Lyft and Uber are two car-hailing services that you can order right from your smartphone. But, are they safe, affordable ways to get around town? Let's take a look at the two.

Lyft is a fully functional car-hailing service that you can order from your smartphone. Simply go into the app and create a user name and add a credit card to your profile. After that, as long as the city you are in has Lyft, you can start ordering rides.

To order a ride you simply press the "request Lyft" button. The nearest car to you will accept your request and begin driving to you. You will see the picture of the driver's car as well as the picture of the driver and the driver's star rating.

From there you can either agree to this driver or cancel this driver. If the driver and car is to your liking, you simply wait until the driver arrives. If you do not like the driver or his car, you can simply press cancel.

Once the driver arrives, instead of getting into the back seat like most people do with taxis, you are encouraged to get into the front seat. Then you give the driver a fist bump and your ride commences.

Via the app you can type your destination or you can just tell the driver where you want to go.

The ride starts and the "meter" is built into the app. Based upon distance and time, your fare will vary. During peak times of the evening, Lyft goes into "Prime Time." Be careful with Prime Time, Lyft will charge either 25%, 50% or even up to 300% more than their normal rates. In this case, you are better off taking a taxi or walking.

Overall Verdict: Lyft is great. Just make sure to avoid Prime Time and make sure your driver has a good rating and you will enjoy it.

Uber is a little different than Lyft. Uber started as a black car service, but they have evolved into a Lyft-like service.

Just like Lyft, everything is done through the app. They too have a premium-pricing structure and its called "Surge Pricing." This is usually done during peak hours.

Uber is much more expensive than Lyft. It will cost you more for the same level of service. Typically Uber drivers have nicer cars, but not always.

Uber drivers can sometimes use slow routes to try and get more money out of you, so be careful.

One final note: insurance. Lyft has $1 million in liability insurance that they offer their drivers in case of accidents or damage to their personal vehicles. This applies to every state except New York. Uber's insurance policies are a little more foggy.

With all cars and taxis, be vigilant and make sure to get the driver's name and look for a operators license. If you don't see one, ask for one.

What do you think of car-hailing services like Lyft and Uber?