Lyft (Photo credit: Spiros Vathis)
Almost two months ago – I wrote a blog post about how the car service with the pink mustaches is launching in Pittsburgh. It looks like Pittsburgh has embraced this transportation alternative.
I was actually in the middle of writing a post about how Lyft is another transportation option to get from the city to the airport. Until today the Lyft drivers would only pick up in the city coverage area. But, that just changed with the announcement that Lyft has expanded their coverage area in Pittsburgh.
Lyft Coverage Area Now Includes the Pittsburgh Airport
Lyft has expanded the pick up area in Pittsburgh to include the Pittsburgh airport. So a Lyft driver can now pick up a passenger anywhere in the city and west to the Airport. Lyft drivers are authorized to drive passengers upto 60 miles from the pick up spot (Lyft Driver FAQ).
I used Lyft twice last month to get to the Pittsburgh airport. A ride from the east end cost about $50. Drivers will drop you right at the airport.
Pittsburgh Lyft – Available 24 Hours a Day
Additionally – Lyft now operates 24 hours a day in the city of Pittsburgh. The hours in February we only 7am to 1am and 7am to 3am on Friday and Saturdays.
Tips for Using Lyft
I found this blog post – 10 Things Lyft Drivers Should Tell Passengers – by Lyft driver Greg Muender to be a helpful read before my first ride.
If you would like to try Lyft – click here to get a free first ride on Lyft.
Have you used Lyft or Uber in Pittsburgh yet? What do you think?
I have only used Lyft thus far, and I know several people who drive for Uber. Yes, there are some risks in this model of peer-to-peer ride sharing. Overall, I think that having alternatives to drinking and driving in Pittsburgh is an important step for safety of all residents of Pittsburgh. It would be great to have more taxi cabs on the street and accessible.
Have you used these services yet? What are your thoughts?
(Thanks to Lyft driver and Muffin Maker Get Mo Muffins for the heads up on the expanded coverage area)
If you are interested in learning more about Lyft – here are some blog posts you might like…
- Even When Drivers Don’t Have Passengers, Lyft’s New Insurance Policy Has Them Covered (fastcompany.com)
- Lyft team gets $60M more; now it must prove ride-sharing can go global (venturebeat.com)
- Uber, Lyft Expand Insurance to Cover Drivers Between Rides (entrepreneur.com)
- Lyft ditches donation-based payment system in Seattle, now charges $6 minimum (geekwire.com)
- Lyft introduces ‘Happy Hour’ feature that lowers price of ride when demand drops (geekwire.com)
This is awesome! So funny we were just talking about this!
My partner and I very much want to use lyft, so we were extremely
disappointed when we did a little research and went to install the app
on our phones. The permissions the app requests are completely
unacceptable – not only access to my location (clearly it needs that),
but also access to my camera, my USB storage, my full contacts list.
Several users have complained that the app has actually spammed everyone
in their contact list. This is all a huge red flag for me.
The
other big red flag is that the Lyft app requires you to log in through
facebook. This is not *one way* (like in Spotify) to register – it is a
requirement. This makes the service useless to anyone who doesn’t want
or have a facebook account, as well as anyone who wants to keep their
facebook account private.
We were so excited that lyft was coming
to Pittsburgh, but we will not use the service as long as these things
hold true. Guess we’l just hold our breath for Uber or another one of
these services to show up, and keep relying on the bus (and our feet)
for the time being.
I haven’t used Lyft yet but have used Uber a few times. I definitely love Uber!