Uber and Lyft working with Avis and Hertz: The risks and power of unity

For years, Uber and Lyft have been competing with Avis and
Hertz for airport riders. Now they’re working together.

Uber and Lyft drivers can rent cars near the end of their rental lives for a little more than $200 a week. These drivers can thus work without wearing out their cars or incurring major maintenance expenses. Rental car companies get more revenue from their cars before selling them off.

The added income also helps level the financial playing field. Rental cars are taxed at a much higher rate than ride-hail trips: cities and states see visitors as ripe for taxation since they don’t vote in their jurisdiction.

And the détente is good for airports. They have invested in major facilities for rental car companies and profit significantly from fees on car rentals. It is in their financial interest for rental car companies to thrive.

The risks and power of unity

Cooperation for a larger, mutually beneficial cause is a
strategy with biblical roots.

Moses learned from his father-in-law to delegate decision-making authority to leaders within the nation, which led to greater ownership and cooperation while enabling Moses to fulfill his leadership role (Exodus 18:13–26).

The apostles chose men with Greek names to minister to Greek-speaking widows, avoiding dissension that could have split the church and leading to the advance of the kingdom (Acts 6:1–7).

The unity of the church across racial and cultural divides was one of its most distinctive features and most powerful witnesses to the culture (cf. Galatians 3:26–28).

From then to now, the Christian movement has brought disparate peoples together in a larger cause that glorifies God and serves the needs of the community.

If you put people against the walls of a room and ask them
to unify themselves, they’ll stand in confusion. But if you put a chair in the
middle of the room and ask them to walk toward the chair, they’ll walk toward
each other as…