Lyft changes for the better.
A few weeks ago, I spent a very fun evening at the Freddie Awards in Seattle. Our table was particularly entertaining, because it was packed with people who had a lot to say on any given topic (Lucky from One Mile At A Time, Adam from Point Me To The Plane, the FirstClassQueen, me, and several other loud people). At one point during the festivities, I found myself in a conversation with Lucky and the FCQ in which I was vociferously promoting Lyft.
Neither of them were having it. Lucky’s eyes kind of glazed over after awhile, and the FCQ simply said, “Honey, the FirstClassQueen doesn’t fly economy.”
I turned to the rest of the table to make my points. A few people feigned interest, but most just frowned slightly or raised their eyebrows at me. Someone said, “You can only sign up using Facebook, right?”
“Yes, but…” I said. And then the conversation moved on.
What is it with you people? Why don’t you like Lyft? Is it the Facebook thing? The first-bump? The pink mustache?
In case you are on the fence about Lyft, here are a few things that might change your mind (although FCQ, I know you’ll never be swayed).
Good thing #1
You can now sign up for Lyft without using Facebook. You can read more details here, but this is a snapshot of how to do it:
Good thing #2
You can still get a $50 credit if you do NOT use a friend’s referral code. Read this post to find out how. (If you use a friend’s code, you will only get a $25 credit! Don’t do it!)
Good thing #3
If you live in Nashville, Phoenix, Atlanta, Denver, Silicon Valley, DC, Dallas, OC, Baltimore, Sacramento, Indy, Charlotte, and Boston, you can sign up to be a Lyft Pioneer, which means that you can get 50 free rides (up to $25 each) within a 2-week period. This is an incredible deal.
Why do I care about Lyft?
Why do I love Lyft so much? For one thing, it feels very connected to the community, which is important to me. I live in this area for many reasons, and one of them is the people. I like Lyft for other reasons, as well. You can read more about my experiences here and here, if you want.
I also think that this is a great deal! $50 can get you a long way.
What about you?
Have you tried Lyft yet? What did you think?
Sell it to me:
Why should I use Lyft over Uber? Uber is well established and has more availability. And don’t give me the ‘you don’t have to choose, you can use both’ answer. Sell it to me.
Oh, and I don’t use facebook (I know, I know, not necessary anymore)
Brian – I don’t want to “sell” it to you! 😉 I’m giving you the info so you can make a choice about whether it sounds good for you.
Try it for yourself and see if you like it. Since you can try it for free, you don’t have much to lose.
Don’t know much about Lyft, but I have been sighted in an UberX for certain missions. Will check it out.
Marshall – I’d be interested to know what you think.
Lyft just feels… very Fake and Artificial.
What’s up with the “fist bump”? Fake Kumbaya here.
What’s up with the “moustache”? Another artificial attempt at being “hipster-cool”. No one gets it outside of SF.
Why should I put a “selfie picture” of myself up to a taxi app? I don’t have to do this with Uber, or even a real taxi cab. Crazy.
Just unnecessary burdens to the user/customer. As if they don’t have enough to deal with. Now they have to deal with all this fake-feel-good nonsense from a taxi-wannabe app.
Agreed. Just don’t see the point of all this extra ‘stuff’
Lord Advantine – I don’t know what’s up with the fist bump and mustache stuff. Those were also reasons that I thought I would HATE IT. But then I tried it, and I really liked it.
I love Lyft!! Every driver I’ve ever had has been fun and every car has been spotless. I love that if drivers get consistently bad, or even ‘ok’ reviews, they can no longer drive for Lyft, I love that the drivers rate the passengers as well, and I love that in SF I’ve never had to wait more than about 2 minutes for my ride – and in much smaller Sacramento, five minutes max. They’ve also been consistently less expensive than Uber for me
Sheri – I think the “fun driver” aspect is also a big draw for me. I’ve had some really great conversations while on Lyft rides.
I still can’t use Lyft even if I wanted to – I only have a flip phone so taking a selfie would be an interesting experience, at best. The driver still would not know who he/she was looking for!
Christine – It’s too bad that they still require a photo. Maybe that will be their next change.
Now that live have dropped the facebook requirement, I’m in. FCQ says he might give it a try for free in Atlanta, but only if he can ride in the back seat!
Gene – 🙂
Lyft, not live, but you know what I meant. It’s hard to post comments by smartphone, especially when using voice recognition software to type for you!
Used it on a trip to SF and one good ride and another that was bad. Driver barely acknowledged us and never got out of the car to pretend to help with luggage. Just popped the trunk and drove us. About 30% more expensive for no reason on a light day
On a recent flight from Berlin to SFO my seatmate presumed I was a San Franciscan and asked how best to get to his hotel in the financial district. I decided to “sell” him on Uber over Lyft simply b/c he’s German and I thought would more likely “get” Uber b/c of the name. 🙂 I agree though, now is the time to get in on Lyft as they’re young enough that the freebies are still flowing. Eventually they will stop as the Uber deals have now that they’re more mature.
PS – Thanks for your (unrelated) advice in Charlotte!
“Good thing #3” is applicable in lots of other newer markets as well. Albuquerque, Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Louisville for example.
Nice to read about your experiences! I love the community aspect of it. Really helpful when you’re traveling somewhere new to get a local perspective. I’m surprised it’s not more popular in this circuit!
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