I'm wondering why this is the case.
Why does it cost more to get a ride if you reserve in advance?
The Guru Take
There are no fees for reserving in advance. At least for Uber and Lyft but...
There are no fees for scheduling Uber and Lyft rides in advance. By default, the fares are supposed to be the same, as "scheduling" a ride essentially just schedules the outbound requests to the drivers to a time you specify. The fares are supposed to be calculated the same as any other ride.
With that said, Uber and Lyft have different policies on handling the potential surge pricing that may be applied to the trip.
Uber fare on Scheduled Rides: Uber will display the regular fare at the time of scheduling the ride. This may be a standard estimate or an upfront pricing. However, when the time of the ride comes, if there is a surge for the trip you are about to take, the surge will be applied. Uber allows you to schedule up to 30 days in advance.
Lyft fare on Scheduled Rides: When scheduling a ride with Lyft, Lyft will attempt to estimate the potential surge and display the fare that incorporates the increased fare. So, Lyft basically quotes you a fare and guarantees the fare at the time of the scheduling.
If you saw an increased fare for when you were about to schedule or "reserve" a ride, you may have been using Lyft.
Does booking in advance or scheduling ahead guarantee my fare on Uber and Lyft?
Comments
This information about uber not charging a reservation fee is incorrect. I have more than 20 receipts from Uber by now. Many of the rides were arranged in advance (12 hrs ahead of the ride) using the "Rserve" function on the Uber app. All the receipts indicated both booing and reservation fees. They are different and also when the drivers chose to use toll roads, the rider was not informed or given a choice and then the price of the rides went up by tagging along the toll costs.
TRIED ORDERING AN HOUR AND HALF ON ADVANCE FOR LESS THAN A MILE AND THE PRICE JUMPED FROM 11 TO 46 BUCKS. INSANE IDIOTS
It is so frustrating scheduling Lyft when I'm at work getting off at midnight in Virginia. Even if scheduling in advance. The drivers are always busy; even if you call they say they're coming; then cancel shortly thereafter. I'm afraid I may have to end up walking home four mikes at midnight. Imagine my fear of making it home at all. Is there any way to assure a ride in advance?
Looked up price for todsy. Its less thsn $8.00
Schedule 4 days from now, its more than $36.
Do you mean for Uber? Or what service?
This was for Uber.
How did you know it was more? Did the price change? Maybe it depends on the time of day. I would wait to check till you get the trip receipt to compare, maybe they just overstated it for you when you originally requested.
I'm not sure this is the case, but maybe it's because they don't know what the surge will be like at the time so they price higher just to be "safe"
But aren't scheduled rides not guaranteed? Does that mean the price isn't guaranteed either?