Airline Pilot abandoned by Lyft Driver
04-07-2018, 04:17 PM
#1
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Airline Pilot abandoned by Lyft Driver
Airline Pilot Going to LAX Is Left in Random Parking Lot After Lyft Driver Realizes He?ll Only Make $6 | KTLA
A man who ordered a Lyft to take him to Los Angeles International Airport this week was dropped off at a random parking lot instead after the driver realized how little money he would be making on the trip, according to a video recording of the incident.
Darryl, a pilot for a major airline who didn't want his last name used or his employer identified, was headed to LAX on Thursday morning for work when the incident took place.
He was on a tight schedule when the driver apparently realized it wasn't worth it financially for him to get the passenger to his destination and abruptly decided to abandon him.
Like many, Darryl had turned to the ride-hailing app when he needed to get to the airport.
His initial ride was canceled after the first Lyft driver realized he was already 15 minutes away from where Darryl was staying in Hermosa Beach. The second driver who responded happened to be coming from LAX when he went to pick him up, Darryl told KTLA in a Skype interview from Miami on Friday.
“He ... picked me up, I loaded the bag and we started to leave, and then I guess he looked at – the destination popped up on his phone at that time, and then he got very frustrated,” Darryl said. “He did not want to go back to LAX.”
Darryl, who was in his uniform at that time, told the driver he was a pilot and explained he needed to be at the airport by 7:30 a.m. to catch a flight. He even showed the young man his rank and wings.
Although the driver still appeared frustrated, he continued on with the ride, "gunning it" on South Bay surface streets and even "running stop signs," according to Darryl.
“Normally I would have said something but at that point I needed to be at work. So I just thought, ‘I’ll go along for the ride and see what happens,'" he said.
It wasn't until they got to Sepulveda Boulevard that the driver started talking about how little he was making on that ride, telling Darryl that he wanted to drop him off in the Trader Joe’s parking lot in Hermosa Beach, which is about 7 miles from LAX.
About to be kicked out of the vehicle, Darryl whipped out his cellphone and began filming the incident. He said he did so because things were quickly going downhill.
"Say why you're doing this again," Darryl can be heard asking the driver, who KTLA is not identifying. "I've done nothing wrong and you're kicking me out of the car?"
The driver responds that he has the right to refuse service; but then, he reveals the real reason he wants to abandon the ride – he'll only make $6 for what would end up being about an hour's worth of driving.
"That doesn't sound right to me," the driver said.
"Dude. I used the app to get a driver. You came and picked me up. And now you're just dropping me off in a parking lot?" an incredulous Darryl responded.
The driver then appeared to stop the vehicle and unlock the car doors.
Darryl made one last attempt with the driver, asking him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
The driver apologized to the passenger, again citing the low hourly pay while also acknowledging that the exchange was being filmed.
"It's fine that you recorded it" he said. "But I'm sorry, man, I can't make $6 an hour."
The approximately 50-second video ends there.
By then, it was 7:18 a.m. and Darryl wasn't going to make it to work on time. He called for another Lyft, which took him the rest of the way. He said he arrived at the airport 15 minutes late, but was grateful to the other driver who got him to his destination.
Afterward, Darryl contacted the company to inform them of what transpired on his original ride.
He hoped for an apology, but instead, Darryl said, he received just a "standard" form letter from Lyft assuring him the matter would be taken very seriously and that he would never be paired up with that driver again.
Darryl added that while he will continue to use ride-hailing services, he's displeased with Lyft's response to his complaint.
He said the company reached out to him again Friday morning, but would not discuss how they would be handling the driver involved.
“The driver – I hope he doesn’t work for that company again. I couldn’t believe that you would abandon somebody in the parking lot.” Darryl said. “That’s crazy.”
KTLA has reached out to Lyft for comment but has yet to hear back.
A man who ordered a Lyft to take him to Los Angeles International Airport this week was dropped off at a random parking lot instead after the driver realized how little money he would be making on the trip, according to a video recording of the incident.
Darryl, a pilot for a major airline who didn't want his last name used or his employer identified, was headed to LAX on Thursday morning for work when the incident took place.
He was on a tight schedule when the driver apparently realized it wasn't worth it financially for him to get the passenger to his destination and abruptly decided to abandon him.
Like many, Darryl had turned to the ride-hailing app when he needed to get to the airport.
His initial ride was canceled after the first Lyft driver realized he was already 15 minutes away from where Darryl was staying in Hermosa Beach. The second driver who responded happened to be coming from LAX when he went to pick him up, Darryl told KTLA in a Skype interview from Miami on Friday.
“He ... picked me up, I loaded the bag and we started to leave, and then I guess he looked at – the destination popped up on his phone at that time, and then he got very frustrated,” Darryl said. “He did not want to go back to LAX.”
Darryl, who was in his uniform at that time, told the driver he was a pilot and explained he needed to be at the airport by 7:30 a.m. to catch a flight. He even showed the young man his rank and wings.
Although the driver still appeared frustrated, he continued on with the ride, "gunning it" on South Bay surface streets and even "running stop signs," according to Darryl.
“Normally I would have said something but at that point I needed to be at work. So I just thought, ‘I’ll go along for the ride and see what happens,'" he said.
