[keehun]

I've been a supporter of Lyft as the underdog and tried my best to give them as much business as I could. I was trying to get a ride at an airport, and I got so frustrated that I gave up and had a very good experience with Uber.

What happened was this: I requested a ride, and it was confirmed by the driver who was about 15 minutes away. After waiting 10 minutes, the driver would cancel (and presumably go pick up someone else who had a higher fare). This happened literally 3 times, and I sat outside at the curb waiting for 30+ minutes. I gave up, requested a ride with Uber instead which had a similar price (<$2 delta, I think). The Uber driver not only not cancel on me but also was significantly closer causing me to wait less from the moment I requested a ride.

[cameldrv]

A huge part of what made Uber great when they first launched UberX was the driver ratings. This forced the drivers to provide good service, unlike the previous standard for taxis.

The problem now is that you can't give your driver a rating until the ride actually starts. This allows the drivers to play all sorts of games before the ride starts. If I match with a driver, and he drives around aimlessly for 10 minutes, then calls me, asks where I'm going, and then demands I cancel the ride (and get charged), that should be one star, but currently it's impossible to rate this bad driver.

[mustacheemperor]

When you cancel an Uber ride there is an option to choose "the driver told me to cancel" or "the driver was not moving" - I would hope that has some impact on their rating internally, but I wonder what it actually does.

[lhorie]

I thought Uber rolled out upfront pricing some time last year, so drivers wouldn't feel compelled to be playing these games anymore.

[xp84]

They know fare in my recent experience, but not where you are going. Probably theoretically for “diversity” reasons but also because Uber’s interests probably line up with giving all the rides rather than only the ones going to “good neighborhoods.”

Drivers on the other hand, want to know mainly so they can decline up front to take someone 50 miles in the “wrong” direction from where they are trying to be next.

[Brendinooo]

I called a Lyft the other day and saw that there was an option for priority pickup, which flags a driver who's close to you but going to pick up someone else and has him pick you up instead.

In the moment it was nice: I was running late and that got me on track. But it seems really really bad for the ecosystem in general. I'm not sure I can rely on being picked up at a reasonable time again without paying for it. And once everyone realizes that and starts paying more, then we're back to where we were before.

If Uber isn't doing that, maybe it's time to give them a try.

[mustacheemperor]

Priority Pickup has done a lot to turn me off from Lyft. It seems like most of the time I try to use it, it takes so long to identify a driver that I didn't save any time off the original wait time. The UI is a total dark pattern to make it feel like you're getting a driver faster, too, which I really resent.

- App offers a 7 minute pickup time or a 3 minute "priority"

- Select priority, app pops up a "searching for drivers" screen with a loading bar

- as the loading bar gets closer to the end, it gets slower. The loading bar does not actually represent progress to completion in any meaningful way.

- the app begins throwing out bs "reticulating splines" explanations like "tidying up a few last minute details!" I hate that kind of teehee-cute fake message, there are no details to tidy up, you are just waiting for a driver close by enough to agree to my ride

- after a minute+ of this, tap "cancel" to call an uber instead, and get a popup pleading to wait just a few more seconds since this will happen any moment now

- after another minute or two, finally get a driver 3-5 minutes away.

Total elapsed time until lyft arrives: 6-7 minutes, for $5-10 more.

It's not just the unreliable functionality, but the way the energy invested into this part of the product appears to have gone into fooling you into thinking it is useful, not actually being useful. I'd rather just call an Uber that will actually arrive at the time the app predicts it will show up before I call it.

[BowBun]

I landed in JFK a couple of nights ago after a vacation with my GF. I get Lyft priority for free because of some credit card thing. We both called Lyft cars at the same time. She got one faster than I did, and it arrived earlier, whereas I had to wait 5 minutes to find a driver and 5 more for them to arrive. It 100% had to have been because of our destinations - mine is less lucrative for a driver to hang around in (less activity).

[riceart]

This sounds like something designed by someone with exactly one semester of college or high school Econ under their belt.

[grandmczeb]

> which flags a driver who's close to you but going to pick up someone else and has him pick you up instead.

This sounds incorrect based on my experience on the driver’s side - I’m pretty sure it just puts your request at the front of the queue and doesn’t reassign drivers already en route to a pickup. Where did you see that’s how priority pickup works?

[Brendinooo]

That's what the driver said - he was on his way to a spot near me to pick up someone else, then was rerouted.

He said he'd only recently learned of the feature himself when a similar thing happened a couple of days prior. He was supposed to pick up person A, then was redirected to person B, but B was at the same place as A so he got an earful from her, because she thought he canceled on her.

