Is Lyft any good ?

Jigglypuff510

I want to take the Commuter Rail to North Station then use Lyft to get to the BCEC, is it any good and are the drivers safe ?

jforjamtastic

I use lyft occasionally, I've had no issues. Traffic around Boston is bad during rush hours and around the BCEC during PAX will be a pain. It might be easier to take the Orange Line to Downtown Crossing and either walk from there, or catch a Redline to South Station and then walk.

nevermore13

Ive used lyft and did so last year with no problems. The walk from South Station is not bad, and the bcec area is crowded. If you use lyft though maybe have them drop you at a close hotel like the Aloft and then walk from there.

abdooooo

I used Lyft exclusively to get around Boston during last Pax East. I had a really good experience with the drivers.

Direwolf

Boston also has it's own local alternative: Fasten.

Solanales

Having used all 3 (uber, lyft, and fasten) in my experience they were all pretty much the same with uber having the longest waits last year but lyft having the longest waits the year before.

stardust462

I like all three, but Fasten doesn't have those surcharges during peak times like Lyft or Uber does.

Jigglypuff510

jforjamtastic wrote: »

I use lyft occasionally, I've had no issues. Traffic around Boston is bad during rush hours and around the BCEC during PAX will be a pain. It might be easier to take the Orange Line to Downtown Crossing and either walk from there, or catch a Redline to South Station and then walk.

Yeah I take the orange line almost everyday, my only concern would be my badges or any other thing on me getting stolen, the subway is notorious for that.

Jigglypuff510

Solanales wrote: »

Having used all 3 (uber, lyft, and fasten) in my experience they were all pretty much the same with uber having the longest waits last year but lyft having the longest waits the year before.

I will look into all 3, so far I was thinking of using Lyft Line to cut the price a little bit.

eilonwy

I generally prefer Lyft and find the drivers to be more personable. Prices are also good.

EL_Limon_Cubano

Living in Boston I say best way to get around is Train and walking. Especially withing downtown. Just get a 7 day pass for $21 and you can get around on Train/Bus the whole time you are here. If your flying in there is a shuttle that goes right to the terminals and takes you to Blue Line Train into Downtown. Only bad thing here with public transportation is that it does close around 12:50 and comes back up around 5:30am. But they are working on a late night bus service that hopefully is up in time for PAX.

NFG

I used Lyft during PAX east last year, and have used it in NYC. Fairly reliable and affordable. I wouldn't say they're much better or worse than Uber.

Lyft has a lot of promotions all the time so if you're interested in saving money, make sure you look them up before you sign up. They were promoting at PAX east last year giving away free rides and stuff.

Jigglypuff510

eilonwy wrote: »

I generally prefer Lyft and find the drivers to be more personable. Prices are also good.

Yeah I used it once but not to the point where I would understand what generally goes on, I was trying to get to North Station but the driver (must of been new to the area) couldnt get there, he was exteremly apologetic but I assured him it was ok, of course thats only one driver so I just wanted to make sure.

djlybs

Jigglypuff510 wrote: »

jforjamtastic wrote: »

I use lyft occasionally, I've had no issues. Traffic around Boston is bad during rush hours and around the BCEC during PAX will be a pain. It might be easier to take the Orange Line to Downtown Crossing and either walk from there, or catch a Redline to South Station and then walk.

Yeah I take the orange line almost everyday, my only concern would be my badges or any other thing on me getting stolen, the subway is notorious for that.

Really, I've never heard of pickpockets being a problem on the T. I mean just don't act like a tourist and you should be fine, but I do take the red line.

djlybs

EL_Limon_Cubano wrote: »

Living in Boston I say best way to get around is Train and walking. Especially withing downtown. Just get a 7 day pass for $21 and you can get around on Train/Bus the whole time you are here. If your flying in there is a shuttle that goes right to the terminals and takes you to Blue Line Train into Downtown. Only bad thing here with public transportation is that it does close around 12:50 and comes back up around 5:30am. But they are working on a late night bus service that hopefully is up in time for PAX.

Hehe... this made me laugh...late night bus service by pax... it's the T, we'll be lucky if the new train cars are delivered in our life time...

Oakpunk

I personally like using the T if I need to get anywhere around Boston during PAX. However, most of what you need is in walking distance with all the new development in the Seaport district (I work there currently). Way more restaurants (Yo! Sushi, Shake Shack, Chipotle, Flour, Bon Me) are around within a mile or two and a new CVS also opened right by these places so you can get your essentials if you forget something.

But, I've had good rides with Lyft personally. I like them a bit better than Uber actually. But be prepared for traffic, traffic, traffic. Please tip your drivers well, they deserve it.

macrogeek

I had good experiences with Fasten last year. Clean cars, very nice drivers. They have less vehicles on the road.
I also hear they passed a law in boston to stop ride shares from picking up at the BCEC and Airport...don't know if it's still in effect. Walk to an nearby hotel lot and then send the request so they can find you easier.

Sepioth

djlybs wrote: »

Jigglypuff510 wrote: »

jforjamtastic wrote: »

I use lyft occasionally, I've had no issues. Traffic around Boston is bad during rush hours and around the BCEC during PAX will be a pain. It might be easier to take the Orange Line to Downtown Crossing and either walk from there, or catch a Redline to South Station and then walk.

Yeah I take the orange line almost everyday, my only concern would be my badges or any other thing on me getting stolen, the subway is notorious for that.

Really, I've never heard of pickpockets being a problem on the T. I mean just don't act like a tourist and you should be fine, but I do take the red line.

I was just going to say the same thing about the pick pocketing. I think you may have a higher chance of a pick pocket while spending 3 days in a crowded convention than you will in a lifetime taking the T.

