I am extremely disappointed in the amount of money I made. This was touted by Uber as being a super good learning opportunity. I averaged $20 an hour is Before deduction for about 7 gallons of gas which includes a bonus for $30 I got one driver tip out of 12 rides.And I followed all the tips as far as offering free water choice of music choice of temperature in the car holding the door open etc. etc. Uber riders I think I just looking for the cheapest way out and don’t really appreciate the service.
Uber and lyft are only profitable in big cities. If you don’t drive in a big city you’re just killing your car.
Do you actually drive for Uber? Or Lyft? I’m not sure about lift but I accepted the ride based on the fact that it was one block from where I was downtown. Uber does not tell you the destination until you start the trip which means the rider is in your car ready to go!
You do realize you’re an independent contractor, right? You can refuse any ride for any reason as long as it doesn’t violate any state or federal laws.
I don’t refuse anything! There might not be another ride for an hour. I take it all because it is the way the job is. It is a gamble. I won’t complain about where I end up because it is what it is! I drop off, go around the block and wait with my car turned off. Yes it is a waiting game. And that is ok.
only if you call/message them ahead of time. That’s cherry picking and against TOS. As independent contractors, we do not have to accept any ride we don’t want to accept. They can deactivate you for canceling or otherwise manipulating the system, but they can’t deactivate you for simply not accepting rides. That’s all great if you’re doing this as a hobby. If you’re doing this to make a living/profit, traveling 30 minutes for a pax that’s only going a mile down the road actually costs you money. I’m here to make money, not lose money.
I make plenty to pay my bills. No worries! 
and thirty minutes out and waiting for a pax who needs a ride thirty minutes in is a win win. I won’t log in during idle times.
in MY area, driving 30 minutes to pick up a pax is ridiculous. I live in the Tampa bay area so unless a pax takes me out to a rural area, I’m in the city, suburbs, or beaches. There’s never a legitimate reason for me to travel that far to get a pax.
yeah we have a lot of folks rural so no matter what direction I end up, someone will want to get a ride into the city pretty quickly. I only work during peak times. A lull is a serious lull here in Southern Missouri. So 4-8pm then 11pm to 3am gets me fifteen pax for the duration. And usually they are 15-40 bucks each. Not like a big city but it pays the bills I need it to. I will stay online 12-15 hours on the weekends for some serious money
if you ever don’t want the trip, cancel upon arriving. Some drivers don’t want a long trip. So, if you get there and they’re going an hour away, but you’ve got a Dr’s appointment in an hour (for example), tell pax you’re sorry, but they’re going too far and they’ll have to find another driver.
Again. We’re independent contractors. We work when we want to and don’t when we don’t.
All this about the driivers accepting/cancelling rides is why decades ago most cities made laws that drivers could not refuse trips especially if the driver was refusing a trip to pursue better trips that will pay more somewhere else. Part of the reason for the laws regarding taxi service was to ensure vehicle-for-hire services had some sense of fairness to the community. A transport company was considered to have some obligation to the whole community to provide rides whether it was big profit or little. I liked the idea that each driver should accept whatever trips given him as long as they are dispatched evenly. I simply don’t feel comfortable telling any passenger that I cannot take them. Perhaps I’m too nice I certainly haven’t gotten rich off of my sense of Duty to the customer.
I do know that if a driver rolled up to me after I had been waiting for him, then cancelled the trip after finding out the destination… I would be pissed.
I averaged 50 an hour in Milwaukee. The key to making money is not in what you offer the pax or how nice you are. The key is too know which rides to take and when. Don’t be afraid to cancel or not take every ping. When you are in an area that you know is surging, do not accept rides that are not surging. Move fast, don’t waste too much time trying to accommodate pax but rather be quicker making back to back rides. Also when it’s surging real good, it’s sometimes better to not wait the 5 minutes for the cancel fee. If you can tell the pax is no where in sight but the surge is high with people everywhere, just cancel and get the next pax in your car asap.
I think you meant “earning opportunity” but as it turns out it was a good “learning opportunity” for you.
It was a great earning opportunity for Uber. Uber will say anything to get as many drivers on the road as humanly possible.
I actually did alright for my area. Made in 3 hours what I’d pull in for a day. And no pukers thank God, try as I could all the other drivers had bought every barf bag in town
Couldn’t agree more. Without even staying to really about how they’re driving. Maybe I should get a sign saying “Don’t chase the surge” these guys flying down a 45mph house at 80 if in be out getting to catch a surge. It’s like the Domino’s 30 minutes or free grantee that caused so many issues
I didn’t make hardly anything for it supposedly being the biggest day of the year… I had better nights on St. Patty’s day and 4th of July
90% of these cheap bastards ain’t tipping. ALL YOU SHOULD PROVIDE is a safe comfortable ride with heat & or air & a whistle clean interior. Light air freshener, not overpowering, AND THAT’S IT! I vacuum every 2 days & use 2x heavy duty fabreeze before each shift. My music, just barely loud enff for me to hear. I never open doors for anyone unless elderly, or luggage people. All luggage in trunk! Do not have anything inside your car that a pax can steal, NOTHING! Do not have spare ink pens or any other articles that a pax can use on you as a weapon. Be friendly, helpful, BUT NEVER TAKE ANY SHIT! passengers smell, some are weird, have opinions you don’t agree with, ain’t your place to argue, judge or try to change, just get em in, get em out, go get another one. Never hit a late night drive thru line, no enroute stops that will take more than 5 minutes. These drunk ass college kids want to hit the drive thru at bar closing time & I just tell em no! If they bitch, I tell em okay, I can drop you in that line or at the house, you choose. ( I ain’t sitting there no 15-45 minutes) a majority of these pax don’t give a damn about you or your car. You have to run your own business. Your trying to make money & they don’t give a shit about jacking you off. My ratings are 4.94
First of all I appreciate that you put the $ correctly before the digits.
In the city I drive in there were a phenomenal number of drivers out and the cold temperatures cut into volume.
Last nights money was like any other night except I just had more a$$@0&es to deal with. “ what do mean you can’t fit the six of us?” This isn’t an XL… 3.5 surge= no show (twice). I accepted one pool early at 1.7 surge and it ended up being a 41 minute ride for $23. The absolute worst!
Sounds like your pax saw through you and knew you were out for the money. My point, tips happen when you just drive a clean car and are personable and respectful to your pax.