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My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

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Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#71

Post by ghaff »

sokoloff wrote: post #28
bryanlarsen wrote: post #19

Since the driver would have had to dead head back to Chicago, if his expenses were a not unreasonable 0.50 cents per mile, the only profit the driver made was the tip.

Variable expenses on a car you already own are nowhere near $0.50/mile. (The GSA/IRS figure includes apportioned fixed costs, which do not fully apply here, IMO.)

The large majority of costs associated with a car are mileage not time. Somewhat less true in northern climates because of winter salt and there are some fixed costs like excise tax and (kinda sorta) insurance but it's mostly variable.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#72

Post by colechristensen »

crooked-v wrote: post #45
gregkerzhner wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the driver drove 600 miles and his car got 25 miles to the gallon, at $3 a gallon his gas expenses would have only been $72. Of course there are other costs (maintenance, depreciation), but those also exists if you are just driving your car around town, and I think Uber / Lift's whole business model is based on the driver not really taking them into account. If the tip was $100, the driver would have walked away w…

$0.58 per mile is the standard IRS deduction for business use of a car, meant to fully encompass gas, maintenance, etc., which would suggest a total expected cost of about $348 if you include more than just gas.

It would but it isn't a great suggestion. If you're trying to optimize costs you can beat that by a huge factor.

$0.58 per mile is about how much it costs to lease a car at $350/month and pay for gas, which is what you would do in an upper middle class job requiring lots of travel.

So if you get a new, fairly nice car every three years and use it exclusively for Lyft, you won't make any money.

If you want to make more money than zero, own your car for longer and do some of the maintenance yourself.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#73

Post by bluedino »

khrbrt wrote: post #24

This is why we need a train system with funding parity to the highway and airport systems. There should be trains leaving constantly, at most every 10 minutes, from Chicago to the east, and frequent, semihourly, trains between neighboring cities along the way. Even if the author could rent a car, having to drive 300 miles is astounding waste of time and mental energy.

It’s a four and a half hour drive on the highway, it’s not a big deal.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#75

Post by p2t2p »

refurb wrote: post #29
khrbrt wrote: post #24

This is why we need a train system with funding parity to the highway and airport systems. There should be trains leaving constantly, at most every 10 minutes, from Chicago to the east, and frequent, semihourly, trains between neighboring cities along the way. Even if the author could rent a car, having to drive 300 miles is astounding waste of time and mental energy.

I can’t imagine a train leaving every 10 minutes could ever be cost effective. There just aren’t that many people who want to do that trip (8 hours?) when you could do it in 2 hours by plane.

It is not two hours. The flight time from my home town to Moscow is 50 minutes. Whole trip is about 6 hours.

Get to the airport, takes about 1 hour (drive 60k or 40 miles). If you don’t have a car - even longer.

You arrive in advance, security, luggage check in then boarding, then runway.

It’s been around 3 hours so far.

Now you fly for 50 to 70 minutes and it doesn’t include the plane driving through airport after landing.

Get off, grab you luggage - another 40 minutes easily. 15 if you’re lucky.

Now you need to get to the city, so it is 2 hours by car through Moscow traffic or 1 hour using “aero express” train.

The thing is, once you get off this “aero express” train, chances are it is still about one hour trip on subway to the office/apartment.

I used to fly like that, I was leaving my parents apartment at about 4-30am to arrive by 10/11am.

Compare it to train - it takes 13 hours but it leaves from the city centre, no security check in’s no nothing, you take 30 minutes to arrive there. It leaves at 6-30pm, you have supper and sleep. 7-30am BOOM you’re in the center of Moscow right next to subway station. Brush you’re teeth during approach, have your breakfast and off you pop.

It feels muuuuch better on the train. Air travel overhead is just too big - 5 hours or something for hour of the flight time. With train you have about two hours of overhead.

The only thing it is almost twice as expensive compared to air travel

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#77

Post by dexterdog »

f5thesystem wrote: post #26
khrbrt wrote: post #24

This is why we need a train system with funding parity to the highway and airport systems. There should be trains leaving constantly, at most every 10 minutes, from Chicago to the east, and frequent, semihourly, trains between neighboring cities along the way. Even if the author could rent a car, having to drive 300 miles is astounding waste of time and mental energy.

Ohio had plans to connect Toledo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus, however the Governor at the time turned down the federal money.

I'm sure it wasn't free. Federal money for stuff like that usually has strings attached.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#78

Post by lanewinfield »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #76

I would have not paid Lyft directly, but instead I would have negotiated with the driver (edit: yes, after having paid the initial few dollars to summon one).

And with that you most likely lose any sort of protection/insurance Lyft gives you.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#79

Post by jumbopapa »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #76

I would have not paid Lyft directly, but instead I would have negotiated with the driver (edit: yes, after having paid the initial few dollars to summon one).

I've had multiple drivers give me a business card and ask me to call them when I need a ride and not use the app. I've never taken them up on it, but I assume they can offer a lower rate and still take home more money.

Re: My 300 Mile Lyft Ride From Chicago to Bradford

#80

Post by icebraining »

payne92 wrote: post #54

The other hack is to “pony express” in stages: use Lyft/Uber to get part way or to a mid point, where you are confident you CAN get a rental, a train/bus, or another Lyft/Uber to keep going. This is especially useful if you can’t find a driver that will take you all the way.

That's a regular day for us non-car-owners. Nowadays you can even get combined routes with software like Citymapper and Rome2Rio.
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