1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

Uber driver openly scorns my request not to long haul

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by bdautch, Jul 31, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. vsop

    vsop VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2012
    Messages:
    1,055
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    You are correct...the fare is based on time and distance, based on a route suggested by the driver's navigation app.... I really doubt that the nav. app suggested a route using the freeway... so, in the OP's instance, even though the freeway might have been a quicker route, it was not the best route in terms of the fare, as the return fare was $3-$4 cheaper using the surface roads...
     
  2. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2011
    Messages:
    3,484
    Location:
    Chicago
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    31
    Do we even know where OP was coming and going to before we assume the above? We know the fare back was cheaper. But could they have been coming back later in the day with less traffic via the surface roads and that was the few bucks difference?

    For what its worth, I agree that if I suggest a different route I would expect that route to be followed. But I have friends that drive for both Uber and Lyft that will tell their own horror stories about scams.

    The most common one is, someone books a trip thats 10 miles away (or whatever), gives all kinds of funky directions that they want followed, and forces the driver to long haul. They then calls up Uber to bitch about the driver taking an eradicate route and gets their money back. Free ride to wherever they want.

    I hear some customer accounts now get flagged for this, so they open another one.

    There are plenty of slimy people in this world. Sadly a lot of people assume these drivers are just making some extra cash so they dont feel bad running a scam. Its just the new age version of running out of the cab without paying.

    Because of this, my buddies just say "We have to follow the route on the screen or else we can get in trouble". I'm sure if someone insists that they must follow their directs they will.

    But just tossing out a scenario.

    OP is a board member and I am in no way accusing him of doing the above. Just stating a reason why a driver might not want to change routes.

    Also since OP said "yes I've complained about the occasional bad route and gotten a few bucks back" and then stated that Uber wouldnt give him back any money on this trip. Maybe he was flagged in their system as one of these people. Even if he was wrongly tagged for previous complaints about the same thing.

    Just saying these things happen.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Informative Informative x 1
  3. gotChopin

    gotChopin Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2016
    Messages:
    337
    Location:
    California
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    Totally agree with you ^, you never know the real scenario. Have to hear both sides of the story and so forth.
     
  4. bdautch

    bdautch VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2013
    Messages:
    2,266
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    24
    I understand and appreciate your perspective. I was going from McCarran to Bally's, and asked for Swensen to Flamingo. For what it's worth, following my suggested route back to LAS at the end of the trip resulted in a fare that was about 1/3 cheaper. So I think I asked for a reasonable route, and he long hauled me of his own volition, using I-15, which this board has generally recognized as an unfair practice.

    And of my occasional "getting a few bucks back" thing, this has happened maybe 6 or 7 times in 5 years, or roughly 300 Uber trips. I virtually always give 5 stars, except in cases like this, and Uber told me my own rating is 4.8 stars.
     
  5. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2011
    Messages:
    3,484
    Location:
    Chicago
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    31
    And I'm totally on your side. Knowing the route, it certainly looks like they were trying to pad their fair by a few bucks. I once landed in town at 10PM on a Tuesday night in the middle of August. I knew it would be a ghost town. It was the one time I didn't say "Via Swenson" to the cabbie, since we were just going to Paris.

    You guessed it, tunnel time. $30+ fair on what should have been $20. I gave him a $20 bill and said "You shouldn't have F@#Ked me". But it really did get me charged up for a few hours. It wasnt so much the money, but the fact that they tried to scam me. So I can see why you would be so pissed.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Hogman

    Hogman VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2008
    Messages:
    2,862
    Location:
    Arkansas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    I'm not really on anyone side. I just hope that the stress/anger you or anyone has doesn't ruin a moment of a Las Vegas trip. A trip which we are all going to play negative expectation games. Even if someone is long hauled by a taxi for an extra $20 or in this case über for $3 it shouldn't ruin your trip.
     
  7. FullBoat

    FullBoat VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2013
    Messages:
    2,337
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    16
    I think we all know that the route that he took was the old long haul. I look at it like this. Uber/Lyft is still new compared taxis. Well, with some of the cabbies going to Uber/Lyft, we need to put a stop at long hauling at the start. Taxis do it, and get away with it all the time. We just need to let the "new guy on the block" know that we're not going to just take it.
    At least with Uber/Lyft we can leave feedback on the driver, and maybe stop them from doing it.

    And, I know I've said it before. It's not about the extra $10-$20. If I couldn't afford that, I wouldn't be in Vegas. But, it's about someone just trying to scam me. And, that's what it is when you get down to it.
     
