Lyft Testing Monthly Subscription Plans With Prices Reportedly Starting at $200/Month

[cmwade77]

So you’d pay far more in car payments, insurance and parking? Or do you think everyone only works days with accessible public transit on this planet?

It really depends on who you are and where you live.

Let's look at this, it is $200 for 30 rides valued at up to $15 each. Where I live, Lift costs $0.90 per mile, so each ride can be about 16.7 miles maximum. That makes the total value of this package 501 miles.

I easily drive 1,500 miles a month in an Electric Vehicle, so I would realistically need a 90 ride package, something that isn't offered, but let's compare to 60 rides at $400.

My monthly car payment is $200, my insurance on said car works out to $60/month, I pay abut $15 max per month for charging, I'll even through in cost of tires and brakes at about $10 a month. That means my monthly cost to drive is $285 and I can go where I want, when I want. I have no other real maintenance but tires and the very rare brake job. There are no oil changes, etc. I don't even have to stop at a gas station unless I need to use a restroom and get something to drink at the convenience store or get the car washed. I also get access to the carpool lane, something the state of California is trying to deny to Lyft, Taxis and other similar services unless they have at least 2 passengers plus the driver because having the driver and a single passenger isn't really taking a car off the road.

I live in an area where I don't have to pay for parking unless I go downtown and in certain cities I even get free metered parking because I have an electric vehicle.

Now for me this works out cheaper, but look at the price difference, if I lived downtown and had to pay for parking every day or I had a poorer driving record and my insurance was more, etc. It could easily work out in favor of a Lyft plan, but you do loose a bit of the freedom of going where you want, when you want without relying on someone else. So, the real question is what is that freedom worth to you? Some will be ok with giving that up and others won't. That is why competition is so important, because everyone values things differently and that is OK, but we need to realize that everyone has different situations and just because something works for us, doesn't mean it will work the same for everyone.

 

[DVNIEL]

I guess it depends on where you live and how much you need to drive. For $400/month for 60 rides (to and from a location roughly once a day) you might as well buy your own car...

There’s more to just a monthly payment when it comes to owning a car. Not gonna be an ass and list them but this could be a lucrative deal.

 

[subjonas]

You have to consider including petrol/insurance/tax/ownership/maintenance/toll/parking into driving your own car, seems like this isn't a bad deal.

Exactly. So many costs associated with car ownership that can sometimes cost more than the car itself. Also extremely valuable is the time spent fighting traffic that can be used to relax or be productive.

 

[0970373]

Having just spent 4 mo in LA for work and spending $575/mo for car rental + $20/wk on average for gas + 45/mo for building parking + having to add car insurance for my company policy, just to go to work every day, I would sign up for this in a heartbeat. And actually, I have to go back in May and would totally give this a try if offered to me.

This is definitely geared towards business travelers. And people who live in NY. I would consider the $200/mo deal in NYC since subways are totally unreliable right now.

 

[subjonas]

Wrong, this will absolutely work.

I have a coworker who takes a cab to and from work from the city to Brooklyn every time she works. She works 3 days a week for 3 weeks out of the month and 1 week she works 4 days.

This is obviously cheaper for her.

Absolutely. There are many situations in which this subscription makes a lot of financial sense. For instance, I too had a coworker who didn’t drive. For her it was simply because she wasn’t a good driver and she knew it (I wish more people were like her in that way). Public transportation wasn’t a good solution for her so she often had to take Lyft and uber, which as one can imagine got to be extremely overly expensive. At this price, she would stand to save a lot of money.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

This is great, I hope Uber follows suit and we start seeing Transportation as a Service plans go mainstream.

Edit: looking at the comments some people seem to be missing that this could replace car ownership for some people. Compared to car payment, fuel, insurance, etc... $200/mo is incredibly cheap.

 

[justperry]

That’s almost my monthly rent lol you Americans have crazy expenses

Where in Europe do you live, there are plenty of places in Europe where it might be even more expensive, I am from a small town in a country in central/north Europe and it's not cheap here either.

 

[wowotoe]

Due to the local laws, Uber in Taiwan charges predetermined rate to users. For example, if Uber app predicted the route costs $5 and takes 10 min to arrive. But later you & the driver were stuck in the traffic for 30 minutes, they cannot overcharge you on the predetermined price. That's very useful especially during traffic hours commute.

 

[bbednarz]

There’s more to just a monthly payment when it comes to owning a car. Not gonna be an ass and list them but this could be a lucrative deal.

I own a car, I am aware of the other costs associated with owning a car. Like I said, this depends on where you live and how much you drive...

 

[parseckadet]

Still don't see how this is useful, even if you do take lots of trips that are < $15. Everyone has that one trip every so often that's a trek, whether it's to go to the doctor, a unique store you want to visit, or just to visit friends or family. I can't imagine living life in such a small area all the time, even if you do live in a super dense city like New York or London.