Can Hailing a Ride Really Be About Making Friends Again?

"This is a bit of a cluster," Lena Moreno says as we close in on the intersection of M and 29th Streets NW in Washington, D.C. The upscale Georgetown neighborhood is known for its congestion almost as much as for the Kate Spade, Ralph Lauren and other high-end stores lining its uneven sidewalks. The traffic is even worse on Halloween night as superheroes and villains spill out of the bars, ignoring cars and crosswalks alike. Moreno, a 26-year-old driver for the ridesharing service Lyft, peers through the windshield of her 2008 Nissan Versa. Her thick, rimless glasses look just like Martha Plimpton’s from The Goonies, but they’re not part of a costume.

I'm more than a little nervous—less so about the stranger driving the car than those we'll pick up on a night generally known for mischief and mayhem. Moreno doesn't share my fears. "For me, this is less sketchy than a cab any day," she says. Passengers have to create an account and input their credit card information before they can hail a Lyft via the company's app. "If something were to happen, that person could only get away for so long."