Uber vs. Lyft

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Uber and Lyft’s business models used to center on splitting rides with people to save money when traveling from point A to point B.

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But shared rides were suspended during the pandemic.

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Uber relaunched shared rides, called UberX Share, last summer in nine major cities and is now doubling down by expanding to five new cities. Ride-sharing customers can save up to 20% and will add no more than 8 minutes to their ride.

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The timing is interesting: Uber is doubling down on shared rides right as Lyft announced they would eliminate shared rides to simplify complexity, and new data from corporate earnings reports indicate consumers are starting to push back on high prices.

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UberX Share is one pillar of Uber’s strategy to improve its unit economics, and given the timing of the changes to Lyft’s offering and consumers’ behavior, it could get a boost.