# Lyft Line fails because passengers are ignorant and uninformed...



## Markeezee (May 1, 2017)

I picked up a couple earlier, a Lyft Line ride, and after the initial pick-up, Lyft stacked another ride on top of it (should have gone to airplane mode sooner). After I was on my way to pick up the other passenger, indicating that there will be two of them, the other passenger called me immediately to inform me that there was going to be three of them total, and her exact words were, "I don't know how to add another passenger in this app".

I informed her that she should cancel her request for the Lyft Line ride (,which she did) and advised her to request regular Lyft instead because there are already two passengers in my car, which she should have known given that the app indicates how many seats are still readily available in the car requested if it is a line ride.

One of the key issues with Line and UberPool is that in general, the riders don't like to share. Ironic, given that Uber and Lyft are monikered as a _rideshare service_. Passengers want to pay bus fare prices to have a chauffeur type service and have the vehicle all to themselves. Passengers play ride share roulette that the econo-class fare they pay with line or pool will get them a non-stop ride to their destination but feel upset and slighted when another passenger comes in the mix and bets on black and ruins their solo ride.

However there are a few out there that who are honestly just *very ignorant and uninformed about using Line and Pool! 
*
In one instance a while back, I picked up two Chinese foreign exchange students who attend Cal State Long Beach from a Chinese restaurant one night from Artesia back to their dorm in Long Beach. The passenger who requested it pin-dropped a particular location and when I was about to hit "drop off", he stopped me and said "oh wait, don't end the ride, I'm just dropping my friend off here. You're going to drop me off somewhere else". I politely responded that Lyft Line doesn't work like that and it is impossible to "add" or "change" the location because Line was intended to maximize/optimize a particular route in the event Lyft stacks another ride on top of it. I told him that I need to end the ride and he needs to either request another line ride or take regular Lyft. In essence, he was still in my car already and when he requested a Lyft in the hopes of just being paired with me to make it more efficient, he was paired with another driver who was en route. He cancelled on that ride and requested I drop him off instead and will be tipped for my troubles (ride was just 2-miles away).

On the way, I lectured him that in the future, he is better suited to just take regular Lyft if he ever needs to adjust the destination or make additional stops via the app because that feature is not available under Line. This passenger, in his quest, to economize and be cheap with his ride and opting for Line was genuinely not aware or informed of Line and how it actually works. All they see is how cheap and inexpensive it is without going through the trouble of how Line could ruin their sh*t if all of a sudden I'm prompted to pick up another passenger.

Mind you, this is not just one anecdotal experience (and I'm sure other drivers out there had to contend with similar issues). I've had several Lines where the initial passenger would have this expression of confusion as to why his/her phone notifies him/her that we are en route to pick up another passenger. And when asked, "_oh wait, there is another person coming along? You're going to pick up another passenger?_". I respond by saying, "_Yeah...that is how Lyft Line works...it's just like a bus route. You pick up others along the way. Why? Didn't you know that when you requested for Line instead of regular Lyft?_". The conversation usually ends right there and the initial passenger sits their slouching in resignation, knowing he or she will be delayed to their destination. I've never had a passenger complain to me about Line or picking up another passenger when they realized they f*cked up because I passively-aggressively reflect the issue back to them that if they wanted a direct ride with no hassle, why not splurge on the couple of bucks and have requested a regular Lyft instead. For passengers to answer this question would only bring to surface their cheapness and penny pinching habit and/or their complete ignorance about how Line actually works.

In the end, these rides usually end in awkwardness amongst the passengers and drivers, and the logistical mess it creates in general. But it really is surprising that their are masses out there that are truly ignorant about how the rides for both Uber and Lyft are categorized and just sees Line/Pool as the dollar menu version of the regular combo but without the restrictions.


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## DidIDoThat (Jan 9, 2017)

I make it easy for my riders, I only pick up the smart ones that know how to take a Lyft.

