Early AM Rideshare experiences

[shreddedshoe]

Hello all. Heading down this Saturday for a short mother/daughter trip. I have been going thru the threads on here and it looks like getting an Uber/Lyft at any time of the day or night isn’t a problem. We usually rent a car, but we have a 6am flight back on Tuesday and I don’t really want to deal with driving to MCO at 3:30 in the morning. What’s pick up like that early? I figured on being in the lobby (OG Poly) by 3:15, then requesting the ride. Or should I plan on more like 3am? I’m hesitant to reserve in advance in case the flight gets cancelled or delayed. We’ve used Lyft to and from the airport once before without issue, but it was a while ago, my husband was with us and it wasn’t this early in the morning. I do have a car rental booked, but just looking for some experiences/reassurance before I cancel it. TIA.

 

[AprilsZoo]

You can reserve a Lyft in advance (and Uber too, so says DH) and cancel without penalty up to 1 hour prior to your scheduled time.

Here’s a FAQ from Lyft that gives you more info about scheduling rides in advance.

Plus by scheduling in advance, I think the request generally goes out to the drivers a little sooner than the time riders usually call needing an immediate ride. That makes it so there’s more of a time-buffer for a driver to choose your request, in the case that there isn’t a driver right around the corner.

TIL: if your Lyft driver arrives more than 10 mins late for your scheduled pick up, you automatically get $15 in credit toward future rides— maybe toward the current ride if you choose that, I think.

 

[sponica]

You should be able to find something that early. Worst case scenario, there's always Mears Taxis.

 

[shreddedshoe]

Thank you!

 

[sponica]

Thank you!

I had an early flight in San Antonio which is a much smaller market than Orlando and easily found an uber driver around 3 or 330. People who do airport runs, start driving around then to get the early departures.

 

[nolatravelgirl]

Lot's of Uber/Lyft drivers want those early morning rides. Usually much safer than the late night rowdy bar/club crowd. Early morning riders are usually business folks. I wouldn't reserve as I don't like to feel rushed to make a specific time. If I end up getting dressed quicker then I want to be on my way to the airport.

 

[js]

I usually get a 6 am flight back to EWR from MCO and travel with my mom. I never have an issue
getting an Uber/Lyft and I usually book before leaving room when walking from room to lobby.

 

[kylenne]

Reserving a ride in advance is really unnecessary and with the exception of very specific edge cases (eg Dashpass Lyft discounts on airport rides) will generally cost you more than if you just booked it when you’re ready to go.

Lots of Uber/Lyft drivers doing airport runs that time of morning, you’ll be fine getting one.

 

[fla4fun]

I used to work at a job where we had runners who had to clock in at 6:00am (they delivered merch to our retail locations that opened at 7:00). One of them also did Uber/Lyft driving. Several mornings he would pick up a few rideshare runs before clocking in. One morning he did a run from Orlando to Daytona before coming to his full time job. He said he liked the longer drives in the morning before the traffic got hectic. There are people doing rides at all hours.