# Waiting for ride requests



## Pixekchik (Oct 14, 2016)

I've been driving for Lyft for 6 months now...no Major complaints...except I get bored while waiting for ride requests. Sometimes it takes 45 mins before I get a ping. What do you guys do to pass the time while waiting?


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## Old Smokey (Sep 13, 2015)

Pixekchik said:


> I've been driving for Lyft for 6 months now...no Major complaints...except I get bored while waiting for ride requests. Sometimes it takes 45 mins before I get a ping. What do you guys do to pass the time while waiting?


Don't sit still and wait for the ping. Sometimes you have to drive and the pings will come. If it is really slow go home and enjoy your free time. Monday and Tuesday are tiff.


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## Pixekchik (Oct 14, 2016)

I will usually sit for maybe 20 mins max. Then I drive to another area and wait again. I don't want to waste fuel.


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## jothopo (Jan 21, 2017)

Pixekchik said:


> I've been driving for Lyft for 6 months now...no Major complaints...except I get bored while waiting for ride requests. Sometimes it takes 45 mins before I get a ping. What do you guys do to pass the time while waiting?


Are you only doing Lyft? Uber could possibly give you pings in that significant down time if so.


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## Jufkii (Sep 17, 2015)

Pixekchik said:


> I've been driving for Lyft for 6 months now...no Major complaints...except I get bored while waiting for ride requests. Sometimes it takes 45 mins before I get a ping. What do you guys do to pass the time while waiting?


 Half of my downtime unfortunately is spent disputing the usual shorted fares,etc, with Support . The other half spent getting my anger with them under control . Then I drive some more. Downtime can be annoying , but also rather necessary.


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

Pixekchik said:


> What do you guys do to pass the time while waiting?


Uber rides.


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## Old Smokey (Sep 13, 2015)

Jufkii said:


> Half of my downtime unfortunately is spent disputing the usual shorted fares,etc, with Support . The other half spent getting my anger with them under control . Then I drive some more. Downtime can be annoying , but also rather necessary.


Did you follow the GPS directions? Some of terrible customers will complain to get free credits. Soon as you see the destination, preview it so you have an idea where you are going. You can ask customer if they have a preferred route. Lyft does not usually reduce fares without cause.


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## Pixekchik (Oct 14, 2016)

Well I have been thinking of driving for Uber as well...currently only doing Lyft. But my Lyft passengers tell me they no longer ride Uber.


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

Pixekchik said:


> Well I have been thinking of driving for Uber as well...currently only doing Lyft. But my Lyft passengers tell me they no longer ride Uber.


Who cares? You got them on Lyft. It differs from market to market, but here in Miami my Uber pings are 4:1 to Lyft. That said, I actually made a little more with Lyft last week than Uber.

I love/hate both, but it just makes sense to drive both where they are available. If Juno ever starts up here, I'll do that too.

Cover all bases.


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## BbKtKeanu (Dec 7, 2016)

Get on Grindr. Then log on here. Then play candy crush. Count your starbucks Stars, then debate eating a McDouble. Repeat.


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## Pixekchik (Oct 14, 2016)

Geez...I was really just curious about what other drivers do to pass the time.


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## luvgurl22 (Jul 5, 2016)

Pixekchik said:


> Geez...I was really just curious about what other drivers do to pass the time.


I blog and study


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## Trump Economics (Jul 29, 2015)

Pixekchik said:


> I've been driving for Lyft for 6 months now...no Major complaints...except I get bored while waiting for ride requests. Sometimes it takes 45 mins before I get a ping. What do you guys do to pass the time while waiting?


Are you bored right now?


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Pixekchik said:


> I've been driving for Lyft for 6 months now...no Major complaints...except I get bored while waiting for ride requests. Sometimes it takes 45 mins before I get a ping. What do you guys do to pass the time while waiting?


Park then fuber.

Helps to have a car with a second available vehicle class. Then, you can be logged into your slower-pinging XL and/or Select-only option on Uber, and grind out Lyft PDBs and/or guarantees in the background.

Also, there are some areas you can hardly catch your breath inbetween ride requests....


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Pixekchik said:


> I will usually sit for maybe 20 mins max. Then I drive to another area and wait again. I don't want to waste fuel.


Smart.

Although it's not really JUST fuel you'd waste... but yeah, be miserly about wasted miles.


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## drivininsac (Jan 20, 2017)

I text my wife, check Facebook, or do whatever doesn't slow my phone down too much.


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## jb91360 (Jul 25, 2016)

Pixekchik said:


> Geez...I was really just curious about what other drivers do to pass the time.


Kindle is my lifesaver. I read voraciously, and Amazon's Prime Kindle book deals are great (and very inexpensive)
This deters me from being tempted to drive around. I have two or three key parking/waiting spots in my area, and I stay put. No senses in putting more miles on the car, and wasting gas.

I also signed up with Uber to fill in a gaps between Lyft rides, and that has helped a lot.


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## cenTiPede (Dec 5, 2016)

I play XG Backgamon on my tablet for 10-15 min. After that I go inside and watch TV or do stuff on the web. But never, never, any of the honeydo stuff because I'm already "working"...


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## jb91360 (Jul 25, 2016)

dirtylee said:


> LMAO. Once you turn on uber in a decent area, it's a non stop grind. After trip #35 that day, Pax become a blur as you drive around town.


Yep, very true. After giving about 700 Lyft rides, I finally signed up with Uber a couple of weeks ago, planning to mostly go online when Lyft isn't busy. In my area (west S.F. Valley in L.A.) I was shocked. The ratio of pings Lyft/Uber is about 1:6

Don't get me wrong-both platforms gouge the driver, but at least Uber is busy in my area. And their destination filter actually works, which is a huge deal for me. As an example, today I took a rider from Agoura to Disneyland. About 60 miles. Coming back, I turned on Uber's filter, and picked up another three rides.


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## GreyBandit (May 4, 2016)

I personally find it depends on the area where your last ride ended. If it's an area with little demand, it's worth the gas/miles to get to a more hopping spot. You also waste gas in an idling car bored off your butt. Plus, if you accurately track your mileage, you can deduct every non-fare mile at $.54 driven with your app running for $.54.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

Why the hell would you leave the car on if you're not moving?


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## Wiseleo (Feb 8, 2017)

There is something you may want to verify as of February 2017 on Android. If the app is saying you are online but your driver time is not incrementing, you might not actually be online. That means you might not get pings in that area. I consider it a bug.

I am referring to the 5:40 hours figure on this screenshot. Verify the initial value, go back to the map screen, and check again 3 minutes later. If it stays the same, I at least restart my app. If that does not solve the problem, I reboot my phone. That takes it offline long enough for the cell tower to reset the connection when it reconnects.

This counter should at least be 6:15 hours. The missing time wasn't reported.


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