Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Destinations > America - USA > Midwest
Reload this Page >

Reliability of Lyft/Uber pickup in NW Chicago Suburbs/Lake County at 4am?

Reliability of Lyft/Uber pickup in NW Chicago Suburbs/Lake County at 4am?

Old Mar 10, 2017, 8:46 am
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: gggrrrovvveee (ORD)
Programs: UA Pt, Marriott Ti, Hertz PC
Posts: 6,091
Reliability of Lyft/Uber pickup in NW Chicago Suburbs/Lake County at 4am?

This is a Chicago area question

Anyone have experience with Lyft or Uber pickups from home to the airport for very early morning flights?

I have a 6am ORD-xxx this Monday and wondering if I should try out Lyft or Uber for a 4:15-ish pickup from southern Lake County (around Buffalo Grove, Vernon Hills, Lincolnshire, etc.) to ORD, or stick with the tried-and-true American Taxi (suburban taxi service).

I have started using Lyft, moreso than Uber, for rides to/from the airport, although I've not done very early morning or late night yet. Don't want to schedule a 4:10-4:20am Lyft/Uber and be stuck waiting around b/c there is nobody in the area.
gobluetwo is offline  
Old Mar 12, 2017, 11:15 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: ORD, MKE
Programs: UA, AA, Hilton and regular member of everything else
Posts: 1,332
I've used uber a few times from the North suburbs at around 5 AM and never had to wait.
mlbcard is offline  
Old Mar 12, 2017, 11:11 pm
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: MDW/ORD
Programs: WN A list, UA Gold, AA Gold, Marriott LT Gold, IHG Platinum, National EE, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 525
I've scheduled Uber rides from Willow Springs to MDW before 6am and I they came on time every time.
Putnik is offline  
Old Mar 13, 2017, 3:30 am
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: gggrrrovvveee (ORD)
Programs: UA Pt, Marriott Ti, Hertz PC
Posts: 6,091
So I'm in an American taxi right now. I just decided to play it safe this time since American taxi now preassigns specific drivers the night before and it's really only a buck or three more expensive.

I checked both uber and lyft and there were 3 and 1 cars available within 15 minutes of me at about 4:10am so looks like it would've worked fine, had I gone that route. Maybe I'll roll the dice with them next time. Didn't want to take a chance this time with the snow.
gobluetwo is offline  
Old Mar 13, 2017, 11:34 am
  #5  
Moderator: Information Desk, Women Travelers, FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 15,637
I'm fairly certain you can now pre-schedule rides with Uber.
chgoeditor is offline  
Old Mar 13, 2017, 12:34 pm
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 229
I'm fairly certain you can now pre-schedule rides with Uber.

I believe this just means that a request is automatically put in at/just before the time you schedule it, and does not guarantee a ride in 100% of cases.

Uber's FAQ on this topic states "Scheduling a ride in advance does not guarantee you’ll be connected with a driver. In the rare case a driver cannot be found, you’ll be notified at the end of your selected time window."
andrewesque is offline  
Old Mar 13, 2017, 5:53 pm
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: MDW/ORD
Programs: WN A list, UA Gold, AA Gold, Marriott LT Gold, IHG Platinum, National EE, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 525
One thing to note is that this service is not available in all areas. Probably because Uber doesn't think that it can arrange a ride areas where there aren't a lot of Uber drivers. For example, when I'm in Northwest Indiana, I don't have the option to prearange the ride from the Uber app.
Putnik is offline  
Old Mar 14, 2017, 6:49 am
  #8  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: gggrrrovvveee (ORD)
Programs: UA Pt, Marriott Ti, Hertz PC
Posts: 6,091
Originally Posted by andrewesque
I'm fairly certain you can now pre-schedule rides with Uber.

I believe this just means that a request is automatically put in at/just before the time you schedule it, and does not guarantee a ride in 100% of cases.

Uber's FAQ on this topic states "Scheduling a ride in advance does not guarantee you’ll be connected with a driver. In the rare case a driver cannot be found, you’ll be notified at the end of your selected time window."
And this is precisely why I stuck with American Taxi for this ride, which assigns a specific driver (and provides their phone number) the night before. I didn't want to roll the dice with a request being sent at the start of my window and one not being available.

Going forward, I plan to use AT for the very early morning flights and use Uber/Lyft otherwise.
gobluetwo is offline  
Old Mar 14, 2017, 9:34 am
  #9  
Moderator: Information Desk, Women Travelers, FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 15,637
Originally Posted by andrewesque
I'm fairly certain you can now pre-schedule rides with Uber.

I believe this just means that a request is automatically put in at/just before the time you schedule it, and does not guarantee a ride in 100% of cases.

Uber's FAQ on this topic states "Scheduling a ride in advance does not guarantee you’ll be connected with a driver. In the rare case a driver cannot be found, you’ll be notified at the end of your selected time window."
Good to know for my own future reference -- thanks!
chgoeditor is offline  
Old Mar 20, 2017, 6:54 am
  #10  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,122
Originally Posted by gobluetwo
And this is precisely why I stuck with American Taxi for this ride, which assigns a specific driver (and provides their phone number) the night before. I didn't want to roll the dice with a request being sent at the start of my window and one not being available.

Going forward, I plan to use AT for the very early morning flights and use Uber/Lyft otherwise.
I live in the NW burbs, about 15 miles NW of ORD. Personally I have not taken Uber or Lyft. Not being critical of either service. Just that I just haven't used either one. But I have used American Taxi, a lot. I have tried other taxi services and several of the limousine services and have found American Taxi to be the best value and also most reliable. Alt least for me.
cheltzel is offline  
Old Mar 23, 2017, 1:15 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: ORD
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Platinum/LT Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 5,594
Originally Posted by gobluetwo
And this is precisely why I stuck with American Taxi for this ride, which assigns a specific driver (and provides their phone number) the night before. I didn't want to roll the dice with a request being sent at the start of my window and one not being available.

Going forward, I plan to use AT for the very early morning flights and use Uber/Lyft otherwise.
Even from the city (I'm not near blue line) I schedule a taxi the night before an early morning flight. I've found it more reliable and one less thing to deal with at 4 am. And without traffic, there's been very little price difference for me.
JBord is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.