Uber hasn’t had a good few months, PR wise – and the past couple of weeks have been brutal. When one of your executives says that the company should start digging up dirt on journalists who criticize the company, well, it’s bound to generate some bad press.
And then when one of your execs actually does breach privacy and access a journo’s history, well, things are bound to get worse.
Big-mouthed investors don’t really help, either.
You would imagine that if anyone would benefit from Uber’s bad PR, it would be rival on-demand car service Lyft. And you would be right, according to the company.
A rep recently confirmed to Mashable that the past week was the company’s best yet.
“A rep for the company says last week was the biggest week yet for the company. The rep declined to go into specifics, but said ‘percentage-wise’ it was the ride-share company’s biggest boost yet,” reports Mashable.
Lyft has also just introduced an initiative called “Driver Destination’, which is pretty much a shoot-off of Lyft Line (the carpooling service), but with a focus on the driver’s side of the equation.
Here’s how it works, according to Lyft:
Nearly 80% of commuters currently drive to work alone. With the latest evolution of Lyft Line, now these drivers can easily turn their daily solo drives into shared rides. Here’s how it works: when drivers enter a destination into the Lyft app, they will only receive ride requests from Lyft Line passengers going the same way, with minimal detours. Drivers can earn even more every week by starting to pick up rides while heading to and from work – some of the busiest times of day. By enabling Lyft Line with Driver Destination to and from work every day, you could earn up to $400 per month – enough to cover a car payment – and connect with interesting people who live and work nearby.
As long as Uber continues to receive bad press, Lyft only stands to benefit. That is, of course, until Lyft drivers start attacking people with hammers.