I was Uber Impressed with the Lyft I got from Via

Like the rest of the world, I finally jumped on the ride-sharing bandwagon this year. People who know me know that (1) if at all possible, I will walk or ride my bike, and (2) for longer distances, I’m a big fan of public transportation in general, and trains specifically. But I’ll be honest: my tolerance for some of the less savory aspects of public transportation — being crammed into a box like a sardine, having to stand and try not to fall while the driver repeatedly slams the brakes, the typical mélange of aromas — is decreasing in roughly linear proportion to my age. I still rarely use taxis if there is an alternative, because I have a hard time justifying the environmental impact and expense of riding alone. But in places that don’t have good public transportation, taking a car is sometimes the only realistic option. Ride-sharing companies have started to address some of the problems associated with this by making it easier, more affordable, and less wasteful by pooling riders. So I decided to give it a go and share what I experienced.

So far, I’ve ride-shared in these cities: San Francisco, London, Washington DC, Basel, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York. I’ve tried three services: Uber, Lyft, and Via. To cut to the chase, there was a clear winner. Via has won me as a customer. More importantly, I have learned some lessons from them that are relevant to nearly any business.

I won’t go into the overall ethics of ride-sharing, as that’s a very complicated topic that has been covered many times before. I also won’t draw comparisons between the different firms offering the service, or pile on the already beleaguered Uber. I’m not under any illusions; it’s a hyper-growth industry worth hundreds of billions, and there can only be a few winners. So I’m sure the atmosphere at even the “nice” companies is more akin to a knife fight than kumbaya.

Again, my intent here is simply to share how I perceived these services as a new consumer, and my thoughts from a business point of view. I’m not here to shill for Via (though if you are thinking of using them, let me know and I’ll send you a referral code… cha-ching!). By the way, if you haven’t heard of Via, it’s probably because they are barely a blip in the enormous market dominated by the two big players, Uber and Lyft. But if you live in NYC, where Via started, you certainly know about them. And when I asked a few New Yorkers about ride-sharing this summer, every one of them said it was their favorite service. So while they are tiny, they’re apparently doing quite well where they operate, and coming soon to a city near you…

It will be interesting to see how the ride-share market evolves over the next few years. I’m certainly not betting against the 500 pound gorillas, but based on what I’ve experienced, I’d say Via, and possibly other dark horses like Carma, have a fighting chance to grab a respectable share of the market.

So without further ado, here is what I liked about Via:

Keep It Simple, Stupid. People like predictability, and they like saving money. They don’t want to be surprised by surge pricing, or experience that sinking feeling of watching the meter creep up while sitting in traffic for what seems like an eternity. Via understands this, so they offer a simple proposition: fixed price of $5 to ride between any two points in greater Manhattan. That’s not much more than a subway ticket, and a lot more convenient. Works for me! Via have figured out that in order to establish a core group of happy customers, you need to do one thing and do it very well: in their case, hyper-focusing on the needs of one customer base at a time (New Yorkers, then Chicagoans, and so on).

Don’t insult your customer’s intelligence. Have you ever been “taken for a ride” by a taxi driver? I have, more times than I care to admit. One thing that drives me crazy is when you’re sitting in a cab and can see your destination — it would take you literally less than a minute to walk there — but the driver continues for another 5+ minutes (meter running the whole time, of course), going through a maze of one-way streets to make a big loop, so that you can be dropped at the exact address you requested. Drivers love this because it’s easy money, but for passengers it’s an annoying waste of time and money. Most people are perfectly fine with being dropped near their destination. This is especially true of New Yorkers, who know the layout of the city like the back of their hand, and don’t mind walking a couple blocks. Via understands this, so they pick you up and drop you off at cross streets near your address, rather than door to door. This makes their system more efficient, and causes little if any inconvenience for riders.

Make it feel like a club. Having a great product is essential, and in that respect, there was very little difference between the three services that I tried. All had slick, user friendly apps. All transported me as promised, more or less on time, and had clean enough vehicles. They all run occasional promotions to try to win your loyalty. So what was it about Via that made me feel better, other than the points mentioned above? It’s hard to describe, but somehow it just felt like I was part of something slightly more cool than the others. As mentioned above, New Yorkers seem to love Via, and are happy to give them free advertising by word of mouth. Consequently, their customers feel like they’re in on something kind of offbeat and special, a bit like In-N-Out Burger in California (one of my favorites… I may do an installment on them some time). Cult building may seem silly, but it can make a real difference. My experience with Via has been that passengers and drivers tend to be relaxed and friendly with each other, which makes people want to repeat the experience, creating a virtuous cycle. This is a very difficult trick for a company to pull off without making it seem contrived. Via seems to have done it in an authentic way.

Conclusion: I’m still not completely sold on the idea of ride-sharing, especially when more eco-friendly alternatives exist, but it’s happening whether we like it or not. Of the three services I’ve utilized so far, Via seems to have found a winning formula that they will try to replicate around the world. I wish them luck!

Thank you for reading this.