# I want to know how much a rideshare trip would cost **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175 "2021-05-01T20:04:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175/1 "2021-05-01T20:04:24Z")
…but I’m not willing to download an app until I already know their rates. Is it possible for me to accomplish this? Assume that I don’t have any friends who could go on the app and look it up for me. A “no” will be sufficient if it isn’t possible. I’m not interested in defending my position of not wanting an app until I’ve decided to use it. Of course, if the answer is “yes,” I’d greatly appreciate instruction in how to accomplish it. TIA ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175/2 "2021-05-01T20:06:38Z")
The cost varies from day to day, time to time, so I doubt you’d be able to get anything exact without using the app. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175/3 "2021-05-01T20:10:26Z")
What @Telemark said. Uber (and, I assume, Lyft) base their pricing on demand levels – so, for example, the same trip will tend to cost more at times of higher demand (e.g., rush hour, after a concert or sporting event ends, etc.) As far as I know, their rates aren’t published (at least, not by them themselves), so unless a third-party is maintaining a site where people are entering what they paid for trips, such information probably isn’t available without actually looking at their app(s). ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175/4 "2021-05-01T20:10:44Z")
There is not a rate schedule like there is with taxis. The rate is based on a combination of current demand and distance. You can get a rate for a specific ride at a specific time on Uber’s web site but you have to create an account to do it. You don’t have to download an app to do this, but if you don’t want an app maybe you don’t want an account either. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175/5 "2021-05-01T21:09:26Z")
Of course you can [https://www.uber.com/us/en/price-estimate/](https://www.uber.com/us/en/price-estimate/) > **[Get Fare Estimates for Your City - Lyft Price Estimate | Lyft](https://www.lyft.com/rider/fare-estimate)** > > Calculate the cost of your next Lyft ride using the Lyft fare estimator. Enter your pickup and dropoff location to view the most accurate price estimate. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175/6 "2021-05-02T01:00:28Z")
Both of those sites have fine print disclaimers and in my experience with both the high demand surcharges (which are likely to be when you’d be able to find ride shares) can be hefty. Count on the estimators at your own peril. Each app works only with a credit card on file. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175/7 "2021-05-02T04:47:45Z")
I just went to the Uber website and put in my home address and a restaurant downtown (like a mile away), then did the same from the Uber app on my phone. They give me exactly the same price. Honestly, it would be weird if they didn’t. Why built some totally different mechanism for estimating rides when you could just hook the website up to the same service that prices rides for the app? Just to get people mad that you give them different prices later? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175/8 "2021-05-03T14:34:25Z")
\< grumble\> nm ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-know-how-much-a-rideshare-trip-would-cost/941175/9 "2021-05-03T14:36:59Z")
What exactly are you objecting to here? Ridesharing is absolutely a thing and even has a definition in the Miriam Webster dictionary, which also says it was first used in 1942. > **[Definition of RIDESHARE](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rideshare)** > > a service or network through which ride-sharing trips are arranged; an automobile trip that is arranged by means of ride-sharing; a private automobile used for a ride-sharing trip… See the full definition