Lyft Is Now A Top Ten App Because Of #DeleteUber
Lyft’s mobile app has enjoyed a massive lift in the App Store due to the #DeleteUber campaign which has trended over social media sites in the last few days. Here is the story behind the movement -- lots of users expressed their frustration over Uber appearing to be exploiting a taxi cab strike at John F. Kennedy International airport, specifically by promoting its ride hailing app instead right after the New York Taxi Workers Alliance demanded a stop on pickups at JFK in protest against the unfair treatment of Muslim refugees and travelers.
The Taxi Workers Alliance had requested all drivers, including those offering Uber rides, to stop picking up riders at JFK last Saturday, from 6 PM to 7 PM as a form of protest to the immigration and refugee ban being imposed by President Donald Trump. Uber, however, started sending out notices to customers, saying that it had disabled surge pricing at JFK. Many saw this as a sneaky way of undercutting the taxi cab strike, while exploiting the protest situation in order to increase its revenue.
Uber has since denied any wrongful intent, and instead claimed it was merely offering an on opportunity for JFK customers to avail of Uber rides at the usual rates. There were times in the past wherein Uber did enable surge pricing in high demand situations, like after hurricanes or snowstorms. Its JFK notice was meant to convey to people that this time, they will not be jacking up prices.
The masses however did not see it that way. Uber’s case was not helped by the fact that it did continue to offer rides despite being requested by the Taxi Workers Alliance to join in the strike for just an hour. The disgruntled people quickly took to social media, and thus was born the #DeleteUber campaign. Popular personalities then contributed their fame to the movement, and the #DeleteUber hashtag rose to the top of trending charts in America by Saturday evening.
Another effect was that people were now rallying others to use Lyft instead of Uber. Lyft for its part protested the immigration and refugee ban by promising to donate a sum of a million dollars to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Desperate for damage control, Uber also announced its plans of setting up a $3 million defense fund to assist in paying for legal, immigration, and translation costs for drivers affected by Trump’s ban, but this gesture may be too little, too late.
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