How & When To Cancel A Lyft or Uber Ride Request You Already Accepted [Joe Explains]

Have you ever received a ride only to realize you can't actually take it? Whatever the reason, sometimes you just need to cancel an already accepted ride request. Here's how to cancel an accepted ride request and when you can do it.

(Uber is no longer offering sign-up bonuses in most cities)

[margiecallahan]

I actually had a very considerate rider who texted me that she is "going to the airport, is that okay?" (airport is 23 miles from the resort town I drive in.) Very nice of her to ask. First class.

[cresposaidso]

One of my favorite ways to get a passenger to cancel a ride I have accidentally accepted or that is farther a pickup than to drop off is to start driving then park the vehicle for a couple moment's and text the rider and notify him that the car has just caught a flat. When making a turn I hit a curb. Very few will ask questions and cancel the ride immidately. Don't charge the rider, and it doesn't count against you either which is the main objective. Today I just canceled a ride where I drove 16mins to location of pickup, the rider stopped texting, I went as far as calling and he didn't answer. I messaged him to reply or answer call if not I would cancel and charge. I waited 10 minutes. I canceled, charged him and went on about my night. I know there are 2 options you can select to cancel that won't count against your acceptance rate but I forgot which two.

[robm]

Five minutes is too much time they need to change all rides to two minutes it's a waste of time and gas uber and lyft don't pay shit for wait time

[-FOOTS]

Oftentimes well really all the time Uber tries to trick its drivers. They rotate the map around to what you think is South is actually either east west or north. You're getting requests they're not transparent by not showing you the address they show a direction and they spin the map around and so you accept it thinking it's going in the direction you are willing to go only to find out that it is not forcing you to cancel. And then Lyft you're doing something else with your phone just as a request comes in and they accept the trip for you when you don't mean to. I may be showing my age when I say this but it's like that Connect Four commercial when the boy says pretty sneaky sis LOL

[jerensamandari-rad]

How do you cancel an UBER ride, after sliding “Start the trip” followed by “Complete the trip”, and then “Do not charge the rider”, WITHOUT getting a 1-star from the upset rider?

[chrismiscellaneous]

If you wait till you arrive at a pick up location and then cancel it is absolutely horrible business practice and a terrible inconvenience for the customer. If you accept the trip take the trip ... no excuses. Personally I accept all trips in my small market as cherry picking rides isn’t very helpful here. tho I hear of drivers doing it all the time. I’d be willing to bet that two drivers in the same market one cherry picking and canceling trips and one who accepts all trips the one who accepts all will do better 90% of the time.

[wstingtyme]

In the Oklahoma City market, with the Lyft, you must call the passenger before you can get the cancellation fee. Just sending a text message does not result in cancellation fee.

[cappybenton]

This is an excellent video. I just got a warning email because I refused to take someone to the airport during rush hour. In the future I will use these techniques.

[Curtis_George]

I do a similar tactic that Jay uses on Lyft. If I arrive to the rider's pick up location & see that their drop off is too far for me to go then I'll cancel. The problem with that is that Lyft catches on to it eventually & you will be threatened with deactivation.

I'm a full time driver & consistently (seldom do I miss it) hit the Power Driver Bonus (%90 Acceptance Rate). I've been put in timeout twice now. Lyft hates this shit but I do it during peak hours & to keep my ride count average high (between 2.5-3 per hour is the goal).

[deepsky]

What will happen if there going 55 minutes away and I don't feel like driving that far and I cancel on them in front of them can I get kicked off from Lyft

[LeaPHNX]

When a pax is heading to work, Waiting until you arrive at the pickup location to cancel is horrible and terrible business practice.. Especially when it's a scheduled ride through Lyft. I've had this happen and then have to wait 6-15 minutes for another driver. But hey, life's not fair sometimes

[julieray]

How about you check how far away the rider is before accepting but if you accept follow through on your commitment? A text that says a driver is coming is a written contract and subject to the laws of the land.

[davva]

I hate to cancel but I did cancel one on Saturday at an apartment complex. I was outside for more than 5 minutes. Even tried getting out and checking the inside courtyard of the apartment but could not see the rider anywhere. Shame as it was a long pick up.
I think they should show us the route before you accept. I know why they don't want to do that but I had a customer Saturday who was way out of town and he told me that two other drivers had accepted but then cancelled. This is a bad customer experience.

[jameslemerand]

On newer Lyft App, I don't see an option to send a text to the customer... just a call... When pax sends me a text, it shows up in small print, at the top of the screen, for just a moment. Hafta go to messaging to see what it said... not good when driving.

[Lovingoddess]

Yessss I agree I agree I will not call you if I wait the full five minutes and you can see on the app how close or how far I am in distance before I actually get to you

[tyhenderson]

What if pax is just too shit faced, is that a legit reason? Fairly new, but tiring quickly of the pax that can't talk, falls asleep, etc. Have a new car, and have yet to have a good experience with pax that is this wasted.

[williamleal]

Trust me FF to 3:50 to where the video starts. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[SKuNKWRXx]

Five and drive.  I use to arrive at the PU location for the pax and text them via the RideAustin or Fasten app (previously UBER when I worked Fort Hood).  I had a pre-programmed five minute timer.  Upon arrival, I would text.  I would then wait 2.5 minutes and text again.  Lastly, at 30 seconds, I would call the pax and inform them that I am here.  This gave them ample time to tell me they were coming.  Most of the time I'm forgiving if the pax at least replies.  But at five minutes, if you don't answer my call, I cancel and drive off.  Every ride I'm given means I'm the closest driver.  So I accept all rides.  If they can't wait for my arrival, then that's on the pax.

[thomasdowen]

You stated with Uber you cannot see your destination until you start the ride. I work on Detroit, Michigan suburbs, and I see my destination before I even accept. ? does it very by cities states any info would be helpful thank you

[SoulBrights]

On Lyft Platform After Time Expired You Have To Call 📞 To Get Canceled Pay On Uber You Don't Have To Call. TODAY cancelation Is 2$ Or 3$.