The other day I noticed the option to ‘schedule’ an Uber in my app. I’ve always been the type to use them at a moments notice, but this seems like a great options.
Especially for early morning rides to airports. But in these scenarios where rides are a necessity, are Uber Scheduled rides reliable?
How Reliable Is Uber Schedule A Ride?
Uber offer two types of rides: instant and scheduled. To access either ride type, you need an Uber account. When you schedule a ride, your request is submitted and logged into the system. However, your ride is only confirmed at the time you need it, and only once you have received your driver details.
Scheduled Uber rides aren’t any more or less reliable than instant rides. If drivers aren’t in the area at the time of your scheduled ride, you won’t have a confirmed Uber.
This article takes a look at Uber’s Schedule a Ride service: what it is, how it works, why is sometimes doesn’t work, and what you can do about it.
What Is Uber Schedule A Ride?
Schedule a Ride lets you organize your Uber ride ahead of time. Say you have a future event planned, and you know you’ll need a ride to get there. The uber app will let you schedule that ride up to 30 days in advance. You need to schedule at least 60 minutes in advance for your price for the trip to be locked in.
Uber riders use Schedule a Ride for:
- Rides to the airport (however, Schedule a Ride is not available for pickups from the airport)
- Work functions
- Evenings or days out
- Medical appointments
- Job interviews
- Meetings
It’s important to know that Uber will actively monitor all active cars at the time you requested to find your ride, but they can’t actually guarantee the ride.
This is because is some locations such as big cities and any busy areas, where there are always Uber drivers available, it occasionally happens that there are no drivers available. This unavailability applies to you too, regardless of whether your ride request is instant or scheduled.
This occurs because of the constantly fluctuating supply and demand, and when it happens to you, you’ll be notified immediately.
How Do I Schedule An Uber Ride?
First open the Uber Rider app and tap schedule. You’ll then need to provide your pickup information, such as date, time, location, destination, and ride type, and then you’ll get a price estimate. And, yes, the prices is only an estimate: the actual cost will be displayed at the end of the ride.
Then click confirm to set the details of your upcoming trip.
You can edit or cancel these details at any time before your ride. Note that scheduled rides are subject to the same cancellation policies as on-demand rides.
Basically, you can be charged a fee (between $5 and $10) if you don’t cancel your instant Uber ride within around five minutes (even less in some locations). However, if the driver cancels on you, there’s no fee.
If you cancel a scheduled Uber ride, there’s no penalty providing you cancel before a driver is assigned to you and on the way to pick you up.
To cancel a ride, open the app and select your trips from your app menu. Then click on upcoming and tap cancel. Remember: it’s fine to cancel a scheduled ride in advance of the pickup time without any charge, but normal cancellation fees apply once you have been connected with that driver.
Read: Can You Pay Cash For Uber?
How Do I Know If My Uber Schedule A Ride Is Confirmed?
When you book your scheduled ride via the app, you’ll need to enter your trip information and select the ride service you want.You’ll then be able to retrieve these details via the app prior to your trip.
To check that your scheduled ride has been submitted, go to your trips in your app menu, and select upcoming. Here you’ll be able to see (and review and/or edit) any upcoming scheduled trips.
A few minutes before your scheduled trip, nearby available drivers will receive your ride request.
Your ride will be confirmed only when a driver accepts your request, and you receive your driver details. Uber doesn’t guarantee that a driver will be available to accept your ride request regardless of how long ago you scheduled the ride. Your ride is only confirmed once you receive those details of your driver.
The driver who accepts your trip request will arrive at your pickup location at any time within your 10-minute window. It is recommended that you be ready and available for pickup at this time. Any driver who cannot locate you at your pickup location may cancel your ride after 5 minutes.
What Do I Do If Uber Cancels My Scheduled Ride?
Cancellations of scheduled rides have become an issue over recent years. Uber has responded that a spike in demand for instant and scheduled rides (way above pre-pandemic levels) is the reason for more frequent cancellations and other issues.
You will not be charged a cancellation fee if there is no available driver to confirm your trip. When this occurs, all you can do wait for another driver to become available.
This is because when riders use Uber Schedule a Ride, they are scheduling a notification for a driver, not an actual driver.
Is It Cheaper To Schedule An Uber Ride In Advance?
There is no difference in pricing between instant Uber rides and scheduled rides, and there is no cost for booking the notification in advance.
However, the price you end up paying will be based on demand at the time of your ride, so if you’ve reserved a ride during peak-hour traffic, your ride might be a little more expensive.
Why Is My Uber Schedule A Ride Not Showing Up?
A scheduled Uber ride is only confirmed only once you receive your driver details, and you’ll get this notification for your ride around 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time. Uber cannot guarantee there will be Uber drivers online at the exact time of the pickup.
Uber drivers, as independent contractors, have a daily income target and their own driving schedules. No driver is obliged to be on call at (or when) you need them. The reasons drivers don’t show up include:
- There are simply no drivers available during the time and at the location you require
- There are very few drivers available during the time and at the location you require anyway
- There is an unforeseen spike in demand at the time you scheduled your tide
- Road and/or traffic hazards have affected the availability of drivers
- You’re experiencing an app outage
- You’ve missed the driver due to confusion over location and/or time
Summary
Uber’s Schedule a Ride service can cause a bit of confusion because it’s easy to assume you’re scheduling a driver rather than a notification for a driver.
Scheduled rides are subject to the same service availability issues as instant rides.
If your ride hasn’t turned up, all you can do is be patient and wait for another ride or make alternative arrangements.