Uber Express Pool
Jun 16, 2018, 5:27 pm
#16
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve
Posts: 811
This is exactly what I wish Uber could solve for me. I don't necessarily know the traffic patterns when I'm traveling. Uber clearly has have that capability (optimizing based on real-time traffic), but only seems to offer it during Express Pool.
Jun 24, 2018, 7:08 am
#17
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: LA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, SPG Gold, Delta Platinum Medallion, AAdvantage Platinum Pro
Posts: 600
I have used Express Pool quite a bit in San Francisco, here are my comments.
Pickups are challenging. The Uber app might say, "walk to NW corner of XXX and YYY street." But the driver may end up approaching the SE corner. Or the entire intersection will be clogged with traffic and have no place for a car to pull over.
Dropoffs are confusing. You won't know where the driver is actually taking you, because the dropoff location may change as co-riders are added. You just have to wait for the driver to tell you when it's time to get out of the car, and then you're on your own to your actual destination.
Savings are trivial for short trips. A 2-3 mile ride from SOMA to Hayes Valley just now was $5 Express, $6 Pool.
Savings may be substantial for long trips, but is your destination walkable? I often see SF to South Bay on the order of $20 Express, $30 Pool, $40 UberX. But beware that suburbs can be impractical to navigate on foot. I had a co-rider who would have had to cross a highway and walk uphill to a gated community after his Express Pool dropoff. Our driver took pity on him and drove to his front door.
Even a short walk could be hazardous. In many areas, 1 city block is all it takes to separate safety from danger. I once called Uber Express Pool from a luxury apartment late at night and saw, "walk to 6th & Mission." Cancel, cancel, cancel!
Pickups are challenging. The Uber app might say, "walk to NW corner of XXX and YYY street." But the driver may end up approaching the SE corner. Or the entire intersection will be clogged with traffic and have no place for a car to pull over.
Dropoffs are confusing. You won't know where the driver is actually taking you, because the dropoff location may change as co-riders are added. You just have to wait for the driver to tell you when it's time to get out of the car, and then you're on your own to your actual destination.
Savings are trivial for short trips. A 2-3 mile ride from SOMA to Hayes Valley just now was $5 Express, $6 Pool.
Savings may be substantial for long trips, but is your destination walkable? I often see SF to South Bay on the order of $20 Express, $30 Pool, $40 UberX. But beware that suburbs can be impractical to navigate on foot. I had a co-rider who would have had to cross a highway and walk uphill to a gated community after his Express Pool dropoff. Our driver took pity on him and drove to his front door.
Even a short walk could be hazardous. In many areas, 1 city block is all it takes to separate safety from danger. I once called Uber Express Pool from a luxury apartment late at night and saw, "walk to 6th & Mission." Cancel, cancel, cancel!
I'll add an additional drawback: Uber drivers are less likely to accept your request if you order an Express POOL because they know that people who choose this option are less likely to tip, and are more likely to rate them lower because they are unhappy about the experience of having to walk from a bad drop off point (and not the driver).
I ordered it once, and after seeing the next pickup literally sprinting to make the pickup in time (apparently she had to run almost 0.3 miles in about 2 minutes) to avoid a cancellation fee (the cancellation timer is 2 minutes on a POOL ride) and realizing that the 15 minute ride ended up taking close to 30 minutes because of all the additional pickups, I learned that the $3 I saved was not worth it.
Jun 24, 2018, 2:23 pm
#18
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,374
Jun 25, 2018, 1:32 pm
#19
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold, Hertz PC, National Exec
Posts: 6,736
That's the way it seems to work in NYC. I don't know if they know the initial pickup is an UberPool pickup, but after that, the app just beeps, and adds another pickup, there's no option for the driver.
Jun 27, 2018, 12:22 am
#20
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: American Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,640
That's the way it has always worked in my area for LyftLine. The driver doesn't see what kind of ride it is, and it doesn't tell them it's a line ride until they've picked me up.
Jul 16, 2018, 10:20 am
#21
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: LA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, SPG Gold, Delta Platinum Medallion, AAdvantage Platinum Pro
Posts: 600
For the first request, drivers often avoid Uber POOL pickups for several reasons. It is paid out at a worse rate than regular UberX, and passengers tend to be more difficult to deal with.
Jul 27, 2018, 1:39 am
#22
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,374
Anyhow - I used Uber Express Pool again tonight. This time the app gave me a notification with my exact dropoff location at some point during my ride. But the dropoff location was just on the shoulder of a major thoroughfare with no sidewalks.
Jul 27, 2018, 9:52 pm
#23
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Ambassador/LTP, Nat'l Exec Elite, LEYE Gold
Posts: 6,670
I used Express Pool to get from K Street in DC to Dulles the other day -- $18 vs ~$35 for pool vs $54 for UberX. I had time to kill so at that rate it was worth seeing what it would cost to save $36. I was asked to walk from 1629 K St NW to Connecticut & K (about a 3 minute walk). Driver was clueless about the fact that I had been told to go to a specific corner. We were supposed to pick up another passenger, but someone must have canceled -- because I ended up getting the ride to IAD solo for the $18 (and was working on laptop in the car anyhow). What a steal. (And, as expected, I was dropped at the normal IAD dropoff area because where else would they drop you, out on the tarmac somewhere?)
Tried it again another time to go a short distance in DC but the 3 minute walk on each end was very not worth it. I'll definitely consider it to or from an airport if I have the buffer.
Tried it again another time to go a short distance in DC but the 3 minute walk on each end was very not worth it. I'll definitely consider it to or from an airport if I have the buffer.
Jul 31, 2018, 9:46 am
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 38,631
I took express pool on 3 short rides yesterday. The percentage disparities were quite large, i.e., express/pool/X on one ride was approximately $4/$8/$12. I'm not too proud to walk a few blocks. One ride did put me on the other side of the street than the driver's arrival, but I saw him, waved, and crossed the street ... and amusingly confusingly told me to go to the SW corner of Broadway and Broadway.
Sep 13, 2018, 10:29 am
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: RSW
Programs: Delta - Silver; UA - Silver; HHonors - Diamond; IHG - Spire Ambassador; Marriott Bonvoy - Titanium
Posts: 14,185
Yesterday, the Uber driver app was having the driver, as he neared within a couple if blocks, all of a sudden make a convoluted minor reroute that caused my Uber-assigned pick-up spot across very busy traffic to be either impossible or difficult to actually accomplish. The first driver waited on his side of the street for 2 minutes, and cancelled as a no-show, so I was dinged the $5. The next driver realized what was going on, and caught a lucky break in that he could pull across the the designated street in a brief traffic lull to actually pick me up in the correct spot. I objected to the cancellation fee online, which was immediately refunded by Uber.