# Starbursts all over!



## Ian Richard Markham (Jan 13, 2019)

When a surging area takes the shape of a perfectly or almost perfectly round circle, also known as a starburst, it means that the area is dead except for one particular small section no bigger than a few blocks. And those few blocks will be pinging harder than your mom. I'm showing this screenshot of the starbursts happening in Dallas right now as people leave the fireworks display viewing areas.

It should be recognized that the starburst is the most difficult type of surge to capture due to the quantity and density of trip origins.

As for all you ants that think you're cool if you capture surge in one area of town and go spend it in another area; you can forget about it if you captured your surge in a starburst because as I previously mentioned the area surrounding a starburst is dead and no rider surge will be enough to cover what you made out with at the center of the starburst. So step up to the plate and find your rider at the surge center even though it's difficult and may take some time or else you will be carrying the surge around with you for the rest of the night. Also if I hear about anyone driving around tonight doing Lyft trips while staying online with Uber to maintain your starburst surge I may completely loose it.








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## Mr. Yuck (Jul 31, 2017)

There was one of those in Asheville last night centered on the empty UNCA campus. I noticed it around 0245 and it was still there 3 hours later. Value fluctuated between 1.50 and 12.75. There really wasn't anybody there. 

Most of the bar employees use Lyft so I took a couple home and used my saved surge on an airport run. I suspect that if I go back in daylight today that I will find a cell tower right where the middle of it was. That's always what I've found with these in the past and it's only been happening since new surge. 

I need to start writing down everything about the nights this happens. I know there have been big surge events much earlier on some of those nights. And thunderstorms. And delayed earnings info. And I also know there is nobody there. 

I miss the old lightning bolt on the app that told you there was a surge off the visible map. 

The ghost of surge.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

I don't know about your area, but in my town the starburst surges often happen in areas that will take half an hour to drive in and half an hour to drive out with the passenger.... rib cook off spot, food truck friday park, etc.... Not worth it for $8.25. I'll drive near the border and skim off a smaller border sticky surge and then run Lyft and keep Uber running if it is a surge caused by the event ending and everyone wanting to go home. If no pings come, I'll take a nap.

If everyone seems to want to go TO the event instead of FROM the event, I'll go HOME.

Sometimes it surges in town and they close off half the streets in town for a special event. I'll stay home then too. When it takes 30 minutes to go a few blocks and basically every ride goes through those blocks it isn't worth it.

Bar closing surge is good. Special event surge is worthless in my town. You'll make more driving during non-surge busy times.

I felt differently when it was 5x-11x surge. Those days are gone. Today is the day of $1.25 to $10 surge, with the smaller numbers more common.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

Ian Richard Markham said:


> When a surging area takes the shape of a perfectly or almost perfectly round circle, also known as a starburst, it means that the area is dead except for one particular small section no bigger than a few blocks. And those few blocks will be pinging harder than your mom. I'm showing this screenshot of the starbursts happening in Dallas right now as people leave the fireworks display viewing areas.
> 
> It should be recognized that the starburst is the most difficult type of surge to capture due to the quantity and density of trip origins.
> 
> ...


I used to like Starburst, especially the orange and strawberry ones. Then you'd get a cherry one, which are rank. And you'd think, "oh no, a cherry one". Then another orange or strawberry one and everything would be ok again.Good times.


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## Ian Richard Markham (Jan 13, 2019)

@Mr. Yuck interesting what you are saying about the cell phone towers. I know the Uber app requires some kind of insane connection that is active all the time. My Uber profile will not even load when i'm in my home town of Roswell, NM because they don't have these connections there. I'm thinking that maybe if you are too close to these towers the system doesn't recognize you so it looks like a surge.

@Trafficat You are right in that starburst surges happen a lot way out in the middle of no where. That happens here in DFW also, just way out on the outer banks of the metroplex. I'm guessing that three friends leave a dinner party in three Ubers and that little bit of activity causes a vacuum. I stay away from these because you are right, it would take too long to drive to.



