Car Service LA style
If you are planning on drinking when you visit LA, you should familiarize yourself with the new alternatives to taxi’s that have become extremely popular in Los Angeles. Moreover, these services are convenient enough that the tried and true mantra of “you need a car to visit LA” is not necessarily true anymore.
The popularity of these taxi alternatives or “ride sharing platforms” is a direct result of the Los Angeles Taxi Industry failing to adopt many of the technologies such as smart phone navigation and mobile payment systems that have become ubiquitous in daily life. Nicole Pollard, CEO of the luxury lifestyle company LaLaLuxe.com summed it up perfectly when she told us “…every time time a taxi driver tried to give me an excuse why he could not take my credit card, usually a ‘broken’ machine, all I heard was switch to Uber.” Pollard raved about the detailed receipts emailed to her from Uber that saved time with accounting, and found the clean cars with friendly drivers a pleasant change from the decrepit cars reaking of cigarette smoke she usually encountered at LAX.
UBER & UBER X
Uber is the first taxi alternative service to gain traction in LA, and has become pretty much the norm for the LA nightlife scene over the past year. Utilizing car service drivers that were idle, Uber impressed early adopters with clean executive town cars that were a step up from typically decrepit cabs. Uber X, a cheaper priced version of Uber has only increased the popularity of this service. Using Uber is pretty straightforward:
1) Sign up at Uber.com. Complete your profile and enter a credit card for payment.
2) Download the app onto your phone.
3) The app shows your location using the GPS system built into your phone, and lets you know which of three car types is available. (“Uber-X” is the cheapest, “Black Car” is mid-range, and “SUV” is most expensive.) Uber also tells you how many minutes it will take for your car to arrive.
5) Input your destination.
6) You have the ability to “get a quote” of your fair.
7) Book it!
8) You can now literally track the progress of your car as it arrives.
If you are going out with friends you can “split” the fare among several passengers (providing they have signed up for Uber as well). After the trip you will be emailed a receipt with all the info. The distance, the route, the average speed and the price. Another great aspect of this service is that the quote you receive is for the full fare—tipping is not required.
Lyft
In very general terms, Lyft is a hipper, cheaper version of Uber, that allows regular people to pick you up via the Lyft app. While the notion of ‘just anyone’ picking you up may sound daunting, Lyft actually does a good job of vetting potential drivers and their vehicles for safety reasons. Where anyone that has ever taken a taxi has experienced unpleasant drivers at some point or another, Lyft works hard to make sure that all of the drivers are friendly and attentive—they even insist on a fist bump for all passengers. The Lyft app works similar to the way Uber does, although the tipping policy is different. Overall, most users have seen prices on Lyft that are about 20 percent cheaper than a comparable taxi ride.
Sidecar (http://www.side.cr/)
Sidecar is a unique hybrid between a taxi service and a carpool. SideCar is a “matching” service, while Lyft and Uber are “dispatching.”
Matching allows riders and drivers to post their information and chooose (or decline) a match. Each party has choice and destination is required. Riders know ahead of time the routing, suggested payment, so the experience is more certain. They have a choice of which driver will see the request, giving them more control. Drivers know where the passenger is going, so they can match it to their own needs, allowing them control over their routes and passengers. Drivers have more control and choice over which passengers they will accept. It also uniquely enables reduction in pollution and congestion.
Dispatching requires a driver to show up at a pickup point and then the rider directs them where to go. Neither party has much control or choice.
Users have found that sidecar works well on popular routes during the daytime, such as going from the west side to down town LA in the morning or coming home after work, while the other services do better for toursim or nightlife destinations.
Next time you are in town consider giving these services a try.
