I noticed when getting into my Lyft at McCarran the other day that the route on the app defaults to the freeway long haul (this was to Caesars). Driver was incredulous that anyone would NOT want to take the freeway.

It's been about 18 months of Uber/Lyft here in Vegas and what's left of the Uber/Lyft driver community is night and day from when it started. I use the service at least 10 times a week in town. When it first started, rates were about 40% cheaper than a Taxi so it was a win win. The majority of the drivers were Vegas locals in the industry. The cars were much nicer, service was much better, and drivers knew the town well.

Fast forward to today and it seems like 1 out of 3 cars on the strip/downtown are an Uber/Lyft. The rates for drivers have been decreased 3 times now and the cost is about 70% cheaper than a taxi. I live downtown and from my Condo to McCarran on Lyft is 11.21. The driver's take on a ride like that would be $11.21 (-$1.70 "Booking fee" & 33% to Uber/Lyft) leaves the driver around $6.20 gross for what can be a 20-25 minute ride in traffic some days.

When you can get anywhere in this town through rideshare for less than $20-25, you have a driver pool left with only the people who are desperate/broke enough to drive for less than minimum wage per hour while putting tons of miles on your vehicle. The depreciation of your vehicle outweighs what you're bringing in.

The tl/dr version....... Uber/Lyft service in this town is worse than Taxi service present day in this city. A lot of drivers are ESL so communication barriers are way more of an issue than they used to be. Over 50% of the rides that I take end up with the driver getting lost or making a wrong turn at some point of the trip. A lot of the older drivers are so inefficient at using technology that accepting a ride, pressing navigate, and getting your passenger there safely is a noticeable struggle for them. The majority of the drivers are new drivers due to the high turnover, yet they don't know the city well despite being locals.

At the end of the day, that's the price you pay for cheap service. The last Lyft that I took to McCarran from my place was $11.21 + $2.20 Airport surcharge (Charged whether you use rideshare or taxi) & $2 tip ($15.50). On my way back in town, I arrived at 11:55pm and took a Taxi as the wait for a Uber/Lyft from the airport was over 15 minutes. That Taxi to my home address was $35.xx pre tip.

Locals were loving Uber/Lyft when it first arrived. Now in Vegas it's becoming what it is everywhere, the default for cheap ride/bad service.

You get what you pay for. It is a discounted service, so you get discounted drivers. Plain and simple.

You aren't getting a guy wearing a tuxedo and chauffeur hat, but it is still better than dirt bag cab drivers and cheaper.

People just have to realize they are getting "citizen drivers" and not the most experienced people in the world. So don't be surprised they don't know every shortcut in the city or getting "long hauled" when all they are doing is following what the Uber App (Waze) navigation is telling to go, which is going to be the fastest route which is not necessarily the shortest.

I agree with the driver. These ride-sharing apps default to the fastest way, as any good app should. Why would someone want the app to default to a way that is much slower? Perhaps you are just used to the ****ed up LV taxi system which charges heavily based on distance (ie doubles the cost by going via the highway). These apps charge based on a combination of time and distance.

Foatie, have you considered trying Uber Black? I would expect the quality to be higher than your average UberX or Taxi. No clue on pricing. Just speculating based on my conversation with an Uber Black driver.

I have a great FT job now, I quit driving Uber over a year ago after the first rate cut. I do play poker 2-4 times a week and the condo I live in downtown always has promotions with Lyft. I use that instead of driving + paid parking especially since I'll always have a few drinks towards the end of a session. For the past month, any ride originating from the building is $7.12. I was unsure about this until I went out to Palomino one night and it was $7.12 the ride back was $9.80.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

I took Lyft and Uber about 50 times from Dec to Feb in Vegas and basically disagree w this entire post.

I had bad service three times tops ,got lost once where it wasn't the driver's fault at all. I took cabs a lot in Vegas over the years and it was almost always an utterly miserable experience.

