Uber And Lyft Suddenly Crazy Expensive. Here Are Alternatives

Image: Dan B. via Yelp

Friday night I paid $56 for a Lyft ride of just 4 miles, and waited 20 minutes for the privilege. Uber and Lyft suddenly got way more expensive in the Bay Area this weekend, reflecting a national trend of rideshare app trips suddenly costing a shit ton more money with fewer drivers available. The New York Times reported Friday that “Customers around the country say they have been startled by the price jumps. In some cases, they say, their Uber rides from airports cost as much as their plane tickets.”

There are less-evil Uber and Lyft alternatives that are suddenly much cheaper than Uber and Lyft because they do not use surge pricing. These ride hailing services exist as apps, but those apps hail real taxicabs, whose drivers have real taxicab licenses and experience. They have passed real background checks instead of quickie ‘app’ background checks, and actually know their way around instead of counting on GPS.

Image: Dan B. via Yelp

FLYWHEEL

Flywheel Cabs his used to be longtime trusted company DeSoto Cabs, but this new rebranded company has an app and most importantly, uses “no surge or ‘dynamic’ pricing, the same fare 24/7/365.” 

You can download Flywheel for iOS of Flywheel for Android.

YoTaxi SF

Yellow Cab now runs the YoTaxi app, which also refuses to do surge pricing. They are also by far the greenest fleet in San Francisco, with 99% of their cars being electric or hybrid. 

You can download YoTaxi SF for iOS of YoTaxi SF for Android.