Mr. Yuck said:


> I miss the old lightning bolt on the app that told you there was a surge off the visible map.
> 
> The ghost of surge.


I don't think I had started driving yet when they had the lightning bolt surge indicator you are talking about but that is a really good idea. I have blown by surges that were just outside my view on the map.



The Gift of Fish said:


> I used to like Starburst, especially the orange and strawberry ones. Then you'd get a cherry one, which are rank. And you'd think, "oh no, a cherry one". Then another orange or strawberry one and everything would be ok again.Good times.


Dude! The cherry ones are the best! Same with skittles!


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## Mr. Yuck (Jul 31, 2017)

Having trouble uploading but this is what I see after taking an omelette break. It's centered on a rural prison. Cool.









Odds are there is no mass escape but off I go anyway to tag it. I go online when I get there and get a ping. But it's a regular who always needs a ride at this hour and his trip is going to take me all the way out the East end of this surge. Finish and things look like this and no way am I sitting here. It's just a cell tower between the quarry and the prison.









So I head towards town with the sticky and get a couple and it looks like this afterwards:









I need to go home and this is what my area looks like an hour later:









I promise there is nobody there. These are replications of surges that happened around midnight but one cell tower away. The one on the left is what was going on after a show at the civic center and the one on the right is imitating what was going on at a brewery just off the right of the map.

It's as if all the overload from when the Gordon Lightfoot and STS9 shows actually let out has been bouncing around for hours and landed at a tower with light traffic. I don't know why. This can not be the only market in the country with this anomaly. It has rained every time I see this. We are also in mountains where the towers will almost always produce jagged looking surges.

C'mon! Somebody else is seeing this happen somewhere else, right?


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## Ian Richard Markham (Jan 13, 2019)

Thanks for the post @Mr. Yuck ! I enjoy studying the different surge shapes. One of these days I want to make a pamphlet detailing the eight different types of surge or however many.

I have read on uberpeople.net about cell towers causing surge activity and really wish I knew the science behind this.

That was funny when you said "odds are there's no mass escape" regarding the surge around the jail. Hahahah!!!!



Mr. Yuck said:


> Having trouble uploading but this is what I see after taking an omelette break. It's centered on a rural prison. Cool.
> 
> View attachment 337552
> 
> ...


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## Drivincrazy (Feb 14, 2016)

Uber Prison Escape...highest surge of all. Guess who ordered it...his name starts with a T.


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## Ian Richard Markham (Jan 13, 2019)

When a surge pattern follows a highway but is heavier on one end it means there is a one way traffic jam.










A surge pattern following a highway that is evenly weighted on both ends means there is a two way traffic jam. These are hard.


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## Ian Richard Markham (Jan 13, 2019)

This is what I call the Double Barrel surge pattern. Two busy areas possibly overlapping but not necessarily. No direct major thoroughfare linkages between the centers of the two busy areas means drivers will spread out and enter the surging area from all sides evenly and there won't be bottlenecks except for right at surge center possibly. Difficulty level: 1 out of 5


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

There is either more people
needing rides than drivers or not
That is what dictates surge
Dont waste your time trying to analyze it
Get your butt into the biggest $ you can without getting into a traffic jam


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## Ian Richard Markham (Jan 13, 2019)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> There is either more people
> needing rides than drivers or not
> That is what dictates surge
> Dont waste your time trying to analyze it
> Get your butt into the biggest $ you can without getting into a traffic jam


Nah man i'm making a coffee table book called "One Hundred and One Surge Patterns to Break Your Brain Thinking About"

The chapters will carry titles such as "Bar and Stadium Surges" also "Historic Surges" and a special section for "The Unexplainable and Mysterious Surges"

I'll probably set up a drop box so ants can contribute screenshots they've taken and receive an acknowledgement of course.


