Ad Disclosure
Apparently it’s Easier to Get Ace Bailey to Work Out Than it is to Get an Uber Home from a Phillies Game
By Kyle Pagan
Published:
Erin McCarthy at the Inquirer has the byline on a Tuesday story titled Phillies fans say it’s suddenly ‘impossible’ to get an Uber from Citizens Bank Park:
“When I invited my dad to a Father’s Day Phillies game, I told him getting an Uber home to the Western suburbs would be easy.
I had taken Ubers in previous seasons and, aside from paying surge prices, I never had an issue.
As we stood in Citizens Bank Park’s Uber pickup lot after the game, I realized I was mistaken.
Two dozen drivers accepted his ride requests then canceled, despite the app indicating they were somewhere in the sea of cars in front of us. Others nearby said they were experiencing the same. When asked about the issue, a lot attendant shrugged.”
I’ve seen some TikToks and have heard stories from friends that it has been an absolute nightmare to get an Uber home after Phillies games and concerts this summer. It’s not even because of the demand, it’s the drivers who are pulling the rug out from people. They’re accepting the rides and then cancelling them and gobbling up the surge prices that come with it or pocketing the cancellation fees. It’s an absolute shit show apparently.
So now it sucks to drive, take public transit, and Uber from the stadium? Got it. It’s just a complete hellscape down there huh? Even when the teams try to alleviate the torture of getting out of the complex, there are people who take advantage of it. What a world. And don’t get me wrong, it isn’t like Ubers were ever easy out of there. You’d have to either pay an arm and a leg or get in one of those shady guy’s cars who sit outside of Xfinity Live! that try to cut out the middle man.
The train is only a little better. I remember trying to take the subway after the Eagles home opener last year and it was an absolute shit show. Worst I’ve ever seen it. Worse than after the NFC Championship game by a landslide:
I ended up walking down to Broad & Oregon to catch an Uber and even that was an experience. I hear people are catching them at the CVS across the street or Chickie’s and Pete’s a little further down. Does it have to be this bad? If there’s one thing fans want before the Sixers, Flyers, Phillies, and Eagles revamp the complex with restaurants, apartments, and overhaul it into an entertainment district, it’s figuring out traffic. Traffic is the main issue right now. It almost makes going to games not worth it. Throw in that SEPTA might not get funding and will have to pull back on service and I can’t think of a more miserable experience. FWIW, Kevin spoke to Comcast-Spectacor CEO Dan Hilferty last year (before the Sixers and Flyers agreed to the joint stadium) and he agrees that the complex needs direct and easier access to I-95:
And listen, the traffic sucks, but at least when people are at their boiling point we sometimes get videos like these:
According to McCarthy, the Phillies and Uber are working on a “joint solution.”
Kyle writes blog posts and does Man on the Street-style videos all around Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University (a basketball school) in 2015. contact: k.pagan@sportradar.com