  8. evoni

    evoni High-Roller

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2008
    Messages:
    825
    Location:
    Bay area, California
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    101
    I have had great experiences with Uber except for one a couple months ago in Vegas when a former taxi driver had just started with Uber and thought it was okay to long haul me. However after the ride was over I just gave him 3 stars, when I did that Uber gave me a set of questions on why and one of them was route taken which I selected. Soon after I received a partial credit for that ride as I guess Uber automatically checks the driver's GPS when they get route selected and if they decide the driver did take a longer route then necessary they credit us for it.
     
  9. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    19,796
    Location:
    Somewhere in Middle America
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    Not to be picky here (well, I guess I am being picky) but did you tell him to take Swenson all the way to Flamingo or Swenson to Paradise to Flamingo? Swenson does swing way east between Harmon and Flamingo and giving the guy the benefit of the doubt, he may have thought it was a bad route if you indeed suggested that. In any case, if Paradise is congested approaching Flamingo, Swenson could have been an alternative. No excuse to use the expressway to get to Bally's! :(

    Assuming 6, that would make it a 2% long-haul rate for Uber. Anyone know about what the taxi long-haul rate is? I know that over the years I've certainly done at least a couple hundred taxi rides in LV and I have yet to be blatantly long-hauled or had a driver push back at a route I requested.
     
  10. sambdking

    sambdking Tourist

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2014
    Messages:
    17
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Uber/Lyft doesn't really see you as the "customer" to the driver and you are certainly not the boss of them. We drivers are independent contractors and Uber/Lyft are technology companies that match folks in need of rides with a driver (known to the platform) who is willing to give you a ride. I have been driving in Southern California with Uber and Lyft for over a year now (with a 4.9-5.0 star rating) and use Google Maps 100% of the time to determine the fastest route. If a passenger has a special route request that is contradictory to Google, I will hear them out and discuss it with them, usually informing them that their request is either the route I am already going or that is x minutes longer. I agree in Vegas that McCarren to the Strip via the tunnel/freeway is 99% of the time a BAD idea, but it seems you are more concerned with a driver not "obeying" you, and that's really not a great attitude to have. Just my 2 pennies worth.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  11. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    19,796
    Location:
    Somewhere in Middle America
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    I daresay very few would agree with this! You (the rider) are the one paying the piper, and you call the tune! Very simple client/provider relationship no matter what it's called.
     
  12. merlin

    merlin MIA

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2009
    Messages:
    3,755
    Location:
    mn
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    40
    Except Uber is not really a company and the drivers are not really employees, I kinda side with the driver on this one, in a sense the driver is doing the customer a favor, not the other way around.
     
  13. Busyman

    Busyman VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2013
    Messages:
    1,312
    Location:
    Washington DC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    5
    He didn't tho'.

    I don't how ANYONE sides with the driver here. Drive the way the customer asks, suggest a BETTER route, and if the customer insists on going a different way, they are the ones paying for it.

    This is logical and simple.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  14. Busyman

    Busyman VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2013
    Messages:
    1,312
    Location:
    Washington DC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    5
    I might want to see some scenery or something. It doesn't matter. What the driver wants is irrelevant since I'm paying.
     
  15. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    19,796
    Location:
    Somewhere in Middle America
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    Agree! That report, and the one driver defending him, are both turn-offs to me giving Uber a try, sorry. :(
     
  16. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2010
    Messages:
    6,477
    Location:
    Chicago South Suburbs
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    The OP didn't say where the ride was to, what the quote was or what the cost difference was. No mention of even when this was. So I don't view the driver as right. I don't have any information to help me understand if the incident is worth this much conversation. If Uber's policy is that the route is negotiable, it should have been negotiated but I am not going to freak out if this ending up being over a dollar.
     
  17. merlin

    merlin MIA

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2009
    Messages:
    3,755
    Location:
    mn
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    40
    Exactly, we all know that longhauling taxi's might add $15 or more to the bill, if in this case the driver wanted to get you there quick(for his benefit too) and it only cost a buck, big deal.
     
  18. Snidely

    Snidely VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2012
    Messages:
    2,129
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Too much drama over $2.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  19. Busyman

    Busyman VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2013
    Messages:
    1,312
    Location:
    Washington DC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    5
    I was thinking the same regarding the long convo but it's a forum so here we are.

    How does anyone defend a "taxi" driver driving in a direction the customer doesn't want driven, barring some safety concerns?
    This thread went 3 pages.
    All the info you cited was really irrelevant vs "Driver, I'd like you to go this way."

    If he wanted to go to Ballys by way of Henderson through Summerlin that would be immaterial. It's the customer's money. The best the driver could do is suggest his better way.

    Some things are just, I dunno....easy.
     
  20. Hogman

    Hogman VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2008
    Messages:
    2,862
    Location:
    Arkansas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    So what would be your cost saving alternative to uber?
     
    • Like Like x 1
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.