You can still use Uber in Austin.

Move the pickup location pin to a location outside the city limits. When a driver accepts, call the driver and inform him of your actual location.

My discovery of this hack has greatly simplified my life today.

How do they deal with the fare difference if they have to drive further than where you place the pin?

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How do they deal with the fare difference if they have to drive further than where you place the pin?

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The actual fare is based off the GPS route/time from the trip start to the trip end.

But if you set your original pickup location as Buda, doesn't it ping the driver closest to Buda?

Generally use a spot closest to your location. Most drivers are aware of this "hack" as it has been used at every other situation similar to ours. Some will cancel the fare, most won't.

This should only be done if you're taking a 30+ mile trip. Outside of that, I wouldn't want a driver wasting their time and money with me. If you requested a driver in Round Rock, had them drive down to the Triangle, then had them drop you on 5th st, you just cost them money. It's stupid. Just use Fare or Getme.

Unless they're really close, drivers hate this. Someone did that to me over the weekend. I got a pickup request about a minute away and in the process of driving there he texted me asking to be picked up at another location about 20 minutes away. I cancelled his ride and reported him as a fraudulent rider, which transferred $4 from his wallet to mine.

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This should only be done if you're taking a 30+ mile trip. Outside of that, I wouldn't want a driver wasting their time and money with me. If you requested a driver in Round Rock, had them drive down to the Triangle, then had them drop you on 5th st, you just cost them money. It's stupid. Just use Fare or Getme.

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Exactly.

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How do they deal with the fare difference if they have to drive further than where you place the pin?

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You don't. They just get screwed. It's bad enough when you pick someone up in Round Rock and drive them into Austin knowing it's a one way trip. This "hack" just makes it worse. If you drive from Round Rock to pick someone up in Austin and then drive them 5-10 minutes across town only to have to drive back to Round Rock then you've just spent an hour to make $6-8. Not worth it.

In my particular case, the difference was 0.8 miles, and he seemed grateful for the work.

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In my particular case, the difference was 0.8 miles, and he seemed grateful for the work.

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I'd have no issue with that. It's scenarios like the one I mentioned that are annoying and expensive. Driving 15-20 minutes to pick someone up, deliver them to their destination and then driving 15-20 minutes to get back out of the city limits is expensive. If you're both right at the city limits and it's just a few minutes difference then it's not as big of a deal.

I've done this when flying into a few different airports that don't allow Uber. I just put the pin across the street and then call them and let them know that I'm actually at the airport. Works every time.

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How do they deal with the fare difference if they have to drive further than where you place the pin?

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We have to start the trip where you drop the pin. It will be a more expensive fare, not a less expensive fare.

It's a royal pain if you're not close to the edge of the city.

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We have to start the trip where you drop the pin. It will be a more expensive fare, not a less expensive fare..

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I thought about doing that when the guy called for me, but I think it would result in a low rating from the rider. Enough of those and they'll deactivate your driver status. Of course, if you cancel too many rides they'll deactivate you too so it's kind of a lose-lose situation.

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In my particular case, the difference was 0.8 miles, and he seemed grateful for the work.

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He, she and you probably wouldn't be grateful if a wreck were to occur. There is no way in hell that Uber/Lyft's insurance would cover something unauthorized like that. Again. you should be using GetMe or Fare.

has anyone used getme yet? I popped open the app the other day and there looked to be hundreds of drivers showing up around town.

I used getme last week to get from East Austin to the airport. Didn't have any issues.

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I used getme last week to get from East Austin to the airport. Didn't have any issues.

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Price?

~$20. Same distance to the airport via uber was usually about $12-15.

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has anyone used getme yet? I popped open the app the other day and there looked to be hundreds of drivers showing up around town.

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I wouldn't trust anything they display. Everything about that company screams sketchy.

I think GetMe is shady as all hell but the presence of cars on the map doesn't mean you're going to get a ride. Once you've made a request it's optional for drivers in the area.

I have used Getme several times recently and it has worked well. It is more expensive then Uber but less expensive than a DWI and less shady than a taxi. Getme will get better as they get more drivers.

I tried to use Getme downtown the other night and the GPS kept moving around to different addresses and I couldnt get it to stop. I ended up taking a cab - well - I took the second cab we asked since the first refused my ride because it was "not the way he was going".

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We have to start the trip where you drop the pin. It will be a more expensive fare, not a less expensive fare..

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I thought about doing that when the guy called for me, but I think it would result in a low rating from the rider. Enough of those and they'll deactivate your driver status. Of course, if you cancel too many rides they'll deactivate you too so it's kind of a lose-lose situation.

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The rider shouldn't mind. I'd ask the next one you get if they mind you starting the fare at the pin since you have to drive to pick them up.

Fortunately I'm ~1 mile from Round Rock, so none of the drivers have cared. Getting home can still be tricky.

I almost always manually enter the address or the place name, so the GPS feature probably effected me less. No matter what, when I am home the GPS on my phone believes I am at the neighbor's house which faces a different street and completely messes the drivers up on any platform.

So the city limits is truly 4 houses down from me. Will an uber driver be pissed if I move the pin then request a ride to the Domain or downtown? Or can you still only drop off outside the limits too?

That I dont know I was talking about my experience with Getme. I believe they can Uber can drop off outside and inside city limits but can only pickup outside.

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No matter what, when I am home the GPS on my phone believes I am at the neighbor's house which faces a different street and completely messes the drivers up on any platform.

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What I think most people don't realize you can do (or they just don't do it) is zoom in on the map and move the pin to the exact location you want to be picked up. If people would do that it would make it so much easier for drivers to find them. Most people just turn the app on and send the request without paying any attention to where the pin is dropping. Then the driver sees a dot right in the middle of an apartment complex or mall and has to try and call or text while driving so they know where to go.

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So the city limits is truly 4 houses down from me. Will an uber driver be pissed if I move the pin then request a ride to the Domain or downtown? Or can you still only drop off outside the limits too?

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It depends. If you want a ride downtown during rush hour they're not gonna like it too much. It's not worth the time it takes to get down there and get back in heavy traffic. I've taken plenty of people into Austin and it's not bad in light traffic (including downtown or the airport), but I think I'm going to start refusing to do it during rush hour. I picked a guy up from Dell at 3:45 one day and took him to 6th street, then didnt get back to Round Rock until after 5:30. That isn't worth the $18 or so it pays to go down there.

This works in sunset valley also. Seems to usually be a couple drivers waiting in there for this purpose.

if your downtown you can place the pin just west of zilker, for some reason uber still operates over there. then call and give actual location.

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if your downtown you can place the pin just west of zilker, for some reason uber still operates over there. then call and give actual location.

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That explains why I frequently see a surge in that area. I've been scratching my head wondering why it was showing a surge there when Uber doesn't operate in Austin anymore. Maybe that area is just outside the city limits.

West of Zilker = Rollingwood and Westlake Hills, autonomous cities.

The husband has been using fasten and likes it all, other than there are a couple of buttons that aren't accessible.