The last time I took a cab was about six months ago. The driver got lost between the Strip and the Orleans. She didn't even offer to turn off the meter while she found her way. I was too drunk/tired to argue.

IME this has been more of a Lyft-specific problem, as it seems to me that their GPS software is not as good as Uber. It doesn't account very well for traffic when you're waiting for the driver, and it tends to default freeway (does in LA too). The freeway is not always faster and that's certainly true of Vegas.

And the driver simply didn't get it when I politely and patiently explained that the freeway costs more. App > human in any argument you'll have with a new driver.

Neither have their own proprietary navigation software anymore. Each app lets the driver choose either Google maps or Waze as their default nav system.

Before each trip you always have the option to tell your driver your preferred route. Otherwise they are just going off what google maps or waze tells them.

Interesting, didn't know they weren't using proprietary software.

Also, Waze is simply the worst.

My understanding is that the quote they give you is based on their route and time estimate and if it changes they go to time and mileage charges which are different and a bit more expensive.

If you take Uberpool or Lyft Line, your rate is guaranteed, and they cannot charge you more even if the driver deliberately takes the longer route. The con (if you don't like people) is that it might take a little longer, and you have to share your trip with another stranger.

I am a power user of Lyft/Uber in Atlanta. The last time i did research for uber/lyft in LV for WSOP, the rates seem standard.

PS: If you don't like a driver (indicating by their rating), just cancel the ride. If they charge you a cancellation fee, just file a complaint, and they would always give you rider credits or refund

Not from LV but still interesting uber story that happened in NY:
Uber Bans Passenger for Life After She Threatens to Accuse Driver of Rape
http://www.theroot.com/uber-bans-pas...acc-1794107854
If you scroll to the end of the article the original video of the incident is posted.

What would be the best route to take from the Airport to Downtown via Uber/Lyft?

I understand that the freeway should be avoided when going from the airport to the strip but is that the same for going to downtown??

Thanks

My gf had to go to the immigration office the other day and when the lyft driver got closer to the office he asked if it was ok for him to drop her off around the corner somewhere else lol wtf? She said ok but still waiting to here back from lyft obv filed a complaint.

Unless you want to save two bucks for 30 extra minutes of stop and go traffic and stop lights, take the freeeway.

She said, "ok."

That's a complaint-worthy action? Come on now. She can say no.


Exactly.

Would that be considered passive aggressive? I hate when someone lies to you (she said ok) and then goes behind your back to report/rat you out (filing the complaint). What do you accomplish with the complaint? Are you just trying to get a free ride at the expense of a driver's rating/reputation?

If she had an issue with it, she should have said no, drop me off at the door because I will be late for my meeting, will be sweaty because I need to walk in the heat, or will be in pain because I need to walk in heals (or whatever reason.)

Also, Uber/Lyft are cheap. Stop expecting 5 star service at 1 star prices. You want someone to take you door to door on leather seats with free water and open and close the doors for you? Order a limo and pay way more.

So say you get/pay for a lyft from caesars palace to stratosphere, then the guy drops you off at circus circus i guess thats okay right LOL???. It wasn't like he asked her just once either he was pretty much pressuring her and asking her questions about why she was going there as well.

Didn't realize that wanting to get from point A to B for already agreed upon price without being hassled was somehow me expecting " 5 star service."

You're right though next time ill take a limo or better yet just hire a helicopter.

The good news is it will never be a problem again since you are getting him deported.

How about he just does his f'ing job? You are supposed to take passenger from point A to point B, not try to goat your passengers into letting you drop them off early?

No, I expect the driver to take me from point A to point B without issues including without begging me to let them drop me off early. Sure, I'm a nice guy and will agree to walk an extra couple blocks. I probably won't use your ****ty ride service again though.

They also want you to tip regardless of service on a service that is supposed to be tipless. It's best to just not use Uber or Lyft due to all these unwritten rules that are likely to result in conflict between the driver and passenger.

lol