I won’t use Uber for food delivery anymore, but I will still use it in a pinch when I need a ride to the airport. That turned out to be a curse, blessing, and nearly a curse again on my way to LAX Airport.
My Wild Ride To LAX On Uber
I was in the San Fernando Valley and had to get across town and over the hill to Los Angeles International Airport. For most trips, I drive and park my car at Mark’s house, then walk over to the airport. This time, I had a commitment until 11:30 am in North Hollywood and a flight at 1:00 pm…there was no time to park in Westchester and walk to the airport.
I ordered an Uber at 11:25 am for my 11:30 am pick-up, but after five minutes the driver canceled. Uber located a new diver…12 minutes away. I navigated to Lyft and ordered a car at the highest time priority… 18-minute wait! Five minutes later, the second Uber canceled. It took a few moments for a driver to be found and then I faced another eight-minute wait.
I had left very little cushion in the first place, but now there was no cushion…now I was unlikely to make my flight. A red Toyota Corolla finally pulled up and I hopped in. Maria greeted me and must have seen the stress on my face. I explained to her that I had an imminent flight and she told me that she would do her best.
Maria is a mother and grandmother. She’s a strong woman who has been through a lot. We had a nice conversation as she (safely) weaved through traffic on I-405 enroute to LAX.
She did remarkably well and as we finally got off the freeway just a couple miles from LAX, it looked like I would easily make the flight. The ETA had me into Terminal 7 at 12:35 pm, which would give me 10 minutes to clear security and get onboard. For Angelenos, that’s pretty remarkable considering how much highway traffic is present on Sundays.
But then Maria made a mistake. She said that she knew a shortcut and before I could say anything else, she made a sharp right turn and sped down a side street before entering LAX on Sepulveda Blvd instead of Century Blvd.
Critical mistake.
Traffic was jammed. Our ETA went up to 12:45 pm. My heart sank. I figured I would miss my flight and have to take a redeye instead in economy class.
Over the next 10 minutes, there was only silence in the car. We made little progress against the stack of cars and short traffic signals. But at 12:48 pm, we did pull up into T7.
I ran as fast as my leg would carry me to Clear, quickly went through the security checkpoint, and ran to my gate, which was thankfully one of the first beyond security. It was 12:52 pm.
Typically at 15 minutes before departure, those who have not boarded are off-loaded and standbys are cleared. Miraculously, the gate agent and not done this yet. As I reached the gate, she called out, “Klint?” and I nodded my head. I had been literally seconds away from losing my seat to one of the crowd of people in the gate area on standby.
Huffing a bit, I walked slowly down the jet bridge, onto the plane, and settled into my seat in the last row of first class. I barely made it…but I made it.
CONLCUSION
I’m very grateful to Maria and left her a substantial tip, despite the wrong turn. She meant well and I appreciate that she did all in her power to get me to my flight on time (and did). The fact that two drivers canceled on me is really something I hate about Uber, but in the end, I made it to LAX. Thank you, Maria!
Uber/lyft is really a last resort for me now. In chicago trying get a ride from downtown to ohare is much harder because drivers don’t want to sit in the construction traffic that will be a reality for the next 3 years. I never used to drive to the airport but now I always do since also thanks to Uber, cabs aren’t as readily available as they used to be here.
We all know you don’t live in Chicago, UA-NYC.
Hey tiny-handed incel…what’s it like to have zero redeeming qualities and no future prospects?
Billy Bob, Is the Blue Line affected by the construction? Because we have always found it to be more stress-free than driving in and out. I would love to know if it is no longer an option.
Its still an option, the only track construction is on the forest park branch… but I dont think they have resolved the train schedules being much slimmer than before covid so you may wait longer
Blue Line is still an option. Just travelled to/from in the past two weeks to/from the Loop in on Thursday out on Saturday. Ample trains at least in my experience.
