Key Takeaways
- The longest Uber ride in history was a 2,256-mile, 39-hour journey by MrBeast from North Carolina to Los Angeles.
- These rides can be expensive, with MrBeast’s trip costing $5,500 plus a generous tip.
- Other notable rides include Brent Pfieffer’s 680-mile trip from Dallas to Nashville, Janis Rogers’ 397-mile journey from Virginia to New York, and Joe Strandell’s 320-mile ride from Santa Barbara to Palo Alto.
- Uber drivers can accept long trips, but they also have the option to refuse. The Uber app may automatically stop the trip after several hours, but passengers can request a new ride to continue.
What Is the Longest Uber Ride Ever Recorded?
MrBeast, a Youtuber known for his over-the-top stunts, holds the record for the longest Uber ride. He recorded the ride for publicity and as an advertising gimmick for his sponsor, Quidd.
The ride went from from North Carolina across the country to Los Angeles, California in an incredible 2,256 mile and 39-hour journey!
The Uber driver, Anthony, asked permission from his wife before accepting the challenge and embarking on the long trip, which would span several days by the time he returned.
Fortunately, Anthony had plenty of experience driving long distances as a commercial truck driver.
MrBeast and Anthony completed the trip, breaking records and making history as riding and driving in the longest trip in an Uber ever.
How Much Did the Longest Uber Ride Cost?
MrBeast’s cross-country Uber ride cost an impressive $5,500—plus an equally generous tip.
The trip was quite profitable for the driver, even after deducting Uber’s fees, gas, and tolls.
For the passenger, practically speaking, it would be quicker and more cost-effective to fly instead. It would even be faster and cheaper to take a train.
However, the trip was sponsored as an advertising stunt — and based on the publicity the expensive ride received, it was very worthwhile for the sponsor too.
Other Longest Uber Rides
While MrBeast’s ride holds the record, other riders have taken an Uber for some outrageously long trips too.
1. Brent Pfieffer
Brent Pfieffer’s 680 miles from Dallas, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee in 2018 may have been the longest Uber ride before MrBeast’s challenge.
Three travelers from Hong Kong, China flew into Texas on a Sunday with the plans to get a connecting flight to Nashville for their business meeting the following day.
Unfortunately, their flight’s departure was delayed, then it was canceled, and, in desperation to make it to the meeting in time, they called an Uber.
Pfeiffer, their driver, drove for 650 miles, over 11 hours, including a few stops.
He estimates that he netted around $800 from the trip and remembers it as a fun trip with lots of conversation and camaraderie despite the passengers missing their suitcases and last-minute improvised plans.
2. Janis Rogers
The previous record-holder for longest Uber drive was the 397-mile drive from Williamsburg, VA to Brooklyn, New York in 2016.
The 64-year-old Uber driver Janis Rogers drove a passenger from Williamsburg, VA to the woman’s boyfriend’s home in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.
Rogers drove the 400 miles straight for a whopping seven hours and forty-two minutes without taking any breaks — and then headed right back for Virginia!
While we don’t know the passenger’s name, the driver remembers her as being a young woman who was waiting in front of a Ben & Jerry’s with her luggage. The woman slept in the back seat for most of the ride.
She asked Rogers how far she could drive and looked grateful when the driver offered to take her all the way to her destination in New York City.
This lengthy journey cost the passenger just $294.09, considerably less than a yellow cab in New York City would have cost.
Rogers didn’t make much profit off of the ride — she figures she netted only about $9 an hour after factoring in gas and tolls — and she didn’t receive a tip either.
Rogers did, however, gain fame, albeit without the fortune, and an awesome story to tell.
3. Joe Strandell
Joe Strandell’s 320-mile drive from Santa Barbara, California to Palo Alto, California on September 19, 2014, was another record-breaking ride.
Strandell picked up his passenger, an Indian woman with a suitcase, in front of a hotel.
She has been in Santa Barbara on vacation and needed a ride back to Palo Alto.
Strandell initially didn’t believe that the passenger wanted to take the Uber for the five-hour trip, but he accepted the ride when she offered to call another Uber instead.
Though she slept for almost the entire way, she told him she took an Uber on the trip to Santa Barbara as well!
How much did this surprisingly long Uber trip cost? Strandell was shocked to see that it came to a lucrative $658.
Strandell was thankful for the profitable trip, but it was too much for him to drive back that same day, so he stayed over for the night in an Airbnb.
Before heading home the next day, he took advantage of the unexpected vacation to tour Hearst Castle in the area.
Related: How much do Uber drivers make?
4. Honorable Mention
In 2019, South Africa recorded its longest-ever Uber trip from Johannesburg to Durban. The 580km (360 miles) journey took about six hours.
Although they didn’t release the details of the trip, according to Uber’s standard rates in the area, the trip would have cost between R4103 to R9488 ($272 to $630), depending on the type of Uber.
It looks like long-distance Uber rides may not be as rare as we thought.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Uber drivers accept long trips?
Uber drivers can and do accept long trips. The driver’s Uber app alerts them with the estimated drive time, and the drivers can choose to accept or decline the trip.
If the driver accepts the drive before realizing the time and distance involved, they can cancel it before beginning the drive, and the passenger can call another Uber.
One point to keep in mind is that the Uber app may automatically stop the trip after several hours.
If that happens, the passenger can put in a new ride request which the driver can accept and continue on the long journey.
Can Uber drivers refuse long trips?
