Uber Versus Lyft: The Game of Ride Sharing and Pricing Data Gets Hotter
Using anonymized data from hundreds of leading startups, Kruze Consulting reveals new insights on Uber and Lyft
Kruze Consulting, a leading CFO consulting company for startups, released updated data on how employees at funded startups expense Uber and Lyft rides. The data offers a view into how market share is divided amongst tech startup employees and what Uber and Lyft did to compete for this valuable segment of the ride sharing business. The analysis includes over 120,000 ridesharing transactions expensed from 2018 through the first quarter of 2019 by over 170 seed and venture-backed startups located primarily in the greater San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
The analysis found that Lyft has continued to slowly gain market share over Uber – moving from a mere 20% of the rides taken in the beginning of 2017 to a 36% in the beginning of 2019. However, at the end of 2018 Uber reclaimed some share of the market and reversed the trend. This could be due in part to Lyft moving its price per ride up substantially in 2018, while Uber did not. The data indicated a 25% price increase per average Lyft ride between 2017-2018 while the average Uber price moved up a modest 5%.
“Our startup clients love the data and insights we can bring them,” said Vanessa Kruze, CEO and Founder of Kruze Consulting. “In this case, being able to watch the Uber vs Lyft battle unfold in my backyard is not only fascinating, but relevant to the funded companies that we serve. Travel expenses can be a substantial percentage of a startup’s burn, and we take great pride in how our focus on startup finances produces proprietary insights.”
The data suggests that preeminent startups are steadily moving over to Lyft, but Uber still remains the market leader and does not seem to be letting that market share slip away uncontested. The data also suggests that the overall revenue growth in ride sharing market was weak in the first quarter of 2019.
