The ride-hailing industry transformed urban transportation, enhancing convenience and flexibility that the traditional taxi services lacked. For entrepreneurs, startups, and businesses looking to venture into this dynamic sector, understanding the key players is crucial. Los Angeles, a sprawling metropolis with a significant demand for transportation solutions, is home to several leading ride-hailing apps.
In this blog, we will explore the top seven ride-hailing apps in LA: Uber, Lyft, Curb, Flywheel, Wingz, Arro, and Gett. We’ll delve into their origins, business models, funding, unique selling points (USPs), and provide an overview of their pros and cons to help you understand what makes each of them stand out.
Top Ride-Hailing Apps in LA
Whether it’s Uber and Lyft’s broad appeal, Curb and Flywheel’s integration with traditional taxis, Wingz’s pre-scheduled reliability, Arro’s no-surge pricing, or Gett’s corporate focus, there are valuable lessons and opportunities to be explored in this ever-evolving industry.
These apps provide a variety of options to meet different needs, from on-demand rides to pre-scheduled services, ensuring that users in Los Angeles can find suitable transportation at any time.
Uber
Founder: Garrett Camp, Travis Kalanick
Inception: 2009
Business Model: On-demand ride-hailing with various service levels (e.g., UberX, UberXL, Uber Black). Revenue primarily through ride commissions.
Funding & Revenue Details: Uber has raised over $25 billion in funding from multiple rounds and investors, with significant revenue generation, albeit with recent financial challenges and restructuring efforts.
USP: Extensive global network and wide range of service options.
Overview: Uber is among the top ride-hailing apps in LA and is the pioneering service that disrupted the traditional taxi industry. It offers a seamless user experience with quick ride-hailing, real-time tracking, and multiple ride options.
One of the most popular ride-hailing services worldwide, Uber offers various ride options such as UberX, UberXL, and luxury rides. It’s known for its reliability and extensive coverage in Los Angeles.
Pros & Cons
Pros: Large driver network, fast service, multiple ride options.
Cons: Surge pricing, recent legal and regulatory challenges.
Lyft
Founder: Logan Green, John Zimmer
Inception: 2012
Business Model: On-demand ride-hailing with additional services like bike and scooter rentals. Revenue through ride commissions and partnerships.
Funding & Revenue Details: Lyft has raised approximately $5 billion and has a steady revenue stream, though it operates at a loss due to high operational costs.
USP: Strong community focus and driver-friendly policies.
Overview: A major competitor to Uber, Lyft too is among the top ride-hailing apps in LA and it provides similar services with a strong focus on community and driver satisfaction. It also offers bike and scooter rentals in addition to car rides.
Lyft positions itself as a more community-oriented and socially responsible alternative to Uber. It emphasizes driver satisfaction and passenger safety.
Pros & Cons
Pros: Competitive pricing, strong driver-community relationship, additional transport options (bikes, scooters).
Cons: Smaller service area compared to Uber, financial sustainability concerns.
Curb
Founder: Amos Tamam
Inception: 2007
Business Model: Connects users with licensed taxi drivers. Revenue from ride commissions and partnerships with taxi companies.
Funding & Revenue Details: Curb is a subsidiary of Verifone Systems, leveraging its parent company’s resources and technology. Curb has totally raised $20.7 million in funding.
USP: No surge pricing and integration with traditional taxi services.
Overview: This app connects users with licensed taxi drivers and is known for not implementing surge pricing. Curb is a reliable option in many major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles.
Curb launched Curb Flow aimed at enhancing drivers’ income opportunities. Curb’s new open API aggregates additional rides from several sources into Curb’s network, which is in addition to providing ride requests, that include street hails, fleet dispatches, and app bookings.
Pros & Cons
Pros: No surge pricing, licensed drivers, widespread in major U.S. cities.
Cons: Limited app features compared to competitors, smaller user base.
Flywheel
Founder: Hansu Kim, Tal Flanchraych.
Inception: 2009
Business Model: Digital platform for traditional taxi services, generating revenue from ride commissions.
Funding & Revenue Details: Flywheel’s total funding of $40.6M came over 8 rounds, primarily from venture capital firms.
