# Where is the prime time?



## uberpa (Nov 12, 2015)

Haven't seen a single one this week! Almost 20 trips!


----------



## lyft_audi (Mar 3, 2016)

If those are the ones that show up in blue on the summary. I had ONE this week... During a weekday


----------



## uberpa (Nov 12, 2015)

Let me guess: 25%
Uber surge is much better than lyft pt!


----------



## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

uberpa said:


> Haven't seen a single one this week! Almost 20 trips!


After venting the same frustration somewhere else in this forum, I accidentally learned this past week that when "Prime Time" displays on your device, it's telling you that there is a section of your metropolitan area that has more people needing Lyft rides, than there are available drivers at that moment. It's probably not where YOU are located.

If you tap the "Prime Time" notification, a popup will open, telling you to find the dark-shaded areas in your metro area and drive to them, to earn ____% more per ride.

I scanned the Chicago area and found that there was a 10 square block area on the north side of Chicago (near the Northwestern University campus) that was very busy. It showed as a pink patch, with an even darker pink square inside of it. The problem was that this "hot spot" was over 25 miles away..and in a very congested, densely populated area. No thanks.

Before this week, I had assumed that Lyft was flat out lying, because I didn't understand that the "Prime Time Earn ___% More!" is designed to attract drivers to a specific area, like moths to a light. It's not saying that you're in a Prime-Time/Surge location. It's a shame that Lyft driver training doesn't include this important bit of information. It would eliminate a lot of driver frustration and anger directed at the company.


----------



## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

Thought this the first few days of driving. Then the weekend hit and I saw pink all over.


----------



## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

June 8, 2016

You would think that if you're in a populated region and get a PING from 20 minutes away, that person MUST be a Prime Time ride...RIGHT? After all, Lyft guidelines state that Prime Time fares apply when there are more ride requestors than there are drivers, in that requestor's geographic vicinity.


----------



## the ferryman (Jun 7, 2016)

My sense with both U/L the algorithms throw out predictions of where things will be hot. As above, I get pings on Lyft PT outside of the pink zones, far away sometimes. Same with Uber, but I only do XL on Uber so harder to judge. I'm only guessing that this (algo) is a necessity in case they ever get sued by riders. They can't point to a computer and be at arm's length when/if claims of gouging arise. Maybe I'm wrong, but this is probably part of it.


----------



## hangtyte (May 20, 2016)

Lyft's Prime Time is a joke. Their heat maps are delayed and since their app doesn't let you know if you're in a Prime Time ride, you're basically riding in the dark. I run the Uber app and when I'm in a surge zone, I turn Lyft off and run my shifts on Uber. Uber at least includes the ability to see when you're in a surge ride and how much it's currently at.


----------



## the ferryman (Jun 7, 2016)

You're right about that. I'm jazzed when I know I'm on a surge Uber ride, before during and after. Not sure why Lyft does it that way.


----------



## the ferryman (Jun 7, 2016)

Got am email from Lyft today about guaranteed Prime this weekend, Fri and Sat nite very late/early morn telling me min 25% extra, that's bogus to me. I hate the drunks. I might be interest for double, though.


----------



## hangtyte (May 20, 2016)

The thing I dislike about the guaranteed Prime Time is...

A. 25% ? eh... I'll take sleep over that
B. 1-3 AM ? No thanks... I don't like the after bar shift
C. I honestly don't care to be in the Core
D. People wait for the Prime Time to be over causing me to sit... and sit... and sit...


----------



## the ferryman (Jun 7, 2016)

hangtyte said:


> The thing I dislike about the guaranteed Prime Time is...
> 
> A. 25% ? eh... I'll take sleep over that
> B. 1-3 AM ? No thanks... I don't like the after bar shift
> ...


Agreed, I think there ought to be a late night regular higher fare differential, not just PT.


----------



## macchiato (Sep 29, 2015)

Their response would be that with higher fares people would take Lyft less and use their competitor. 

My response is if that's the case, why do you even have guaranteed pt rates at certain times in the first place?


----------