[grandmczeb]

Lyft changes assigned drivers for reasons that have nothing to do with priority pickup. Absent a confirmation from Lyft, I’m skeptical that was the reason.

[Brendinooo]

What would be a reason that correlates almost exactly with me requesting a priority pickup? This was a Sunday morning, about 30 minutes from Pittsburgh and 20-25 from the airport, so not exactly a time and place with a lot of activity.

[grandmczeb]

The rider could have changed their destination in the app. Or Lyft could have swapped drivers and then the other driver canceled. Or the driver’s phone could have gone offline without him noticing due to bad cell reception. Or about a million other reasons - I don’t know the specific circumstances so it’s hard to say.

Driver switching has been happening for years though, way before I saw priority pickup as a rider.

[keehun]

I forgot to mention in my original story, but I did have priority pickup for all three requests!

[decafninja]

Could be a coincidence, but my experience has been that Lyft have generally been faster and cheaper than Uber. However the quality of both the driver and the car has generally been higher with Uber.

I'd still call Lyft over taking a traditional cab though.

[jacurtis]

In Chicago, the taxis are generally cheaper than Uber/Lyft from the airport. It is about $30 to the city with a Taxi. In the best conditions, i've seen Ubers for $38 to the same place, but it is generally in the $60-80 range.

It is so much more expensive that my company has stopped reimbursing ubers in most scenarios where taxis were otherwise available.

I've driven heavily in both and taxis are often nicer and safer than some of the craziness of UberX rides. If I take an uber I just pay the 10-15% premium for Comfort or Electric. I won't use UberX in the city anymore, it is so much worse than the taxis.

[duped]

The real move is Uber to O'hare and taxi from O'hare.

[ss108]

It is like that in NYC too.

But the convenience depends on which terminal. I normally fly American--ez taxi from JFK.

Once I flew in on JetBlue. Nightmare taxi stand with a winding, immobile line. Had to call an Uber.

[itake]

In Seattle, traditional cabs are 50% cheaper than Ubers to go from Seatac to the city.

[mcast]

Or you can take the light rail directly from the airport into the city for $2.50 (and presumably catch a cheaper taxi there).

[jdeibele]

We stopped taking cabs years ago when the cab we ordered for very early in the morning didn't show up, ending in a scramble to get to the airport and parked.

What most people like about Lyft or Uber: known price, known route, and backup drivers automatically located if there's an issue with the first driver.

That peace of mind seems worth paying for.

[chrbr]

The "hack" that a couple of the comments in this chain are referring to is only ever taking cabs _from_ a major airport into a city. Often you don't have to play the waiting-on-someone-to-show-up game, there's just a line of them right outside the airport that you can hop in immediately. In some cities there's even flat rates they have to adhere to, depending on where you're going ("$20 to midtown").

I was gleeful when Uber and Lyft came on the scene to have an alternative to cab BS, but the one place they still shine is when going from an airport into a major metro area.

[runarberg]

Do you take the cap to downtown? If so, why do you take a cab over the Link?

I have taken a cab ones, but to Fauntleroy, and I was missing a ferry (which I missed anyway because the driver took a weird way). However, the transit options to West Seattle aren’t nearly as good as to downtown though.

[decafninja]

Cabs/Ubers/etc are too expensive to use daily, but for a one time thing (such as flying into an airport), it's so much less stressful than trying to deal with public transportation.

I'll give an exception to certain cities that have superb transit options, but none of those cities are in the US.

[runarberg]

The transit option between SeaTac and Downtown Seattle is superb. I admit it can be improved (e.g. you have to walk through the parking garage to the station, and it is a bit slow going through Rainier valley) but for 2.50 USD it is the best option going from SeaTac to Downtown.

[itake]

I still take link because it is so cheap, but I've experienced 25+ min delays (between the bus and link).

[stemlord]

In nyc traditional cab is always cheaper than a lyft. Possibly exception with the flat rate rides from the airports.

[johntiger1]

Yeah I think the same pool of drivers drives for both, so it will simply vary based on the current demand/supply conditions

[caycep]

NOLA also seems to have a setup for a discounted flat rate on cabs from MSY to city center

[steveBK123]

It seems to be very city specific. Had exact experience a few times while in Miami and switched back to Uber for rest of trip.

Drivers are smart, they network, and they talk. I'm sure theres some idiosyncratic thing going on where Lyft is more gameable for drivers in some cities. Could be Uber-Lyft price spread plus cancel policy / penalty on drivers.

Most of these guys drive around with N apps running, so they switch to more lucrative ride / app / etc on the fly.

