ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Laura Thomas traveled from Rochester for Monday night’s Bills game, an experience she said lasted two hours longer than she planned. She said she walked to the rideshare lot after the game, that is about a mile away from Highmark Stadium.
“We thought ‘okay it’s a mile, we walk to the lot,’ so we didn’t want to press the Uber button yet,” Thomas said.
Thomas said they tried to order an Uber just before they got to the lot but had no luck.
“It just kept searching and searching and searching,” Thomas said. “Or somebody would confirm, and the ride would be dropped, it would be cancelled.”
In a statement Uber said:
“We’re seeing drivers return to the road thanks to historically high earnings, and we’re constantly working to provide new incentives to help ensure we can meet the needs of riders.”
In a statement Lyft said:
“As vaccines rolled out and people started moving again, we began to see the demand for rides outpace the number of available drivers. We’ve added thousands of drivers to the platform and expect rider wait times and prices to improve moving forward. For drivers, it continues to be a great time to drive with drivers in top markets earning significantly more than they were pre-pandemic.”
And Thomas said she wasn’t the only one struggling to find a ride.
“We walked over there and there was probably a group of 50 more people,” Thomas said.
Thomas said she even tried offering money to others leaving the game to get back to her hotel.
“Everyone just rolled up their windows, ‘no, no thank you.' I mean it was just really frustrating,” Thomas said.
Thomas said a sheriff's deputy was there to direct traffic but did not help people looking for a way home for several hours. The Erie County Sheriff’s Department said they were on duty until 1:15 AM and it is against protocol to give anyone a ride.
“A lot of people gave up and just tried to walk home walk back. I don’t know what they ended up doing but they gave up,” Thomas said.
The Buffalo Bills have not responded to our call for comment. And Thomas said she won't take any chances the next time she goes to a game.
“We would just drive,” Thomas said. “Pay the parking fee and not have to worry about Uber or Lyft again.”
Orchard Park bars near the stadium also said they noticed crowds of people gathering outside and inside their bars trying to find a ride.
