Travelers beware of ride share reservations (Lyft, Uber)

I am writing this post to warn other van lifers and travelers about ride share reservations. Let’s say you need to get to the airport or somewhere that is time sensitive like a scheduled appointment? Perhaps your van needs repaired or you want to fly home for the holidays?

Waiting on my porch at 4:00 a.m.

Here is my nightmare, ride-share experience. I scheduled a Lyft driver two days in advance to pick me up at 4:00 a.m. this morning. I live in a North Carolina coastal town of 200K people. The local airport is 8 miles away. My flight was scheduled for 6:00 a.m. on American Airlines. At 2:54 a.m. I receive this text message from Lyft: “Reminder: Lyft pickup scheduled for 3:55AM-4:05AM”. Everything seems routine and informative. I turn down my house thermostat to 60 degrees Fahrenheit since I’ll be gone for the holidays.

I’m waiting on my front porch in 50 degree temperatures. I’m completely mesmerized that my violet geraniums are still blooming! We had 70 degree weather on Saturday evening when I participated in the annual kayak flotilla on our community’s manmade lake – 12/18/21.

Happy holiday thoughts are dancing in my head until 4:05 a.m. arrives! I’m freezing cold waiting on the front porch. Lyft sends me another text message: “Almost there! Thanks for your patience. You’re up next and we’ll send driver details soon”. Twelve minutes pass by. No driver details were sent to me. So I texted Lyft’s phone number this message:

Lyft would not allow me to directly communicate (text) with them. So at 4:30 a.m. I cancelled my ride request. I tried using my Uber app and no drivers were available. I called two city taxi services and they were already booked with no immediate availability. So I resigned myself to accepting a missed flight. I returned inside to a cold house and major disappointment. I wouldn’t be seeing my Ohio relatives on 12/20/21.

This afternoon , I texted Lyft’s website message help service. The following exchange took place:

Needless to say, Lyft will not reimburse its customers for missed flights, late fees, or ticket replacements. Thinking inside the box of future solutions, I came up with a few recommendations: Try avoid scheduling a ride before 6:00 a.m. Night times & early mornings have less driver availability. If that’s not possible…give yourself a much longer reservation window. No doubt, in my small city, I should have scheduled a ride four hours in advance. Even if it meant sitting at the airport for two hours. People who drive for Lyft & Uber are independent contractors. They can cancel or delay you without notice. Many drivers consider this line of work their “side hustle” jobs for extra cash. Many drivers are temporary ones with minimal customer loyalty. Because of the ongoing Pandemic & nighttime driving risks, the odds of cancellation increase during dark time hours. This is especially true for female and older drivers. Lyft texted me today that a male driver had accepted my ride request two days in advance, but was a “no show” early this morning. And how sorry they are for the “inconvenience”.

Dangers of parking outside at Airports

I am patiently waiting for American Airlines to call me back with a possible one way flight leaving tomorrow. Hopefully, my return flight in January 2022 is still reserved. If you’re thinking…why didn’t I drive my camper van to the airport this morning…here are the reasons: Our tiny, international airport has outdoor parking only. My camper van is worth almost $38K and I can’t afford to lose it to theft, bad weather, or vandalism. There is also a current back order of vehicle chips. Cascade Camper friend William Shaker recently paid $2500 over invoice for his new Ram Promaster City cargo van. The price of Cascade Camper Conversion also increased by $800 this month, not including California sales tax. We also get high winds & unexpected storms in our port city, near the Atlantic Ocean. And I have no friends or relatives to inconvenience with a 4:00 a.m. emergency ride to the airport request. At $8-$10 per day for uncovered parking, the risks outweigh the benefits.

Expect delays using Lyft & Uber

After finding several articles online, I comforted myself knowing I’m not alone in suffering delays or last minute cancellations with ride share companies! This is my first bad experience with Lyft. Had I given myself a 4-hour travel window, perhaps Lyft or Uber could have found me another driver. Their quoted price of $17 for an 8 mile journey to my local airport seemed very reasonable this morning. It’s driver shortages that are most alarming!

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/07/1025534409/lyft-and-uber-prices-are-high-wait-times-are-long-and-drivers-are-scarce