My experience with Lyft in Washington DC was less than spectacular. Read in today’s paper that the company, headquartered in California, has the drivers up in arms as the rates they are to receive have been cut by at least 10%
Taken from The Daily Mail:
What appealed to many riders was the culture at Lyft, which used the slogan ‘your friend with a car’ and encouraged to socialize with passengers.
‘Lyft is a real community — with both the drivers and riders being inherently social — making real friendships and saving money,’ Scott Weiss, a partner at venture capital investors Andreessen Horowitz, once wrote.
Driver frustration with the company blew up late last month when another fare cut was announced via email.
‘To keep phones buzzing with requests, we’re testing 10% lower prices in Los Angeles starting today,’ the message read.
Many drivers had started on a guaranteed rate of $18 an hour, which converted over to a commission split with Lyft after a few months. Drivers have lately seen their fares cut to levels that made it difficult to earn minimum wage.
So the drivers toted their shaggy, pink mustaches to the beach, set a fire pit ablaze with lighter fluid and torched a few symbolic ‘staches.
The protest comes at a time of a backlash against ride-sharing companies.
The Chronicle reported that Lyft Plus drivers were lured by the promise of high returns to buy $34,000 luxury SUVs before the company scaled back the program, angering operators.
The last year has also seen drivers protest against Uber in New York, San Francisco and Santa Monica.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2780121/Drivers-burning-Lyft-mustaches-hopes-company-smoke.html#ixzz3F86JFmiS