How Premium Ride Types Are Shaping Platform Margin Signals

Inside Uber and Lyft’s changing ride mix — where the rise of Comfort, XL, and Priority is shifting fee rate dynamics trip by trip.

This Gridwise Analytics report reveals how the growing share of premium ride types — like Comfort, XL, and Priority — is contributing more to overall platform fee rate capture across Uber and Lyft.

Luxury and Comfort rides outperform in Platform Fee Rates

Black SUV and Lux rides achieve 30–32% platform fee rates, while Comfort follows at 26.1% and Black at 26%. Even small shifts from Standard to Comfort meaningfully raise platform fee rates — making Comfort a key contributor to per-trip value capture.

Premium ride types are gaining marketshare year over year

Premium ride types are gaining marketshare year over year. Comfort, XL, and Priority have each increased in share from July 2024 to July 2025, making up a growing portion of the ride mix on both Uber and Lyft.

Some markets are seeing lower driver utilisation

In Los Angeles and San Francisco, driver utilisation fell year-over-year, with LA down –8.6% and San Francisco down –3.1%. Nationwide utilisation also slipped –2.9%, while Austin (+1.3%) and Phoenix (+1.4%) recorded modest gains.

Uber vs. Lyft: Who’s Winning the Ride Mix Shift?

Comfort, XL, and Priority are on the rise, and one company is pulling ahead with significantly higher platform fee rates.
 Find out who’s leading — and what it means for platform margin signals — in the full report.

Each trip tells part of the story. Together, they reveal where margins are shifting.

In the full report, you’ll uncover:

  • How Comfort has overtaken Shared — and what’s driving the shift in ride type mix

  • Year-over-year changes in platform fee rates by ride category

  • Key differences in premium fee capture between Uber and Lyft

  • Which ride types are gaining marketshare — and what that signals for margin trends