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When is the best time to call an Uber on New Year’s Eve?

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)

It is never ok to drive drunk, ever, least of all on New Year’s Eve. So instead of thinking you’re ok to drive, just forgo that and order an Uber.

New Year’s Eve is a time when people can get lost in the excitement of the coming new year. Party supplies, decorations, fruity drinks, hot appetizers, and of course the resolutions most people will forget about the second week of January. It can be a busy time, and it’s easy to lose track of how bad traffic can get or just how many drinks you’ve had.

Let’s be honest, a lot of people don’t know their limit and can overindulge. If you’re staying in or have a designated driver then you’re all set. Let’s be honest though, you might be in need of a ride, and the best way to go about getting one after a night of celebration and partying is to call a ride-share app.

So you’ve made the wise decision to call for a ride, but when is the best time to make the initial request? New Year’s Eve is a wild time for ride-share operators. They’re going to be overwhelmed and backed up so the best bet is to get in line early, but be wary. Uber intends on charging higher fares for the night during peak hours. If you’re in major cities, like L.A., the rates are guaranteed to be higher but that might not be the case for the rest of the country or world. The times in which these prices are going to be the highest are from 8 PM to 11 PM.

So when’s the best time to get an Uber or other ride-share apps? Before 8 PM or after 11 PM, that way you can avoid the rideshare price hike, and be able to get a ride more easily without the need to wait for an hour or so.