Hacker News Reader

Comment by jartelt | Hacker News Reader

More accurate pickup times would really help. I've rushed outside numerous times after being given a 2 minute ETA. Pretty much every time I end up waiting outside for 5-10 more minutes after the ETA changes to a longer time.

If I knew the ETA was accurate, I would be more vigilant about being roadside at the correct time.

View on HN

I have never had an Uber arrive as fast as the estimate. Usually takes about twice as long as app displays when requesting the ride.

Also, there is absolutely no recourse if a driver starts driving in the opposite direction of you. I had a 3 min estimate, then driver drove 15 mins away. Called driver and he had the audacity to ask me to cancel the trip (so I'd still be charged). Was 30 minutes late and had to contact support to get the cancellation fee waived. Uber used to be the faster way to get to work than walking/bussing, but no more.

In Lyft you just cancel when the driver is late and Lyft automatically voids the penalty fee before charging you. And I hope they give an internal demerit to the driver.

This happened to me days ago and I wasn't charged for the cancellation, as far as I can tell. Not sure if it's because I called and cancelled sooner, there's no reason to wait to call if you see them driving the wrong way. Either that, or they detect a driver not making progress towards the pickup location when they decide whether to charge for the cancellation.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com