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Ridesharing tips for New Year's Eve

We asked ridesharing services Uber and Lyft how riders can save money on Sunday night.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Because of the demand, you can expect prices to be higher than usual for Uber and Lyft on New Year's Eve.

To avoid paying more, Uber says, if you can, avoid riding between midnight and 3 a.m. That's tough on New Year's Eve, so Uber has a new feature where instead of just showing you the surge price, a warning will flash on your screen before you confirm your ride.

Uber also suggests splitting the fare or using the multi-destination feature.

Lyft has something similar called Prime Time. It's activated when ride requests greatly outnumber available drivers. When Prime Time is in effect, passengers are alerted and required to confirm they accept the multiplier.

2 On Your Side asked an Uber spokesperson what people should be expecting as far as surge pricing goes.

"If a ride usually costs five bucks, is it going to cost thirty dollars, or is it just going to be a few dollars more?" asked Kelly Dudzik.

"You know, it totally depends on the city, so, you know, I would hate to kind of throw a number out there because it really depends, but what we do do is make sure that, you know, there are enough drivers out there on the roads so that everyone can get a ride, so, you know, the prices will up if we need to get more drivers out there, says Uber spokesperson Danielle Filson.

There are several ways to save money and get home safely on New Year's Eve. Designated Drivers of Buffalo is offering free rides again this year. First time Uber riders can use a special code to get $15 off a ride from the Buffalo Ball Drop. And, the Metro Rail's last train leaves downtown Buffalo at 2 a.m.

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