Early stage private valuations tend to be focused on future potential, usually expressed in total addressable market figures.

Lyft was selling slow expansion (they're still a US-only operator, and even within the US operate in relatively few markets) and most likely positive cashflow.

Uber was selling rapid global expansion, where each new city could be scaled up via Uber playbooks. Then it started selling itself as "last-mile logistics provider" for things like food deliveries and clothing. Then as a leading developer of self-driving vehicles, later complemented by self-driving trucks, later complemented by self-elevating passenger-carrying robotic drones.

You have to give Uber credit, they do address a broader TAM, even if their underlying core business doesn't seem that different from Lyft or Gett or Wingz or Hailo or MyTaxi or Didi or GrabTaxi or Ola or Yandex.Taxi.