[fairsailing]

Most recent update, 7/18 in this market at least, appears to have eliminated pickup address until after acceptance. All I now see is rating and Lyft's optimistic time to pickup until after I have accepted the ride. Even the tiny map during acceptance is so small as to be useless. Anyone else seeing this or is my Android phone having issues?

 

[Jo3030]

Yep no more addresses til you accept.
Just a random super optimistic pickup time listed below.... which you know is really 3-6 more minutes than it says on the screen.

 

[Jo3030]

Actually, upon further review, the address is still posted within the map but it is unreadable even w/ a iphone 6s plus.
So it's basically as if they took it away.

 

[fairsailing]

I at least understood the masking of destinations to avoid cherrypicking. Are they now trying to dupe drivers into long chases after eliminating any incentive to hit 90% acceptance with no more guarantees and no pdb for cars older than five years. What do they think drivers are going to do.... Now they are going to start threatening deactivation for cancels. Try paying better Lyft. It's a lot easier.

 

[Jo3030]

The part that kicks my ass is that their estimates for arrival are never actually true.
So .... it says 7 mins, really takes you 12 and you have no idea of the actual address cuz you are basically not able to read it since it's so small.
Bad move.

 

[fairsailing]

Yep, and if you happen to be close to a freeway 9 minutes Lyft time can be 9 miles or more, and during rush hour 20 minutes. I have had many Google Map time doubles over "Lyft Time". That's part of the reason why the actual address was helpful if you know your city well.

 

[AllenChicago]

Actually, upon further review, the address is still posted within the map but it is unreadable even w/ a iphone 6s plus.
So it's basically as if they took it away.

While the count-down timer is ticking away, the tiny map that Lyft uses to show where the pick-up location is, is extremely out of proportion. The further away the pick-up location is, the more the map is manipulated by Lyft to give you the impression that the requestor is only a couple of miles from where you are. Lyft started showing us this "skewed" map back in March, but the effect got worse when the "new and improved" 3-way Lyft app was pushed out to us, about 45 days ago.

 

[AllenChicago]

The part that kicks my ass is that their estimates for arrival are never actually true.
So .... it says 7 mins, really takes you 12 and you have no idea of the actual address cuz you are basically not able to read it since it's so small.
Bad move.

You're so right, Jo3030! I've complained about this several times in various forum threads, and to Lyft Support on 2 occasions. (Lyft told me to be grateful that demand is so high. Duh?!)

It doesn't seem so bad when 2 minutes is actually 4 minutes, but when you get up into the 8+ minute range, there's no telling how much longer the REAL travel time will be. Once you're handed off to Google Maps, you'll get a pretty decent estimate...but it's too late then. You're committed.

This underestimating travel time to pickup is by design. Doing so also gives the potential passenger the impression that you're only 8 minutes away, instead of 12, 15, or more. This is why so many of these passengers cancel. They request the ride thinking it's only an 8 minute wait time, and once you start driving in their direction, they see that there's no way you'll get there in 8 minutes. The repeat Lyft riders know that this is how Lyft operates. The newer riders think that you're an incompetent driver, and cancel. Or, like one guy did with me today, asked me in frustration, "How long you been drivin?!". (App showed 10 minutes... actual time was 16 minutes. He was standing out in 96 degree heat waiting.)

 

[fairsailing]

While the count-down timer is ticking away, the tiny map that Lyft uses to show where the pick-up location is, is extremely out of proportion. The further away the pick-up location is, the more the map is manipulated by Lyft to give you the impression that the requestor is only a couple of miles from where you are. Lyft started showing us this "skewed" map back in March, but the effect got worse when the "new and improved" 3-way Lyft app was pushed out to us, about 45 days ago.

Sooo... today the pre-acceptance map returned to a useful state that I have not seen since, well, probably 45 days ago. Today the map zoomed to an appropriate level so I could see my vehicle's actually relationship to the call before acceptance. Prior to today the scale was such that I could not see anything on the map without a magnifying glass (I am using a 2014 Moto X).

It is almost as if Lyft is reading this forum.... Nah....

 

[LowRiderHyundai5000]

Not loving the new update. Ah well.

 

[Luvnlifelady]

I noticed that last night too. The ride seems fairly close and after accepting it, I realize it's pretty far and also out in an area I am not likely to get a ride to get back to the starting point. Waste of time and $.

 

[BmoreDriver]

I've been having issues with the network. I'm a new driver and had a good 2 days with Lyft but the 3rd day I was not on the network and never knew it. I must have been waiting around for a long time before realizing that I was not on the network. I reset my phone and only then got a txt from Lyft that the network was not available and I should find a better location. I was literally within eye site of the state capital house and the bustling district. No network? I switched to Uber and got pings all night. I was just really frustrated. How long was I not on the network? Idunno. Now when I'm on Lyft I keep checking my earnings to see if it loads up. If it does then I know I'm still on the network. But still. Is there a better way?

 

[fairsailing]

...Is there a better way?

Yes, turn off WiFi when you are in heavy WiFi signal areas and not using WiFi. The phone will sometimes, not always, turn off your cell network thinking you are connecting to WiFi that requires either a password and/or an acceptance of usage terms. So you end up having neither, and it is not obvious. Happened to me when I was a new driver too. It is very frustrating. The tip off on some phones is the small cell network icon has an exclamation point next to it.