You know it's gotten bad when rideshare poachers start stealing your Lyft rides.
One passenger, Erik, pinged me on the Van Ness corridor a little after ten this morning.
As I turned onto his block, I noticed a woman driver in a white Prius wearing a floppy hat waiting at the same location with her flashers on. As I pulled up, she opened her passenger door. I watched as Erik slunk into the back seat of her car and then canceled my ride just as I pulled up.
Me: "Excuse me, do you happen to have someone named Erik in your back seat?"
Ms. Poacher: "Ummm, yes..."
Me: "That's my passenger!"
As the puzzled driver looked on, Erik rolled down his window and sheepishly muttered some line about running late.
I pointed to my Lyft insignia, so they knew who I was, and made sure to tell the driver that her rider had pinged me moments before he happened to hop into her car.
When they didn't know what to say, I couldn't help feeling a bit superior and justified, and admonished them both.
"Poor Lyft protocol!"
No sense of justice here, but ahhh, that felt good!
Probably, the other driver was unaware she was part of Erik's little ride scheme.
I've seen actual poaching committed by certain cab drivers at SFO, who illegally wait for rides at the International terminal in the early hours before rush hour. When I had two rides cancel on me, in succession, I drove around to see these cabbies laying in wait with their 'taxi light' on, on the upper level, in violation of airport regulations. I've also read how some cabs in Boston will sometimes shadow Lyft drivers, pull up to a location where another rideshare passenger is waiting with their cell phone in order to score rides before the designated driver can get there.
But this is the first time I've had a rideshare driver steal a ride as I was pulling up to his location.
Then are the times when I've seen other rideshare vehicles waiting at my designated pickup address;
I can't confirm, but it's strange that both of us had arrived at the very same address and time.
I can only think that some passengers are in the habit of pinging multiple rideshare platforms and hop in the car that happens to arrive first.
Is this a generation's form of "rider roulette," where customers who are now used to merely punching a button, wait for the first random car to show up? Does this serve to reinforce their perception of being empowered through the ability to 'decide' to 'own the moment,' as Uber likes to say?
Not that I'm bitter about Erik, nor will I lose sleep about losing a ride. I've driven thousands of passengers just by being in the right place at the right time. Nor do I begrudge anyone wanting to get any place on time. That's the point of reliable ridesharing. Our universe promotes fairness. To put it another way, when there is enough to go around, at that point, both passenger and driver win.
So it's difficult to fathom why some drivers find it necessary to poach each other's business.
It's harder to feel badly for some poor schmo who may have an unforgiving boss, is late for work, needs to be some place, and feels compelled to game the rideshare system, unaware, though likely unconcerned how this costs both driver and company in actual time and money.
I've been driving Lyft for more than a year and don't see the point in gaming a ride.
The passengers I've driven feel confident in the system that inherently rewards superior service and knowledge of the city.
As with anything, some people are going to behave like jerks, no matter how few or many. But the vast majority of drivers and their customers live by Lyft's mutual code of etiquette.
As for my verbal protest, soon after my first passenger canceled I was pinged by another Lyft passenger.
So I don't feel too badly.
Do you think the rideshare community should address poaching or sound off on rideshare roulette? What's your opinion?
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