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My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

whatever.scalzi.com

11–20 of 191 posts

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#11
post #2

What a great story? I always ask Lyft/Uber drivers about interesting stories. One told me how he picked up 3 girls outside of a fancy condo in LA and drove them to Vegas which is about 300 miles and a 5 hr ride. Turns out the girls were drunk and the condo guy had called for a ride to take them home, And they decided they rather go to Vegas to continue the party ;-)

Wouldn't the person who called the Lyft be the one entering the destination?

If you are a single dude partying with 3 hot chicks, you will get them a ticket to the moon if they so desire! He was probably way too drunk or he just did not care!

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#12
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Turns out it would cost about $330. Which, as it happens, was only a little bit more than what it would have cost for that one-way rental that Hertz wasn’t going to give me even though they had the car. > When I got home I tipped him hugely So, figure maybe $375-400?

Couple of years ago there was a professional football player that took an Uber from O'Hare to Buffalo, NY for just under $1000 to make it practice on time. Anyway, this guy could have taken a Megabus to from Chicago to Cincinnati for $25 and then done a rideshare the rest of the way. It would have been far less expensive.

If making it on time to practice is really important, do you want to depend on a bus?

Bus Being late to pick up or leave isn’t uncommon. I assume if something goes wrong along the way you should be able to get off with your stuff without too much trouble and order a ride.

But if there’s a big traffic jam. And you might be able to save some time taking inside roads or what have you. A bus isn’t going to do that. You also won’t be able to order a ride share if you’re on the highway with traffic packed up.

I think the situation depends on how important making practice is. Sometimes you’re already on thin ice.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#13
post #2

What a great story? I always ask Lyft/Uber drivers about interesting stories. One told me how he picked up 3 girls outside of a fancy condo in LA and drove them to Vegas which is about 300 miles and a 5 hr ride. Turns out the girls were drunk and the condo guy had called for a ride to take them home, And they decided they rather go to Vegas to continue the party ;-)

Huh. Its a long haul.

Penn and Teller's "Desert Bus" game simulates a bus drive between LA and Las Vegas.. Debatably the worst video game ever, but now used for charity drives..

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/desert-b...

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#14

I: - Wish I drove for Lyft - Lived in Chicago - Had gotten him as a passenger After 10-15 miles I would have said "So Mr. Scalzi, I'm going to need you to tell me what the Perry family is up to. Go ahead, I'll give you a few minutes to contemplate, but then you'd better get to telling me" then I'd have also inquired about the next in the Collapsing Empire series. Joking aside, I'm curious to see more from the driver.…

Sounds like a modern telling of Misery

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couple of years ago there was a professional football player that took an Uber from O'Hare to Buffalo, NY for just under $1000 to make it practice on time. Anyway, this guy could have taken a Megabus to from Chicago to Cincinnati for $25 and then done a rideshare the rest of the way. It would have been far less expensive.

If making it on time to practice is really important, do you want to depend on a bus? Bus Being late to pick up or leave isn’t uncommon. I assume if something goes wrong along the way you should be able to get off with your stuff without too much trouble and order a ride. But if there’s a big traffic jam. And you might be able to save some time taking inside roads or what have you. A bus isn’t going to do that. You a…

Yep. And for someone making millions, the cost of the ride is negligible.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't the person who called the Lyft be the one entering the destination?

I would imagine he handed his phone over and said "put in your address".

Yeah, this is exactly how I imagined it. They punch in "Caesar's Palace" then hit "yes", "Accept", and "Charge my stored card" before handing the phone back to the guy.

Then the guy is wondering how in the hell he got a $500 charge from Lyft on his credit card statement at the end of the month.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If making it on time to practice is really important, do you want to depend on a bus? Bus Being late to pick up or leave isn’t uncommon. I assume if something goes wrong along the way you should be able to get off with your stuff without too much trouble and order a ride. But if there’s a big traffic jam. And you might be able to save some time taking inside roads or what have you. A bus isn’t going to do that. You a…

Yep. And for someone making millions, the cost of the ride is negligible.

Plus, if he was a celebrity someone on the bus may have recognized him and made the trip totally suck.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#20

I: - Wish I drove for Lyft - Lived in Chicago - Had gotten him as a passenger After 10-15 miles I would have said "So Mr. Scalzi, I'm going to need you to tell me what the Perry family is up to. Go ahead, I'll give you a few minutes to contemplate, but then you'd better get to telling me" then I'd have also inquired about the next in the Collapsing Empire series. Joking aside, I'm curious to see more from the driver.…

Does Lyft compensate you for the drive back to your home? I'm guessing not? Or do they seriously jack up the price if you go beyond a certain distance to compensate the drive for his almost certainly empty drive back?
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