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Can you order an Uber or Lyft on Thanksgiving?

ByChad Porto|
BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 14: Uber and Lyft stickers are pictured inside a ride share vehicle outside the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Nov. 14, 2019. Many drivers pick up fares for both companies. That boxy delivery truck blocking your lane is just one maddening manifestation of a public failure to adapt to the new convenience economy. The technology built around our desire for instant gratification - Uber and Lyft, DoorDash and Grubhub, the Amazon packages whizzing from distribution centers to our doorsteps - has become the source of huge amounts of new traffic. Hundreds of thousands of these trips would never have happened just a few years ago. But the public policy response has been no match for this challenge, the Globe Spotlight Team has found. In Boston, in fact, the operative policy only enables the offender. It is part of a pattern of delayed or passive public response to our slow-moving crisis in commuting. True, state officials were a nose ahead of the pack in imposing a surcharge on Uber and Lyft rides three years ago - an attempt at the time to make the companies pay their share of transportation costs - but now they have fallen out of the vanguard. Confronted by the powerful ride-share lobby on Beacon Hill, state leaders havent summoned the will or nerve to impose the kind of high fees and stringent limits other cities are using to try to curb the traffic. (Photo by Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 14: Uber and Lyft stickers are pictured inside a ride share vehicle outside the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Nov. 14, 2019. Many drivers pick up fares for both companies. That boxy delivery truck blocking your lane is just one maddening manifestation of a public failure to adapt to the new convenience economy. The technology built around our desire for instant gratification - Uber and Lyft, DoorDash and Grubhub, the Amazon packages whizzing from distribution centers to our doorsteps - has become the source of huge amounts of new traffic. Hundreds of thousands of these trips would never have happened just a few years ago. But the public policy response has been no match for this challenge, the Globe Spotlight Team has found. In Boston, in fact, the operative policy only enables the offender. It is part of a pattern of delayed or passive public response to our slow-moving crisis in commuting. True, state officials were a nose ahead of the pack in imposing a surcharge on Uber and Lyft rides three years ago - an attempt at the time to make the companies pay their share of transportation costs - but now they have fallen out of the vanguard. Confronted by the powerful ride-share lobby on Beacon Hill, state leaders havent summoned the will or nerve to impose the kind of high fees and stringent limits other cities are using to try to curb the traffic. (Photo by Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

There are many questions this holiday season but one that you shouldn’t have to ask is whether or not you can get around on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving can be a hectic time. There are family members to visit, potentially in-law’s, maybe your friend has invited you over. Maybe you’re one of those people that want to go to those early Black Friday sales on Thursday as well as all the traditional festivities.

It’s good to know if you can do so safely and in a timely manner. Sure, you could walk but who wants to do that? The best bet if you’re looking at cutting down on gas, or if you’re vehicle is in the shop is to call a ride-share service like Uber or Lyft.

Getting around on a holiday can be stressful enough without having to worry about fighting through traffic, or stopping to get gas. Ordering a ride is a reasonable alternative and one that can be done on not just Thanksgiving, but all year round. It’s a useful practice that can free your hands up if you still have some last-minute business to attend to with your phone, or if you’re heading to an area with limited parking. It’s better to have a ride, then need a ride after your car gets towed for parking in the wrong place.

You also could use a ride-share if you’ve had too many of those holiday spirits and now see every room you’re in as an M.C. Escher painting. There’s no good reason to drink and drive, and somehow even fewer reasons with the invention of ride-sharing apps. Get an Uber or Lyft on stand by if you plan on drinking this holiday season.

There’s already too much to worry about on Thanksgiving, so why not reduce one headache and consider sharing a ride with some friends instead of driving all over the place? Plus, it’s wouldn’t be your car those crazed Black Friday shoppers ding up as you frantically dash from the stores.