For those who don’t know, Uber and Lyft are ride sharing services, which work though a mobile app. These apps allow individuals to request a ride from an Uber or Lyft driver in their area. On DISboards.com, many threads have been started on the topic of ride sharing, and many DISers have differing opinions on whether or not they would use ride sharing:
Approve of Uber/Lyft
MaryKatesMom: I’ve used it 5 times in 4 days and it has worked perfectly! For about $10 a trip, I’ve gone between resorts and the Dolphin and TL and the Dolphin. I never waited longer than 6 minutes for a car. I’m where I want to be in 10 minutes.
chiisai: Love it! I use it where I live and didn’t think about it for WDW. Totally going to, now.
Jamie297: We used both uber and lyft to get to and from the parks and Disney resorts from our off site hotel in March and had positive experiences every time.
Disapprove of Uber/Lyft
lylone: Just a word of caution. There have been quite a few incidents here in Atlanta where people have claimed to be Uber drivers, picked people up and driven them to “not so nice” neighborhoods, demanded more money and then dropped them off at another location. Uber drivers don’t have “Uber IDs” and don’t drive marked cars, soooo be careful…
Alesia: I’ll just stick to cabs.
North of Mouse: Personally, I would not want to use a private vehicle for public transportation – too many ‘unknowns’ for me. JMO
Why does this all matter?
It matters a great deal because of the growing competition in the Orlando theme park market, especially when considering Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. For years Walt Disney World has successfully used their free Magical Express Service to keep many of their guests on Walt Disney World property. The distaste for taxis has guests looking for other options, and with the affordability of Uber and Lyft, many guests are jumping at the opportunity to use the service in Orlando. It has been over a year since ride sharing services were allowed in Orlando, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time for Universal Studios. With Universal Studios gaining market share from Walt Disney World, the guests of the Orlando area theme parks now have yet another way to travel between the parks. This is something the Disney Company has to be concerned about. The years of them keeping their guests within the walls of the Walt Disney World property might be over.
According to Mears Transportation Estimator, traveling from the Magic Kingdom to Universal Studios will cost you around $40 dollars in a taxi, yet an Uber ride from the Magic Kingdom to Universal Studios costs around $25 dollars. This lower price might have guests considering taking a day in Universal Studios, but this article is no advertisement for Uber. In fact, Uber has some notable flaws that I think any person considering Uber should be aware of. According to George Hobica of the Huffington Post, “Uber doesn’t screen its drivers adequately” and that according to Hobica, “A driver in San Francisco that attacked a passenger physically and verbally was later found to have passed Uber’s ‘zero-tolerance’ background check with flying colors, despite a colorful criminal history.” So while Uber and Lyft are not all sunshine and rainbows, their low prices might entice some guests on Walt Disney World property to check out Universal Studios and vice versa.
Would you consider using a ride sharing service on your next trip to Orlando?
For more information on Uber, Lyft, and ride sharing in the Orlando area check out these DISboards.com threads as they inspired me to write this article:
1) http://www.disboards.com/threads/uber-use-it-youll-love-it.3313844/
2) http://www.disboards.com/threads/everthing-you-wanted-to-know-about-uber-lyft-at-wdw.3443634/
