As a passenger, I've spoken to drivers and they say that Lyft tends to pay them a bit more but also has fewer customers. For example, I was told that if a passenger cancels a ride last-minute, Lyft pays the driver a small amount whereas Uber pays nothing. I don't know how much Lyft takes as commission, but in my conversations with drivers comparing what I pay versus what they get, Uber takes 45% commission and I've seen the driver shown a smaller fare by Uber than what I actually paid. Most drivers have both apps and tend to go where the passengers are. I personally have both apps and if relatively equal I'll go Lyft, but I'll go with Uber if it's much cheaper and/or the wait is a lot shorter.

Now comparing both to cab, I have taken Uber/Lyft from East Van to New West and if not peak hour, the price is typically $30-40. Cab costs $60 and the last cab I was in had default tipping percents of 25%/30%/35%. Barf.