What UberXL or LyftPlus SUVs do you guys drive? I’m looking for a family car that I can also use to make some extra money driving for Uber/lyft. I was looking at a Honda Pilot but can’t make up my mind.
2006 Honda Odyssey is the family car, in a similar boat, my Toyota Highlander Hybrid is dying. Don’t want a hybrid unless it’s an FCV. Looking at Honda Pilot, Buick Enclave, MB GL 350 or Audi Q7 for XL. The GL qualifies for SUV/LUX. Also considering Yukon or Navigator for SUV/LUX but gas mileage is a big concern. Space for stuff & people is what I’m looking for.
The Pilot is #1 safety pick according to consumers report if you use car seats for your lil ones.
Get an Acura so you can do select rides too, go black on black… do black rides too. Or go bigger SUV like a big ass suburban to do those luxury SUV rides.
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I just bought a new Transit Connect XLT (leftover from 2015) for the same reason for more luggage and comfort. Financially smart? No. But you could call it a once-in-a-lifetime windfall affair.
As an UberXL/LyftPlus driver I often get riders that say “oh, I thought I could fit 7 (or 8) people in here!” (Which I will not allow). I’ve also had UberX requests where they have five people, and I’m happy to take them because I can get them charged to XL. Just wondering if you UberX (only) drivers ever have a rider that thinks UberX is for five people.
I get them ALL THE TIME. I’ve in a college town with three big colleges. The students are constantly trying to get five into my car. I tell them every time, they either need to cancel, and order an XL, or split up the ride. I also offer to take some of them and circle back around to pick up the other ones, all while the meter is running the whole time. Most times they will split the ride, but sometimes, they will let me keep the meter running to circle back and pick up the other ones.
The circle-back thing is the best! I had that only once, and it was surging 2.5x, and it was an XL ride. They had eight people. Was in the middle of nowhere (Philly suburbs) after 2 am. There were no cars around but me. Took the first group, came back for the next group keeping it running the whole time. Think I made $75 in 30 minutes.
I like the circle back but Won’t Uber cap the ride at whatever the quoted price was? It seems like I didn’t get jack shit one time I drove all over hell’s half an acre looking for a convenience store for the rider… felt generous that night I guess…
You’ll get paid for actual time and mileage of the trip from start to finish no matter what the rider pays. And anyway, the quoted price has fine print that says the cost may change if there are changes to the original requests.
I rolled up on a party of 10. One guy looked to be 6’5 and 350. I said yes I’ll make three trips. I made two trips, and two guys continued to bar hop. They made a multi-stop request from bar to the hotel to bar to the hotel.
At least twice every weekend night someone tries to squeeze extras in my car. I cancel 100% of the time because I know with certainty that I’ve gotten 2 1 stars from people who were mad I only took 4. And I had to call the cops on one. 100/100 will cancel the second you MENTION or ATTEMPT to squeeze a 5th 6th or 7th.
How I handle 7 passengers for uberxl:
Cancel and choose “too many riders.”
me: “I canceled. Get out.”
Them: " what the fuck!? Ok fine, we’ll take just six then!"
me: " you would give me a bad rating for not taking 7."
Them: “I’ll give you a bad rating for not taking us.”
Me: “you can’t rate me, I canceled.”
They get out. Slam door. Say “fuck you dude.”
Call Uber to get my $5 and block their account from requesting me.
How does everyone else handle this? Any suggestions to make the situation less heated?
I tell them, sorry I only have four seatbelts & by law can’t take more than four people. They’ll need to order a larger lyft/uber. They usually beg then get frustrated when I still say no. If they don’t cancel, I wait 5 min & mark as a no-show or use the drop down to show why I canceled so I get my $5. If I were to take them, they could still rate me & complain how squished they were & possibly get a ticket & get fees plus points on my license & insurance goes up. It’s not worth it to me to drive them.
There are nicer ways to say it. I say, sorry honey, I can only take x number of people. Explain insurance and what not, and as long as I’m nice, they’re USUALLY nice. I don’t cancel immediately. I drive an XL and have people request regular then cram everyone in like nothing is happening. I call Uber/Lyft after the ride is complete and the ride gets changed to an XL. So I don’t have these problems anymore.
I’ve tried several times to get Lyft to change a ride from a regular ride to a Plus ride. They will not do it after the fact. They have told me time and again to cancel the ride and have the pax request a large vehicle.
With Uber, I have no problem getting an X changed to an XL. But never once with Lyft…so, I don’t even pick them up anymore.