[phailhaus]

Lyft's UI is also just worse. When you order a ride, they use a particular dark pattern to make it seem as if the driver has immediately been found, when it's still searching for one.

[ezfe]

Uber is just as bad, for what it's worth

[psygn89]

That was my experience last year (first time using Lyft; never used Uber). I was trying to get a ride from a Holiday Inn in Austin that sat next to the freeway. I had about 4 accept it and bail out five minutes later (even the person who accepted it the night before when I scheduled it). I had to wait around 20 minutes past my scheduled pick up time until someone decided to follow through. This was around 7am and was scheduled for surgery at 8am. I don't know if it's a perfect storm situation but I wasn't impressed. I didn't need any more anxiety, and I'll probably stick with the traditional taxi service next time.

[jorts]

I had that happen 6 times in a row. Incredibly frustrating experience. I was in SF and trying to get to the east bay.

[karaterobot]

That's happened to me, and it does suck. On the map inside the app, I one time watched a Lyft driver take my order, then drive to a McDonald's, then cancel my order. Weird thing to do.

The thing is, your Uber driver was probably also working for Lyft at the same time. The one who canceled probably was too. So I don't know if one company is better for that than the other, or if you just happened to get a game theorist Lyft driver by luck of the draw, who decided to optimize his expected value.

[vkou]

If you're already at the airport... Why wait for a ride-hail, instead of just using the taxi line?

[CobaltFire]

I recently had this exact thought.

Then the taxi driver tried to scam me multiple ways, including demanding cash because they "forgot to start the meter" and attempted to take the long way to my home (I live about 1 mile from the airport).

Won't make that mistake again.

[misssocrates]

It's both easy to forget why Uber/Lyft was revolutionary and easy to remember why.

[fshbbdssbbgdd]

Cabbies can be scammy for sure, they try to take advantage of people who don’t assert themselves. An approach I’ve had success with is agree on a flat cash price with the cabbie before the ride starts. If you already are halfway through ordering an Uber/Lyft you have a good idea of what’s a decent price point to offer them. Of course, check what’s in your wallet before you make the deal!

[soperj]

If you only live a mile away, why wouldn't you walk?

[somekyle2]

I'm healthy and enjoy a good walk, but I wouldn't really want to bring luggage a mile from an airport, especially not if the weather isn't nice; it seems rare for foot traffic out of airports to be particularly easy.

[soperj]

I walk nearly a mile (1.2km) just to get to the nearest bus stop (that buses come to often) from my airport. I only travel with a backpack though. You're right in that they don't have sidewalks though out of the airport area.

[pimlottc]

I can think of plenty of reasons:

- lots of luggage

- traveling with family/kids

- area was designed for cars and is not pedestrian friendly

- too tired after long travel

- late night arrival makes walking unsafe

[jandrese]

Because there are no sidewalks out of the airport. This is depressingly common. Airport designers only think about cars and busses. Maybe the train if it is near a city that has it, but even that is far from a guarantee. Usually the only access is a high speed road that connects to an even more pedestrian unfriendly highway.

[johntiger1]

Exactly, some airports like LGA require you to cross a highway to get to any walkable area

[ghaff]

Boston Logan you can definitely hop onto public transit pretty easily. But I'm pretty sure you're not just walking to anywhere in East Boston from there easily.

[harambae]

Indeed. Silver line (to South Station, where you can transfer further) is free to get on at the airport, precisely to encourage riding public transit out of the airport.

[decafninja]

I've been scammed once too often by traditional taxicabs. And even when not, the service has often left a bad taste in my mouth.

As a result now, I'd rather wait 30 minutes for an Uber/Lyft than take the cab sitting right there.

[jacurtis]

I live in Chicago and find that Ubers/Lyfts are sketchier than taxis. Not to call a taxi luxurious by any means, but just compared to a lot of the sketchy cars i've had for Ubers I find taxis predictable at least.

For that reason, I don't use UberX at all anymore. I always upgrade to UberLux or Uber Comfort or Uber Electric if its available. Even the Uber Comfort's are not that great most of the time. If I have to use UberX, I will just take a taxi. Taxis in my part of Chicago at least are pretty good and predictable (but other cities might not be so lucky).

I think this is market specific. Because when I go back to Oregon to visit family, the UberX there are super nice. I had a brand new Tahoe on my last ride there.

[jacurtis]

I've started taking taxis from Airports instead of Ubers. There is often a line of idle taxis waiting for rides, and then a bunch of people on their phones in the corner refreshing Uber/Lyft competing over the same handful of drivers.

