Every year brings more and more drives to ride-sharing, what was once a lucrative income is now being slowly diluted by the ever-increasing influx of new drivers. In 2015, 30,000 new drivers were signing up every month in the US.
With this constant increase in drivers, less and fewer fares find their way to all drivers and the load balance is becoming thin. We present here a few ideas and tips on how to maintain your ride-sharing balance, even in these difficult times.
Watch out for Special Events
By following the news, the blog posts, the social media sites and by ear and mouth, you can discover where and when particular events will occur. A special event can be a wedding or a major ball game; it can also be a mardi gras parade or a flea market extravaganza. The moment you have a special event you have masses of people trying to get to and from the event.You also have many frustrated people realizing that traffic will be hell trying to find alternatives to driving.
You have to pick your special event carefully; some events are good pickings, you can come and go from them multiple times, while others are a one time only ride, such as a football game. It is best to steer clear of sporting events since the traffic kills the ride.
Large crowd events such as music festivals are a great place for picking up rides, and you don’t need to park close to the event. The visitors know that it is better to walk a few minutes and get stuck in traffic.
Another interesting fact to consider when dealing with large events, the larger the event, the more chances it will attract tourists. You can earn money from referrals, and by collaborating with other drivers, can refer people to them for the one-time event. These referrals are worth money and you can rest during those referral dates.
Special Dates
On a few occasions, rideshare drivers will be contacted by their employers to get out and get ready. It appears that Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar know something we normal mortals are not aware of. Once everyone is out on the road competing for rides, things can get a bit hairy. For instance, New Year’s Eve. In most major cities this is a major crowd pulling event and in some cases a sub-zero event. Wet, cold and otherwise inhospitable weather will always increase driving loads. So plan, look at the calendar from a civil and religious point of view, find out where the main festivals occur, and don’t confuse Yom Kippur with Eid el Fitr.
Surge Pricing
Surge pricing is an Uber add-on that prepares drivers for surges. However, you don’t want to chase surges because, by the time you get to the location, the surge has to be relieved by other closer drivers. Usually, if you receive a surge request, if you are not in the middle of the surge area, don’t bother driving there. On the other hand, you should learn to watch for patterns in Surge Pricing maps; surges tend to occur due to various events, which means that they are statistically predictable. If you watch for trends, over time, you will see them emerge and will be able to position yourself near a possible surge occurrence. After a while, you might become adept at this and be able to predict surges on an hourly basis.
Uber/Lyft Incentives
On occasions to get their drivers out an about, the rideshare companies will send messages offering guarantees, these guarantees include having a minimum number of rides per hour, and they pay a special bonus if you meet the incentives goal. Out of experience, it is always best to drive around during rush hours, there are no extra incentive drivers out there and rush hour is always a busy time.
Alternate Strategies
Change can always be surprising, and hopefully for the best. By changing where you drive to, you might be surprised and find interesting taxi/ride-share starved zones. For instance, bars in the back roads, some have good parking, others less. Colleges and frat parties. Driving around to new area’s can open your eyes to new opportunities.
Alternatively, you could get up early; most drivers prefer the night, very few realize there are quite some early risers trying to get to work or another destination. Since there are less taxi’s, busses and ride-share cars, as well as fewer people, the ratio is still better for success.
Using AI Apps
One great way to find fares is by using dedicated apps such as “FarepPilot.” This app uses an AI algorithm that calculates where there are 15 minutes wait for hot spots and you decide which one to attend. The app works by calculating all the traffic and event calendar as well as online ticket sales information and calculates all this information. The final result is a high probability for success focus point. The nature of AI apps is to learn over time and to increase their level of predicting possibilities.
Conclusions
If you just moan about waiting and grumbling for a ride, you won’t get one. If you only follow the usual routes and don’t add alternatives, you won’t increase your chances. So you need to apply some intelligent strategic thinking. Using social media, news reports, looking at billboards and talking to local artisans. This way you will increase the chances of finding new sources for rides. Even driving about and “getting lost,” is a great solution. You have to remember that you are one of the thousands that are all trying to find more rides. So open your mind and become creative.