Just be aware of your surroundings. Put valuables in a place where you can easily keep an eye on them to make sure they are still there. Put your badges and stuff in a zipped pocked. Or in a front pocket with your hand in there.

kube00

Do we have a thread on transportation yet? Its been a few years since I was in Boston and I had a few questions about the using the T to get around

eilonwy

Jigglypuff510 wrote: »

eilonwy wrote: »

I generally prefer Lyft and find the drivers to be more personable. Prices are also good.

Yeah I used it once but not to the point where I would understand what generally goes on, I was trying to get to North Station but the driver (must of been new to the area) couldnt get there, he was exteremly apologetic but I assured him it was ok, of course thats only one driver so I just wanted to make sure.

In my experience many drivers for both Lyft and Uber live in surrounding areas and are not as familiar with Boston's... quirks... as I would like them to be. This probably has something to do with Boston being so expensive to live in and the difficulty of ever finding parking.

schuss

eilonwy wrote: »

Jigglypuff510 wrote: »

eilonwy wrote: »

I generally prefer Lyft and find the drivers to be more personable. Prices are also good.

Yeah I used it once but not to the point where I would understand what generally goes on, I was trying to get to North Station but the driver (must of been new to the area) couldnt get there, he was exteremly apologetic but I assured him it was ok, of course thats only one driver so I just wanted to make sure.

In my experience many drivers for both Lyft and Uber live in surrounding areas and are not as familiar with Boston's... quirks... as I would like them to be. This probably has something to do with Boston being so expensive to live in and the difficulty of ever finding parking.

Nah, it's more Boston roads make zero sense in terms of flow/layout. Want to get out of back bay onto Storrow? Better know to take Berkeley, as there's only tiny signs and no clear indication that's how you go.

krazykid

eilonwy wrote: »

Jigglypuff510 wrote: »

eilonwy wrote: »

I generally prefer Lyft and find the drivers to be more personable. Prices are also good.

Yeah I used it once but not to the point where I would understand what generally goes on, I was trying to get to North Station but the driver (must of been new to the area) couldnt get there, he was exteremly apologetic but I assured him it was ok, of course thats only one driver so I just wanted to make sure.

In my experience many drivers for both Lyft and Uber live in surrounding areas and are not as familiar with Boston's... quirks... as I would like them to be. This probably has something to do with Boston being so expensive to live in and the difficulty of ever finding parking.

I think this is more a ride-share driver thing in general. Almost every where I've used ride-share service, their drivers are dependent on GPS. So much so that it's annoying. Local cabs will know how to navigate the roads, but ride/share drivers are not bound by geography like local cabs, so their road knowledge is limited and are dependent on GPS.

dlep19

Boston Local, Lyft is probably your best choice. Fasten is another option but Lyft is the most reliable and during Pax works very well. You're best bet otherwise would be Downtown crossing Orange Line or South Station Red Line. If you need any directions or pointers feel free to shoot me a PM or reply here. I'll help however I can.

InfiniteNuLL

Some people are boycotting Uber due to the recent policy changes that they had regarding the new Trump order (not going to discuss the politics any further than that). True, they turned around and donated 3 Million to ACLU but that was only after they started undercutting drivers and got some flack from it. Lyft did the same with 1 million to ACLU.

theadman2315

I've used lyft and uber for the past few years, it's simple and easy to use. But using the public transportation is cheaper

Satoru

Most drivers I see are both Lyft and Uber drivers anyway so it's not like there's a difference in "drivers"

In the morning trying to get from North station to the BCEC would be about as much fun as shooting your self in the face. All the roads will be jam packed with us Mass-holes.

You'd probably get there faster by transferring to South station and walking over

Satoru

kube00 wrote: »

Do we have a thread on transportation yet? Its been a few years since I was in Boston and I had a few questions about the using the T to get around

What questions do you have? Getting around with the T depends highly on where you're coming from since it's a hub and spoke model (aka it was designed by idiots).

SinoSamba

Satoru wrote: »

Most drivers I see are both Lyft and Uber drivers anyway so it's not like there's a difference in "drivers"

In the morning trying to get from North station to the BCEC would be about as much fun as shooting your self in the face. All the roads will be jam packed with us Mass-holes.

You'd probably get there faster by transferring to South station and walking over

Agreed. Was on the Revere my first time in East on 2013, completely unaware of how clogged Boston can be on a weekday. After seeing 2 Pax buses drive by full from the previous hotel, I shared a cab with 3 more people. And ended up extremely anxious since people walking were clearly going faster than the cab. If you are within walking distance and it's not a blizzard year again, it's better to walk. Have not tried public transportation yet so cannot comment.

Jigglypuff510

Oakpunk wrote: »

I personally like using the T if I need to get anywhere around Boston during PAX. However, most of what you need is in walking distance with all the new development in the Seaport district (I work there currently). Way more restaurants (Yo! Sushi, Shake Shack, Chipotle, Flour, Bon Me) are around within a mile or two and a new CVS also opened right by these places so you can get your essentials if you forget something.

But, I've had good rides with Lyft personally. I like them a bit better than Uber actually. But be prepared for traffic, traffic, traffic. Please tip your drivers well, they deserve it.

Is it better to put the drop off on the Lawn on the D or directly on the BCEC ?

jayh0va

Has anyone seen codes for a free ride yet? There are usually a bunch floating around on PAX weekend.

zerzhul

those are all just people advertising their own referral codes, cleverly disguised as not that. This is not a good place to do that.

jayh0va

zerzhul wrote: »

those are all just people advertising their own referral codes, cleverly disguised as not that. This is not a good place to do that.

Yep...good call. Nevermind!

RedK232

Yea ill just stick to downloading the app. Stuff like that is always too good to be true because they never offer $50 free ride stuff. Its normally you get your first ride when u sign up for free or like a $10 off or something. But after that your on your own with payment.