For the offset time last month, I requested a automobile using a smartphone. The app correctly guessed my location using GPS, gave me a ballpark inflow time with a real-fourth dimension map and fifty-fifty estimated the fare. A polite driver arrived on time and whisked me to my destination. When I tried to pay and tip, he explained that the payment was already taken (I'd receive a receipt by email before long) and that the service (Uber) forbade tipping.

Expect, what? No haggling, baggage fee, credit card refusal, fourth dimension wasted on receipts or fifty-fifty tipping? This was an epiphany! But professional person taxi drivers who pay thousands of dollars for a license are understandably not thrilled about these services. Neither are many cities (and regions) that collect those fees and say that Uber/Lyft/etc. are dangerous or improperly insured. The result of this clash, thus far, is chaos: bans, mass demonstrations and even violence. Despite all that, ridesharing poster kid Uber was recently valued at $17 billion. So, volition app-driven car services proceeds traction or be run out of boondocks?

WHAT IS It?

Uber and Lyft are the best-known services, but other players include Sidecar, Wingz, Summon and Hailo. In Europe, there's likewise LeCar, SnapCar, BlaBlaCar, Djump, Heetch and Carpooling.com. Uber has several slightly unlike services: Information technology nonetheless operates its limo-mode UberBLACK, which requires drivers to accept a commercial chauffeur license and insurance. Taxis tin can at present sign upwards for a service called UberTAXI with their existing permits and insurance. Finally, in that location's the pure ridesharing service UberX and an fifty-fifty cheaper version called UberPOP. For its part, Lyft, with its pink 'stache, is ridesharing-merely, just recently announced Lyft Plus, a premium service it says is cheaper than competitive offerings.

Believe information technology or not, Sidecar and Lyft only launched two years ago. Uber arrived in 2009, but was just limos with apps until UberX launched in 2012. Oddly, the companies style themselves equally "peer-to-peer transportation" platforms, not passenger services. So why the slippery terminology? We'll comprehend that soon, merely information technology's largely most licensing, permits and insurance.

If you drive for Uber, Lyft or Sidecar, y'all don't demand a commercial license. Yet, all the services require a clean driving record and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) cheque. They besides perform a 10-year groundwork check to ensure drivers have never been convicted of a trigger-happy offense, sexual crime or DUI (for example). Uber, Lyft, Sidecar and others too offer liability insurance for drivers, passengers and pedestrians for up to $1 1000000, merely only if the driver'southward personal insurance doesn't embrace an accident. Both Uber and Lyft at present levy a $1 per-ride charge for insurance.

A driver who works for all 3 companies in San Francisco (permit'south call him "Jasper") told me that Lyft and Sidecar encourage drivers to be extra-smiley and friendly, consummate with fist bumps. He added that Lyft tends to overdo it, even so, and some drivers "don't drink the Kool-Aid" and aren't crazy about the "look-at-me" pink mustaches -- which aren't optional, past the manner.

HOW DOES It WORK?

Most ridesharing companies have a smartphone app that works on iOS and Android. You demand to sign upward and requite your personal details, along with a credit bill of fare or PayPal business relationship. When you lot're set to find a ride, they all piece of work nearly the same. Yous can input your location based on your GPS coordinates, and add together your destination if you need a price judge. With Sidecar, you must enter your destination when y'all guild a auto. Well-nigh will tell you lot how close the nearest ride is in minutes, and evidence the car arriving on a map. You lot'll also get the name of your commuter, their overall rating (for Uber and Lyft, it'due south on a scale of one to five) and the type of car they're piloting.

The nearest commuter is dispatched based on their GPS location, and just before they arrive, you'll receive a text message. "Jasper" told me that Uber's driver app won't transmit your destination to the commuter, unlike Lyft's and Sidecar's apps. Instead, he has to enter it manually when the passenger arrives, and so most Uber drivers pack a second telephone or GPS. However, as mentioned, Sidecar customers must enter a destination, which drivers like equally it gives them a close idea of their fare. He said that many of his customers avert Sidecar for the aforementioned reason, though -- they'd rather not be bothered.

When I used UberX about a one-half dozen times on a recent trip to San Francisco, none of the drivers had a rating less than 4.7 out of five. However, the quality of vehicles varied. I rode in an older, not-very-fancy (just clean) Toyota Corolla and in a new, deluxe Honda Accordance. Some drivers were very familiar with the metropolis and drove me efficiently to my destination (I checked), but a few times, they overshot it or took a wrong turn. Incidentally, Uber drivers proceed runway of rider ratings, too, only proceed them nether wraps to avoid confrontations -- a low plenty rider rating can get you kicked off the service. The just mode to find out is to ask a commuter, who may or may not reveal it. I was told that on all three services, if either you or your driver gives a rating of three out of five or less, yous'll never exist paired together over again.

HOW MUCH DOES It Toll?

Once you get in, the driver volition stop the "meter" and that'due south it. You lot can merely say "good day" and split because your fare has already been calculated and the payment taken automatically. Tipping isn't permitted on near services, though 20 percent is automatically added on UberTAXI (that can be changed globally). Then how much does information technology cost? That depends, but the chart below for San Francisco -- the abode base of Lyft, Uber and Sidecar -- offers a rough idea. Most of the services come up in around 10 to 30 percent less than a regular taxi... with some huge caveats. Uber's infamous "surge" pricing, for instance, could make a trip much more expensive depending on need, while Lyft's happy 60 minutes pricing could make it much cheaper (which aggravates some drivers). UberBLACK, Twoscore and VAN services are college, more in line with the toll of a taxi or limo.

