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Lyft CEO Talks Enshittification
May. 3rd, 2025 07:27 amI saw a news article last week about Lyft CEO David Risher discussing enshittification in the ride-hailing platform. Recall that "enshittification", a term attributed to author Cory Doctorow, is the process of services getting worse for both consumers and sellers/advertisers/workers to enhance investor returns. Does Risher cop to Lyf being enshittified in his April 24 letter to shareholders? Eh, not quite.
Risher's letter (posted publicly at the link above) follows a familiar, three-step formula for leadership communication:
Enshittification is the pitfall Risher describes in part 2. But really the letter isn't about enshittification; that's just a motivation to help explain his brilliant new strategy in part 3, which he dubs "Falcon Mode".
That said, enshittification is a real pitfall at Lyft. I've seen the service enshittifying over the past few years and have groused about it many times in my blogs. My complaints:
Risher only barely touches on any of these three problems. The closest he comes is writing about needing to improve the number of drivers by making the platform more friendly for them. More drivers might improve the first and third problems, indirectly. But Lyft drivers I talk to don't tell me the problem is the platform is "unfriendly" or "hard to use". It's that they make less money with Lyft than Uber. That is the key sign of enshittification— customers see worse service and higher prices, while suppliers fume about getting less and less.
Risher's letter (posted publicly at the link above) follows a familiar, three-step formula for leadership communication:
- Things are going great! Fantastic! Look at these impressive charts!
- But amid all this success, there's a pitfall we need to worry about.
- But we can avoid that by all pulling together and working hard, with the benefit of this great new discipline I've thought of.
Enshittification is the pitfall Risher describes in part 2. But really the letter isn't about enshittification; that's just a motivation to help explain his brilliant new strategy in part 3, which he dubs "Falcon Mode".
That said, enshittification is a real pitfall at Lyft. I've seen the service enshittifying over the past few years and have groused about it many times in my blogs. My complaints:
- Lyft rides have been getting more expensive and are frequently much more expensive than its direct competitor, Uber
- Lyft rides often cost more than the price displayed when I choose the ride, due to hidden, extra fees tacked on.
- The process of getting matched to a driver is taking longer and longer. Multiple times I've selected a ride in Lyft, waited several minutes, then canceled it and pursue another option— including asking my spouse to drive me to Oakland!
Risher only barely touches on any of these three problems. The closest he comes is writing about needing to improve the number of drivers by making the platform more friendly for them. More drivers might improve the first and third problems, indirectly. But Lyft drivers I talk to don't tell me the problem is the platform is "unfriendly" or "hard to use". It's that they make less money with Lyft than Uber. That is the key sign of enshittification— customers see worse service and higher prices, while suppliers fume about getting less and less.
