Ok…I do understand the law of supply and demand.
I was in Boston for a conference and used Lyft to get from where I was staying to the conference site. Price was $12 one way give or take a few cents.
BUT…it snowed Thursday night. By the time I left Friday morning at 9 or so…streets were just wet, and it was raining. Cost of my one way Lyft ride…$43.
I really had no choice…but honestly…it seemed a bit excessive in terms of price difference.
Opinions?
And yes…I did put a comment about it!
It’s surge pricing- hard to avoid it really.
Yes, Uber and Lyft surge pricing can get really high. A couple of New Year’s Eve’s ago uber prices were well over $100 for short trips in my large metro area. Plenty of drivers, but way more riders.
Sometimes if you wait a few min, surges go away. For example, I know that 2.5-3x surge pricing goes on almost every night at the San Jose airport from 9pm to around 10:30pm. Sometimes I’ll just go have dinner and keep trying until it goes back to the price that I know it should be.
@ProfessorPlum168 I really couldn’t wait an hour. I was attending a convention.
I’d call that more than a bit excessive. But they are upfront with the price ahead of time, right?
Taking a cab is a choice. Just saying. 
“I really had no choice.”
Actually you could have not taken the Lyft. You could have rented a car, planned around mass transit, hailed a cab, pre arranged a limoso the price was set, etc. How can you criticize an independent contractor who maximized his/her profitability in response to a supply demand imbalance?
Where you charged for the business conference? Why not complain about that cost or the hotel? In each case the price was driven by supply and demand. Only difference is the timeframe in which the market changed and your lack of flexibility or foresight in planning or adjusting.
Unless I misread this you weren’t forcibly placed in the car? Please take this as mostly tongue in cheek. FYI snow blowers are cheaper in July and no one complains.
It was only overpriced if you declined the service, otherwise smart business.
It’s been a long time since I’ve tried to hail a cab in Boston, but don’t they still exist? Are Uber and lyft the only options now? I frequently travel to DC and we take cabs there all the time. We go the same place every time and know a cab ride is about $20. We check Uber and take it if it’s less. If it’s not we get a cab.
@me29034 where I was staying in Boston, flagging down a taxi was not an option.
Neither was taking the T.
I could have arranged a private taxi service…but come on. I guess I was just surprised that the price almost quadrupled. I paid it…and the driver was great. But that seemed like more than a price surge.
Why didn’t you stay at the conference hotel?
It’s helpful to install and use multiple ride-sharing apps on your phone. Different ride-sharing services may not surge-price at the the same time, or one may drop surge pricing sooner than the others. Surge pricing is the necessary evil of a market economy, but a market economy doesn’t work without good old competitions.
@yourmomma I was there for several nights…hotel prices were in the $250 a night range. Plus…I have terrific relatives I stayed with…and enjoyed that.
I was just surprised by this price surge for the one trip on Lyft. I didn’t realize that was a thing.
And I get it…but four times the usual price seems excessive. But that’s my opinion…and I paid it…as I’m sure many others did too that morning!
And thank you to those who explained the price surging to me. I didn’t know about that at all.
I was happy with my Lyft rides, and they easily got me around town when I needed to be there.
@thumper1 …a pal was just in NYC Thursday, trying to get to JFK via Uber or Lyft (can’t remember) He knew going in (because of time and snowstorm) that surge fare was going to be ~$180. Because they kept running into closed bridges and falling trees, took almost 3 hours (normally 40 minutes). Pal wanted to just give up and spend another night in hotel…but driver persisted. 3 hours later…$387. And he arrived in time for flight…which was then delayed two hours…joys of travel.
So there is no ceiling on how much Lyft can charge as a surge?
I don’t know if Lyft has the car pool option like Uber but that is always a good way to get the cost down in a city. It usually only adds a small amount of extra time and can significantly cut down on the cost. I also agree with having multiple ride share accounts so you can price shop.
Our state did impose a cap on surge pricing after complaints of price gouging. The companies complained it would reduce supply but haven’t heard that it actually has affected supply. I have not yet installed either Uber nor Lyft, but may opt to do so when we will be in Las Vegas.
The shared ride option for my $43 ride was $38.
Yikes…I didn’t realize they could charge you more than what you agreed to when you choose the Lyft ride. Regular taxi, yes… but didn’t realize Lyft did the same thing.
It sounds like price gouging to me.
Hawaii is the only state that regulates surge pricing, I believe. Riders have experienced surge pricing as high as 10x. In places where there aren’t sufficient competitions, some regulations may be needed.