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## pizzaladee (May 23, 2018)

After a concert last night 









Interesting void in the middle


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## Ian Richard Markham (Jan 13, 2019)

pizzaladee said:


> After a concert last night
> View attachment 339156
> 
> 
> Interesting void in the middle


Oh my god that's crazy as hell! This is definitely one for the coffee table book. Thank you!

Anyone know why this is happening. We must get to the bottom of it.


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## doyousensehumor (Apr 13, 2015)

The hexagon areas are either excluded fron surge, or they surge independently.

An ant analyzing surge clouds is about as useful as a person on the ground analyzing clouds in the sky to predict the weather.

Keep an eye out for one of these surge clouds


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## Ian Richard Markham (Jan 13, 2019)

doyousensehumor said:


> The hexagon areas are either excluded fron surge, or they surge independently.
> 
> An ant analyzing surge clouds is about as useful as a person on the ground analyzing clouds in the sky to predict the weather.
> 
> ...


It's not worthless. For example in the screenshot below this surge means Uber Eats is going bonkers in the hood due to the close proximity of three McDonald's in kind of a food desert area. If an ant rides his horse to the red he will pick up sticky surge but will never get a ride out of that neighborhood unless they were willing to wait a while. Good to know don't you think?!?!

Uber is so smart and the Driver Partner App is so smart yet you guys insist that this is simple dumb work. Like the kind of work an ant would do. Do you see what I did there?










PS the pic of the cloud in @doyousensehumor 's post is known on the farm as a table top and funnels can drop out at any time.


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## nosurgenodrive (May 13, 2019)

Ian Richard Markham said:


> When a surging area takes the shape of a perfectly or almost perfectly round circle, also known as a starburst, it means that the area is dead except for one particular small section no bigger than a few blocks. And those few blocks will be pinging harder than your mom. I'm showing this screenshot of the starbursts happening in Dallas right now as people leave the fireworks display viewing areas.
> 
> It should be recognized that the starburst is the most difficult type of surge to capture due to the quantity and density of trip origins.
> 
> ...


This is some tinfoil stuff. You have to use those surges to get Uber to eat it on a ride. I consistently get rides from Uber where they lose $5-$8 on a ride because of a sticky surge that has vanished. I see it as an opportunity to grab a bite to eat on Uber waiting for a ping. Works like a charm.


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## VanGuy (Feb 15, 2019)

pizzaladee said:


> After a concert last night
> View attachment 339156
> 
> 
> Interesting void in the middle


Clearly an alien spaceship affecting cellphone towers and Uber servers with their funky radiation.


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## lyft_rat (Jul 1, 2019)

Ian Richard Markham said:


> It's not worthless. For example in the screenshot below this surge means Uber Eats is going bonkers in the hood due to the close proximity of three McDonald's in kind of a food desert area. If an ant rides his horse to the red he will pick up sticky surge but will never get a ride out of that neighborhood unless they were willing to wait a while. Good to know don't you think?!?!
> 
> Uber is so smart and the Driver Partner App is so smart yet you guys insist that this is simple dumb work. Like the kind of work an ant would do. Do you see what I did there?
> 
> ...


Nice surge analysis!


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## pizzaladee (May 23, 2018)

VanGuy said:


> Clearly an alien spaceship affecting cellphone towers and Uber servers with their funky radiation.


There is some terrible reception in that area!


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## Mr. Yuck (Jul 31, 2017)

Terrible reception shapes this surge into a tree. The concentration of pax were not in the surge area so if you hadn't tagged before accepting a pickup you didn't get squat. Both of those dollar signs are directly over cell towers. The app's ability to draw is restricted by the terrain in this case, weather can do it too.

This surge lasted hours, like the app was going to keep trying to put it in the right place for x amount of time. So many ants went and sat that it triggered little mini surges where the clusters of hotels are North and East of that pic. Pax were freaking out, but pretty grateful.

Life is going to be so much better and logical when all of it is run by algorithms. Not.


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