I do not need to waste my time (and brain power) dealing with the beginners issues and the cheapskates. Understandably, there are some that Line is ideal for, and Line does help, but I will leave them to the new drivers trying to get their bonuses, as Line rides are the quickest way to achieve them.


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## Fubernuber (Jan 15, 2017)

The key issue to pool is drivers who take it


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## Arb Watson (Apr 6, 2017)

Markeezee said:


> I picked up a couple earlier, a Lyft Line ride, and after the initial pick-up, Lyft stacked another ride on top of it (should have gone to airplane mode sooner). After I was on my way to pick up the other passenger, indicating that there will be two of them, the other passenger called me immediately to inform me that there was going to be three of them total, and her exact words were, "I don't know how to add another passenger in this app".
> 
> I informed her that she should cancel her request for the Lyft Line ride (,which she did) and advised her to request regular Lyft instead because there are already two passengers in my car, which she should have known given that the app indicates how many seats are still readily available in the car requested if it is a line ride.
> 
> ...


Time for publishing Line for dummies.


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## Jamesp1234 (Sep 10, 2016)

Arb Watson said:


> Time for publishing Line for dummies.


If they can't read the warning screen telling them these things when they are booking....
I get the response from support that we are to educate our pax on the rules.


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## Arb Watson (Apr 6, 2017)

Jamesp1234 said:


> If they can't read the warning screen telling them these things when they are booking....
> I get the response from support that we are to educate our pax on the rules.


Ok surcharge of 10 cents per word...


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## Trump Economics (Jul 29, 2015)

Markeezee said:


> I picked up a couple earlier, a Lyft Line ride, and after the initial pick-up, Lyft stacked another ride on top of it (should have gone to airplane mode sooner). After I was on my way to pick up the other passenger, indicating that there will be two of them, the other passenger called me immediately to inform me that there was going to be three of them total, and her exact words were, "I don't know how to add another passenger in this app".
> 
> I informed her that she should cancel her request for the Lyft Line ride (,which she did) and advised her to request regular Lyft instead because there are already two passengers in my car, which she should have known given that the app indicates how many seats are still readily available in the car requested if it is a line ride.
> 
> ...


Airplane mode (best part).


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## westsidebum (Feb 7, 2015)

When they get pax nunber wrong I make the girls sit on the,guys laps. The ,asians students just giggle and do it....


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## Cigars (Dec 8, 2016)

Trump Economics said:


> Airplane mode (best part).


I tried that today after I accepted a "pool" out of the airport on destination filter after ignoring my first 2 pings thus I would lose the filter.
It causes Uber to drop the gps and not register tolls.
My "route" shows me flying beeline from Newark to Princeton.
Uber still tried to add a rider when I flicked it back on 1 mile from my destination.
Now I have to fight for the miles and tolls of my actual route instead of the straight line point to point created when I went airplane mode and turned it back on.
I think I will just go back to ignoring added on pax.

Drivers please stop picking up your second Pool/Line customer!
Just ignore the second customer and reprogram your original destination into the gps.

Reasons:
Pax dont know what it is and they get pissed off and shocked.
We dont get paid shit for a second pax. Uber/lyft keep all the cash.
Every cheap ass pax we double up takes a job away from another driver.
Every cheap pax another driver doubles up takes a job from you.
Every cheap ass pax we double up causes surge to be suppressed as they squeeze 2 customers in one car, lowering demand.
Line/Pool, if it had been done right, had an opportunity to raise driver pay as an efficiency. Instead it lowers our pay, by design.
Line/pool is an evil that must be destroyed.

Line/Pool has winners Uber and Lyft
Line/Pool has losers, drivers

If you feel compelled to take a Pool/Lyft, ignore the second pax. Let them call and text but do not communicate in return with them.
Line is even worse then pool. Every time you pick up a second pax you harm yourself.


