Don’t Do This: I Learned Something New About Requesting an Uber Ride Last Night

Yesterday I flew home from Atlanta, to Charlotte, and then onward to my final destination of Washington Dulles Airport.

I used to live about 2 hours away from the airport, and would always drive, but I recently made a move that places me within about a 10 minute drive of the airport, which is really convenient, so I requested an Uber home, a first for me.

I inputted my pickup at the airport, and destination of 10 minutes away, and within seconds of requesting my ride, I received a text message from the driver asking where I was going.  Not thinking twice, I texted back the address. Within 5 seconds, the Uber driving cancelled. What the heck?

I re-requested a new driver, and that driver came within a few minutes. He didn’t ask my destination prior to picking me up, and I explained the story to him once I was in the car. He informed me that it’s a growing “scam” amongst Uber drivers at Dulles airport (and other places, too), that drivers will cancel rides not going to the inner city of Washington DC, or something of a substantial distance away. Since they can’t see your destination until they actually start the trip once they pick you up, the drivers will text riders to try and find out, circumventing the app. I had no idea this was a thing, but it was interesting to find out.

So…lesson learned: If the driver ask you your destination prior to pickup, don’t answer….or there’s a high likelihood they’ll cancel your trip. You learn something new every day.