Is Uber using Android against Lyft?
Two weeks ago, Uber silently released their driver app on Android. They only leaked it out to drivers in some markets, but many drivers found out on this website and have successfully used it in some markets where none of the drivers got any emails in their market. This was a smart move because the Uber Driver app was only available on iOS and from the latest research shows Android outnumbering iOS products 7:1 so there was a lot of motivation to release it for Android.
However, Uber may have dealt another blow to Lyft with this release for Android. Before Uber released a driver app that drivers can use on their own phones, many drivers had two phones, their own personal phone and the other special “Uber iPhone.” This allowed many drivers to drive on both platforms without any much issue. Many of us would use them simultaneously. It was a cumbersome process to operate two separate phones, especially when either of them can go off at any second and you are also trying not to miss any requests because of the various guarantees for that particular weekend or month.
When Uber released the Uber Driver app for the iPhone, some drivers had to use both Lyft and Uber on the same phone. This made it more complex to operate both apps, now that both of them are on the same phone. Based on the above statistic, it would only affect only about 11% of Lyft Drivers who also drive on Uber.
Now that Uber released their app on Android also, they are now forcing more drivers to use both apps on the same phone. It can force drivers to pick one or the other because of the complexity of operating both apps on the same phone.
I personally have been able to operate two apps on my phone, Lyft and Sidecar. However, the main difference is that I rarely get Sidecar requests so I have plenty of time to turn off the Sidecar app after getting a Lyft request. When it is really busy on both Uber and Lyft, sometimes the requests pop up simultaneously so this can be hard for some drivers to decide which request to take and to turn off the other app with the other one active.
I can foresee this logistic challenge of operating both apps, which will cause some drivers to pick one platform over the other.
Now that the Uber Driver app is available (in limited beta) for Android, would this cause you to change your driving behavior? Will this cause you to drive more for Uber or more for Lyft? Sound off in the comments below!
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