The cancellations are becoming rampant with Uber. It was never as bad as the past two years. I don’t even understand why? I always thought the drivers could not see the destination until arriving but I’m wondering if that’s wrong. It’s incredibly frustrating given they often do it 5-10 minutes later which caused you to lose precious time and starting over again. Clearly this is something the company needs to address and figure out. Adding a cancellation quota per month that drivers are suspended at a certain number?
I see this more with Lyft than Uber in Boston.. wonder if it’s more prevalent on one platform or the other in certain regions/airports?
Same in Dallas; Lyft drivers cancel on me far more than Uber. The bigger problem here with both platforms are the woefully inaccurate wait times. I fire up the app, and it tells me there’s a 4 minute wait for a car. Then I request a ride and get assigned a driver, and viola – 15 minute wait.
Uber (and only Uber) driver here: the reason why is the market is so over-saturated with drivers right now that most opt to drive with both apps open and cancel an accepted fare if a better one pops up on the other app.
Rideshare drivers are indipendent contractors. They use their own vehicel pay for gas, insurance,maintanance etc. Rideshare companies used to generously pay drivers when they were funded by Angel investors. Now that source of seed money has dried up, so rideshare companies are giving drivers only 40-50% of what they charge riders. So as an independent owner, driver has to make choice if that perticular ride is profitable or not.
I don’t use uber/lyft for anything time sensitive. I will rent a car the day before and uber to the airport to pickup and return to the airport for my flight. I’ve also rented a car at an airport rather than deal with rideshare. Amazing how quickly I went from rideshare is great a couple years back, to not if I can help it currently.
That’s an interesting strategy. 3x as much driving time as a single trip to the airport, plus the car rental fee, return and checkout time, plus depending on how far you live from the airport the time to refuel the car.
Uber isn’t perfect for me either, but it isn’t so bad that this would make sense in my situation.
Glad you made it. LAX is a perpetual mess and the horseshoe is a no go zone throughout this summer. Any time of the day. I just asked Uber to drop me off at the Hyatt LAX and then walk to Terminal 7-8 these days.
I had the same experience once (drivers cancelling), in SF. First, two Lyfts canceled on me right before pickup, and when I didn’t think it could possibly get any worse, a third driver picked me up, only to throw me out only seconds later when I told her (at least I think it was a her) my destination was Oakland … Go figure?! These companies are utterly useless and a disgusting pimple on society’s ass.
Haven’t had any issues getting an Uber to the airport, but I find myself calling yellow cabs significantly more recently. The price is comparable, and they actually pick up.
If on business, I only use Uber Black. Yes, it is more expensive but way more reliable. You rarely get cancellations, cars are cleaner and well maintained and drivers are more professional. I am done in getting someone that decided to leave the couch and make a few bucks by driving people around on their own car.
I use Uber Black when traveling with the wife and kids– often times it’s a professional driver in a black Tahoe or Suburban, it’s like using a car service at 1/2 price.
That’s exactly how I see it. It is more money but most often way less headaches. Also, if someone else is driving me and not me driving myself, I would rather be in a bigger and safer cars than on a yahoo.
My last experience with Uber cancellations is in Philly, from PHL to city center. I don’t use shared rides enough to determine if this is a pattern, however.
That Sepulveda shortcut is usually faster. She did the right thing. The time estimates for Google Maps within the LAX horseshoe are notoriously inaccurate, so I’m skeptical that Century would have gotten you there 13min faster. Plus if it was really so jammed, you could have walked from the T1 area over to T7 in a quicker time than that.
Also, if you are really in a hurry these days, Uber Black usually has shorter wait times and more consistent availability. You just pay 2-3x as much.
Uber Black was nearly 4x as much. Should not have to deal with cancellations just because I use Uber X.
The problem was reaching T7 from T1…that is fast as long as you are in the left lane. The problem was the ramp up to T1.
