Uber Launches Simpler Interface for Seniors, Beating Lyft to Market

2 JumpCrisscross 1 5/1/2025, 10:12:07 AM bloomberg.com ↗

Comments (1)

AStonesThrow · 4h ago
Only a few years ago, before I owned a smartphone, I had service through Consumer Cellular and a KaiOS feature phone.

They offered a "rideshare concierge" service. You could call in to the Consumer Cellular number, and converse with a real live human being, who would broker the ride on Lyft, and you would be connected to the Lyft service via text message, without needing an app, a Lyft account, or anything.

It really worked like a charm, but unfortunately, they were eventually forced to shutter it.

Nowadays I do not enjoy opening apps for Uber or Lyft (or DoorDash for that matter). They have far too many geegaws and distractions, and when you need a ride, you just want to book a ride and get on your way. The last thing we want is a bunch of garbage marketing to us, advertising "deals" and "promotions" and all sorts of things. This is yet another point in favor of Waymo, whose Waymo One app does none of that, and only books your ride and gets you where you need to go. Thank you, Waymo!