USP: Real-time tracking and fare estimation for traditional taxis.
Overview: Similar to traditional taxi services, Flywheel allows users to book rides with licensed drivers and offers real-time tracking and fare estimation. It’s particularly popular in California.
Flywheel modernises the traditional taxi experience with a user-friendly app that includes features like real-time tracking and upfront fare estimation.
Pros & Cons
Pros: Reliable service, no surge pricing, real-time tracking.
Cons: Limited to certain cities, smaller fleet compared to ride-hailing giants.
Wingz
Founder: Wingz (originally Tickengo) was founded by Fred Gomez, Geoff Mathieux, Jeremie Romand, and Christof Baumbach.
Inception: 2011
Business Model: Pre-scheduled rides with a focus on airport transportation. Revenue from ride commissions. Tickengo was the first company in the world to get a license for ridesharing, before Lyft and Uber obtained theirs.
Funding & Revenue Details: Wingz has raised over $13.7 million in funding.
USP: Pre-scheduled rides with upfront pricing.
Overview: Wingz is ideal for users who prefer to schedule their rides in advance, especially for airport trips, ensuring no last-minute surprises in fare or availability. Wingz is among the top ride-hailing apps in LA due to the innovative features they provide.
Pros & Cons
Pros: Fixed pricing, reliable pre-scheduled service.
Cons: Limited availability, primarily focused on airport rides.
Arro
Founder: Creative Mobile Technologies
Inception: 2015
Business Model: On-demand ride-hailing for traditional taxis, earning through ride commissions.
Funding & Revenue Details: ARRO’s annual revenue amounted to $910K for 2023. Arro has received a total funding of $10 million.
USP: Integration with traditional taxi meters and no surge pricing.
Overview: Arro connects users with a fleet of licensed taxis in several major cities. It offers fare estimation and easy booking via its app.
Arro combines the traditional taxi service with modern app-based booking, providing a seamless experience without surge pricing.
Los Angeles-based Arro launched a new, fintech startup focused on consumer credit, and now is available at all major app store platforms.
Pros & Cons
Pros: No surge pricing, integration with existing taxi infrastructure.
Cons: Limited to certain cities, smaller user base.
Gett
Founder: Dave Waiser, Roy More
Inception: Launched in London during Aug 2011
Business Model: On-demand ride-hailing with a focus on corporate clients. Revenue through ride commissions and enterprise solutions.
Funding & Revenue Details: Gett has raised over $928 million and focuses on profitability through its enterprise services.
USP: Strong focus on corporate rides and no surge pricing.
Overview: Known for its reliability and no-surge pricing, Gett is popular in many European cities, they also operate in the U.S. through partnerships.
Gett differentiates itself by targeting corporate clients, offering reliable service and fixed pricing, making it a preferred choice for business travel.
Pango is in the process of purchasing Gett for approximately $175 million.
Pros & Cons
Pros: No surge pricing, corporate focus, high-quality service.
Cons: Limited availability in the U.S., primarily Europe-focused.
Conclusion: Top Ride-Hailing Apps In LA
Appscrip offers you a customisable ridesharing software solution. It provides features similar to the top ride-hailing apps in LA, such as real-time tracking, ride scheduling, and payment integration.
The solution includes separate modules for passengers, drivers, and admins, allowing for comprehensive management and operational efficiency. The app is designed to be scalable and can be tailored to specific business needs, supporting various modes of transport beyond just car rides.
The ride-hailing landscape in Los Angeles is diverse, entrepreneurs and businesses, understanding these differences is essential for making well informed decisions about partnerships, market entry strategies, or even developing new solutions in this competitive space.
Entrepreneurs, businesses or startups aiming to foray into the ride hailing industry will find our solution perfect to launch a ride sharing business. Want to know more, click here.
After an Engineering degree and a Diploma in Management I devoted 16+ years working in the automotive industry. My innate skill and extreme passion in writing, encouraged me to adopt it up as a profession. I have been writing for more than 10+ years in the software industry. The 400+ blogs I published are informative, exhaustive and interesting to a professional and causal reader.