People have the impression that Taxis are more expensive than Ubers, but that's actually rarely the case. I've found they are pretty close most of the time. I find that Uber/Lyft is cheaper for short trips (< $10) and Taxis are cheaper for longer trips ($10-50).

Also, LPT for everyone. Many/Most airports actually have flat taxi rates between the airport and the city. Be sure to ask about this. A lot of big cities will have a flat price for taxies of like $20 or $30 between the airport and city. I really like this. Also, all taxis nowadays take cards and most take ApplePay too.

[pxx]

Do they really, though? Because even pre-Uber most taxis took cards but their machine was always conveniently broken.

[jacurtis]

I usually enter the car saying "I don't have any cash, only card. Is that ok?"

And i've been turned down once or twice. I use cabs a lot, so I could call those experiences extreme outliars.

[keehun]

My airport doesn't have a taxi line. Also, traditional airport taxis in my area (which you have to call and wait for a dispatcher to dispatch a taxi anyways) are about 2-3x the cost of an uber/lyft ride.

[xnx]

My last experience with a taxi driver was him swerving 80mph through traffic. Never again.

[nawgz]

If you're going more than 30 minutes usually the taxi line has hilarious "out of jurisdiction" charges they tack on

From SFO I once went to South Bay, Uber would've been $50, taxi was $150 because of some esoterically worded rule that tripled the mileage cost outside of SF proper. I wasn't even in SF to start! What a joke

[ghaff]

I haven't had occasion to look at the options for years but SFO to San Jose or thereabouts used to be horrible. (Whereas BART to downtown SF is easy/cheap.)

[timcederman]

To use SFO as one example: "Destinations either 15 miles beyond the limits of the City and County of San Francisco or 15 miles beyond the boundaries of San Francisco International Airport are charged at 150% of the metered rate."

Also if you need an SUV or larger vehicle for more passengers, it's much easier to just use Uber.

[jandrese]

Because you don't want to pay 4 times as much for the ride? My local airport has an exclusive agreement with one taxicab company and to go to my house less than 2 miles away is $20 if I take them. And that's the base price before you add in the gas surcharge, COVID surcharge, luggage surcharge, airport surcharge, depreciation surcharge, and tax. Lyft doesn't hit me with any of that bullshit. Also with Lyft I don't need to make sure I have cash, because of course the cab's card reader is always broken.

[bastardoperator]

Easy:

- I can hail an Uber of my choice before stepping off the plane

- I get free Uber rides via AMEX

- I don't carry cash

- Taxis are hit and miss when it comes to cleanliness

[WWLink]

> - Taxis are hit and miss when it comes to cleanliness

So are ubers lol. Especially mid-day when the only ubers that seem to be out are old tiny cars.

[PartiallyTyped]

Taxis are often far more expensive than Uber/Lyft and such. Going from the local airport to a hotel the first time I came at $location, cost me about 20 euro, going to the airport in the middle of the night from my apartment cost about 5.

[soco]

This game is played by Uber drivers as well, so it's just a matter of luck. Not sure if related to particular cities or just bad people, of which we had enough in the taxi business already.

[bsimpson]

Lyft stopped being my default after a couple rides where I was charged more than I was quoted for no clear reason, and customer service just went .

[bsimpson]

HN ate the shrug emoji.

[prh8]

I was in DC for business 2 weekends ago and had 3 Lyfts cancel on me. Never had that happen before on either platform. Checked my rider rating just in case and it's 4.97. Really frustrating to deal with, especially when timing matters.

[HPsquared]

Can you rate them if they cancel?

[jonathankoren]

The irony here is that that every driver is both a Lyft and Uber driver.

[steveBK123]

its probably differences in fare & penalty rates.

if they get punished $5 but Uber fare is gonna be $10 more, switch.

[robocat]

And perhaps Uber has some heuristics (ancient English for AI) or competitor intelligence to detect if a driver has accepted a Lyft ride. Uber can then offer a carrot to that driver to get them to cancel the Lyft ride. They could offer the best fare that turns up in the next 2 minutes. Costs Uber little, causes three damages to Lyft (Lyft lost profit, annoyed Lyft customer, driver happier with Uber).

[steveBK123]

Yes, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they have ways to do that and micro target better rates on fares that have a pending Lyft pickup.

Remember on the driver side they run on different phones generally, but on the client side the customer is running all these apps on their single phone. A lot of these apps have privacy issues and snoop a lot on the client side. So they can basically detect frequency/recency of Lyft app being open on your phone, and then offer Uber drivers better rates for pickups at your GPS location.