# U/L App Collusion



## UberAdrian (May 26, 2018)

I’ve been noticing this for a long time but it’s getting ridiculous now. I’ll have both apps on, no ping long time. Then one of them pings me, and magically a second or two later the other one pings me too.

They are either straight colluding and only faking at being competitors or they are monitoring each others’ apps (listening for the ping sound or whatever) and trying hard to keep you from working for the other side. Happens way too often to be any kind of coincidence.


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## PioneerXi (Apr 20, 2018)

It’s not that I don’t believe this,
And it’s not that it hasn’t happened to me.

However,

Personally, I’d like to see some evidence before laying the claim. Give me something to substantiate it - tables, numbers, etc, and let me look at it. I may have something which strengthens your claim.

My $0.02.


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## Taksomotor (Mar 19, 2019)

UberAdrian said:


> I've been noticing this for a long time but it's getting ridiculous now. I'll have both apps on, no ping long time. Then one of them pings me, and magically a second or two later the other one pings me too.
> 
> They are either straight colluding and only faking at being competitors or they are monitoring each others' apps (listening for the ping sound or whatever) and trying hard to keep you from working for the other side. Happens way too often to be any kind of coincidence.


Another ant is discovering probability at work


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## VanGuy (Feb 15, 2019)

The phone is always listening so it's not a stretch to believe that the app will respond to a ping noise from the other app to try and lure you with a better offer.


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## Robert Larrison (Jun 7, 2018)

Google uber's 'hell and God' program.
Those are 2 known secret programs.
How many new ones or ones that are still secret.

Here is what uber is actually able to do to your phone.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Or maybe multiple people are leaving at the same time and some are using Lyft while others are using Uber????

I have been running both apps since late July 2018 and I have only revived pings on both apps 3 times in all that time. All 3 times were very busy days. I really don't think either company wants to prevent drivers from working both apps, in fact Florida specifically has a law in place from them preventing you from working both companies.

I guess anything is possible who really knows.


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## Taksomotor (Mar 19, 2019)

VanGuy said:


> The phone is always listening so it's not a stretch to believe that the app will respond to a ping noise from the other app to try and lure you with a better offer.


It is such a stretch that you cannot even imagine how stupid that would be to even suggest that.


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## VanGuy (Feb 15, 2019)

Well then, I will consider myself told.


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## Friendly Jack (Nov 17, 2015)

UberAdrian said:


> I've been noticing this for a long time but it's getting ridiculous now. I'll have both apps on, no ping long time. Then one of them pings me, and magically a second or two later the other one pings me too.
> 
> They are either straight colluding and only faking at being competitors or they are monitoring each others' apps (listening for the ping sound or whatever) and trying hard to keep you from working for the other side. Happens way too often to be any kind of coincidence.


This happens to me quite often, but the vast majority of times it occurs when I am just starting driving for the day. I turn on both apps within a few seconds of each other... no pings, sometimes for several minutes... as soon as one ping comes in the other app pings also, almost immediately, before I even have a chance to respond to the first request.

If it isn't just coincidence I would expect that one of the requests (the second?) would be quite a bit farther away from the other, as it would be the best opportunity request possible in response to the other. As in "Gee, Uber just pinged him, let's (Lyft) give him the closest available request we can." I have noticed, however, that most times both requests are reasonably similar in terms of distance (and, no, not the same requester) and this leads me to believe that it is just coincidence.


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## Taksomotor (Mar 19, 2019)

VanGuy said:


> Well then, I will consider myself told.


It was NOT against you, it was against that theory. I meant no offense.

Coincidences is how the real probability works. People wpuld tell you that random spreads evenly, but it is a misconception. It is even over a long period of time and a very large sample, but in observable reality random things happen in a cluster. Almost always. Ask any manager in a store. They will tell you, that customers always come in packs. One min there are 20 people on line, next minute the lines are empty. Even when there no particular peak hours or events. Random things happen in clusters, not spread evenly through time.


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## VanGuy (Feb 15, 2019)

I get that analogy as I used to own a little convenience store. On the other hand, listening to all the crap that Uber has pulled over the years with fake apps, hidden apps, and algorithms and policies based on stealing drivers from the competition, having the app try to screw the competition by sending you a ping when you just got one from the competition to keep drivers from serving the competition doesn't seem unthinkable.


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## Taksomotor (Mar 19, 2019)

VanGuy said:


> I get that analogy as I used to own a little convenience store. On the other hand, listening to all the crap that Uber has pulled over the years with fake apps, hidden apps, and algorithms and policies based on stealing drivers from the competition, having the app try to screw the competition by sending you a ping when you just got one from the competition to keep drivers from serving the competition doesn't seem unthinkable.


But all tgose stories are lies. People dont understand software, and they come up with their uneducated explanations how it was done, and it turns into legends retold and twisted by other story tellers. Same way how people could not understand science and came up with God to explain everything.


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## loophole (Jun 7, 2016)

UberAdrian said:


> I've been noticing this for a long time but it's getting ridiculous now. I'll have both apps on, no ping long time. Then one of them pings me, and magically a second or two later the other one pings me too.
> 
> They are either straight colluding and only faking at being competitors or they are monitoring each others' apps (listening for the ping sound or whatever) and trying hard to keep you from working for the other side. Happens way too often to be any kind of coincidence.


I've noticed it too, I've tried tricking each one with the saved sound effect I downloaded for each app and it doesn't set either off. Meaning they are actually monitoring the app itself somehow.


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## VanGuy (Feb 15, 2019)

I'm all for a good conspiracy theory but Uber being the victim of legend is definitely a stretch.


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## Robert Larrison (Jun 7, 2018)

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/12/hell-o-uber/


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## 911 Guy (Feb 8, 2018)

Riders run both apps too...


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## Fozzie (Aug 11, 2018)

I've actually experienced what the OP described. I'll drop off at the airport, then head towards home. 20-25 minutes with no pings. As soon as I get an Uber ping, and before I can even accept/decline it, I get a Lyft ping too. The Uber ping is almost always first, with the Lyft ping usually within 1 second of it. (and often popping up in front of the Uber ping info) At first I thought it was just coincidence, but this has happened way too many times to be a coincidence.


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## May H. (Mar 20, 2018)

I’ve experienced this. Keep both apps switched on and requests don’t come on. Then after a while both apps send a request at almost the same time...too fast to switch one off. Now I just alternate.


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## Alantc (Jun 15, 2018)

UberAdrian said:


> I've been noticing this for a long time but it's getting ridiculous now. I'll have both apps on, no ping long time. Then one of them pings me, and magically a second or two later the other one pings me too.
> 
> They are either straight colluding and only faking at being competitors or they are monitoring each others' apps (listening for the ping sound or whatever) and trying hard to keep you from working for the other side. Happens way too often to be any kind of coincidence.


When you get two pings at the same time and you accept one and the one you except cancel on you and you say damn I wanted the other one. But to me a ping is a ping it just happens you get pings from both at the same time, but i have wondered, the one i picked is the one i preferred to take because they pay better than the other


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## welikecamping (Nov 27, 2018)

I run both apps and I see similarities in both. However, I've yet to experience simultaneous pings.


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## jenijazz (Dec 27, 2018)

A rider will put in a ride request on both U & L and after a minute or so see which one is closer and cancel the other with no penalty.


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## rubisgsa (Jul 3, 2018)

this happens way too often to be coincidence

crickets for hours couch uber then bang bang 

they may be able to look at the other tnc's data


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

People used to do this to the cab companies, 

Be glad they cancel quick and you didn’t drive 5-10 minutes for $0!


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