# Lyft ETA needs major improvement



## Hitchhiker (Mar 6, 2018)

So this scenario happens way too often. I accept a ride request that says 14 mins away. After I click accept, the GPS now tells me the passenger is 17-18 mins away. I don't accept rides 15 mins or longer, so this is annoying & totally unacceptable. To make matters worse, the passenger sometimes cancels right before I arrive. Do I get the $5 cancel fee? Nope. 

Explanation given in the app: The rider cancelled this ride because you were scheduled to arrive later than your original E.T.A, so the ride isn't eligible for a cancellation fee. Rides like this one don't affect your acceptance rate. I drive at night with no traffic & I don't make unscheduled stops. So it's not my problem Lyft is giving false ETA's to passengers, as well as drivers. 

Granted, Lyft reps are always nice & refund me when I call & complain about the total miscarriage of justice. But I shouldn't have to jump through hoops by waiting 20 mins on hold when I call, just to get a $5 refund of a cancellation fee that should have been applied correctly in the first place. And the rep tells me she will take the cancellation off , so it doesn't hurt my rating? Hurt my rating? I'm not the one who cancelled. What about the clause in the app that said: "Rides like this one don't affect your acceptance rate"? False advertising I guess.

Does this happen to anyone else? Thoughts & suggestions appreciated.


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## BlueManOC (Jun 21, 2018)

I think I saw a post that they might take away estimated ride time not completely sure though


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## Jufkii (Sep 17, 2015)

Thoughts and Suggestions? Unless a mighty big Prime is showing, decline any ETA more than 5 minutes away with Lyft. At least if you're interested in making a profit with this gig.


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## Dice Man (May 21, 2018)

Hitchhiker said:


> So this scenario happens way too often. I accept a ride request that says 14 mins away. After I click accept, the GPS now tells me the passenger is 17-18 mins away. I don't accept rides 15 mins or longer, so this is annoying & totally unacceptable. To make matters worse, the passenger sometimes cancels right before I arrive. Do I get the $5 cancel fee? Nope.
> 
> Explanation given in the app: The rider cancelled this ride because you were scheduled to arrive later than your original E.T.A, so the ride isn't eligible for a cancellation fee. Rides like this one don't affect your acceptance rate. I drive at night with no traffic & I don't make unscheduled stops. So it's not my problem Lyft is giving false ETA's to passengers, as well as drivers.
> 
> ...


Is your area so dead.
Only desperate drivers take 15 min away pickups.
You lose money on these trips.


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## Y0d4 (Feb 6, 2018)

Dice Man said:


> Is your area so dead.
> Only desperate drivers take 15 min away pickups.
> You lose money on these trips.


For real I get annoyed even taking a 10 min one even 8


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## woodywho (Sep 4, 2017)

Dice Man said:


> Is your area so dead.
> Only desperate drivers take 15 min away pickups.
> You lose money on these trips.





Y0d4 said:


> For real I get annoyed even taking a 10 min one even 8


When you live in the burbs, almost every ping is 15+ mins. away. Lately I have been getting 28-40 min pings..... never ever would I even entertain them, but the kicker is that same pax will ping you 4-6 times like you're going to change your mind and chase that carrot.


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## LAbDog65 (Nov 29, 2016)

woodywho said:


> When you live in the burbs, almost every ping is 15+ mins. away. Lately I have been getting 28-40 min pings..... never ever would I even entertain them, but the kicker is that same pax will ping you 4-6 times like you're going to change your mind and chase that carrot.


I understand about the time. When you are not in big cities 10 minutes is average, sometimes 15. I never do more than 10 on Lyft. I will do 15 or so on uber since in my area they pay time/mileage for anything over 10. I never had a problem getting an uber cancel fee but you are right about Lyft not giving the fees


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## Hitchhiker (Mar 6, 2018)

Jufkii said:


> Thoughts and Suggestions? Unless a mighty big Prime is showing, decline any ETA more than 5 minutes away with Lyft. At least if you're interested in making a profit with this gig.


Waiting for rides 5 mins or less is losing $, there will be more waiting than driving. My area is not dead pax wise, but too many drivers. Pax app always shows 8 drivers & there's probably more than that, since 8 drivers is always shown.

I'm not going to sit around all night waiting for the close pickup, I get plenty of close pickups when I drop off at train stations. So my pickup times average out well under 10 mins. In any event, I'm not losing any $ in the few 10+ min pings I accept, while driving a Toyota Prius. Fact if the matter is, that 10+ min ping is better than waiting & doing no ride.


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## fairsailing (May 16, 2016)

I set my phone resolution smaller before I start a shift, it allows me to see the map better and make my own etas.


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## Jufkii (Sep 17, 2015)

Hitchhiker said:


> Waiting for rides 5 mins or less is losing $, there will be more waiting than driving. My area is not dead pax wise, but too many drivers. Pax app always shows 8 drivers & there's probably more than that, since 8 drivers is always shown.
> 
> I'm not going to sit around all night waiting for the close pickup, I get plenty of close pickups when I drop off at train stations. So my pickup times average out well under 10 mins. In any event, I'm not losing any $ in the few 10+ min pings I accept, while driving a Toyota Prius. Fact if the matter is, that 10+ min ping is better than waiting & doing no ride.


