the ride. I don't think Uber supports tips.

I thought Uber calculated it into the fare automatically?

[theisti]

I thought Uber calculated it into the fare automatically?

It does - the Uber default is 20% gratuity, though you can modify that default in your Uber account. It's a Global setting, though - not an individual ride setting.