A Different Kind of Cancel Culture: 10 Reasons Why Drivers Cancel Rides

I may also play Steely Dan

I've had this conversation dozens of times during my time as a rideshare driver.

The passenger gets in the car, listens to me confirm the address and amenities, and then launches into a tirade about how their last driver did such and such. Usually involving canceling the ride.

And while it's rarely, if ever, in my interest to be confrontational or defend some other driver that may or may not be defensible... 

The fact of the matter is that I am 100% certain that I've inspired this same conversation for other drivers. 

So, here's why it happens.

1) You didn't value the driver's time. Rideshare drivers make about 3X as much money for moving as we do for waiting. No rideshare driver wants to wait. For anything. Ever.

2) Other passengers do value the driver's time. We know the way the app works -- how the map shows the car going to your location, how reminders and alerts pop up, etc. Depending on the day and area, passengers are ready and waiting for us, to the point of not having to worry about parking, annoying other drivers, or running afoul of police attention. 

So we know passengers can do better. Those that don't are making a choice not to. And ideally, we would spend our time as efficiently as possible, for people that allow us to do that.

3) A cancel may save the driver from future drama. The passenger that's using the full clock and beyond to get in the car often has other things going on in their life that will spill over into this transaction. Whether or not the driver has time for that is highly variable.

The only real drawback of this is when the ap pings you with the person you just canceled. That's not exactly a comfortable moment. If I had the ability to 3-star a passenger and prevent the next attempt at the ride that didn't happen, I totally would. As is, they more often than not get 3 stars at the end of the re-started ride anyway.

4) The ap told us to. Especially in the middle of a long shift, it's far easier to press the button the second it lets you, rather than extend more courtesy to people who have already exhausted the legal limit. Many drivers are just going to do what the ap tells them to, especially if they are preoccupied with other thoughts (and well, that can happen). 

5) There's a better price on another app. Seven out of ten drivers are on more than one platform, and there's often a better deal brewing somewhere else. Canceling a slow passenger and going to the other platform may also help us avoid getting the slow passenger again.

6) People who make you wait do not tip any more than people that do not. You might think this isn't the case, and that you are totally going to tip the driver for putting them out like this... but, well, passengers who make the driver wait are already breaking the social contract. Expecting them to make up for it is not where, frankly, the data lies.

7) We've got a rides completion bonus to make, and tardy pickups aren't helping. Rideshare platforms routinely gives drivers a Quest number to make before a certain deadline. As we don't control how many requests we get, nor how far they are going or how long they might take, getting to the next passenger who isn't dawdling may be in our strong personal interest.

8) Your area isn't a comfortable place to wait. Rideshare drivers are a little bit like any worker in a hazardous occupation; our first goal is to get home safe, and everything else is secondary. If your area is tight with traffic, heavy with police presence, or puts as at risk of being accosted by people with life challenges... we're getting out of Dodge at the first moment we can. You probably would too.

9) Your rating (or destination) is telling us not to wait. I don't generally pay a lot of attention to a passenger's rating when I accept a ride. I've got about 10-15 seconds to do that, looking at the screen while driving is not terribly safe, and for all I know, you've been the victim of a single unreliable driver. I can always 3-star a passenger at the completion of the ride, and bad fares make for better stories (and grist for this blog!) later. Nearly everyone gets the first ride.

But when I'm sitting for time with nothing else to do while a passenger isn't getting in the car? Well, howdy, I'm checking your rating, Or thinking about how nice it would be to not have to go to your remote destination that isn't likely to make for a good period of my day's earnings.

10) We're making it better for the next driver. Want to know the commonality of everyone who gets in my car after a previous driver canceled on them? They all got there before the clock ran out. Funny coincidence, yes?