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Rideshare drivers gear up for surging festival season: What riders need to know

With festival season quickly approaching in the valley, ride-sharing companies are gearing up for high demand. Hundreds of thousands of people will be heading to the festival grounds, which can cause frustration when it comes to calling a ride.

When the music is done for the day, Coachella and Stagecoach attendees will flock for a way to get home. That surge in riders means a money-grab for people like Stephen Frazier, an out-of-area Uber driver coming in from LA to drive for Coachella.

Frazier hopes to do even better here in the valley than he did at the Super Bowl in Arizona last month, where he made between $3,000 and $4,000 dollars that week.

"It's a great opportunity to make money," Frazier said. "My intention is to do the first weekend, second weekend and then even do Stagecoach."

News Channel 3 exclusively obtained data from last year that shows on weekend one at Coachella, Uber saw a 614% increase in drivers completing trips in and around the festival. Weekend two saw a 502% increase.

As for long wait times, Uber says riders should plan ahead and call their ride at least 20 minutes early or even book in advance.

On surge pricing, Uber says riders can expect higher than normal prices surrounding the festival. However, they add that it encourages more drivers to serve the busy area over time and shifts rider demand to maintain reliability and restore balance.

You can expect to see those higher prices and longer wait times, especially toward the end of the night when headliners finish performing and all those festival-goers start looking for rides. Uber says for fans that may not be comfortable with that, you can always buy a festival shuttle pass and ride to an offsite lot to request an Uber ride in an area that may be less congested.

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Jake Ingrassia

Joining News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 as a reporter, Jake is excited to be launching his broadcasting career here in the desert. Learn more about Jake here.

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