RIDEGURU
Leonard Girsh (LG-PA)
Ride Apprentice from Southampton, PA
810 DriverActivity
Posts by LG-PA
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How low is too low (Passenger rating)
Had a Lyft request last night for a long ride. As I was pulling up to the train station in … -
Rideshare Insurance for Drivers
In time for the Thanksgiving I want to share with all of you my Rideshare Accident Checklist.I put this … -
Lyft’s scheduled ride passenger no show cancellation fee or lacke thereof
Second time in 2 weeks I scooped up a scheduled ride, was sent the ride. I arrived 5 minutes prior … -
Do lower ratings for drivers come predominantly from Pool/Shared rides vs. regular or spread is about the same
Any drivers able to pinpoint a trend of which type of rides hit drivers with lower ratings? i suspect pool/shared … -
Is anyone experiencing and issue wuth Uber not reimbursing drivers for all tolls?
Hi, Three times in the past three weeks I had to call Uber to complain that I was not reimbursed … -
Never ending Phone Mounts
Hi, Not sure if other drivers are blowing through phone mounts as frequently as I did, so I decided to … -
Driver survival Kit
What essential items do drivers have in the cars to help make rideshare driving easier?
Featured Answers by LG-PA
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On Uber platform Drivers have to rate passenger right away when ending the trip, so no way for the driver to know if passenger tipped or will tip, thus no ral way to penalize passneger for not tipping. On Lyft passenger can be rated up to 24 hours after the trip. If passnger did not tip on a long ride I usually go in and rate them 4 stars or less if they did something crazy like brough a child and did not bother buckling them in or bit their nails and left clippings on my floor
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Also, many students from Rider University go home on Fridays, so if you hang out by campus right off 295 you will most likley be shuttling them to Hamilton Train Station and that is not a bad ride on the highway,
even if you have to run right back to the university to grab more.
After Rider runs dry up, after your last drop off at Hamilton, head over to Love's Travel Stop in Bordentown, Friday is when long distance truck drivers go there (because of new regulations where they can only drive so many hours), park their rigs and often need rides home which could be miles away, and Bordentown in General has some riders. Hope this helps for Friday planning
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on Lyft there is a Scheduled Ride section (sort of like a job board) it displays avaialble scheduled rides probably with pickup somewhere within 10 mile radius of where you are at the moment of looking at that screen. On this screen you will see pickup and drop off locations and approximate fare, so that is an instance where drivers can see destination :) and of course in Destination filter mode, while you can't see destination exactly you do have an idea of general direction since ou are the one who entered the destination filter :)
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I decided to read up on this a bit.
So it looks like The FCC is aware of such problems and even set up a "Jammer Tip Line" for people to let the bureau know about people who may be selling or using a jammers.
Found here:
https://www.fcc.gov/general/jammer-enforcement
There is an app to help identify if a jammer is being used, here
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microcadsystems.serge.jammerdetector&hl=en_US
It appears to only work on Android
A quick search on line also revealed that there are Jammer detectors out there, such as on this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmXsKCEeP4o
Nipping in the ass a few of the assholes using them and reporting to FCC will hopefully help.
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When requesting pool one has to specify number of riders, driver confirms that at pick up on the screen. This enables the system to plan as to whether driver can pick up another couple or only a single passenger.
I had the happen to me. Rider requested pool for 1, but there were two of them at pick up.
I tried changing to two (system told me to make the rider add the second passenger (their friend)
it is $0.11 more for their friend, so I see why rider stated 1 initially vs. 2. (a lot of money - understandable), eventually she changed to 2, and almost immediately got an add-on passenger for a couple, since system figured I should have 2 more seats available. But for example if the same cheap passenger #1 requested pool for 2 but showed up with 3, and I did not force her to change, my next stop for the couple would not enable me to pick them up. SO it is driver's responsibility to ensure number of riders getting in matches the number Uber was told will get in the car. the screen to change number of riders is right in front during pick up.
Occasionally I may have 2 separate passengers already in the car, pool up to my next pool pick up, to find party of 4 who requested a pool, I roll down window and tell them basically I can't fit 10 pounds of passengers into my 5 pound car. I also ask them if they selected pool? knowing already they did and tried to cheat system. I ask them how many passengers they put in during request? (knowing they put in for 2 as system wuld not even let you pool as an option if you have 4 passengers in the single party. (because it would no longe be a pool if you r party of 4 took up all seats) of course the passenger claims they put in 2. Anyway I ask them to cancel, they do not want to cancel because they do not want to get hit with $3.75.
