NYC Ride Share Pricing Is Out Of Control

2.2K

I’ve heard rumors about how pricing for ridesharing services Uber and Lyft are out of control in Manhattan. For most of our trip to NYC, we took the subway and used Apple Pay with the MTA’s OMNY readers. However, there was one time when we needed a ride to get from one place to another and there was no subway around.

We exited the McKittrick Hotel after experiencing Sleep No More for the first time post-pandemic. While the Chelsea neighborhood near The Highline and Hudson Yards has changed much in the past 10 years since the show debuted, there’s still limited public transportation in the area.

We plugged in a bar close to our hotel as a destination. Uber’s options were UBER expensive for the short ride uptown.  The least expensive ride was an Uber Black for $40. An Uber X (usually the least expensive option) was the most expensive option at $70. As Uber said, “Fares are a lot higher…”

Forget Uber. What about Lyft?

I can’t say that Lyft’s prices were cheaper than Uber’s, but I felt better about paying $30 for a Lyft Black than paying $10 more for an equivalent service from Uber.

While I felt a bit “extra” ordering a Lyft Black, I had no problems boarding our Infinity SUV  for the short ride uptown. The vehicle was spotless and our driver was professional, more than some Uber X or Lyft drivers I’ve experienced. I even offered to get dropped off at the corner, instead of having him drive us all the way around the block to drop us off at our destination.

I’m not sure if it was the tip or that we were a pleasant ride for a Friday night, but shortly after the trip, Lyft sent me our 5-star rider award.

Fortunately, we try to take the subway for most of our trips around New York City. There are times when that’s not feasible and we end up taking ride-share services or taxis. This example shows that you have to shop around and sometimes the more expensive option can sometimes be cheaper than the so-called value services.

Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.

Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.

Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!

This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary