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Lyft is hitting the streets of Ottawa on Thursday.
The ride-ordering company, which announced in February it would be launching in the capital, has been granted a private transportation company (PTC) licence from the city and is accepting passengers. Lyft was scheduled to be online in Ottawa as of 2:30 p.m.
Aaron Zifkin, managing director of Lyft for Canada.
Aaron Zifkin, Lyft’s managing director for Canada, wouldn’t say how many drivers the company has signed up for Day 1 of operations in Ottawa, but he said there have been “thousands of people” downloading Lyft’s driver application and passenger application.
Lyft, which secured its PTC licence in mid-February, immediately becomes Uber’s main competition in Ottawa for the ride-ordering market outside of traditional taxis. Lyft officials and drivers celebrated the launch of service Wednesday night at the Château Laurier hotel.
“We’ve been actually working very closely with our driver community the last few weeks on the ground here,” Zifkin said. “We’ve got many different modes at Lyft, but we’ll be launching with our classic offering, which is up to four riders, as well as our Lyft Plus service, which accommodates up to six passengers.”
Lyft has also identified a local charity to boost. The company is giving passengers the choice of rounding up their fares to the nearest dollar, with the difference going to CHEO. The Round Up and Donate option is part of the Lyft app.
Asked about the price for riding Lyft, Zifkin wouldn’t provide an amount, but he suggested it would be on par with other services. “What we find is when we have parity in terms of pricing and ETAs (estimated time of arrivals), our values as an organization emerge as the main differentiator,” he said.
For customers, Lyft and Uber work the same way, using smartphone applications to enter their credit card information and order rides without having to call a dispatch. Customers rate drivers and drivers rate passengers, all through the app.
Lyft and Uber also raise prices at busy times to encourage drivers to log on and pick up customers. Lyft calls it prime time and Uber calls it surge pricing.
Ottawa taxi companies have also launched apps, but customers have the option to make a phone call to order a ride.
The Ottawa taxi union is currently challenging the city’s vehicle-for-hire bylaw in court. Zifkin said he hasn’t kept tabs on the case but he believes the city has a “really comprehensive legislation in place.”
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
Fast facts: Lyft vs. Uber
Operations
Uber: International
Lyft: North America
Headquarters:
Uber: San Francisco
Lyft: San Francisco
Bosses for Canadian operations
Uber: Rob Khazzam, general manager of Canada
Lyft: Aaron Zifkin, managing director, Canada
Types of service in Ottawa:
Uber: uberX (standard sedan), uberXL (SUVs or vans) and Uber Assist (for adults with disabilities)
Lyft: Not yet announced, but offers standard, SUV and luxury rides in other cities
High-demand pricing lingo:
Uber: Surge pricing
Lyft: Prime time
查看原文...
The ride-ordering company, which announced in February it would be launching in the capital, has been granted a private transportation company (PTC) licence from the city and is accepting passengers. Lyft was scheduled to be online in Ottawa as of 2:30 p.m.
Aaron Zifkin, managing director of Lyft for Canada.
Aaron Zifkin, Lyft’s managing director for Canada, wouldn’t say how many drivers the company has signed up for Day 1 of operations in Ottawa, but he said there have been “thousands of people” downloading Lyft’s driver application and passenger application.
Lyft, which secured its PTC licence in mid-February, immediately becomes Uber’s main competition in Ottawa for the ride-ordering market outside of traditional taxis. Lyft officials and drivers celebrated the launch of service Wednesday night at the Château Laurier hotel.
“We’ve been actually working very closely with our driver community the last few weeks on the ground here,” Zifkin said. “We’ve got many different modes at Lyft, but we’ll be launching with our classic offering, which is up to four riders, as well as our Lyft Plus service, which accommodates up to six passengers.”
Lyft has also identified a local charity to boost. The company is giving passengers the choice of rounding up their fares to the nearest dollar, with the difference going to CHEO. The Round Up and Donate option is part of the Lyft app.
Asked about the price for riding Lyft, Zifkin wouldn’t provide an amount, but he suggested it would be on par with other services. “What we find is when we have parity in terms of pricing and ETAs (estimated time of arrivals), our values as an organization emerge as the main differentiator,” he said.
For customers, Lyft and Uber work the same way, using smartphone applications to enter their credit card information and order rides without having to call a dispatch. Customers rate drivers and drivers rate passengers, all through the app.
Lyft and Uber also raise prices at busy times to encourage drivers to log on and pick up customers. Lyft calls it prime time and Uber calls it surge pricing.
Ottawa taxi companies have also launched apps, but customers have the option to make a phone call to order a ride.
The Ottawa taxi union is currently challenging the city’s vehicle-for-hire bylaw in court. Zifkin said he hasn’t kept tabs on the case but he believes the city has a “really comprehensive legislation in place.”
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
Fast facts: Lyft vs. Uber
Operations
Uber: International
Lyft: North America
Headquarters:
Uber: San Francisco
Lyft: San Francisco
Bosses for Canadian operations
Uber: Rob Khazzam, general manager of Canada
Lyft: Aaron Zifkin, managing director, Canada
Types of service in Ottawa:
Uber: uberX (standard sedan), uberXL (SUVs or vans) and Uber Assist (for adults with disabilities)
Lyft: Not yet announced, but offers standard, SUV and luxury rides in other cities
High-demand pricing lingo:
Uber: Surge pricing
Lyft: Prime time
查看原文...
