What a great example! I'm realizing that perhaps the "second mover advantage" may be more pronounced in markets with low switching costs. Flyers can easily compare airline prices against one another, and drivers are incentivized to boot up 2nd, 3rd and 4th driving apps.
Low-margin businesses can't afford to spend as much on R&D, make mistakes, etc. They have to win with small executional advantages.
IIRC, Lyft was the first mover, Uber shamelessly ripped off Lyft's model that anyone can be a driver and come out with Uber X. So, imo Lyft was the first mover, but was smart to let Uber face all the heat sacrificing short term growth for long term success. Uber has been in too many things for me to believe that they can sustain the business (I may be wrong)
Sidecar launched in 2011. Lyft nominally launched in 2012, but was really a continuation of the same product and company that the founders had been running since 2007, just under a different name.
Here is a press release from Zimride sent circa Thanksgiving 2008 (after they had been underway for about a year):
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STUDENTS TO FIND RIDES HOME FOR THANKSGIVING ON FACEBOOK
Useful Facebook application, Carpool, helps match students for rides home
Finding a ride home for Thanksgiving with friends and classmates has never been easier. Students can conveniently use a Facebook application to share rides home for some home-made turkey. The application built by Zimride is called "Carpool", and having launched in 2007, it has become the most popular online ridesharing service in North America.
Carpool on Facebook is especially popular among students on college campuses, where it has replaced traditional ride boards at student centers with a more convenient online interface. Over 25,000 rides have been posted on Carpool in the last four months. "The growth is unprecedented," comments Logan Green, a co-founder of Carpool. "It shows that not all popular Facebook applications have to involve ninjas and vampires. An application like Carpool helps students find safe rides in addition to cutting their gas expenses and reducing CO2 and it's clear students value that."
The Carpool application uses Google Maps technology to match students traveling in the same direction. After the trip, users are encouraged to leave feedback, to help inform future Carpool users. The application makes ridesharing a more social experience. "It really feels like I'm part of a community," says Corey Earle a student of Cornell University. "I could never trust an anonymous service like Craigslist because I wouldn't know anything about the other users. Using Carpool on Facebook, I can choose to ride with people in my school who I know I can trust.' Carpool on Facebook was built by a team of recent graduates who saw an opportunity to make carpooling more popular at universities across the country. John Zimmer, a co-founder of Carpool, says, 'We're thrilled that university students and administrators are reaching out to us to help make ridesharing become a part of mainstream culture on college campuses." Zimride has worked with over 20 universities since creating the service to build custom systems for their campuses.
If you have a car, offer your carpool today. If you don't have a car, find a ride and get home to the home cooked turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce…don't forget to share!
For more information on Zimride visit:
www.zimride.com
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Here was a sample use of a version of the product in a 2011 email:
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Subject: [Reuse-sell] Ride from MIT to NYC or [city] NJ, Depart Oct. 21 1pm, Return Oct. 22 10am
I have rented a car for a trip to [city] NJ.
I am leaving from MIT at 1pm on Fri. Oct. 21.
I am returning from [city] NJ at 10am on Sat. Oct. 22
If you want to share the ride on either of the two directions let me know. I
expect the total rental plus gas to cost me $120. I am looking for someone
to pitch in $20 for each one-way journey.
I don't think you are wrong. I have both apps, and my last 10 rides have been in Lyft, because it's consistently cheaper. If uber wants me back all they need to do is compete on price, but I think their operating costs are too high to do that, so they will eventually lose out from being too big and have to either scale back or implode.
Any rides I have taken where Lyft is available, I ride with Lyft. Else, Uber. (mostly NYC/NJ/Toronto areas Lyft has been consistently cheaper for me).
Cheapest rideshare wins. race to bottom. Only way Uber / Lyft can avoid death, is with business rides and lockin. There no one is price sensitive, and they can make money off of business rides (Lyft is doing this really well, in nudging users to have more business rides).
My employer has a business account with Lyft and I use it on all business trips. It's convenient because everything goes to our expense reporting system automatically. But businesses have no loyalty and would quickly shift to Uber for lower prices.
Lyft is consistently 30% or more more expensive for my apt-to-work route in SF. A few of my friends observe similar. Perhaps you have to look at things on a route-by-route basis.