The problem is that Uber X are not usually professional drivers and when the guys sees your itinerary and how long he/she will be in traffic vs taking rides somewhere else they just cancel. Uber Black are usually the best way to go.
Matt, I’m wondering: Did she have her google maps GPS running? I have found google maps to be pretty good at helping to avoid traffic jams and showing the best alternate route, but it’s not perfect or useful. One time I was directed on all these side roads to avoid a slow freeway but I think it was 6 and 1/2 dozen of the other.
In chicago it’s blue line for me from downtown. It’s not pretty but so much easier.
With family we were friends with a black car suv driver. A little more expensive but guaranteed on time pickup. Usually they’d be there 5-10 earlier. Great with luggage and kids seats when needed. Maybe a $40 premium but worth it.
Why did you tip her for her mistake? Why do we tip at all anymore? Were you afraid of getting a bad review? Tipping is extortion.
I tipped her because she tried her very best, was empathetic, and did a great job navigating I-405 on a busy Sunday morning/afternoon.
I am not allergic to tipping, but do believe it must be earned and that she earned it.
I was extremely lucky in find a fantastic driver that has been the only one I use for the last 10 years to take me from and to my home airport. Back in the day, I was taking a weekly flight on Monday mornings that at 6:30am. I started requesting a Uber at 5:15am and for 3 consecutive weeks I got the same Uber driver at my home. I asked him why he was the one accepting my request all the time and he said it was very early in the morning and very few drivers work at that time and he also lived close to my home so it was an easy one for him since he was always awake at that time. During our chat I learned he also did airport rides for several executives from corporations in town. He had a clean and nice black Suburban so I asked him what would cost me if I called him directly instead of Uber. He said he would charge me what Uber would pay him for a Uber Black ride. He gave me his business card and I never used anyone else since. He has been my driver for every ride I take to and from the airport. He has my business and personal credit cards on file and charges me directly and sends me a receipt. If you could find someone like this at your location that is ideal. I usually text him my upcoming trips in advance and he puts them all on his schedule and I have nothing to worry since I know he will be there for me.
This might be an LA problem. I haven’t had such problems with Uber in other cities.
Here in Sri Lanka this happens several times a week, sometimes more than once a day. Sometimes they call to ask if it is cash or card payment; if you say card, they cancel – or sometimes try to force the rider to cancel by stopping or driving off in the wrong direction.
Last week one accepted the booking then stopped 300m away and waited. I walked down to where he was; when I was about 50m away, he cancelled and drove off. Last night again the driver stopped 300m away, I sent a message asking if I should walk to him and he cancelled.
It used to be a lot worse last year during the crisis; for longer trips they would often call and try to negotiate a higher fare and cash payment; sometimes they would confirm the fare when you got in and then cancel the trip (so they would keep the entire cash payment). It has got much better,, especially with cars rather than tuktuks, but some of the nonsense still continues.
Imagine if they had given your first class seat away and you had to sit in coach.
I just started driving for Lyft and Uber in the Chicagoland area so it’s given me a different perspective from just being a passenger. In most markets (like mine) the pickup and drop off are listed with the price before I hit accept. But there are some that you do not know the final destination until you accept. That may explain some cancelations. Some drivers may also run both apps to look for the best deal. If they accept your ride, then get a better ride on the competing app, they may cancel yours. Not cool and I do not do this, but I know it happens. Take a look at r/uberdrivers and r/lyftdrivers for a different perspective on ride-sharing.
I agree that Uber/Lyft cancellations are outrageous and should be unacceptable, in many other industries frequent cancellations lead directly to bankruptcy. The cancellations also make the tipping decision MUCH more challenging and Matthew’s ride (described above) is a perfect example.
Uber’s performance was terrible and unsatisfactory and (in most people’s eyes) worthy of rate reduction and customer service compensation. The driver’s performance (wrong turn decision aside) was basically fine and deserving of a generous tip.
How to balance the evaluation (and tip) of the driver and the company?