[krat0sprakhar]

> then I’d wait 10 minutes, then they’d cancel. Rinse and repeat for 30 minutes,

This is such a common problem in SF (esp in odd times / from the airport). Waymo has been a lifesaver in these situations.

[m-ee]

Used to happen to me constantly trying to go across the bay bridge in either direction when I lived in Oakland. I didn’t even mind the cancelations so much but the worst was when they would try and hide around the block, close enough to say they’ve “arrived” to try to get me marked as a no show and pocket the fee.

[virtue3]

They have a cancellation rate metric on their end that they are trying to avoid.

I have similar problems when I dated someone across the bridge.

They also lose a ton of money leaving SF at prime time / etc.

[enraged_camel]

Ironically it is the very problem taxis had that allowed Uber and Lyft to grow in popularity. Funny how that works!

[Analemma_]

Yeah, drivers want to maximize their hourly revenue, and this is frequently at odds with the wants of passengers. For a while, VC subsidies meant Uber and Lyft could pretend they were fundamentally different somehow, but that's all over now that they're public, and the classic misaligned incentives between drivers and passengers are back in play.

The cars are increasingly beat-up too, another thing we incorrectly believed was Uber being fundamentally different from and better than yellow cabs.

[tudelo]

I don't know what it is but in basically every major airport I have struggled to get an uber/lyft. I expect at minimum one cancellation...

[decimalenough]

In many cities this is solved with the "Uber rank" system, where you simply get in the first car in line, give the driver a code, and then it loads up your journey. Fast and avoids any hassles with drivers rejecting your destination.

[wffurr]

Trying to find a specific ride hail driver at the airport seems like a huge waste of time. Just go to the taxi stand.

[wtfwhateven]

Same. I assume it depends on the destination

Person wants to go somewhat far from airport? That's more time on this single ride and less time pocketing peak demand money

[astrange]

I once got stuck at the vista point at the north end of Golden Gate, because it turns out it's nearly impossible to approach from the Marin side even though that's closer. So like ~4 drivers in a row tried, got lost on the way and canceled.