Yes, an Uber driver does not have to accept a long ride if they don’t want to take the job. The drivers know the estimated drive time before they accept the ride request.
If the ride looks too long or inconvenient for them, they don’t have to take it. Hopefully, another driver in the area will accept it.
Do Uber drivers prefer short or long trips?
Uber drivers generally prefer longer trips for better cost-effectiveness, as they reduce time spent traveling to pickups and waiting for passengers.
However, excessively long trips without a return fare can be less preferred due to the time lost returning. Many favor average-length trips, especially if a return passenger is likely.
Does Uber have a time limit?
Although an Uber driver doesn’t have a time limit, the programmed trip does. Uber currently sets a maximum trip of a few hours for each trip.
However, if your trip is longer than that, you can request a new ride, and the driver can accept and continue driving. You may do that several times if the ride is very long.
Does Uber charge by time or distance?
Uber’s rates take a number of factors into account. They base the price mostly on the distance and on the estimated time it will take.
If your car has traffic on the way and the trip takes longer than expected, you will not be charged more than the original fare. However, if you make additional stops or change the destination, the charge may increase.
To Make a Long Trip Short
Although most people call for an Uber for short drives, you can take one for a long multi-hour journey.
The Uber drivers are not obligated to accept the long trip, but you may luck out with an adventurous-spirited driver like one of the now-famous record-holding long-distant Uber drivers.
If you are considering a long journey with an Uber, factor in the time and cost to determine whether it is worth it.
Driving is not always the most practical and cost-effective way to travel.
But if you do go cross country with an Uber, you may make Uber history and have a record-breaking story to share.
I am an Uber driver in Northern California. Back when we had Drivepass and the fare multiplier, I had my multiplier set at 3.5x and got a ping for $720-$820. I clicked accept so fast that I didn’t actually see the destination, but it looked like somewhere in California. I just saw the $ amount and my eyes bugged out so I clicked accept! I called my wife and asked if I could take a long trip. I had already worked doing Instacart and Uber for the day and had worked for 11 hours, it was 6pm. My wife was very skeptical and asked where I would be going and I said, I didn’t know. She said not to go anywhere if it wasn’t worth it. I texted the passenger and asked where the destination was and he said, “Why are you going to cancel because 3 other drivers had already cancelled on him.” Ugh, I still didn’t know the destination, but took a chance and drove to pick him up. Once I slide start ride, it showed the destination as only 3.5 hours away! I was stoked. He slept in the back most the way, but said that he was desperate for a ride because he hadn’t seen his girlfriend in a long while and wanted to be with her for Thanksgiving. Finally, upon arrival, he handed me $180 in cash tip and thanks me profusely for the ride. I swiped end ride and it said, cha-ching, $790 for the ride. The great thing is that since I had bought a 50 ride Drivepass, I didn’t pay a cent to Uber for the ride, keeping the entire $790 + $180 tip = $970 for a 3.5 hour ride. I grabbed some coffee and drove home on cloud nine with maybe one of the most profitable 3.5 hour Uber experience ever. That came out to $277 an hour for the ride!
Considering another 3.5 hours back , so you drive 7 hours which come down to $138 hour, adding told, gas and few other cost you maybe made around $90 hour. Now, you bought a bypass and also considering high tip expectations and would had make not even $40 a hour
Anônimos, you’re doing your math wrong. If you’re averaging 65 mph, 7 hours would be about 455 Miles total. That’s roughly 1.3 to 1.5 tanks of gas, unless it’s a hybrid, in which case it would be less than a tank of gas. His trip was in November 2020 because he mentions that the drive pass and multiplier where both active (giving us the year), and it was around thanksgiving. The average price of gas per gallon in California during that time what’s $3.18, but since he mentioned that he was in Northern california, their prices are a little bit higher, so we’ll say the average was $3.48. The total amount he spend on gas would depend on the gas tank size. Since he was doing uber, we can assume that he would not have something the size of a Ford expedition, because trips would tend to not be profitable in a vehicle that size unless you’re strictly doing Uber XL trips. Either way, we will be generous and say that the size of his gas tank could be up to 30 gallons. If he drives a compact car we’ll say that his gas tank is roughly 11 gallons. So if it’s a gas only vehicle, the amount that he spent on gasoline for all 7 hours would be between roughly 11gal/tank*$3.48/gal*1.3tanks=$49.76 on the low end and 30gal/tank*$3.48/gal*1.5tanks=$156.60 on the high end. But if it’s a hybrid their mileage on an 11 gallon tank could get them more than 600 mi so the cost of fuel expended would be about 75% of full tank or a little over 28 bucks. Basic wear and tear would cost about $100 for every 5,000 miles so the 455 miles is about $9.10 worth. And the only thing he says he got was a coffee, but we’ll say that he got 20 bucks worth of food and drinks on the high end and $2 for a gas station coffee on the low end for this trip. And the drive pass is worth $100 for 50 trips so this one trip would be worth $2 of the cost of the drive pass. So total expenses on this trip is between $41.10 with a compact hybrid and only a cheap coffee and $188.10 with a pretty large SUV with $20 worth of food. So you take the total amount made for the trip which was $970 and subtract the expenses which is between $41.10 and $188.10 and you get $928.90 and $781.90 and you divide those totals by 7 hours and you get $111.70/h and 132.7. Your math has them paying over $100 per hour in expenses, which is ridiculous.