How do surges apply when there are multiple passengers?
How does Surge Pricing or Prime Time work on UberPool or Lyft Line? (The carpooling options)
The Guru Take
Determined on the First Pickup
Unfortunately, the surge pricing that was triggered at the time of the first pickup will apply to all passengers that join the ride. Lyft and Uber's official comments below:
(Lyft) Q: Do I still get Prime Time for Line rides?
A: Yes. If Prime Time is in effect for your first pickup, you'll receive that rate for the entire trip.
(Uber) Q: How does surge work?
A: Surge on uberPOOL always matches surge on uberX. If you pick up multiple riders at different surge multiples then the average of the surge multiples will apply to your fare.
Comments
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What about when Passenger A gets on with surge 2x, then Passenger B gets on subsequently. Then Passenger A gets off first. Then Passenger C gets on. Would the Passenger C be dinged with surge pricing?
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For Lyft, you get to keep the Passenger A's PrimeTime for the entire duration. With that said, am not sure if Lyft's algorith is sophisticated enough (or LyftLine busy enough?) to handle a cascading scenario like that.
For Uber, it will be the average. An easy way to remember is that, from the perspective of a driver, until all the passengers are dropped off, a ride is not completed. Therefore, the pricing is calculated only once at the end.
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What if another party came from a busy location which incurred a surge? Do other passengers, say those who get on later, get dinged with surge also?