I dont mind the small rides in the city. usually i just drop that rider off then sit idle for a bit and wait on the next one. the other night i didnt even have to leave the city. its more rough when i drive 20 minutes out into the county and then dont get a ping to go back to the city. but in general i usually just sit wherever i drop someone off at lol even if its in the county. ill get something eventually.
I have quite a few people in my area who ping at the same time of day. Other drivers noticed this as well and I have literally watched 3 cars end up in the customers parking lot for a $10 ride. Leaves me with a 10 minute zone all to myself while I eat lunch from home with a high chance of a profitable O’Hare run.
Out of curiosity, Uber hasn’t sent an email or deactivated any of you for constantly picking up the same person? They are quick to consider it fraud.
I have someone that I can pick up every day, but wouldn’t want Uber to deactivate me.
I have multiple people like that. Without those reliable rides I probably wouldn’t do Uber. At least 2-3 times a week I get pings while sitting on my couch that say I have arrived as soon as accept them and are close to me than I am to my car. At least 20-30% of my rides are repeats and if Uber tries to penalize me for that I’ll test arbitration.
You’re obviously in the same spot at the same time every day not doing anything. I’m about positive the same name pops up with the ping. Ignore it.
As a driver you are using people you “know” to maximize rides for incentives. This is what Uber will come up with. Here in Boston we get x amount of money for x amount of rides. If they figure out you keep giving the same people rides they might consider that fraud.
The thing is this sucks for that other driver. Not just for losing the fare but because they might have just pulled out of somewhere just to go take the call, did a U-turn, etc. Please don’t encourage this because it makes the job suck more for everyone.
Driving a minimum fare ($3 in my city) with 8 to 10 minutes to get there means low income for 15 mins, minus your costs for gas, etc. Sometimes its better to wait for a closer fare that has a chance of making you $10 over a guaranteed $3 with no tip.
Drivers are competitors when on the road. If a passenger loved my service and GAVE me their cell number and produced a great fare each day, you can bet I’d sit and wait for that rider to ping me.
Yeah but if everyone did that you’re going to hate it eventually too. That’s not how the system is supposed to work. IMO Uber ought to charge $1 even for immediate cancels as it wastes the driver’s time and resources.
Get better at recognizing addresses and remembering who you picked up there and where you took them. I get the same requesters all the time in the morning and there are many I will not pick up because they’re not profitable. You can be 99% sure if you’re getting these pings at the same time of day (especially morning) they’re headed to work or the same place you went before.
Most of the drivers learned pretty quickly who were the regulars, where and when they went. If a driver did not want a certain regular, he stayed off the stand around the time that the regular went. If the stand cleared, he kept his mouth shut if the dispatcher were calling the section from which the regular went.
Depending on the digital call assignment system in use, a driver can more easily duck what he does not want. Uber lets you see the address before you accept the trip (it used to let you see the name, as well, but Uber discontinued that).
As the motivation for doing it this way is to keep up your acceptance rate it is not quite the same as throwing back a job on voice dispatch (something that would get you put off the air, in most cab companies). You can not hide from a GPS, thus, the digital call assignment system does not allow a driver to “keep his mouth shut”. Allowing for throwing back is the compensation.
I also have a number of regular passengers that require short trips, daily. You get to know them well and you can count on 5 star ratings. It all adds up over the course of the week. That’s not a bad thing.
Only issue with that is that most drivers (such as myself) don’t give a crap about their ratings. As long as it’s above the level for deactivation, they’re fine with it. In the end, what matters most is profitability by far.
Profitability is always my primary goal. Just behind that is my rating or standing, as it shows up on their passenger app when I receive their request for a trip. It helps me get tips and generally more respectful passengers. It’s well worth it .