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Uber and Lyft Have Reached the Shenanigan-Calling Stage of Their Rivalry

Rival on-demand car service companies Uber and lyft are in a real pissing match right now, as they continue to accuse each other of employing some under-the-table techniques to get ahead. On Tuesday L...
Uber and Lyft Have Reached the Shenanigan-Calling Stage of Their Rivalry
Written by Josh Wolford
  • Rival on-demand car service companies Uber and lyft are in a real pissing match right now, as they continue to accuse each other of employing some under-the-table techniques to get ahead.

    On Tuesday Lyft took a shot at Uber, claiming that the company was engaging in a ride cancellation scheme. Lyft claimed to have cross-referenced phone numbers of known Uber recruiters to those of canceled rides and spotted no fewer than 5,560 hoax ride requests since last fall. Lyft said that the requests and subsequent cancellations have come from 177 different Uber employees.

    Lyft also accused Uber recruiters of taking short rides with the sole purpose of pulling Lyft drivers over to their side. Uber issued a brief statement, patently denying the first accusation and not so much denying the latter.

    But it’s this statement from Uber, adding to its initial response, that’s the most shade-throwin’ thing you’ll see this week:

    Lyft’s claims against Uber are baseless and simply untrue. Furthermore, Lyft’s own drivers and employees, including one of Lyft’s founders, have canceled 12,900 trips on Uber. But instead of providing the long list of questionable tactics that Lyft has used over the years, we are focusing on building and maintaining the best platform for both consumers and drivers.

    These attacks from Lyft are unfortunate but somewhat expected. A number of Lyft investors have recently been pushing Uber to acquire Lyft. One of their largest shareholders recently warned that Lyft would “go nuclear” if we do not acquire them. We can only assume that the recent Lyft attacks are part of that strategy.

    Ah, yes. The ol’ I’m not the type of guy to say it, but if I were, I’d say… bit. Here, Uber accused Lyft of the very same ride cancellation strategy, on a larger scale, without providing any backing details.

    Uber also says the Lyft’s investors are so unsatisfied that they’re begging Uber to acquire it. As they’d say about two years ago on the internet, shots fired.

    Of course, Lyft has already shot back, saying that Uber is simply trying to distract everyone from its own shitty tactics (not in those exact words – although it wouldn’t surprise me at this point). Lyft said that the whole unhappy investors thing is poppycock, saying its investors are ““extremely excited that Lyft is approaching IPO-level revenue.”

    Tune in next week when we find out which company has the bigger dick.

    Image via Lyft, Facebook

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