The point for me talking to them is not only to educate them, but to also milk time, so if they do not want to cancel themselves, by time I am done talking to them 2 minutes are up and I just hit NO SHOW and cancell myself, so I can collect my fee. Last thing I need is to drive to them for 5-10 minutes and not even get the NO SHOW fee, because the cheap asses were to cheap to book regular pool.
I do not do many pool rides anymore because of this hassle and dealing too much with cheap asses who request pool, do not tip (for most part), drag my ratings down (I bet the other two passengers in my car already would leave a lower rating because it too longer) and then cheapskates try to beat the system even further by trying to save $0.11 by not declaring all people in their party, find another driver :)
Oh yes all that on top of Uber paying drivers less per mile and minute for doing a pool ride vs. regular. So more work (more hassle) = less pay - makes total sense :)
Uber eats driver can grab you lol
I do not use any stickers when drop people at airports or pickup,
My stickers are laminated so I just put them in by inspection stickers when picking up a passenger heading to airport, when I arrive at PHl i just pull the laminated placard out and put it into sunvisor.
This way I am just a family member dropping off a family memeber. By doing so I am hoping I will not be targeted for useless inspection that I hear can be conducted randomly. If I am picking up at PHL I also do not use placard just call passenger to find them. I am sure it is in violation of some BS policy but has not bitten me in the ass yet
I heard from a passenger Lyft did. It allow her to book a trip which it deemed too long so she booked it on Uber, the trip was only 20 miles but perhaps she was plugging in wrong state by accident. If a system uses same analogy and tells a passenger ride is too short ( though I have never seen that) who knows maybe in airport it may happen. Just put drop off point just outside the airport, inform driver who came to get you that you are changing destination to terminal 5 and tip the driver
Passengers should be rated indeed. If passenger is rude, it is good for other drivers to have some sort of a tool (bad passenger rating) to decided whether to accept a request or not. I ma guessing you are comparing a public bus to a contractor rideshare driver.
Contractors work for themselves (we are not Lyft or Uber employees)
If you are a bad passenger on a bus, chances are you will have no issue boarding another bus. Drivers are independent contractors, think of us like plumbers. If I fixed your faucet one time and you were rude, next time you called me I would not service you (despite your offer to pay me).
Drivers are not signing up to drive to drive rude passengers either, but often we are indeed doing just that. So while the rating system itself is broken, I see no reason why a driver should not be rating a rude passenger.
Get enough (justifiable) low ratings as a passenger, good luck getting a driver to pick you up next time :)
In her opinion I am guessing, anyone who has a driver's license and a car is smart :)
A stoned passenger stared at me from the back seat for 3 minutes, then stated "you look pretty smart for an Uber driver"
If a driver refuses to take a service animal = they are violating terms of service, but young kids w/o car-seats no issues as far as Lyft and Uber are concerned.
How many drivers get this e-mail and in-app alert every 30 days or so?
Why not for Lyft and Uber to also send out one on not picking up minors without car seats/boosters to make the community safer?
The message on above pic is cut off but it goes on to say:
We know this is an adjustment for some of you, but it's important to us to have an official policy that eliminates any gray area. At Lyft we believe access to transportation is a fundamental right - but as you'll learn from Christella, people with service animals are too often denied rides when they need to get somewhere. Lyft drivers like you are in a unique position to change that, and help us deliver on our mission to provide safe, reliable transportation to everyone.
This message could be modified (regarding not picking up passengers with car seat age kids) to read:
Please refuse rides to any passengers with a minor(s) who is required to be in a car seat or booster, but one is not provided by the accompanying adult
We know this is an adjustment for some of you, but it's important to us to have an official policy that eliminates any gray area.
At Lyft we believe access to transportation is a fundamental right - but as you'll learn from XXX, passengers with children who require a car/booster seat, but do not provide one are too often given rides by the drivers in our community with minors riding unsafely.
Lyft drivers like you are in a unique position to change that, and help us deliver on our mission to provide safe, reliable transportation to everyone.
We all know nothing like this will ever come out of these companies :)
I had passengers bring their booster seats
And was very happy to see a responsible rider for a change
One was a lady picking kid up from daybcarr
Couple other ones from airports
The funny thing is that idiot parents can spend $40 on a ride but not $39 for a basic car seat in Walmart
I get it, it maybe bulky, inconvenient but this is your kid;)
I am not surprised anymore by anything
How many time have a seen parent bundled up in warm coat, hat gloves and are holding a toddler in their hands who has no hat and no gloves, lucky if wearing any type of coat
Absolutely!
I suggest doing it on Lyft though, then drivers can see the ride on the job board and being that it is a long, profitable ride, some driver will snag it in seconds and will be there to get you
Rating lower for no cash tip is stupid indeed
On Lyft I wait 24 hours before rating and if no tip on long ride heybgwt a 4
On Uber rating system should also allow to wait to rate passengers 24 hours but that is not the case, so I typically take them all 5 unless they did something to really deserve lower.
