Uber versus Lyft versus a taxi, which is cheaper and faster?
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We took three cars, at the same time, to the same place using the three options, Uber, Lyft and Yellow Cab.
Right away, we had problems with the Yellow Cab App; it wouldn’t read the correct address.
Eventually, we found a way to change the address and were ready for the challenge.
Within minutes, our Uber car arrived. Lyft was a few minutes behind. Our Yellow Cab app showed that the car had arrived, but the car wasn’t there. We called customer service and came to find out; the car was not on the way. By the time the representative could get me a car, Uber and Lyft had already gone to our destination and back.
So we waited a few weeks and tried again. Again, Uber and Lyft arrived within five minutes and got to the destination within literally a minute of each other.
As for Yellow Cab, the app seemed easier. It was easier to update our address and order our car. But soon after we noticed a problem; again the app showed our car arrived literally within minutes. But the app was wrong. While we called Yellow Cab to figure out what was wrong, our Uber and Lyft cars arrived one minute apart.
The Yellow Cab representative couldn’t explain why our app showed an earlier arrival time, but immediately fixed the problem and ordered us a cab. The only problem was that the other two cars were already on their way back. The representative quoted 18 minutes for a car to arrive.
Remember, Uber and Lyft arrived within just a few minutes. What made matters even more confusing was that our pickup location is five minutes away from the airport where several taxis sit and wait on passengers.
Regardless of the reasoning, Yellow Cab was not reliable, so we contacted Discount Cab. They didn’t have an app but picked up right away and immediately arranged our pickup.
So for convenience, Uber and Lyft were our better options, but what about the cost?
Lyft was the least expensive costing $10.32 for the one-way trip. Uber was a close second, $11.11. Although our taxi was out of the race pretty much before we started, we still got a quote from Discount Cab at about $18.
So from our test, Uber and Lyft were the more convenient and cheaper options. Our taxis just couldn’t compete.
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