Questions from riders and drivers answered by our Ride Gurus and Rideshare Experts
Hi
My Son and I are in Memphis this Christmas - Plan to go into Beale street and back Christmas Eve - and to the Memphis Zoo lights and back Christmas Day - what can I expect the Uber cabs to charge - usually the rate is $27 round trip - will i be stung BIG TIME with it being Christmas as this will just ruin our time there. Any help woudl be greatly appreciated
Michele
It is always hard to predict future surge pricing. There is a good chance that you will be hit with a higher fare due the the holidays. I would suggest using our fare comparison calculator to see what other ride services are available in Memphis. Some may not have surge pricing at all. Make sure to make note of the ride services available to you and when you are ready to request your ride if Uber is heavily surging try opening another app and requesting a different rideshare.
Hi, Michele,
No one has a Magic 8 ball, but I can tell you my experience and speaking to other drivers. Surge pricing is not common on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. (Yep, I said it.)
While it is true that not many drivers are out working, there are even fewer riders requesting rides; hence surge is usually not triggered. You'd think many are traveling on holidays but when you take out the regular commuters, business travelers, and students on their daily routines, the ridership is quite low. There are exceptions such as Thanksgving Day where people tend to go out at night, but Christmas Day seems to be a slow day for everyone.
The bigger concern for you, depending on the location, would be the availability of drivers in the areas you are traveling. In populated areas like the Zoo and Beale Street, you should be fine, but if you are in remote areas on a slow day, your wait time may be long!
Good luck!
Ippei
Additional Tips:
- Lyft honors pricing up to 7 days in advance. You can schedule a ride with Lyft and they will honor the price they quote. Now, that does not mean they won't charge you surge. It means they will estimate the surge in advance and quote you on it at the time you schedule. At least this way, you will know how much it will be, and you will still have an option to cancel before the trip.
- Piggy-backing on the previous tip, you can schedule a ride with Lyft (to secure a price) and on the day of your travel, check how much Uber is. Compare the two prices and pick the lower.
- Here's also another secret with surge pricing. When there are very few drivers and riders on the road, the surge is usually not triggered. This is Uber's attempt to avoid drastic surge pricing in remote areas or odd hours where there simply isn't much activity. Think of a scenario in rural areas. If there is only one driver working in town and a few people who need a ride, should they they constantly pay for surge? ...and at what rate? ...or should they be a bidding war? The answer is no.
RIDEGURU
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THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH TO IPPEI AND LILLY![laughing]()