# Why is Lyft Blocking a Regular Passenger From Choosing Me?



## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

Has anyone else experienced this?

For 2 years, I have picked up a passenger at 4:20pm almost every weekday. I park 1 block away in the same spot, and wait for her to "ping" me.

*Yesterday and Today*, she couldn't "see" me on her Lyft passenger app. She'd text me saying, "Allen, are you there? I don't see you!".

So I drive over and pick her up from work at the usual time. While we're riding to the commuter train station, she's trying to PING me still. I'm still not visible on her app, but she continues trying anyway.

Meanwhile, during that 15 minute drive, I'm getting PINGS from everyone but the passenger in my back seat. And I'm pressing the "X" (ignore) button every time.

So, for some reason, Lyft is no longer "mating" me with this passenger. We give each other 5 stars.. so I know a "low rating" can't be the culprit.

Could it be that Lyft is doing this to me/her for some specific reason? Has anyone else experienced this with a regular passenger client?

I sent a "help request" to Lyft this evening, but the responses I receive from veteran drivers here in this forum, are often far more helpful! So thanks in advance, if you can provide constructive advice with this issue.

-Allen in Chicagoland


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

Sorry dude, but she one-starred you. 
The honeymoon is over. Time to move on.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Lyft & Uber do not want Bonds to form between Riders & Passengers.

They want a cold voided experience that is detached so that you will be easily replaced with a machine.

Capiche ?


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## Over/Uber (Jan 2, 2017)

Both platforms match riders and drivers randomly. It was only coincidence that you would get her ride everyday at 4:20, yes, even for two years.

You had her get in for the ride without being matched on the app, tried to get the match while she rode to her destination, and then sent a support request to Lyft? I hope you didn’t mention that she rode in your car without a ping. That will get you deactivated.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Yea
Right !


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## Iann (Oct 17, 2017)

Set your df to her address next time.


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## beezlewaxin (Feb 10, 2015)

I have experienced this and it was a ratings issue. Both my pax and I remember rating 5* but the Lyft rep said there was a 3* or less rating that was preventing a match. They fixed it while we were on the line and asked us to try again and I did get the ping.

If your pax is unable to ping you the next time you pick her up I suggest that you call Lyft tech support and tell them what the problem is, *while your pax is in the car with you.*

Make sure they know that both you and your passenger are on the line and are willing to follow all troubleshooting instructions.

Maybe mention how important this issue is to you and your passenger and that you're both willing to stay on the phone for as long as it takes to get this resolved.

When this happened to me it took the entire drive for Lyft to figure out what the problem was and fix it. We verified it was fixed when I got the ping from my pax..

Don't let them (or this thread) give you any fake solutions like, "Your account has been refreshed and it should be working in 15-30mins... Can I help you with anything else? Goodbye now."



Spoiler: This same situation happened to me



This exact situation happened to me, although it was a pax I had only driven one time prior.

During the drive, with the passenger in my car, I contacted Lyft phone support and explained that I had a customer in the car who is unable to ping me. I asked the customer support rep to please pull up both of our accounts and fix the problem.

We pulled off to side streets a couple of times to isolate ourselves from other drivers but still no ping from this pax.

The support dude did get it fixed after about 15-20mins and he said the problem was the passenger had rated me a 3* or less and that is what was preventing the ping from coming to me.

My pax of course said she rated me 5* and I believe her. I did not personally watch her rate me and who can really even trust that the app is doing what we tell it 100% of the time.

In your case I think it is likely there was some type of mistake or app glitch that caused her to rate you 3* or less, even if she intended and perhaps even remembers in detail that she rated you 5*.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

Over/Uber said:


> Both platforms match riders and drivers randomly. It was only coincidence that you would get her ride everyday at 4:20, yes, even for two years.
> 
> You had her get in for the ride without being matched on the app, tried to get the match while she rode to her destination, and then sent a support request to Lyft? I hope you didn't mention that she rode in your car without a ping. That will get you deactivated.


Yes.. I told Lyft that I took her to the train-station for free..for 2 days. (Her job pays for her Lyft rides.) At any rate, it appears that Lyft did make me and Karlene RADIOCATIVE to each other...for SOME reason. Here's an email I just received.

