With another $530 million funding round for rideshare service Lyft, the Uber competitor continues to attract investor support and market share. Yet both Uber and Lyft, the unconventional transport services that are taking the world by storm, are facing a few challenges as judges in California ruled that the matter of Uber and Lyft drivers to be labeled as independent contractors or as employees will be determined by a jury. If the drivers are classified as employees, Uber and Lyft will be forced to provide employee benefits and protection that are not available for independent contractors.

Considering both the market opportunity and the obstacles of carving one’s own industry niche, Uber and Lyft are truly locked in a battle for dominance. So as Lyft continues to encroach on Uber’s turf, SiliconANGLE takes a look at the major differences between these two taxi alternatives.

Uber vs. Lyft

For starters, Uber has been operating far longer than Lyft and has expanded operations to other countries. Nevertheless, this global expansion has also resulted in more trouble for Uber. In some cities, Uber is being sued by taxi drivers for alleged false advertising as well as unfair competition and in other countries like Germany, the service has been banned from operating.

Number of rides per year

Uber

At the end of 2014 Uber announced that worldwide, it’s doing one million rides per day and delivered 140 million rides just last year. On New Year’s Eve 2014, Uber logged 58 trips per second, 20,000 customers installed the Uber app after midnight, more than 100,000 people were riding an Uber car at midnight and more than 50,000 users tool more than two rides.

Lyft

According to reports, at the beginning of 2015, Lyft is doing 2.5 million rides a month. By the end of the year, the company expects to be doing 13 million rides per month or about 90 million rides by the end of 2015 and plans to be doing 205 million rides by 2016. Lyft’s numbers are minute compared to Uber’s but it should be noted that Uber’s numbers encompasses its global operations. Lyft is currently available in the U.S., but if it goes global, it has the potential to match Uber’s numbers.

Cities the service is popular in

Uber

Uber is available in 55 countries and 127 North American cities. The top five markets for Uber are New York City, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles. Uber generated about generated $26 million in New York City, or an annual run rate of $312 million; $11.7 million in Washington, D.C., or an annual run rate of  $141 million; $12.7 million in Chicago, or a run rate of $152.4 million; $17.7 million in San Francisco, or a run rate of $212.4 million and  Los Angeles generated somewhere between the revenue of New York and San Francisco in 2013.

Lyft

Lyft is available in 62 cities in the U.S. and is planning on expanding globally. Though Lyft has yet to issue in which cities its service is most popular in, its CEO Logan Green stated that Lyft Line, its ride-sharing service, now accounts for the majority of rides in San Francisco.

Average driver payout per year

Uber

Uber claims that its drivers in New York can make as much as $90,000 a year in “business income,” but it doesn’t consider costs such as gasoline, maintenance, car insurance, health insurance and other expenses that comes with owning a car being ridden by various people. It recently revealed a survey which showed that Uber drivers make $6 per hour more than the average taxi/chauffeur/limo driver, but the costs of driving for Uber come up to about $7.20 per hour whereas drivers for other transport services do not have to cover such costs.

It is still unclear as to how much Uber drivers make, as the company is being very secretive. But doing a quick search on the web can give you pages upon pages of drivers complaining that they are making less while driving for Uber. A report states that on the average, Uber drivers make $15.97 per hour and to make an annual income of $50,000, an Uber driver needs to provide 60.21 rides per week.

Lyft

There’s no telling how much one can really make driving for Lyft in a day or a month, as it depends on how many rides a day you can make and that would of course depend on the demand and traffic situation. On the average, Lyft drivers make $11.48 per ride. To make $50,000 a year, a Lyft driver needs to provide 83.76 rides per week.

Services offered and cars used

Uber

Uber has four vehicle categories: UberX, UberXL, UberBLACK and UberSUV. It requires UberX and UberXL cars to be 2008 model or newer while UberBLACK and UberSUV must be a 2010 model or newer. This ensures that the vehicles are still presentable and won’t scare away passengers.

Lyft

Lyft offers three types of services: Lyft, Lyft Plus and Lyft Line. The original Lyft service caters to single passengers or up to four people at a time, while Lyft Plus accommodates up to six passengers or if you need more space for your things. As for Lyft Line, think of it as carpooling but instead of going with people you know from work or school, you get paired with people who are heading in the same direction.

Unlike Uber, Lyft doesn’t require vehicle models from specific years, but it should be not older than 12 years. It needs to have “four external door handles and at least five total seat belts,” all tires should have sufficient tread, windows and mirrors should be free from cracks, all windows must be functional, wipers are in good condition and functional, all lights should be functional, horn should be functional, seat adjustment control should be functional, the body of the vehicle should be free from damages and dents, functional air conditioning and heating, and must comply with state-specific requirements.

Average Wait time

Uber

4:16 minutes

Lyft

4:10 minutes

But is Uber or Lyft always cheaper alternative?

According to data scientists from the University of Cambridge and Belgium’s University of Nanmur, hailing a Yellow Taxi in New York may be cheaper than using Uber for your transportation needs in certain times of the day.

The researchers were able to request data regarding Yellow Taxi trips in 2013 which includes data on location pickups and drop off points as well as the fare paid for each trip. Using that data, the researchers then asked Uber how much it would charge for the same journey using UberX, its cheapest service, to which Uber suggested a minimum and maximum possible fare, took the average and compared it with the fare for a Yellow Taxi for the same journey.

“Uber appears more expensive for prices below 35 dollars and begins to become cheaper only after that threshold,” says Cecilia Mascolo from the University of Cambridge. She points out that the study suggests that “Uber’s economical model exploits this trend of human mobility in order to maximize revenue.”

Mascolo and her team also developed an app called OpenStreetCab that would help commuters determine if it will be cheaper to take a taxi or Uber to their destination by comparing fare rates of the two services. The app only works in New York for now.

photos by: kudumomo, Ed Yourdon and Berlin, ick liebe dir! 281/366 via photopin (license)