It wasn't until they got to Sepulveda Boulevard that the driver started talking about how little he was making on that ride, telling Darryl that he wanted to drop him off in the Trader Joe’s parking lot in Hermosa Beach, which is about 7 miles from LAX.
About to be kicked out of the vehicle, Darryl whipped out his cellphone and began filming the incident. He said he did so because things were quickly going downhill.
"Say why you're doing this again," Darryl can be heard asking the driver, who KTLA is not identifying. "I've done nothing wrong and you're kicking me out of the car?"
The driver responds that he has the right to refuse service; but then, he reveals the real reason he wants to abandon the ride – he'll only make $6 for what would end up being about an hour's worth of driving.
"That doesn't sound right to me," the driver said.
"Dude. I used the app to get a driver. You came and picked me up. And now you're just dropping me off in a parking lot?" an incredulous Darryl responded.
The driver then appeared to stop the vehicle and unlock the car doors.
Darryl made one last attempt with the driver, asking him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
The driver apologized to the passenger, again citing the low hourly pay while also acknowledging that the exchange was being filmed.
"It's fine that you recorded it" he said. "But I'm sorry, man, I can't make $6 an hour."
The approximately 50-second video ends there.
By then, it was 7:18 a.m. and Darryl wasn't going to make it to work on time. He called for another Lyft, which took him the rest of the way. He said he arrived at the airport 15 minutes late, but was grateful to the other driver who got him to his destination.
Afterward, Darryl contacted the company to inform them of what transpired on his original ride.
He hoped for an apology, but instead, Darryl said, he received just a "standard" form letter from Lyft assuring him the matter would be taken very seriously and that he would never be paired up with that driver again.
Darryl added that while he will continue to use ride-hailing services, he's displeased with Lyft's response to his complaint.
He said the company reached out to him again Friday morning, but would not discuss how they would be handling the driver involved.
“The driver – I hope he doesn’t work for that company again. I couldn’t believe that you would abandon somebody in the parking lot.” Darryl said. “That’s crazy.”
KTLA has reached out to Lyft for comment but has yet to hear back.
04-07-2018, 04:32 PM
#2
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,023
If people are going to use services like Lyft instead of a professional service, then they have to expect that they'll get less than professional results. Cheap don't always feed the bulldog.
I know a young man who drove for Lyft. The kid is a mess; severely bipolar, he's on medication that doesn't come close to controlling him. He's all over the place, scary to be around let alone to think someone might be behind him in a car. He functions in life, but just barely, and it's disappointing to note that he's allowed to drive at all, let alone to take passengers.
Lyft doesn't necessarily have the highest standards, any more than other such services. It's some guy taking you in his personal car, if he feels like it, and evidently this one didn't feel like it. It might have been the cheaper choice for the pilot on his way to work, but it cost him in the long run. Probably a similar reason we don't have Lyft for air passengers today. One would think as professionals, we'd know better.
I know a young man who drove for Lyft. The kid is a mess; severely bipolar, he's on medication that doesn't come close to controlling him. He's all over the place, scary to be around let alone to think someone might be behind him in a car. He functions in life, but just barely, and it's disappointing to note that he's allowed to drive at all, let alone to take passengers.
Lyft doesn't necessarily have the highest standards, any more than other such services. It's some guy taking you in his personal car, if he feels like it, and evidently this one didn't feel like it. It might have been the cheaper choice for the pilot on his way to work, but it cost him in the long run. Probably a similar reason we don't have Lyft for air passengers today. One would think as professionals, we'd know better.
04-07-2018, 04:38 PM
#3
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Joined APC: Dec 2017
Position: Retired NJA & AA
Posts: 1,918
NetJets actually has a deal with Lyft and encourages the pilots to use them. They even setup the expense reporting system for expedited entries for Lyft. But I agree they don't do that much background checking. I've had mostly good experiences with Uber/Lyft but a few bad ones too. Ditto for taxis. Generally ride sharing cars have been much cleaner than taxis thou.
04-08-2018, 08:23 AM
#4
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Posts: 386
Pilot booted from Lyft ride on way to LAX
04-08-2018, 08:32 AM
#5
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I've had to use Lyft and Uber on short hops to/from the airport, and at least half the drivers get really *****y about how much they're making.
Most drivers near the airport sit and wait for hours waiting for a trip, and most airport trips I have heard are pretty lucrative for them except for the short hops. I don't feel bad at all when they ***** at me and even got into it with one driver who essentially called me a bad person for calling a ride for a 5 mile trip.
This really doesn't surprise me.
Most drivers near the airport sit and wait for hours waiting for a trip, and most airport trips I have heard are pretty lucrative for them except for the short hops. I don't feel bad at all when they ***** at me and even got into it with one driver who essentially called me a bad person for calling a ride for a 5 mile trip.
This really doesn't surprise me.
04-08-2018, 09:09 AM
#8
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Posts: 386
Originally Posted by Andy
I've had the same crap happen with taxis - getting from the commercial side of an airport over to the cargo ramp and vice versa.
Yea they have to wait in line hoping for a good fare, it's not your fault they roll the dice.
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