Set “Custom Shortcuts” in the Lyft App for Addresses You Never Remember
Over the past few months, I have had to go to several doctor’s appointments all over the city. I live in San Francisco and don’t have a car, so going to these meetings always means Lyfting to them. It is imperative that before each of them I am going to go out the door and then I realize that I really have no idea where I am going.
Yes, I’ve been there before, but in most cases weeks or months before.
What ultimately happens is that I have to go back inside, open my laptop and log into the patient portal so that my regular doctor can find her original referral with the address of the new one. Yes, I could put the address in the calendar entry for the appointment. Yes, I may have a document on my phone with this information. I don’t actually do it, and I’m unlikely to do it.
I recently discovered a Lyft feature that solves the problem and I will: custom shortcuts.
When you’re going somewhere, like a restaurant or store, using a sharing service, enter the name of that destination and you’ll be taken there. When you go somewhere else, like my doctor’s office in a huge medical building, entering his name will get you nowhere.
With the help of labels, I can add the address of this doctor and then name him “orthodontist” or “therapist”. Once you do that, it will stay in the app forever whenever you need it.
While this feature is good for me when it comes to doctors, it can also come in handy for things like the address of the nanny or that friend you visit twice a year.
To add shortcuts, launch the Lyft app and then click on the hamburger menu in the upper left corner of the page.
From there, click on “Settings” at the bottom of the menu that appears, and then “Manage All Shortcuts” on the next page. This page has a button “Add your own shortcut”. Tap this and enter an address you can’t remember. After you submit it, Lyft will prompt you to enter a name for it.
In this fake case, I created an entry for Karen Nanny. Once you’re done, hit the checkmark in the corner and you’re done.
Now, whenever you start Lyft, you can type “Nanny Karen” into the app and go directly to her house without having to remember her address.
It’s a great feature for forgetful people like me, but it can really come in handy for seniors and kids, or anyone else who might use an app that might occasionally travel to nonprofits where they might not know the addresses at the top of their heads.