Rideshare companies Lyft and Uber have unveiled new subscriptions to give riders the chance to pay a monthly fee for lower fares.
Lyft revealed its All-Access Plan two weeks ago, followed by Uber's Ride Pass announcement Tuesday.
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What to know about the two passes:
This plan is priced at $299 per month for up to 30 rides, each costing less than $15, or Lyft will charge the difference. Users will get 5 percent off any extra rides.
According to a company press release, Lyft's new plan will cost an individual driver 59 percent less than having a car, based on the 2018 Driving Costs report by The American Automobile Association. The plan itself is designed to move people away from car ownership.
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Robbie Baxter, author of "The Membership Economy," told Vox that she's not sure about the pricing. While she was intrigued by a compelling earlier version of the pass at 30 rides for $200, "at $300 it's not as good as a deal, and it requires some math," she said. "It's not a no-brainer."
Customers in four cities — Austin, Denver, Miami and Orlando — can purchase this plan priced at $14.99 per month. The monthly pass is $24.99 in Los Angeles.
L.A. riders using e-bikes or scooters will also get additional benefits, though it’s unclear when that will go into effect.
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Ride Pass members can lock in set rates on unlimited UberX and UberPool trips each month, saving riders up to 15 percent on overall monthly travel, according to the company. And you’ll avoid that unexpected surge pricing.
"We're really keen to make sure this is priced to the point where people can buy the pass [and] not have to think too much about it," Uber product manager Dan Bilen told The Verge. "The vision for Ride Pass is it makes Uber a budgeted line-item for riders."
As for which is better, well, we’ll leave that up to you to decide. Uber’s pricing, as Bilen noted, is smart for folks aiming to avoid those bitter surge prices. But Lyft’s model, may reflect the future of cars, according to Baxter.
“We’ll own cars the way we own horses,” she told Vox. “It’s a folly, it’s a fun thing, but it’s not the way we get around.”
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