Cash tip is a suggestion to low rate passengers to quickly. Ring their rating up so driver does not have to guess whether to rate them lower or not.
Once rating is back up then passenger can switch to again tip or not tip through app;)
The chart maybe accurate as far as tip % to cab drivers. Cab drivers on the forum may be able to confirm if 90% of passengers tip them, maybe that use to be the case prior to rideshare, but now with rideshare around I bet it changed in a negative way.. Rideshare drivers would not fall into same category as cab drivers by any stretch in this chart. We need our own category and the percentage of tipping passengers would probably be no more that 30 (and I am being generous).
If passengers being accustomed these days to not tip rideshare drivers and occasionaly order a cab, I bet their cheapness travels with them and even the cab drivers will now get less tips because of it.
I do not think I will ever see a cultural shift with passengers enough to have rideshare drivers in a similar chart with tipping passengers in 60/70% range
Sometimes I get asked by rider "What platform do you like better as a driver"
I typically tell them that they are both about the same for me (Lyft and Uber copy each other for rates), include some examples, such as Lyft pays driver same on Shared rides as regular *by subsidizing the ride) where Uber does not. I also tell them that Lyft displays a long ride notification even on destination filter, then go on to explain that I like doing longer rides better, as I make more money from longer rides, car uses less gas, less wear tear, and passengers seem to tip a bit better on longer rides with Lyft more than Uber, etc.
I may even give an example of a short ride and a long ride as to what a driver makes
On short ride, say driver needs to spend 15 minutes to get to passenger, then wait for them for 5 minutes then drive them 2 miles down pot holes and stop signs and red light cameras in heavy city traffic that takes another 10 minutes at the end making $3.56
On a long ride I would say a 45 mile ride like say I did yesterday that took me same time to complete as the short one I would make $40.00 and if passenger is feeling generous ant tips on top of that long ride, that brings my total per ride even higher.
So if a passenger asked a question, and got a response along the lines of what I listed above.
Is all passenger really getting out of the answer is that "the driver somehow is sending that passenger a hidden message to tip at the end of the ride"?
Unbuckled rear seat passenger will become a projectile in an accident and the first thing their head will hit on their way out the windshield is the back of the driver's or front passenger's head as they would have been buckled and stayed in their seats. So if your headrest is not high enough - pick it up :)
Probably comes down to passengers still not being accustomed to tipping rideshare drivers or are just plain cheap.
It will take time until cultural shift kicks in. A pizza delivery driver who drives a pie a few miles from point A to point B must be tipped (because this is a custom in US), driver hauling a passenger and their bags and their kids safely from point A to point B (not so much) :)
Some months back was driving two millenials from train station in NJ to Philadelphia, they ordered a pizza during a ride so it could be delivered to their home by time I got them there. They were asking the pizza clerk if they could leave a tip for driver over phone. No tip for me though :) because all I did was delivered their cheap asses safely in the rain from Point A to point B :)
In NJ not wearing a seat belt by driver or passenger is considered a primary offense, which means you can be pulled over just for that. I have a small pamflet affixed to back seat pocket facing right rear passenger stating that. I do not enforce it but they are now informed. In PA it is a secondary offence
I drove two 20 somethings sisters o a long ride, at one point they asked me if they are being recorded, I said yes and reassured them that all footage gets written over every 24 hours. And that I did not need their permission in NJ or any state for that matter. They understood it was for everyone's safety but started texting each other instead of talking, or perhaps they were googling whether I really did not need their consent to record interior of my car - lol:), then they finally loosened back up, maybe found the answer that matched what I told them and were fine talking. Even tipped me $15.00 so I know all was cool
Out of curiosity, would a bellboy who handles luggage at hotel for 2 minutes or a door man in an apartment complex that holds a door open for 7 seconds deserve a tip just for doing their job?
If yes, then why would not a driver who not only helps with luggage but also hauls the passenger in their car deserve a tip?
I do not think it is necessary to jump out of the car, run around and hold door open for passenger, unless passenger is handicapped or elderly. Especially when drivers have to stop in the middle of the busy street to pick up a passenger.
It just feels that cheap passengers (not you since you tip 98% of the time) are just looking for excuses to make it seem ok not to tip.
So if 98% of rides result in a passenger tipping, this tells me most drivers are shining stars:)
If only 98% of all passengers tipped 98% I think we would be in good shape:)
Uber or Lyft ?
My issue is if all these food items sit in the car during the day when you do not drive and get hot on a summer day, melt or become spoiled, passenger who buys it, gets sick there gonyour profits and rating