LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Expect to wait longer for your Lyft or Uber if you’re in town to party and have some fun. This coming as more visitors are expected in Las Vegas for March Madness.
Getting an Uber or a Lyft is supposed to be routine whether you’re a visitor or a local. But for Dustin Richter, it was frustrating getting a ride from the airport.
“Over 45 minutes I was waiting to get a ride and there must have been a hundred other people that just arrived in town,” he said.
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Richter says he’s spoken to friends and other people who are running into the same issue.
“She’s having a really hard time getting rides and in the past, I don’t think it was quite an issue,” he said.
“Uber and Lyft are not giving us incentives as drivers and they’re paying 60 cents a mile for a smaller vehicle than this.”
Ryan Hazy has been a rideshare driver for four years. He drives a minivan decked out in sparkles for Uber and Lyft.
Hazy says the poor pay and unemployment benefits are causing some drivers to think twice about returning on the road.
“It’s not worth it and they’re collecting more money on unemployment than they are working, and I don’t blame them,” he said.
Hazy estimates the number of rideshare drivers in the valley has gone from thousands to hundreds now, unable to keep up with demand.
For Dave Carpenter, a seven-year rideshare driver rising gas prices and declining profits have made it tough with not many rides coming in as before. He says his usual revenue is down 80 percent from pre-pandemic levels.
“A lot of your rides are now $3, $4, when they used to $15, $20, $25, but there are not there anymore.”
Richter says he wound up taking a cab. He hopes as the city gets back to normal, more drivers may feel it’s time to get back on the road.
“We need to have the services available, when we do have tourists coming in, they do have a good experience.”
The rideshare drivers say making an appointment through the apps will help greatly allowing you to not have to wait around as much.
