RIDEGURU
Kristen Janet Kim (KristenJanetKim)
Ride Apprentice from San Jose, CA
319 Rider DriverDriver for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, HopSkipDrive, Kango, Zūm
Activity
Posts by KristenJanetKim
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Commercial Rideshare Insurance
I’ve been getting a number of requests for rides off-platform, so I’m curious about commercial rideshare insurance. I want to … -
Explaining the rating system
I came up with this. What do you think? 5⭐️ Keep this driver on the road. 4⭐️ Driver … -
Driving for multiple apps
All of the “experts/gurus” say to do both Uber and Lyft, but I say sign up for as many apps … -
Women Rideshare Drivers Unite
This is a shout-out to all of the women drivers out there. I’d like to know how you go about … -
Kid Rideshare
Hi, I’m new to the forum. One of the reasons I was invited by the CEO is because I drive …
They pay time and distance as well, but the minimum you will make is $16 per ride. I’ll give you some examples of rides, I’ve had in the past. I had a ride from Menlo Park to San Jose that was 1 hour & 15 minutes and 32.6 miles, the pay was $51.17. Trips that are 5 miles or less are typically $16. A 15.4 mile trip, 16 min, 46 sec. was $23.30. You always know the destination and estimated pay before you accept the ride. I’ve encountered 1 male kid driver. The companies were founded and are run by women who are moms. There is nothing on their sites that say men can’t apply. But I’ve seen parent requests for a woman driver only.
I make more because I can drive XL. But I also make more than Uber when I drive kids. The kid rideshare apps I use are limited to the San Francisco Bay Area and L.A. (Zūm, Kango, HopSkipDrive). HopSkipDrive is also in Denver. Minimum pay is $16-$20 per ride, even one for less than a mile. Very few men drive kids because most parents feel more comfortable having women pick up their kids.
I’ve had several, but the rideshare industry is dominated by men. It’s female dominated in kid rideshare though.
The kid rideshare companies prohibit cameras in cars. I often do kid rides and Uber/Lyft back to back. Are they easy to set up and remove? I’ve never had one.
I don’t like driving in the rain, so I drive much less. I’m afraid of getting into an accident. I’ve already been in an accident since becoming a rideshare driver (not my fault, not due to rain, but it took 4 weeks to get my car repaired). Couldn’t do Uber, Lyft or kid rides. All I could do was DoorDash with the insurance-provided rental car and I wasn’t about to rent another car to drive.
I’ve only had one problem child. I was given a negative rating, and when they do that, you will be blocked from their account. The kids I’ve had have been very well behaved. I don’t allow food in my car. Many of my kid passengers are actually 17-18 year olds, on an internship with Genesys Works, so they are really like adults. Most of them work at high tech companies in the South Bay, from San Jose to Redwood City, and they have been a pleasure to give rides to.
That’s why you get rideshare insurance, to fill in the gray areas.
The rideshare companies provide the insurance. Drivers just need their personal insurance like Uber and Lyft. I also have a separate rideshare policy. It’s more expensive to ride with the kid rideshare companies due to the insurance that covers unaccompanied minors.
Kango in the San Francisco Bay Area has both drivers in their own cars and company-provided vans. I drive my own car.
I’ve only ended a ride early once, but that’s because the destination filter didn’t work. I needed to go south for an appointment, and the 2nd person in a Pool was going north. I apologized and explained that I had a scheduled ride in the opposite direction and told him to request another driver. He didn’t complain, but he did give me a 1-Star rating. I had a kid ride scheduled and you can’t cancel on a kid last minute. The parents would be furious, not to mention being in danger of deactivation. I had no choice but to end the ride early.
Zūm and Kango also offer sitting services. I don’t do that. I only drive. You can choose to drive only locally to keep time on pickups down. I’m willing to drive longer distances for pickups. I average $20 per ride. And most of the business is from 3-5 pm, when it’s ususlly slow with Uber and Lyft. It’s also busy before school, but since I’m a teacher, I don’t do mornings. Kids are much better behaved than many adults! And less messy too.
As a woman driver, I need to be concerned with my safety as well. Kid rides allow me to drive mostly during the day. I don’t really like driving late nights. If I do drive late, I do airport pickups.
If you want rides where you see your destination and how much you will make before you accept, you need to drive for a kid rideshare company. Unfortunately it’s not for everyone. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you have 3 companies, HopSkipDrive, Kango and Zūm. In the L.A. area, you have HopSkipDrive and Zūm. If you’re in Denver, HopSkipDrive just launched there. I don’t know about any other areas. You also have to have experience working with children, and most of the drivers are women, since many parents don’t want men picking up their kids. You also have to be fingerprinted. The greatest advantages of the kid rideshare companies are higher pay rates ($16 minimum for HopSkipDrive and Zūm, and $20 for Kango), and the peak periods are after school, when Uber and Lyft are typically slow. There are fewer evening rides and even fewer weekend rides. So I drive kids on weekdays and Uber/Lyft on weekends.