Everthing you wanted to know about Uber/Lyft at WDW

[JimMIA]

Yes, in the past there was some discussion among drivers about down-rating passengers who didn't tip. With tipping now in both apps, and potentially showing up as late as a day after the ride, hopefully that's not happening anymore.

Hopefully not. I always thought that was a stupid attitude for a driver to take, but I also realize people sometimes claim stuff on social media that they don't really do.

I follow your approach. I expect to be rated 5 stars on every ride unless there is some problem with MY performance on that ride. And I rate riders the same way, and I'm much more lenient with riders than I expect them to be with me. They have to work for a low rating!

I'm actually much quicker to cancel a ride than to rate a rider less than 5 stars.

 

[luvallprincesses]

We will need an early morning one way transport from the Dolphin to MCO on a Wednesday morning (the week after Thanksgiving), leaving the hotel around 4:30 am. We are a family of 4 with 2 large suitcases and 4 carry on size suitcases. Is it extremely reliable to get an UberXL at that time of the morning?

 

[Kaytie]

There is actually something about this on the Lyft app (even though you can't see your rating on Lyft) which is wacky, right?
https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/213586008-Driver-and-passenger-ratings#passengerrating

I contacted Lyft to ask about passenger ratings. Ill paste the response later, but it was something like passengers not being able to see their average rating yet (emphasis mine.) The Agent did tell me my average is 4.9; I'm guessing it's not 5 because there be been one or two times I didn't tip, or didn't tip enough.

 

[JimMIA]

I contacted Lyft to ask about passenger ratings. Ill paste the response later, but it was something like passengers not being able to see their average rating yet (emphasis mine.) The Agent did tell me my average is 4.9; I'm guessing it's not 5 because there be been one or two times I didn't tip, or didn't tip enough.

Lyft is very opaque about things like this, so it's often difficult to understand. For some reason, they provide virtually no information about anything on their app. If you want to know anything, you have to go to the Online Dashboard -- which is really a pain. And even then, stuff is hard to find.

But don't worry about your 4.9 -- that is a very high rating.

 

[Best Aunt]

General question about Uber:

(I am not in Florida, I am home.)

Note that it's about 8:00 am.

I went to settings and turned on location services and made sure it shows "while using" for Uber.

Then I opened the Uber app.

I don't see any little cars driving around.

Does that mean that there are zero Uber drivers out and about in my area right now?

If an Uber driver is transporting another passenger, would I see their car on my app?

We just got Uber and Lyft about 4 months ago. I wonder if the companies are having trouble finding drivers.

I was planning to use one of them to get to and from the eye doctor later in the week, but now I'm concerned that there won't be any drivers when I need one.

 

[AngiTN]

Lyft is very opaque about things like this, so it's often difficult to understand. For some reason, they provide virtually no information about anything on their app. If you want to know anything, you have to go to the Online Dashboard -- which is really a pain. And even then, stuff is hard to find.

But don't worry about your 4.9 -- that is a very high rating.

Not sure if you've looked at it but their online dashboard says nothing either. Not for folks who are riders only. Maybe it's different for you because it knows you are a driver too?

 

[JimMIA]

General question about Uber:

(I am not in Florida, I am home.)

Note that it's about 8:00 am.

I went to settings and turned on location services and made sure it shows "while using" for Uber.

Then I opened the Uber app.

I don't see any little cars driving around.

Does that mean that there are zero Uber drivers out and about in my area right now?

Possibly. It takes a few seconds -- sometimes a minute -- for the "ants" to show up. If you are sure your location services are active and have good signal, there may just not be anyone close.

If you need a ride, request it and you may still get a driver, even though nothing shows on your app.

If an Uber driver is transporting another passenger, would I see their car on my app?

No, and that's one reason why I said go ahead and do your ride request.

Ubers do NOT show on the rider app in several situations: the driver is not online, the driver is IN a ride at the moment, or the driver is online but has their "Destination Filter" set. Often in the early morning, drivers set destination filters in order to get a ride going toward their real "day job" or to catch rides to the airport.

In either the IN a ride or destination filter scenario, you may get an immediate ride despite not seeing ants on your app.

Uber is very good about matching dropoffs and pickups in the same area and their destination filter works very well. Lyft...not.

We just got Uber and Lyft about 4 months ago. I wonder if the companies are having trouble finding drivers.

I was planning to use one of them to get to and from the eye doctor later in the week, but now I'm concerned that there won't be any drivers when I need one.

It's possible they're spread kind of thin, but it depends on where you live. If you let us know where you are, we might be able to provide more detailed info via driver online communities.

 

[AngiTN]

General question about Uber:

(I am not in Florida, I am home.)

Note that it's about 8:00 am.

I went to settings and turned on location services and made sure it shows "while using" for Uber.

Then I opened the Uber app.

I don't see any little cars driving around.

Does that mean that there are zero Uber drivers out and about in my area right now?

If an Uber driver is transporting another passenger, would I see their car on my app?

