The ride-sharing services have totally transformed the transportation industry. These days, you don’t need to stand by a sidewalk and hail taxis before you get a ride.
SaaS platforms such as Lyft, Uber etcetera, facilitate ride-sharing by providing options for electronic hailing. That is, you can order a rental car with your cell phone (as long as you’re within the platform’s region of operation).
The company’s software detects cars close to your location and presents you with a variety of vehicles to choose from. However, it’s up to you to decide on which driver to book. Also note that prices are calculated and paid upfront.
Ride-sharing services like rideshare rental, Uber, Lyft and others have made movement easier and less stressful for people. In the remainder of the article, we will cover the pros and cons for both sides of this relatively novel model. Let’s dig in!
Pros of Hitching a Ride With Ride-sharing Services
There are several benefits to being transported with a rideshare rental Uber, or Lyft. Read on as we’ve discussed some of the major upsides.
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Convenience
Not too long ago, you’d have needed to chase one of those yellow cabs around to get fairly decent transport. All thanks to e-hailing platforms, these days, you need only stay in your room to order a rental car. Nothing proclaims convenience like an Uber!
Also, considering that your card is connected with your account, payment is totally digitized and you wouldn’t ever need to worry about a dollar missing or go through the hassle of sorting out payment with the right bill.
Upon alighting from the vehicle, the service usually forwards patrons an electronic receipt and a drop-down that allows you to either tip or rate the driver.
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Top-Notch Service
A rideshare rental in Brisbane, like anywhere else the companies operate, typically engage owner-drivers. This set of individuals are often motivated to keep their vehicles in good shape. That way, you needn’t ever have to worry about soiling your clothes with in-car dirt or having to endure an unsightly car interior.
Passengers specify their locations with the smartphone app for pickup, leaving the drivers to reach them using in-built guidance software. That said, the chances of your driver veering in the wrong direction and ultimately reaching you later than estimated is nigh zero.
Uber drivers are often courteous. It’s hard to find a driver that wouldn’t agree to take you to your location. In fact, prior to accepting your order request, hardly do they ever have any idea where it was you wanted to go.
The platforms generally have strict policies enforcing professionalism. A continually low rated driver would eventually be ousted from the service sooner or later.
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Competitive Pricing
Pricing typically differs among cities. The cost of hitching a 2km trip in a rideshare car rental in Melbourne isn’t quite the same as you would find in Sydney.
Besides region, there appears to be an inverse relationship between pricing and distance travelled by riders. Compared with traditional taxis, longer distances are more affordable when you use an Uber. Shorter distances, however, tend to cost more than a corresponding ride in a taxi.
All in all, ride-sharing platforms tend to come off cheaper than corresponding cab rides, most times. When there’s more demand than supply, Uber purposely raises prices in a move tagged in the industry as surge pricing.
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Security and Flexible Work Hours for Drivers
When it comes to using a rideshare car rental in Brisbane or about anywhere else, security is a significant benefit operators enjoy. Before embarking on a trip with any driver, passengers would generally have entered their names as well as their payment card details on the platform. Doing so eliminates the risks of a criminally-inclined passenger absconding with payment fare or robbing a driver of their money.
Passenger rating, a useful incorporated feature equally enables drivers to rate riders. As with drivers, riders who are continually rated low by several drivers would have their account deactivated and possibly banned forever from the service.
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In contrast to traditional cabbies who constantly move around looking for passengers, rideshare rental drivers benefit from flexible work schedules and hours.
Typical Downsides Associated With a Rideshare Rental (Uber, Lyft) Service
Ride-sharing isn’t without some notable downsides especially for drivers. We’ve reviewed the more significant ones below.
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Declining Income for Operators
Uber and its numerous competitors aren’t only jostling for the same customers, but all are also targeting the same demographic as with cabs.
The only value proposition the transport industry offers is to get people to where they need to be and as a result, the significant way for a platform to get an edge over another is to reduce its cost of transport.
Ultimately, drivers are left to bear the brunt of these downward review on prices after the platform rakes off its percentage. To make the same income as they might have made some few years back, drivers, these days, have to put in twice the work.
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Susceptibility to Technical Issues
Ride-sharing services generally operate via their internet platforms. It’s not unheard of for intending passengers to encounter technical issues as reliable connectivity needed to enable patrons to order a ride successfully may not always be available.
Downtimes due to server failure and all other technically inclined problems tend to be the greatest downsides of rideshare rentals. At other times, some unruly (and perhaps mischievous) drivers also compound to the problems by deliberately cancelling order requests made by passengers.
Final Thoughts
Ordering a ride with a rideshare rental, Uber, or Lyft has lots of merits, especially if you find it cheaper or safer. From being convenient to providing a great way for any newcomer to make a great deal of income, it certainly is the next best thing around.
Nonetheless, there are some cons to be noted. If perhaps you reside in a location where internet connectivity is poor or, as a driver, you don’t want to make income well below the minimum wage, the service may not be for you.