Every city different of course. Lyft is lousy in my city. Zero Prime plus most pings are well over 10 minutes. More money by accepting more pings along with less waiting,but zero profit after factoring in total mileage expenses . Uber is better but not by a whole lot. Glad it works for you. Wish i could say the same here.


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## William Fenton (Jan 1, 2018)

For lyft I never take rides more than 5 mins away because the ride will be given to another driver before I get there. With uber I do take ride up to 10 mins away because uber does not reassign rides to another driver.
If lyft would stop giving rides away I would take the 10 min eta rides.
Lyft's eta does not allow for red lights, traffic, rpad construction or anything else that might slow you down.


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## moJohoJo (Feb 19, 2017)

Hitchhiker said:


> So this scenario happens way too often. I accept a ride request that says 14 mins away. After I click accept, the GPS now tells me the passenger is 17-18 mins away. I don't accept rides 15 mins or longer, so this is annoying & totally unacceptable. To make matters worse, the passenger sometimes cancels right before I arrive. Do I get the $5 cancel fee? Nope.
> 
> Explanation given in the app: The rider cancelled this ride because you were scheduled to arrive later than your original E.T.A, so the ride isn't eligible for a cancellation fee. Rides like this one don't affect your acceptance rate. I drive at night with no traffic & I don't make unscheduled stops. So it's not my problem Lyft is giving false ETA's to passengers, as well as drivers.
> 
> ...


Yep . Lyft cheated me 9 out of 10 times for no shows and passenger cancellations . That combined with their annoying displays of dissatifaction on your acceptance rating . They also lied or tricked me into accepting trip requests by saying they are 5 minutes away but when it rolled over to navigation it would say 8 or even 11 minutes away instead . Dump Lyft . I feel 100 times better now after Lyft was dumped . They don't care if you lose money just as long as they make money . Delete them. you'll be a lot happier you did . LYFT _ SATAN .


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## kingcorey321 (May 20, 2018)

Hitchhiker said:


> Waiting for rides 5 mins or less is losing $, there will be more waiting than driving. My area is not dead pax wise, but too many drivers. Pax app always shows 8 drivers & there's probably more than that, since 8 drivers is always shown.
> 
> I'm not going to sit around all night waiting for the close pickup, I get plenty of close pickups when I drop off at train stations. So my pickup times average out well under 10 mins. In any event, I'm not losing any $ in the few 10+ min pings I accept, while driving a Toyota Prius. Fact if the matter is, that 10+ min ping is better than waiting & doing no ride.


i do see your logic with accepting longer eta. but its not a perfect word with lyft. you are *****ing about it right now unless i am missing something? stop accepting them over 10. i suggest 7 max.


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## Gary275 (Jan 26, 2018)

Add the fact that Lyft paxholes are never ready and come out 3 to 4.30 mins out


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## moJohoJo (Feb 19, 2017)

Hitchhiker said:


> So this scenario happens way too often. I accept a ride request that says 14 mins away. After I click accept, the GPS now tells me the passenger is 17-18 mins away. I don't accept rides 15 mins or longer, so this is annoying & totally unacceptable. To make matters worse, the passenger sometimes cancels right before I arrive. Do I get the $5 cancel fee? Nope.
> 
> Explanation given in the app: The rider cancelled this ride because you were scheduled to arrive later than your original E.T.A, so the ride isn't eligible for a cancellation fee. Rides like this one don't affect your acceptance rate. I drive at night with no traffic & I don't make unscheduled stops. So it's not my problem Lyft is giving false ETA's to passengers, as well as drivers.
> 
> ...


Yeah. Dump Lyft . They pull the same crap on me all the time . No more .?I dumped them . They don't give a hoot about u losing money, it's all about them making money . Now you know why trip requests are so far away....they can't get any drivers dumb enough to drive for them .


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## Tnasty (Mar 23, 2016)

They sure do some scummy stuff and they enjoy the power they have on those that worry.


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## moJohoJo (Feb 19, 2017)

Tnasty said:


> They sure do some scummy stuff and they enjoy the power they have on those that worry.


Your acceptance rate is too low, you P.O.S. slave - Lyft


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

OP, your complaint is echoed throughout lyft driverdom.

As they have continued to cut the pay, I have continued to cut my expenses. Which means I am willing to travel less and less for free to pick up. 2 years ago I was getting paid more, and my AR was 90-100%. Now.... much less.

My current limit is 5 mins and 1.5 miles. Anything over 7 minutes, and the chances of the ride being redispatched are hi, so why bother?

I would rather sit around for 5 minutes and then get a 3 min ping, instead of driving 12 minutes to a cancelled ride.

When they give me a 5 min ping and it suddenly becomes 7 min/1.9 miles, I cancel. They can b**** at me all they want, I won't fall for their illegal bait and switch tactics. I will be happy to go to arbitration if they terminate me for cancelling these rides. In the meantime, Uber gives me pings that not only show time but distance to pickup as well.


