Uber's dirty tricks quantified: Rival counts 5,560 canceled rides

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Uber is using a pattern of aggressive and questionable tactics in its effort to control the car-on-demand market, according to rivals.

New data provided by Lyft, a competitor, shows that Uber employees have ordered and canceled more than 5,000 Lyft rides since last October. The data was provided to CNNMoney per a request made when reporting another story on the competition between the two companies.

It's the taxi app version of ding-dong ditch.

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Lyft claims to have cross-referenced the phone numbers associated with known Uber recruiters with those attached to accounts that have canceled rides. They found, all told, 5,560 phantom requests since October 3, 2013.

There was nothing to suggest that Uber's corporate office commissioned the canceled rides or even that they were aware of them.

One Lyft passenger, identified by seven different Lyft drivers as an Uber recruiter, canceled 300 rides from May 26 to June 10. That user's phone number was tied to 21 other accounts, for a total of 1,524 canceled rides.

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Uber's tactics are not limited to harassing Lyft drivers.

Shortly after Lyft entered the New York market last month, Uber sent a text message to its drivers telling them that city regulations prohibit them from working for both companies. New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission says that is not true. (Uber later said in a statement that their official policy is that drivers can work for both services.)

One beneficiary of the competition appears to be the passenger. Last week, Uber and Lyft announced competing features that would allow users heading in the same direction to share rides and split the cost. Lyft Line is now available in the app store; UberPool will be available soon.

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