Free Rides
One way for new businesses to get more customers is by offering special discounts when existing ones refer a friend. Lyft did the same thing when they were new and gave away free rides worth $20-$30 if you brought a friend on board. The OP and her roommate came up with the genius idea of just making a couple of email ids that they could use to get more rides.
Somehow, the OP’s app glitched and she ended up getting free rides for a year. That’s a pretty sweet deal and could really save you tons of money considering how EXPENSIVE cab rides are.