*Meagan* (Lyft)

Hi Allen,

*Thank you for your feedback and for bringing this to my attention. I've gone ahead and re-enabled future pairings between you and passenger Karlene.*

Best,

Meagan
Lyft Support 
help.lyft.com



beezlewaxin said:


> I have experienced this and it was a ratings issue. Both my pax and I remember rating 5* but the Lyft rep said there was a 3* or less rating that was preventing a match. They fixed it while we were on the line and asked us to try again and I did get the ping.
> 
> If your pax is unable to ping you the next time you pick her up I suggest that you call Lyft tech support and tell them what the problem is, *while your pax is in the car with you.*
> 
> ...


Thank-you for the detailed explanation of how this happened to you, and what you did to resolve it, beezlewaxin. As you see from my note above, Lyft says that me and my regular passenger have been "re-paired". We'll see what happens this afternoon at 4:18pm.

This is probably a glitch in the Lyft system. Perhaps drivers who feel they're not getting enough rides all of a sudden, have had a block of prior riders denied to them, for future rides. I say a "glitch", because I can't think of a reason why Lyft would do this intentionally. There are easier ways for the company to "punish" a given driver...I think.


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

It's been going on for a while, a lot of times on Lyft if you are not the only car for 10 mins or so, they wont Match you again.

It happens with uber sometimes but Lyft is much more strict.

Lyft will also not pay you for a fare if they detect it was prearranged and considered fraud to them as well. 

It's good to get a square reader as well


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## beezlewaxin (Feb 10, 2015)

Ask Lyft why you were "un-paired". 
Chances are you will get a non-answer. You can try calling in and giving them the support ticket # from the email response you posted. This will allow the rep to pull up the ticket so you can continue from there.

Simply ask, "What does that mean?"

After they have explained to you what the email obviously means, ask, "How did this passenger get unmatched from me? Specifically, please..."

Or just enjoy that they fixed it and carry on.. Since getting real info from Lyft about a specific issue is almost always a futile endeavor..


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

beezlewaxin said:


> Ask Lyft why you were "un-paired".
> Chances are you will get a non-answer. You can try calling in and giving them the support ticket # from the email response you posted. This will allow the rep to pull up the ticket so you can continue from there.
> 
> Simply ask, "What does that mean?"
> ...


Today, me and my passenger were paired in the normal/usual manner. Apparently, the Lyft Cust Service person did exactly as she said.

Back when I was full-time Lyft, I would have pursued this to find the underlying cause, as you suggest. But I'll just treat it as a "glitch" and not be concerned. I have enough gray hairs from doing full-time Lyft in 2016.


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## KK2929 (Feb 9, 2017)

Nice thought to put your day on hold to be available at a certain time and area for her pickup. But tohunt4me is correct. Neither company wants this type of connection between paxs & driver. You will have to driver her outside the system and on your insurance policy. I'm surprised that you did it for 2 years without a problem.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

tohunt4me said:


> Lyft & Uber do not want Bonds to form between Riders & Passengers.
> 
> They want a cold voided experience that is detached so that you will be easily replaced with a machine.
> 
> Capiche ?


Very close, but not quite. A bond like what the OP is TRYING to do is one step away from cutting lyft out of the transaction all together,

Which is something the adamantly are against, losing their cut of the pie.


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## The Entomologist (Sep 23, 2018)

Business cards, champ.

Get a squareup reader.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

They dont mind stealing OUR CUT

They dont mind stealing OUR CUT


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## kcdrvr15 (Jan 10, 2017)

according to lyft and uber, the riders are the drivers customers, not lyfts or ubers. these rideshare companies claim they are only acting as a booking agent. so you can't steal customers from lyft or uber because they don't have any, this is the argument they claim in court to avoid all the tax responsibilities, employment laws, ect.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

" TECHNOLOGY COMPANY "

" TECHNOLOGY COMPANY "

The " HELPFUL" middle man ( meddle man) who advises " NO NEED TO TIP"
"LOWER RATES MEAN MORE MONEY " !
Ask for water & mints . . .

Uber is full of B.S. !


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## x100 (Dec 7, 2015)

tohunt4me said:


> Lyft & Uber do not want Bonds to form between Riders & Passengers.
> 
> They want a cold voided experience that is detached so that you will be easily replaced with a machine.
> 
> Capiche ?


Whats capeache ? Tu capisce ?


