With today’s constant need for convenience, there is a high demand for applications for ride-sharing services. With the recent creations of Uber and Lyft, people no longer have the hassle of calling and waiting for a cab.

 

Applications for Ride-sharing Services

Uber is one of the most popular applications for ride-sharing services. Uber launched in 2010 in San Francisco, California but expanded to other cities due to its convenience and high demand. Uber is an app that allows a user to order a ride to their specific location through the iPhone or Android map. It became high in demand as people began to notice its convenience. One of the applications useful features is that it requires the user to create an account with their credit card information. By doing this, the App records the distance you travel on your ride and charges your credit card through your account. The process is similar to a cab ride, but without the hassle of having to pay cash.

Uber has developed a great word of mouth campaign that has traveled nationally. This has created a higher demand for applications such as Uber across the United States. When a user requests an Uber ride on their application, they can expect to be picked up by one of Ubers closest drivers in either a town car or Sedan. The application alerts the nearest driver to your location and tells you the approximate time until their arrival. Due to the higher cost of Uber, the application created a cheaper option called UberX. When a user requests an UberX driver, the application locates the closest UberX driver who is an Uber driver in their own vehicle.

Uber is a successful application for ride-sharing services and with its success came the cheaper Lyft App in 2012. Lyft is also a San Francisco based ride service through an application on an Iphone or Android devide. A Lyft driver can be identified by the pink mustache on the front of their car. In contrast to a cab or an Uber, Lyft does not charge fares, but rather accept donations from their riders. According to a recent article from GigaOm, Lyft will expand to 24 cities in 24 hours, “the company said Thursday that it will roll out to 24 cities within the next 24 hours, offering free rides in those new cities for the next two weeks. The initiative boost the total cities where Lyft operates to more than 60.” Upon downloading the application, the new user can receive a free ride for two weeks. This is extremely helpful for the business professionals who travel nationally and want to save some money.

For more on Lyft’s Expansion check out this article: http://mashable.com/2014/04/24/lyft-expansion-24-cities/