Posted on 04/08/2018 11:24:53 AM PDT by BBell
A man who ordered a Lyft to take him to Los Angeles International Airport this week was dropped off at a random parking lot instead after the driver realized how little money he would be making on the trip, according to a video recording of the incident.
Darryl, a pilot for a major airline who didn't want his last name used or his employer identified, was headed to LAX on Thursday morning for work when the incident took place.
He was on a tight schedule when the driver apparently realized it wasn't worth it financially for him to get the passenger to his destination and abruptly decided to abandon him.
Like many, Darryl had turned to the ride-hailing app when he needed to get to the airport.
His initial ride was canceled after the first Lyft driver realized he was already 15 minutes away from where Darryl was staying in Hermosa Beach. The second driver who responded happened to be coming from LAX when he went to pick him up, Darryl told KTLA in a Skype interview from Miami on Friday.
“He ... picked me up, I loaded the bag and we started to leave, and then I guess he looked at – the destination popped up on his phone at that time, and then he got very frustrated,” Darryl said. “He did not want to go back to LAX.”
Darryl, who was in his uniform at that time, told the driver he was a pilot and explained he needed to be at the airport by 7:30 a.m. to catch a flight. He even showed the young man his rank and wings.
Although the driver still appeared frustrated, he continued on with the ride, "gunning it" on South Bay surface streets and even "running stop signs," according to Darryl.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
Should have taken a taxi.
Sometimes it’s wise to choose the professional.
“I’ll give him twenty more minutes....but that’s it!”
Instead of a sniveling hipster.
When these services pick people up, don’t the drivers know where they are taking someone?
Then, also, don’t the drivers have the right to decline to give someone a ride?
I think I don’t know enough how all this works. But it also sounds as if the driver, bitching about getting only $6, ends up making zero instead.
Again I don’t know enough about the pricing structures or how drivers get paid. Maybe Lyft doesn’t pay very well to start with???? Maybe he needs another line of work???
A talkative Uber driver told me that she always calls the client first to see where they are going. If it isn’t enough money she won’t take the call. (They don’t know where you are going until you get into the car.) She said that none of them would take any calls from FSU, as the students wanted a ride down the street for a dollar or two and it often took twenty minutes just to drive to the pickup point. They pay their own gas.
I did have to take a cab recently and it cost twice what an Uber cost. The cabby paid $70 per day for the use of the cab and paid his own gas. I asked him if he actually made money and he said, “most days.”
Lyft and Uber will exist as long as their are indebted and cash-poor Americans willing to put up their own money for capital (i.e.. buy a car) and work for $6/ hour
The driver should’ve parked in the parking lot for 7 hours, turned the A/C off, not offered the passenger anything to drink, given him a voucher for a free Lyft ride, and THEN booted him out.
My biggest repeat problem is they often get lost picking me up. Irritating to see them drive around in circles on the App. Then, ignore their GPS guidance when taking me to a destination. Worst experience was a car reeking of pot in Las Vegas.
We used one in DC and the app always asked where you wanted to go & where to pick you up.
It’s all very automated via the respective app. Your location is known on the app and you put in your desired destination. The app displays the route and cost. Once you accept, the drivers vehicle description, location and ETA are displayed. No cash is exchanged unless you decide to tip a little extra (not required).
I would have offered him a $10 tip.
But this pilot whips out his phone to record the encounter. And ends up late to work.
Does Uber and Lyft not have a minimum charge to even get in the car? Taxis effectively do.
Although I disagree with what the driver did, as I think he would have lost an opportunity to give his card to somebody and maybe start establishing a clientele, it might have cost the driver $4 or something to do this ride.
Seems to me if the pilot was really interested in getting to work on time, he would have offered the driver a substantial tip to ensure that he reached his destination on time.
He should have sprung for a cab.
I have used a taxi to get down to a local watering hole on occasion. It’s a 4 dollar 5 minute ride but I always give a 10. A lot of the time the taxi picks someone up at the same time he drops me off. Which leads me to wonder why this driver did not go to the airport. I’m sure he would have picked up another fair while he was there.
I agree. I would have.
I’ve had a taxi driver drop me off 1 block from where he picked me up because he didn’t want the 28 mile to/from. That’s okay, you’re tired, your shift is going to end and you don’t need the money refuse the fare and close up shop.
Instead, he picked me up, drove me about 1 mile to the Bus Station, told me he can’t take me and I owe him $6. I said I’m not paying him nothing, and I paid him nothing.
I used Uber half a dozen times in NYC at Christmas and the driver always knew the destination and had it in his GPS before we got into the car.
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