A driver for both explains why you should use Lyft instead of Uber — at least in this city
Not all ridesharing apps are created equal when it comes to driver and passenger convenience — at least not according to one driver who works for both Lyft and Uber.
Frequent users of the ride-hailing apps have been surprised to learn that things are a bit more complex than just whipping out your phone and dropping a pin when using the apps, at least in Las Vegas. Traditional taxis in Vegas still maintain industry protections under the new laws that allow ride-hailing companies to operate in Sin City, chief among them barring Uber and Lyft from picking up passengers in the taxi lanes prominently featured outside of the strip's world-famous hotels. Instead, the companies must seek alternate arrangements, and users must walk to predetermined pick-up locations. Not the end of the world, but certainly not the uber-convenient brand promise that has propelled the companies into billion dollar valuation.
After a flood of tech-savvy users put both services to the test at last week's annual CES event, Business Insider's Maya Kosoff explains that Uber might not be as seamless of a fit in Vegas as its biggest competitor, given the operating restrictions. She interviewed a driver, named only as Ryan, who works for both companies, and he zeroed in on the issue at hand:
Lyft gives you an exact GPS location that the pin is dropped. You can use Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze to navigate there. Apple and Google are highly accurate, and Waze is only good to navigate traffic. If you're in the hotel lobby when you hail a ride, I will see the pin clearly in the foyer of the building. I can even circle around to see if I can get closer or if there's a better door in relation to your pin, then notify you of my arrival after I'm sure I'm in the best place. After some practice you pretty much know where to expect your rider by using a highly accurate Google Map.
Uber uses an in-app map. We aren't given an address just in case. We can see a pin but cannot zoom in in the in-app map. The app also announces our arrival automatically, even if we're not sure which door you're at, leaving some awkward people scanning to see who's on their phone then looking up.
A quick peek at Twitter shows that other passengers agree that something about Uber's mapping tech just isn't sitting right with their Las Vegas operations.
We've reached out to Uber for comment on what might be causing the Vegas-centric headaches, and we'll update as we learn more.