We just got Uber and Lyft about 4 months ago. I wonder if the companies are having trouble finding drivers.

I was planning to use one of them to get to and from the eye doctor later in the week, but now I'm concerned that there won't be any drivers when I need one.

I'm not sure the size of the town where you live but I live in a fairly small city (large town?) and we have very few drivers here and we've had them for a couple of years now. I'd never rely on them for an appointment honestly. So yeah, you could really have none available, I know we can. Or very few.

 

[Lewisc]

Maybe a year ago Uber got some complaints. The cars shown driving around were hypothetical and didn't necessarily represent actual cars in the locations indicated.

Look at estimated time for car to arrive. Google maps bon mobile devices will show estimated fares and wait time for Uber and Lyft.

 

[JimMIA]

Not sure if you've looked at it but their online dashboard says nothing either. Not for folks who are riders only. Maybe it's different for you because it knows you are a driver too?

Yes. On those rare occasions when I go to the dashboard, it signs me in as a driver. To be honest, the only things I use the Lyft dashboard for are to change my vehicle ride preferences, or to contact support.

 

[AngiTN]

As a rider only, this is all you get on your online Dashboard (you can't even see a vehicle preference)

 

[JimMIA]

Maybe a year ago Uber got some complaints. The cars shown driving around were hypothetical and didn't necessarily represent actual cars in the locations indicated.

That's an urban legend. I look at the rider app all the time and see actual Ubers wherever the app says they are.

Look at estimated time for car to arrive. Google maps bon mobile devices will show estimated fares and wait time for Uber and Lyft.

Good suggestion, and I think those estimates are pretty accurate.

 

[Lewisc]

I don't think it's urban legend. I'll try and find a link. It was done to show better availability of cars vs Lyft.

 

[JimMIA]

I don't think it's urban legend. I'll try and find a link. It was done to show better availability of cars vs Lyft.

Uber has done some sneaky things in the past to thwart law enforcement sting operations, but they have supposedly stopped those now. I think with Uber's new leadership they'll stay away from silly stuff like that.

And, of course, you'll find all sorts of news stories -- even from reputable news organizations -- that prove to be untrue. One of the classics about Uber was the series of stories about how Uber allegedly tried to break a taxi strike at LGA. The media took one factoid they didn't understand and drew conclusions that were exactly the opposite of what really happened.

But I've never seen anything like that in my market. Drivers use the rider app extensively to see where there are gaps in service they might be able to fill, and I've always seen the cars where the app showed them.

 

[Best Aunt]

Thank you for the responses - very helpful.

 

[JimMIA]

Thank you for the responses - very helpful.

One other thing to check -- Sprint coverage. Uber has a partnership with Sprint and I suspect they use Sprint's system for their servers. If you don't have Sprint coverage in your area, you might not be able to get Uber at all.

I'm not sure that is true, but here in Miami we have a pretty important tourist area in the Everglades where Lyft works fine and Uber doesn't work at all. The local Uber office has tried to get that fixed and can't. I'm pretty sure that is a Sprint issue, not an Uber issue.

So if you can't get Uber, try Lyft.

 

[Best Aunt]

One other thing to check -- Sprint coverage. Uber has a partnership with Sprint and I suspect they use Sprint's system for their servers. If you don't have Sprint coverage in your area, you might not be able to get Uber at all.

I'm not sure that is true, but here in Miami we have a pretty important tourist area in the Everglades where Lyft works fine and Uber doesn't work at all. The local Uber office has tried to get that fixed and can't. I'm pretty sure that is a Sprint issue, not an Uber issue.

So if you can't get Uber, try Lyft.

Ooh, fascinating. Sprint coverage is terrible here.

 

[JimMIA]

Ooh, fascinating. Sprint coverage is terrible here.

Try Lyft. I'll bet it works fine.

 

[Best Aunt]

Possibly. It takes a few seconds -- sometimes a minute -- for the "ants" to show up. If you are sure your location services are active and have good signal, there may just not be anyone close.

If you need a ride, request it and you may still get a driver, even though nothing shows on your app.

No, and that's one reason why I said go ahead and do your ride request.

Ubers do NOT show on the rider app in several situations: the driver is not online, the driver is IN a ride at the moment, or the driver is online but has their "Destination Filter" set. Often in the early morning, drivers set destination filters in order to get a ride going toward their real "day job" or to catch rides to the airport.

In either the IN a ride or destination filter scenario, you may get an immediate ride despite not seeing ants on your app.

Uber is very good about matching dropoffs and pickups in the same area and their destination filter works very well. Lyft...not.

It's possible they're spread kind of thin, but it depends on where you live. If you let us know where you are, we might be able to provide more detailed info via driver online communities.

This was interesting and helpful - thank you.

 

[Best Aunt]

Look at estimated time for car to arrive. Google maps bon mobile devices will show estimated fares and wait time for Uber and Lyft.

Thank you for your help.