If you use Uber or Lyft, you may have an idea of what it costs to get from -- let's say the airport - home.
But you also may have been surprised at some point, when the price surged higher than usual.
And now it's coming to a St. Patrick's Day celebration near you. So, no luck of the Irish on this one...at least if you're a passenger.
Because if you plan on Lyfting or Ubering that day, be prepared to pay...up to 400% more for your ride.
It's called a surge...as in surge in prices.
Hiram Wright, who has been driving for Uber for the past five years, describes it this way, "Basically what the surge is, is Uber trying to cover areas where there's high demand."
And not enough cars, whether it’s because of the time of day, or the day as a whole.
From experience, Wright says people in Lakewood, Willoughby Hills, Cleveland Heights, and Downtown Cleveland should take the biggest hit on St. Patrick's day.
"Between that day, Halloween, and New Year's night. Those are the three busiest times in terms of surging. Whenever there's a special occasion, you can count on the surge," he tells us.
Although riders won't find out until they request a car.
"It's a spur of the moment thing," he says.
And drivers only find out when the "heat map" as they call it, lights up on their phone.
“There's a nice big area of red,” he shows us.
Although we spoke to another Uber driver who said it's not worth it. He told us it’s only a couple of bucks extra and you have drunks tearing up your car.
Wright disagrees.
“To each his own. But when the surge is 3.0 or higher - three times more - you're going to feel that in your wallet," he says
To put it in perspective, at a 3.0 Surge, a ride that would normally cost $10, will run you $30.
In fact, just as he was dropping us off at around 6 p.m., he got a request from Downtown Cleveland that included a surge.
“Look, it's 1.3,” he shows us.
Despite the Surge Wright still has a second job as a DJ with Nostalgia Pro DJ’s, and a mix show on apulseradio.com.
And that's good because as much as we liked him...
“Do you know where you're going by the way?” I asked, since we were driving past our exit.
“No, my phone died! Uber drivers, don't let that happen to you!” he said as we laughed.
Wright gave us a tip for getting around the surge. If you notice one, wait about 20 minutes and re-request the ride.
He said chances are the surge will go down or just go away. So if you're not in a hurry, it could save you some money.