Lyft Announces Lyftie Awards: Wood Tavern and AAA Among Miami Winners

Lyft, the popular ride-sharing service and rival to Uber and taxis, announced this morning the results of its inaugural Lyftie Awards. Spanning six categories — from most visited restaurant to an “only in Miami” division — the awards celebrate local spots with the most Lyft passenger drop-offs in 2015 and recognize national winners.

The results were generated by tabulating all the rides and most popular destinations: “These were where bellies were filled, drinks were had, and fists were pumped,” according to Lyft’s website. 

“We tallied up the drop-off numbers in each market and looked at the top destinations for each category,” Lyft spokesperson Mary Caroline Pruitt explains. “As for categories, we developed those after taking a peek at the results and seeing what trends we spotted.”

Turns out Miami is pretty basic. Places like Wood Tavern in Wynwood and the American Airlines Arena won the Lyftie for Most Visited Bar and Most Visited Event Space, respectively. The other regional winners are Bodega Taqueria & Tequila for Most Visited Restaurant; Dadeland Station South for Most Visited Transit Stop; Miami Beach for the Only in Miami award, with Eighth Street and Ocean Drive the most requested beach drop-off spot; and malls in the Trending Destinations category, with half of the top destinations this year being shopping malls.  

What do you have to say for yourself, Miami? Wynwood bars, a Mexican restaurant, Miami Beach, and stores — we need to get out more. 

Local winners will receive a sticker from Lyft to display, and next time you walk into Wood or Bodega after paying for parking, you can think to yourself, Maybe I should have gotten a lift here. 

Although no Miami locations won at the national level, we can relate to the winner of the Most Visited Coffee Spot (Starbucks) and Trending Destination (transit stops) because we do enjoy our coffee and occasional public transport. 

This week, during the rush of New Year’s Eve, Pruitt reminds riders that “Lyft is keeping its standard 200 percent prime-time cap during the holiday. Lyft passengers in Miami can spend more time enjoying friends and family at their own favorite local spots and less time worrying about unexpected, sky-high price hikes.”

Much like other ride-sharing services, Lyft operates via an app on your smartphone where you request a pickup, and a Lyft driver scoops you up and takes you to your destination. However, unlike Uber, which chargers users a flat rate that includes fees and discourages tipping the drivers, Lyft has varying rates: $1.68 for a pickup fee, $1.92 per mile, 28 cents per minute while the car is stopped in traffic, and users can pay more or less depending upon service because it’s all donation-based. 

“Lyft is committed to keeping safe rides affordable for passengers, no matter the occasion,” Pruitt says. 

Check out the full list of winners at lyft.com/thelyftieawards.