Open Ride Share Apps: A Beginner-Friendly Shortcut That Saves Me Money
Not every Shortcut has to be complex to be life-changing. Some of the best automations are the simplest ones–and my new Shortcut, Open Ride Share Apps, is a perfect example. It’s literally just a launcher for Uber, Lyft, and Hopp. That’s it. But in practice, it’s saved me both time and a surprising amount of money.
Why I Built It
When I need a ride, I almost never know which service will be cheapest or fastest. Sometimes Uber has the best price, sometimes Lyft does, and often Hopp beats them both. Checking each app manually meant digging through my Home Screen or Spotlight searching–friction that often made me default to just one app. That laziness cost me more than I realized.
How the Shortcut Works
This is about as beginner-friendly as Shortcuts get. The flow is just:
- Open Uber
- Open Lyft
- Open Hopp
That’s it. No menus to build, no variables to configure, no scripting required. When I run the Shortcut, it simply opens all three apps in sequence. By the time I’m done glancing at Uber, Lyft, and Hopp, I know which one has the best deal.
The Real Benefit
Because this Shortcut makes it effortless to compare services, I’ve gotten into the habit of checking all three every time I book a ride. The result? I almost always end up picking the cheapest option. Over time, those small savings really add up–I’ve already saved enough to cover multiple months of my phone bill just by avoiding surge pricing.
Why It Stands Out
The magic here isn’t technical–it’s behavioural. By lowering the friction to compare prices, the Shortcut nudges me into making better choices. It’s a reminder that you don’t need advanced automations or APIs to get value out of Shortcuts. Sometimes a handful of “Open App” actions can save you more money than the most complex setups.
If you’ve been curious about building your first Shortcut but felt intimidated, start here. It’s dead simple, immediately useful, and might just pay for your next coffee–or your next month of rides.
Open Ride Share Apps
