View Full Version : Uber
naperica
07-28-2016, 22:32
Has anyone used Uber to park, section hike then Uber it back to your car?
Gambit McCrae
07-29-2016, 07:58
I posted with out reading that this was in the "other trails" section, terribly sorry. I will leave my comments below, although keep in mind they were written when thinking of using uber for the Appalachian Trail.
Its not a BAD idea?....for certain sections at least..
My concerns with it are:
-Bad cell reception at end location
-The trail is a large % back roads, deep rural highways or country towns off the interstate. I would be concerned that there aren't any uberers in the area
-Knowledge of the trail isn't a necessity but it is nice and to get to many trailheads, it takes a knowledge of the trail intersections to get there in a timely manner.
-cost - I have not used uber, but I would guess that it averages out to be more then a $1 per mile
I'd strongly recommend against relying on uber for shuttling to AT trailheads. Gambit Mcrae lists many valid reasons. Furthermore,it's not like a regular shuttle service where you call someone and they come pick you up. Uber relies on drivers being online and available in the area. I bet you will have far less drivers in those rural or back woods areas than you would in say the suburbs of Atlanta. You could be waiting an extended period of time for someone to come and pick you up. Also, I would be concerned about the Uber gps working and if some areas have weak or non existent cell reception then you can't use uber. Yes Uber in most places charges over dollar a mile. Everyone should also be aware that Uber takes 20-25 percent of the fare. So what ever you pay for the ride, the driver gets often 25 % less. It's just not cost effective for drivers to Uber in rural areas.
naperica
08-09-2016, 17:32
Thanks for the replies. This will be on the New England Scenic Trail in CT an MA. You are never really far from houses.....
I will take all of what you said into consideration though.
Cheers!
Greenlight
08-09-2016, 17:38
I drive for Uber and Lyft occasionally. Let me tell you why this would be a bad idea. First, ride share services only operate around densely populated areas. All ride share services want you to be close enough to pick the person up with three to five minutes. That doesn't always happen, but if I saw a ride request where the pick up location was 45 minutes away, I'd cancel the request from my end and press the button that says, "don't charge the rider." The few times I have taken a request from that far away, they only had me take them two or three miles. So I wasted the requests I would have gotten during that time, burned gas, put wear and tear on my car, for a five dollar ride that took an hour and a half to complete. That's less than $2.50 an hour I'd be making. It don't make no dollars or sense.
Has anyone used Uber to park, section hike then Uber it back to your car?
Apparently Uber can be used to cross the CT River in Massachusetts on the NET. NET Thru hiker "Woody" blogs about it here: https://woodycooks2.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/new-england-trail-thruhike-day-8/
Starchild
10-03-2016, 09:34
Just a Uber FYI, I checked Uber from Fort Lee NJ (high population density, next to NYC) to Hudson NY (2 hours north, very low population rural area) and it does go there), Not sure if the drivers would accept such a long trip, but at least they do get that far away from home base area. (cost was about $100 estimated).
As for cell service, it is not dependable once you are in VT and points north, but pretty consistent from WVA>MA with some limited areas. Carrier dependant.
LazyLightning
10-09-2017, 18:53
I'm almost up to Mt. Monadnock now having done the NET northbound, section hiking on weekends and pretty much doing what this thread talks about, parking Friday night and getting an Uber back to the truck. This worked well up to Wendell State Forest where we got one but it took a long time and it's been Taxi service since then. Uber was about $25 per trip for the weekend and the taxi has been about $60 plus tip, mainly cause their coming from so far out. A taxi service in Greenfield is the only one for a long ways. Surprisingly it was the hardest for us to get a taxi in Troy this past weekend, tried over 5 places and had to wait over 2 hours when we found one. Also on the main route after descending Mt. Grace we had to walk over 5 miles down the road looking for cell reception to even call for a ride - we never even found reception but a home owner recognized us from the Mt. Grace summit and let us use his landline phone - I thought we'd be pitching our tents and missing work the next day with no way to call anyone. Still all part of the fun I say and it's been worth every price we've paid to be able to be out and make it happen.
I think I'll park and do a back and fourth for Gap Mt. saving a Taxi and then Summit Mt. Monadnock the following weekend, coming down the Dublin Trail and then looking for a taxi back to the truck. I thought there were other trails or at least one to continue north in NH from Mt. Monadnock but I can't find anything on that.
Emerson Bigills
10-09-2017, 20:28
Just a general comment regarding Uber in the Northeast section of the AT. It was a failure. We tried in several spots to get Uber service and we never were successful. The trail towns are not usually in densely populated areas and even when you get in one, it seemed to never work for us. I think we tried in Hanover and couldn't get anyone available the two times we searched. Good luck, but have a backup plan.
NJdreamer
10-09-2017, 20:34
I had success using Lyft in NY, near Bear Mountain, when we found we could not finish the hike planned, and it was that, or start begging others for rides. We had a Lyft driver within minutes. She told us she regularly works in the area, just not usually for hikers. I posted a similar topic, asking about Uber or Lyft in the Shuttle forum. My guess is yes, we will be able to get a ride, but we will do it opposite and do it as we would use a shuttler. Ask the driver to meet us at our car, and shuttle to the starting point.
littlefoot33
10-21-2017, 20:42
I have been slowly day-hiking the NET (which is more certainly NOT a wilderness experience) over the past few years, and I took a Lyft in the Westfield area of Massachusetts, which is very urban. It was a nice option, since otherwise I would've been out-and-back or road-walking to loop back to my car. This way I could get more miles out of my day! I am doubtful this strategy will work as well as I get into northern Massachusetts...
LazyLightning
10-24-2017, 09:34
I have been slowly day-hiking the NET (which is more certainly NOT a wilderness experience) over the past few years, and I took a Lyft in the Westfield area of Massachusetts, which is very urban. It was a nice option, since otherwise I would've been out-and-back or road-walking to loop back to my car. This way I could get more miles out of my day! I am doubtful this strategy will work as well as I get into northern Massachusetts...
we never tried Lyft but Uber was good through Westfield but once you get past Amherst and close to Quabbin Reservoir I'd make sure to have a plan B, we got a Uber north at Wendell State Forest but that seemed lucky. Taxi's worked but were expensive until Troy, we tried calling about 7 different taxi's before we got one to come. Surprised me cause Troy was a busy little town. I parked and went back and fourth for Gap Mt. and then Monadnock ths past weekend. What a beautiful mountain and nice way to end the trail...
of course I'll pick up the Monadnock-Sunapee sometime in the future, probably hike that one straight through... gotta see if any trails continue from there.
I took an Uber to cross the Connecticut from the Mt. Holyoke side to the Mt. Tom side this October. Took one ride into NoHampton, give me some pizza and beer, the another ride out to the trail again before evening. I'd imagine Uber would be easy from north of Guilford all the way to the Connecticut river crossing in MA. Cell reception is great using Verizon all the way from Guilford, CT to Northfield, MA. Up north you'll have spottier reception, but you can generally get reception on the hills.
Uber worked great for the numerous times I used it on the NET this fall. I agree with the assessment above about the Quabbin Reservoir. It's pretty sparse between there and Wendell (and most of the way to Royalston). It's an excellent way to hike the spur trail. I shuttled from the CT River back to Rockland Preserve, which is the closest access to the trail junction that I know about.
Having hiked the AT also, I'd say they are very different trails. Success or failure of Uber on the AT does not translate to the NET.
MASS.PILOT
08-22-2018, 11:20
This is my biggest concern. I don't want to have to walk back to my car, and double my hike!