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## DexNex (Apr 18, 2015)

Pre-arranged rides are illegal and a violation of the TOS. You were unpaired as a security feature. Both Uber, and Lyft, see what you are doing as fraudulent.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

KK2929 said:


> Nice thought to put your day on hold to be available at a certain time and area for her pickup. But tohunt4me is correct. Neither company wants this type of connection between paxs & driver. You will have to driver her outside the system and on your insurance policy. I'm surprised that you did it for 2 years without a problem.


So Lyft's primary goal is NOT to keep the passenger satisfied? Satisfied passengers = More $$$ for Lyft.



DexNex said:


> Pre-arranged rides are illegal and a violation of the TOS. You were unpaired as a security feature. Both Uber, and Lyft, see what you are doing as fraudulent.


Why should Lyft care if this commuter prefers me? The company gets paid, whether it's me or another driver.


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## Larry$$$ (Aug 27, 2018)

So you banging her..that kinda creepy to wait around for a specific person.


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## 240BIGWINO (Jul 1, 2018)

Larry$$$ said:


> So you banging her..that kinda creepy to wait around for a specific person.


Probably would like to considering he's been driving her for free while the problem went on. Something very very weird here.


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## fubermotion (Oct 19, 2017)

Both Uber and Lyft’s and algorithms assume that your relationship will evolve to a cash payment. Both of them are trying to prevent that. I’ve had it happen to me many times after only 2 consecutive matches. Happened just yesterday as a matter of fact.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

240BIGWINO said:


> Probably would like to considering he's been driving her for free while the problem went on. Something very very weird here.


Lyft phucked up. I'm not going to make my passenger pay for their glitches. If she and I don't connect, she misses her train into Chicago.

On the days when I'm not available (like tomorrow), I let her know, so she can request a Lyft pick-up earlier than 4:15pm.



fubermotion said:


> Both Uber and Lyft's and algorithms assume that your relationship will evolve to a cash payment. Both of them are trying to prevent that. I've had it happen to me many times after only 2 consecutive matches. Happened just yesterday as a matter of fact.


In my case, the passenger's employer pays her Lyft and Chicago Metra train commuting costs. All is billed to the corporate card.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

I'm honestly surprised you went 2 years without having this issue. They typically will unmatch you from passenger after two or three matches. Uber does it too. Besides the whole cash thing, if you would have tried in terms of incentives and bonuses. Drivers were having their friends order rides from them to meet minimum ride requirements, resulting in them getting paid out on a bonus.


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## 240BIGWINO (Jul 1, 2018)

AllenChicago said:


> Lyft phucked up. I'm not going to make my passenger pay for their glitches. If she and I don't connect, she misses her train into Chicago.
> 
> On the days when I'm not available (like tomorrow), I let her know, so she can request a Lyft pick-up earlier than 4:15pm.
> 
> In my case, the passenger's employer pays her Lyft and Chicago Metra train commuting costs. All is billed to the corporate card.


You are nuts and Lyft certainly made the right business decision when they unmatched you from this customer.


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

beezlewaxin said:


> After they have explained to you what the email obviously means, ask, "How did this passenger get unmatched from me? Specifically, please..."


They won't tell you. Why? There are only 3 possibilities:

1. You low rated her. Doesn't sound like that happened.

2. She low rated you. If true, they will protect her and not tell you.

3. Glitch in the system, or it was done on purpose. If true, they would never admit it.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

fubermotion said:


> Both Uber and Lyft's and algorithms assume that your relationship will evolve to a cash payment. Both of them are trying to prevent that. I've had it happen to me many times after only 2 consecutive matches. Happened just yesterday as a matter of fact.


After several communications, with many wrong answers from Lyft Support, I've finally found out that the answer you gave is absolutely correct.

Late last year, Lyft really began to crack down on disallowing passengers from getting the same driver more than a certain number of times, in a certain amount of time.

The "counter" can be reset by a Lyft Support person, which allows a specific passenger-driver matchup to be available again. But after a couple of weeks (in my case) Lyft's system once again makes you invisible to the ride-requestor/passenger....even if you're sitting right outside their door.

I still don't know why Lyft is against Passenger-Driver mating when the passenger-driver are happy with their arrangement. Lots of guesses from people I speak to outside of Lyft, but nothing in Lyft's policy manual to explain the company's rationale.

