Uber and Lyft Data in Boston, Massachusetts

Uber and Lyft rides are driven by the supply and demand of riders and drivers. If rides can’t be planned ahead of time, how can a rider plan to rely on an Uber or Lyft without knowing there will be one nearby at a specific time? Conversely, how can a driver plan to start driving at a certain time and optimize how many rides they give? Perhaps, a driver only wants to drive near certain locations or end at a certain location at a certain time. This is the nature of the job of being a rideshare driver or being a customer of rideshare apps. With the inaccessability of public transportation and the decrease in usage of regular taxis, these rideshares have presented solutions. With the proper data and understanding of these patterns, a driver or a rider can optimize their time spent.

This plot demonstrates the differences in trends of the customers of Lyft and Uber riders. A trend that can be noticed is how Lyft rides tend to have a greater increase in price for increase in distance, whereas for Uber the increase is less steep. This could advise users to choose between Uber or Lyft depending on how much they want to pay and for how long a certain ride will be. There is also an overall higher density of Uber rides for distances under 5 miles, which indicates that overall Uber is more chosen than Lyft for rides and for rides of these distances.