A company looked at the average price of four separate six-mile trips to find if Uber or Lyft is cheaper. They found that Uber is the cheapest compared to Lyft in two out of three states, according to a story by The Daily Mail.
A new analysis by consumer financing startup CashNetUSA has compared the fares of America’s two most popular ride-hailing applications, Lyft and Uber, in every state and major city. According to the findings of the study, Uber fares are generally more affordable, boasting lower prices in two out of the three states. Using fare estimators from Uber and Lyft’s calculators, CashNetUSA gathered the price discrepancies between the two services in every state. The analysis found that across the top ten states where the price differences between Uber and Lyft were the most severe, Uber’s fares were often considerably cheaper. For instance, Uber rides were on average $4.71 cheaper in Wisconsin, $4.22 cheaper in Minnesota and $4.05 less in Pennsylvania. In contrast, rides with Lyft were found to be the most affordable compared to fares with Uber in the state of New York, costing $3.33 less on average than rides with Uber in the state of New York.
CashNetUSA also examined Uber and Lyft’s performance in 150 significant cities across the United States. According to the data, there were only three cities where Uber and Lyft fares were similar, and all three of them were in California: San Diego ($20.45 per trip on both apps), San Jose ($22.76 per fare each) and Los Angeles ($24.78 each fare). However, the most substantial price difference between Uber and Lyft was discovered in New Orleans. Rides in Lyft were determined to be $12.20 more expensive than their equivalent Uber rides in this city. The company also evaluated the average price of four distinct routes of six miles, each starting at the city’s core. According to this data, Uber rates were the cheapest in Utah, costing approximately $14.42 on average, while Lyft rides were most economical in Oklahoma, averaging about $14.51 per trip.
The paper observed that the ride-hailing business model has been controversial as the popularity of Lyft and Uber has snowballed over the past decade. Regrettably, it is not expected that the prices of the services will decrease. Nevertheless, consumers can get a head start on saving money by comparing the prices of different apps through a pricing comparison map. According to CashNetUSA's findings, "Nobody likes to think about Uber and Lyft in too great of detail... But a moment of extra thought might just save you a few bucks.”
CashNetUSA is a company that offers individuals, based on their paychecks, access to short-term and mid-term cash advance loans. CashNetUSA is also the company that produced the maps. The company has over 200 unresolved complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Nevertheless, the study acts as a beneficial resource for consumers who are wanting to save money on their rideshare fares.