San Francisco Rideshare/Cab (regular rates) UberX Lyft Taxi
Base Fare $three.00 $ii.25 $3.l
Per Minute (waiting-only for taxis) $0.30 $0.27 $0.55
Per Mile $one.50 $1.35 $2.75
Condom Ride (or similar) Fee $1.00 $1.00 $0.00
Minimum Fare $6.00 $5.00 $3.50
Cancellation Fee $v.00 $5.00 NA
Price for v mile, xv minute ride $sixteen.00 $14.05 $18.95

[Source: Uber, Lyft, SFMTA -- assumes four minutes of traffic/red light delays for cabs]

Sidecar allows drivers to select their own rates -- either lower or upwardly to 1.25 times college than the and then-chosen customs average (the company doesn't mail service those figures). That lets users pick a driver with a depression fee or, say, a loftier rating. Jasper told me, however, that Sidecar offers drivers another interesting options. For instance, during their ain commute, drivers can lower their minimum charge per unit drastically to ensure they accept a fare, rather than riding empty. If a neighbor goes to piece of work at the same time, for case, the commuter could give him a cheap ride every solar day -- a win-win deal.

How much committee ridesharing companies take is another interesting aspect. Jasper said that right at present, Uber is charging a 20 percentage commission, while Lyft is charging aught in San Francisco. (He added that fees seem to driblet when companies get new rounds of funding.) In add-on, drivers can exist offered bonuses for recruiting other drivers -- Uber is reportedly offering up to $500 for new recruits right at present.

WHAT'S AT Stake?

It'south hard to encounter the downside of ridesharing for passengers. The increased supply of cars makes it easier to discover a ride, for 1 matter -- even if you prefer taxis. It also avoids the normal calling or wandering effectually to hail a cab, and gives you a status of your ride from the moment you asking it. It's ofttimes cheaper than a cab, and there'due south rarely a dispute nigh unwanted fees or questionable route decisions. And the rating systems assist go along drivers (and passengers) honest.

From a ridesharing commuter's perspective, information technology'south mostly all proficient, besides. You'll never go stiffed on a fare, and the services generally shuffle cars around efficiently, minimizing downtime. The pre-registration process and automated ride-logging also add a safety factor for both parties. Of course, near cab drivers would rather that ridesharing services get abroad. They see them as amateur interlopers who pay no hefty fees, but steal precious fares. As pointed out by The New Yorker, if peer-to-peer transportation companies continue on their electric current trajectory, they could put a lot of taxi drivers out of business. That would turn out to exist bad for passengers in the end, also -- with less competition, fares would go upwardly.

WHAT'Southward THE Argument?

Spain Taxi Strike A demonstrator kicks a motorcar, suspected to be a private taxi, during a protest in Madrid, Spain.

The ridesharing issue has ii loud camps -- which have literally come to blows in the by. Cab drivers phone call Lyft and Uber businesses-for-profit -- not "peer-to-peer transportation" -- and believe they should pay the same license fees and insurance as taxis. Cities, states and countries feel the aforementioned, in many cases. Uber started upward in Vancouver in 2012, but was quickly shut down on the grounds that it was technically a limousine service and had to charge a minimum of $75 per trip. Similarly, it was barred in Virginia and is technically illegal in all of Belgium.

In addition, though Uber at present does thorough background checks, it wasn't ever so conscientious. Post-obit an investigation by the Chicago Tribune, it had to repent for hiring a commuter with a felony confidence and was forced to redo thousands of driver screenings. Other black marks include an allegation of kidnapping against i Uber driver (the charge was dropped), and questions of insurance gaps for passengers. The new $1 fee for "passenger safety" and insurance addressed those issues, simply i pundit noted that it was like paying a fee not to become assaulted.

App Car Service Startups Continue To Irk Traditional Cab Companies And Regulators

On the other hand, taxis take a horrible reputation in many cities. Co-ordinate to the Washington Post, some 12,000 complaints were filed against cab drivers in Chicago through the city's Concern Affairs and Consumer Protection fields, or around 33 per mean solar day. Among those, i passenger cited a driver that left him at the curb when the driver saw that he had a guide dog, while some other cabbie refused a customer that wanted to pay with a credit carte. Worse, many drivers have been cited for racist behavior or flat-out dangerous driving. Ridesharing services say their drivers would be banned at the first sign of such behavior, or weeded out by lousy customer ratings. They also say in that location wouldn't be a demand for their services in the first identify if cab companies didn't mistreat customers so poorly.

Want EVEN More than?

The best way to find out if ridesharing services are for you? Grab i of the apps, sign up and requite it a whirl. You'll find them by searching for Sidecar, Uber, Lyft, et al on the iOS and Google Play app stores. Unfortunately, none of the major players accept official Windows Telephone apps at the moment -- Uber did at one point, simply the app was pulled. Uber likewise has a BlackBerry app. Lyft's, Uber'southward and Sidecar'southward blogs detail new city locations, service changes and other news. Uber as well uses its blogs to discuss controversial topics, like the banning of cars in Brussels. You tin can check out the Washington Post's story about the litany of Chicago taxi complaints, the Daily Beast'due south argument against Uber's $1 "prophylactic" fees and why ridesharing insurance headaches could go worse. Forbes' characteristic details the competition betwixt Uber and Lift while GQ's Uber Cab Confessions touches on the manufacture's sordid side. Finally, we here at Engadget have covered Lyft, Uber and Sidecar closely since ridesharing became "a thing."

Update: Hailo reminded us that y'all "must exist licensed by local regulators" to drive on its network. The article previously stated that no commercial license was required on Hailo. It has been updated with the correct data.

[Image credits: AP (Lyft); Uber (Passengers, Motorcar interior and London); Lyft; Paul White/AP (Protestor); Justin Sullivan/Getty Images (Taxi and Lyft)]