SAN ANTONIO – The fight for the right to give you a ride in San Antonio has pitted the local vehicle-for-hire-industry against Transportation Network Companies such as Uber and Lyft that use smartphone apps to match passengers with drivers.
Uber and Lyft cannot legally operate in San Antonio, but their drivers have flouted that law for months.
In a test to see which service is better for consumers' time and money, KSAT 12's Cory Smith put each service to the test.
Using their smartphone apps we reserved rides from the KSAT 12 Studios to City Hall. The clock started as soon as Cory entered the app and stopped when he arrived at City Hall.
After completing the test, Uber and Lyft were faster and cheaper.
From start to finish, it took Uber 13 minutes and 15 seconds to get from KSAT 12 to City Hall. The TNC company was the fastest and the cheapest ride, costing only $6.58.
The Lyft driver got Cory to City Hall in 14 minutes at a cost of $6.80.
It took 22 minutes and 17 seconds from the time Cory entered the Hail A Cab app to the time he arrived at City Hall. The journey cost $7.18.
The San Antonio City Council will discuss the issue at a Dec. 3 B-Session. It remains illegal for Uber and Lyft drivers to operate in San Antonio.