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## Markeezee (May 1, 2017)

Cigars said:


> Drivers please stop picking up your second Pool/Line customer!
> Just ignore the second customer and reprogram your original destination into the gps.
> 
> Reasons:
> ...


Absolutely spot on!

Lyft and Uber market Line and Pool as being more environmentally conscious (more people on car means less car on the road, reducing congestions and lower emissions, equaling less pollution) and promote social interactions (more people in the car means you engage in a more all-inclusive rideshare experience.

That is all fine and dandy but as you illustrated above, Lyft and Uber benefit from these marketing ploy financially. While we are here stacked with rides, these two companies make more in booking fees and fare commissions given that these line/pool rides are treating as "one" bundled fare. Furthermore, with all the influx of new drivers, it is more viable to have each ride as regular Lyft or Uber and eliminate line/pool completely so drivers get a decent share of passengers in the general population. Pretty much a 1-to-1 ratio, 1 ride per 1 driver instead of 4-to-1 ratio, 4 stacked rides (or more depending on route) to 1 driver. In essence, ridership is spread out amongst the pool of drivers in both the Lyft and Uber platform.

At the end of the day, Lyft and Uber will get their 20~25% tier commission from each ride (along with other fees they may tack on) but having line and pool as the "dollar menu" option to choose from only encourages some of these cheap passengers. If anything, Lyft and Uber should weed out these econo-line passengers, eliminating line and pool completely simply because if you're going to pay for bus fare rate for a Lyft/Uber ride, then it follows that you should be taking the bus to begin with because quite frankly it's not within your budget or pay grade to have an on-the-call ride hailing service at your disposal.

Line and pool are for those people who commute to their McJobs and for those minimum wage earners in the retail and food service industry who cannot afford a personal vehicle of their own, having figured out that rideshare saves them a financial burden long term compared to having a car of their own. However, money that these people are saving are *expenditures* for us Lyft and Uber drivers, paying for gas, meal, maintenance, etc. And let's be honest here, when your own personal asset, a car, is your mode of financial earnings, profit margins are very narrow regardless of how efficient and smart you work the Lyft and Uber platform. There is no such thing that "savings are passed on to us" by these cheap passengers. Instead it is "burden being passed on to us--financially".

Pretty much we are the personal chauffeurs and valets for these McJob and retail/food service workers, which in turn make us lower than them in the pay grade scale because it illustrates that we are simply worth what they are willing to pay out for a Lyft/Uber ride. And if their go-to option is always going to be line and pool, it somehow reflects upon our earnings and social standings in this gig/service.

Uber and Lyft may believe that lowering rates from the driver side or offfering line/pool are going to stimulate demand. But at the end, keeping rates higher actually makes for a viable option because it weeds out those who can't afford for the pleasure of getting an in-demand vehicle as they please. If something is of importance to you, you'll pay the premium or find other cheaper alternatives . If somehow raising rates alienates the McJobs and retail/food service industry that they return to public transit like the bus, Metro, etc., then it would be a benefit for the public transit sector as they will see in uptick in ridership. Or if they decide to save up and buy their own personal vehicles, that is an uptick for car dealership.

Cause and effect, and maintaining a price sensitive that is reasonable for both passengers and drivers--weeding out the cheap passengers and eliminating line/pool will have a "bleeding effect" that will stimulate another sector of the transportation category as they decide it is out of their financial reach to hail a rideshare. But what's important is that, those who are willing to pay a premium for regular Lyft/Uber ride are kept intact, knowing who are willing to use the platform for a reasonable rate.


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## ManOfTroy (Apr 23, 2017)

I only do Lyft Line if it is at a 50% surge or higher, and then will do the airplane mode that Mr. Trump Economics advised after picking up the initial passenger(s). I know for those working on bonuses (sign up, power driver, etc) that they have to pick up pretty much every ping but Lyft Line passengers need to be trained by having all their requests refused, which will then create prime time, which then they have screwed themselves and will end up paying a higher fare than if they just requested regular Lyft in the first place.


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