Uber Had a Program Called Hell Designed to Undermine Lyft (Apr 13, 2017)
It sounds like this it has now ended, but Amir Efrati at The Information has a report that Uber used to run a program named Hell which was designed to undermine its major US competitor, Lyft. The program pretended to be multiple Lyft customers and was therefore able to track where Lyft’s cars where in an effort to lure drivers to drive exclusively for Uber. One interesting side effect was that Uber actually offered bonuses to these non-monogamous drivers compared to what it paid those who drove for Uber exclusivity, which must seem a little perverse to those loyal Uber drivers. Amir also argues that Uber’s misuse of Lyft’s app was a violation of its terms of service and might also have broken the law, though I doubt Lyft will sue over it. This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Uber engaging in underhanded tactics to beat Lyft – there were lots of stories a couple of years ago about Uber reps calling Lyft cars and canceling, or getting in the cars and then trying to get the drivers to switch. It’s all part of the win-at-all-costs mentality that has always prevailed at Uber, and which has had nasty side effects both for drivers and for its employees.
via The Information
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