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## Roadster4 (Oct 10, 2016)

Isn’t Lyft making Uber indispensable?


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## moJohoJo (Feb 19, 2017)

Mista T said:


> OP, your complaint is echoed throughout lyft driverdom.
> 
> As they have continued to cut the pay, I have continued to cut my expenses. Which means I am willing to travel less and less for free to pick up. 2 years ago I was getting paid more, and my AR was 90-100%. Now.... much less.
> 
> ...


 That's exactly what Lyft did to me & i mean exactly ! Each trip request was stated between 3 and 8 minutes away but when it rolled over to Navigation or i could calculate miles and time in my head it would take to pick up location it was much further then what Lyft stated . I honestly think that Lyft thinks we are stupidest people on Earth .
Well, anyways back to my story....i then said to myself, from here on out i will refuse each and every trip request if i am lied to or tricked into accepting . They think I'm a fool . Well, no I'm not . Screw them ! Next 4 trip requests they underestimated distance by miles and each time i cancelled . Next thing i know i get deactivated on the spot then i get an email from Lyft saying how they had warned me about cancelling but little did they know it was the best thing that happened to me . That text was funny and the inside of me chuckled . Finally.....i can rest my head without ever having to even think about Lyft again . Uber for me now . No more unpaid no shows or unpaid driver cancellations after driving for 5 minutes to pick up passenger(s) . No more threats and no more " your acceptance rate is too low " . No more texting me with " Don't text and Drive " ( while I'm driving, of course ) . No more annoyances . No more Lyft and i never felt better .


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## Gtown Driver (Aug 26, 2018)

Best thing to do is just cut your min distance for pick up. The first day I drove for Uber I had another driver tell me to never pick up a request more than 9 minutes away. If you just stick to not picking up anything more than 10 minutes away that should cover you for how much you are overcompensating on their ETA issue.

I usually stick to no more than 12 min requests and usually work out. Last 12 min request I got was about a 20 dollar ride and tipped me 20 bucks so that worked out pretty well. Notice Lyft customers so far at least bother to tip compared to Uber drivers.


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## moJohoJo (Feb 19, 2017)

kingcorey321 said:


> i do see your logic with accepting longer eta. but its not a perfect word with lyft. you are *****ing about it right now unless i am missing something? stop accepting them over 10. i suggest 7 max.


7 is 12 with, Lyft . Make it 3 minutes and if your lucky with Lyft, it'll be 7 minutes .


Gtown Driver said:


> Best thing to do is just cut your min distance for pick up. The first day I drove for Uber I had another driver tell me to never pick up a request more than 9 minutes away. If you just stick to not picking up anything more than 10 minutes away that should cover you for how much you are overcompensating on their ETA issue.
> 
> I usually stick to no more than 12 min requests and usually work out. Last 12 min request I got was about a 20 dollar ride and tipped me 20 bucks so that worked out pretty well. Notice Lyft customers so far at least bother to tip compared to Uber drivers.


NICE TRY, CORPORATE .


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## Steve_TX (Feb 2, 2016)

I had a unique and somewhat opposite occurance Saturday afternoon:

Out in the 'burbs, I get a ping approx. 10 mins. away. I accept and drive to the pax. About 3 mins away from pax, the Lyft app and text msg. notify me the pax has cancelled. I was initially angered, but got another pax request immediately who was directly across the street from me. I just had to make a legal u-turn to pick them up. Decent trip back into downtown (~$15.00 +$2.00 tip). Later, I also notice Lyft gave me a $5.00 cancellation fee for the previous pax who cancelled. How 'bow dah?


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## Gtown Driver (Aug 26, 2018)

I love that Lyft gives you the whole 5 bucks. Best thing about their cancel fee even if it's harder to shuffle the fee. Uber's 3.75 with their 25 percent cut on a cancelled ride is so lame. They don't need to pocket transactions where a pax isn't moving on wheels.


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## dens (Apr 25, 2018)

I thought I was the only one who getting many reassigned pickups within firrst couple of minutes after accepting the ride. (talk about lyft smooth operation..lol) I don’t try my luck anymore unless eta 3 min or less and/or 45+min ride. My Lyft rating 4.97, acceptance rate nearly zero and earnings around 15% from what I make on Uber.


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## SubaruLegacy (Jan 17, 2018)

Lyft seriously just straight up lies to get pax to order rides. I was stuck in bumper to bumper gridlock and got a request that said 5 mins. As soon as waze loaded it was 16 minutes. Now I was stuck in the traffic whether I took the ride or not, so I decided not to cancel and hoped I'd get the $5. Ended up getting there 18 minutes later, the pax waited, there was a 2nd pax in the shared ride who 21 minutes. but seriously that 5 mins? even with ZERO traffic it would've been tough to make that (it was on the other side of a bridge). and it wasn't like the traffic had just appeared and lyft was just slow to process it, that traffic was due to construction and had been on the map for at least 2 hours. Lyft also needs to stop lying when they give you a queued ride. Pax are always pissed how long it took to pick them up, and I'd be pissed to if I was a pax. I've had queued rides come in, when I'm still 10+ mins from destination.


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