Uber and Lyft are in a war to win loyalty of users.
The convenience of ride sharing has often outweighed the cost. Today, Lyft is launching a monthly subscription service akin to a Netflix plan or gym membership, framing it as a way for frequent users to save money.
The deal is economical for the daily commuter who takes a short, consistent route on a daily basis in a city like New York. It won’t be saving much money for those living in sprawling cities like Los Angeles.
“The All-Access plan is a great option for passengers who are frequently using Lyft — whether that’s getting to and from work, the gym or running errands. This is the first step toward delivering on our goal of making car ownership optional and we’re constantly looking for more ways to provide passengers with the easiest, most convenient options possible,” Lyft Vice President of Design Katie Dill told Yahoo Finance.
The $299 per month plan covers 30 rides up to $15. Rides don’t roll over to the following month, but you get an additional 5% off all rides and can opt out at any time. The potential savings is $150 — if your trip is the perfect distance that comes out to $15. If a ride goes over $15, you have to pay the difference. The plan was first announced in March of this year, and Lyft began testing with select users a few months prior.
Lyft trying to gain customer loyalty
Often users of ride-sharing companies price check the ride prior to deciding whether they should take Uber, Lyft, Juno, Via, and the other regional players. Lyft is trying to gain more foothold in a world of primarily agnostic customers.
Uber’s year of scandals (marked by the hashtag #DeleteUber) had material impact on the company’s ridership, and buoyed Lyft in the process. eMarketer predicts the wide chasm between the two will get closer within the next five years. By 2021, Uber will have 62.6 million U.S. riders compared with 47.8 million for Lyft. The two market leaders operate in about 300 U.S. cities and are both planning to go public in 2019.
Uber has also tested a similar program with select users, but rather than paying an amount upfront, users get a discounted rate for 28 days at a time after paying a $10 activation fee.
According to Lyft, this is a way to “free people from their commute” so they can send work emails or read a book. It’s perhaps a taste of what passengers will be able to do one day with autonomous vehicles. While offerings like the All-Access Plan aren’t sweet enough to lead to a mass boycott of personal vehicles, it does question the value of owning a car.