If this were not a corporate account, I'd do a "cash basis" arrangement with employees at this company.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

AllenChicago said:


> After several communications, with many wrong answers from Lyft Support, I've finally found out that the answer you gave is absolutely correct.
> 
> Late last year, Lyft really began to crack down on disallowing passengers from getting the same driver more than a certain number of times, in a certain amount of time.
> 
> ...


In certain instances what they're fighting so hard to prevent, they're only encouraging.


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## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

Daisey77 said:


> In certain instances what they're fighting so hard to prevent, they're only encouraging.


It's what happens when companies get too bloated. Managers keep formulating things that make them look important to the organization. Eventually, company revenue decreases to the point where they start re-thinking existing policies, instead of continually adding new crap that nobody wants.


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

I have personally ordered the same driver multiple times, never had a problem. Did it on purpose. Ordered rides for my daughter... a friend was closer to pick her up, so I helped him get his bonuses by making the ride official thru Lyft or Uber.


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## DexNex (Apr 18, 2015)

AllenChicago said:


> After several communications, with many wrong answers from Lyft Support, I've finally found out that the answer you gave is absolutely correct.
> 
> Late last year, Lyft really began to crack down on disallowing passengers from getting the same driver more than a certain number of times, in a certain amount of time.
> 
> ...


Pre-arranged rides are often fraudulent at worst, and a violation of local regulations at best. Pax who want pre-arranged rides with the same driver should be using a preferred town-car service.


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## Cigars (Dec 8, 2016)

AllenChicago said:


> I still don't know why Lyft is against Passenger-Driver mating when the passenger-driver are happy with their arrangement. Lots of guesses from people I speak to outside of Lyft, but nothing in Lyft's policy manual to explain the company's rationale.
> 
> If this were not a corporate account, I'd do a "cash basis" arrangement with employees at this company.


You answered the question yourself.
Neither Uber nor Lyft want the passenger to have a relationship with the driver. (Although Uber learned this much earlier)
They want the "relationship" with the app and algorithm.
Both would prefer the pax to receive a different driver each and every time.

In your situation, if the pax wasn't on a corporate account, she would pay you in cash and you would undercut Lyft.
Uber/Lyft is the only situation I know of where the customer cannot request a particular "contractor".
If you were a 1099 programmer or carpenter and the customer was happy, they would request you again.
A pax cannot say to Uber/Lyft, please send driver "Allen", I was happy with his services and would like to hire him again.

I personally believe that a court should decide that if you cannot request a particular "contractor", than that person is not a contractor but an employee.

Uber/Lyft's goal is to make the driver a meaningless part of the equation. All "good faith" generated by the driver does not go to the driver but towards the owners of a social engineering algorithm. This alone should cause courts to determine that you are not a real contractor.


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

Cigars said:


> I personally believe that a court should decide that if you cannot request a particular "contractor", than that person is not a contractor but an employee


Agreed.

If I want to request the same plumber, or taxi driver, or pilot, or therapist, or attorney.....


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## El Jefe de Hialeah (Jun 11, 2018)

Stalking, it's called stalking. Lucky charges have not been pressed, you should be thanking Lyft


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

AllenChicago said:


> Has anyone else experienced this?
> 
> For 2 years, I have picked up a passenger at 4:20pm almost every weekday. I park 1 block away in the same spot, and wait for her to "ping" me.
> 
> ...


I'm just guessing but uber has mentioned in the past rides from family won't count towards quest bonuses. Maybe somehow because you were getting the same one over and over? Were you still getting requests from other paxes? I'm sorry but I had to say you were meeting up with her at 4:20....


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## fubermotion (Oct 19, 2017)

Cigars said:


> You answered the question yourself.
> Neither Uber nor Lyft want the passenger to have a relationship with the driver. (Although Uber learned this much earlier)
> They want the "relationship" with the app and algorithm.
> Both would prefer the pax to receive a different driver each and every time.
> ...


 Absolutely. I also see lots of evidence that both Uber and Lyft like to spread rides around to different drivers. Lyft even more so. It's very common for Lyft to make a lux or lux black pax wait an additional 15 minutes for a distant driver, even when an available driver is much closer. It's absolutely ludicrous and moronic.


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