Hi all. Someone posted about freebird. I downloaded it, it's a way to earn points then cash back on your Uber and Lyft rides. Here's the question. I can enter my address just fine. Now i see things like lyft, looks looks black, etc. How do I continue? I didn't want to book a ride, it was to early and I didn't need it yet. Thanks for any answers. I also don't want to book a more expensive ride, when I want the cheapest default. I know this goes into the Uber and Lyft apps, so maybe if I tapped on the little explanation, it would bring me to Lyft, where I know the layout better. Thanks for helping. One last question, sorry. :) do we have any idea when the accessibility of this app will be improved?
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Hi Siobhan,
Hi Siobhan,
I'll try my best to answer your questions.
First, to your last one: I unfortunately don't know when accessibility improvements will be coming. The only thing I heard from the company, when I wrote in about trouble cashing out, is that they were in the process of researching accessibility enhancements. I told them to keep me in mind as a tester or consultant if they had questions, and they said they would, but I haven't seen any progress in the last few updates. That's why I encouraged readers of my app directory entry to get in touch, so they would know we are counting on them. I wish I had more news on that front, sorry.
Now to your other questions:
The interface could certainly be clearer. When you open the app, to book a ride, you'll want to select, search for an address. Then you enter your destination, and it comes up with the screen you described with the types of Lyft rides available. It does select the cheapest by default, so no worries about that. It doesn't book your ride yet when you select, request Lyft, though. It first asks you to confirm your pickup location, which I often have to correct. Only then can you book your ride by selecting Confirm.
To clarify, the Freebird doesn't actually open the Lyft app to book your ride, unfortunately; you have to book it in Freebird to get the rewards. You don't even actually need the Lyft app open for it to work. However, you may want to have it open in the background for a couple reasons: First, it will show you the exact price of your ride up front, whereas Freebird can only show you a range. Second, tipping needs to be done through Lyft, not Freebird.
Sorry this was so long, but I hope it helped a little. Freebird isn't that easy to use, but I find it worth the trouble for the rewards I've been getting. Let me know if I missed something.
That was perfect
Hi. Thanks so much for responding. I hadn't seen the request lyft, so that was throwing me off. I can kind of understand how it works. Yes, I do realize that tipping and the rewards can only be done through the apps. Ok, one more question. So with the screen being shown a range of prices, say I wanted to book a Looks because I'm going out or whatever. How would i then change to that type of car? No I probablyw ill never do that, but just wanted you to understand. I'll tweet them to say I'm a blind user, see what happens. thanks so much.
More info
Hi! First, I'm sorry, I named the buttons wrong in my previous post. After you find your destination, you select, confirm Lyft. That makes it sound like you're done with booking, but it actually brings up the second screen where you verify your pickup location, which I recommend doing.
I hate to say it, but since Voiceover presents the range of vehicles and the payment method as one big chunk, I'm not sure how to change vehicle types or payment methods. The cash-out screen reads like that, too, and I've been able to get through it by turning Voiceover off and swiping around, but I wouldn't want to risk that with the vehicles in case I chose the most expensive one. So that screen does need a lot of work. I wanted to use a payment method yesterday that wasn't my default, so I ended up just using the original app directly. Frustrating, but maybe if we bug them enough...
Hope this helps. P.s., if you end up trying it, feel free to use my promo code for $5 off each of your first two rides. It's g3061. I'm not sure how many of the other promos I listed on the app page still work, but you can always Google for current stackable offers. Then in the app, select Profile, then Promo Codes, then Enter Promo Ccode. Good luck, and I'd be glad to help further if I can.
I used it.
Wish I'd known about your promo code, already taken two rides. Figures. ;) Seriously thanks for your help. I did like the cute little facts, and I also have no intention of screwing with the vehicle types. i'm glad it defaults to the lowest price one. I'll keep looking at the updates, hopefully, since it takes so long to aprove them from Apple the next oen will ahve a lot better nevigation. I have to admit it's not terrible but not great.
Aw darn, I put my code under
Aw darn, I put my code under Other Comments in the app directory entry. But if you're on their mailing list, they send out new codes for existing users pretty often. And you can get a bunch of points as a new user just by linking your card and other tasks.
I agree the accessibility is pretty mediocre. I doubt a lot of it would be particularly difficult to address, though I wonder about all the screens with multiple choices that read as one long run-on. Wish I knew how to code and could do it for them.