Lyft Poaching Uber Drivers For Luxury Service

Lyft once slammed its rival cab hailing service Uber for a controversial tactic that it once employed when it tried to poach drivers in the guise of hailing for a ride. Now, it seems Lyft feels differently about the method as it is doing the same thing to Uber drivers who have luxury vehicles. This development comes amid the unveiling of Lyft’s “Premier” service, which caters to upscale passengers who want to get from place to place in some of the most expensive cars in the market.

As the Business Insider reports, Uber used poaching tactics in 2014 that drew widespread criticism from the hailing community. The startup giant called for Lyft drivers and aggressively tried to bring them over to Uber’s side with all kinds of lucrative promises. Aside from harassing the drivers, Uber representatives also left negative ratings in order to avoid being linked to Uber. Naturally, this did not sit well with Lyft and it proceeded to lambast Uber for what many are considering an underhanded tactic.

"It's unfortunate for affected community members that they have used these tactics, as it wastes a driver's time and impacts the next passenger waiting for that driver,” Lyft told CNN Money when the incident was revealed. “We remain focused on growing the business faster than any competitor through better customer experience and innovation."

With the opening of “Premier,” it would seem that Lyft has had a change of heart regarding the method of poaching drivers. The only difference with Uber’s tactic is that Lyft is not leaving negative ratings, which is what the former did during its brief foray into seedy territory.

With regards to the service itself, Tech Crunch reports that Lyft is encouraging drivers to go the extra mile when chauffeuring high-end clientele. Drivers are supposedly advised to offer things like “water bottles, phone chargers and gum” to their passengers. Lyft is even partnering with companies like Apple for the privilege of transporting the tech giant’s employees.