RIDEGURU
Robert Paulson (RPaulson)
Ride Apprentice
Driver in NYC. Uber and Juno, used to drive Yellow
560 DriverActivity
Posts by RPaulson
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Uber Posts Its Largest Quarterly Loss - Is this good or bad?
Can someone who knows this stuff help me decipher if this is good or not? 14% increase in revenue but … -
Can you deduct and write-off a lease payment if you drive for Uber? (as a business expense)
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Can I use a leased vehicle to drive for Uber?
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Can you book Uber two days in advance?
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Can I rent/lease my car out to other people so they can make money for me?
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Lyft Driver Referrals is Bullsh*t
You know those Uber and Lyft ads where they offer bonuses for referring other drivers? Of course, you have. They … -
Yes, Uber Sucks, And Let Me Explain Why (from Taxicab Depressions)
People ask me a couple of times per week about Uber, and if I think they will someday significantly impact … -
What is "Rider Fees"? How come no one can tell me what it is?
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Is Uber Profitable or Losing Money?
I don't understand anymore. This article says they are now profitable in the USA http://fortune.com/2016/02/18/uber-profitable-us/ This article says they are … -
Experts: Uber's Self-Driving is not ready for prime-time.
Well, here it is. It's the ONE thing everyone mentions when it comes to self-driving cars. SAFETY. If they can … -
Stop STEALING my iPhone charger cables!!
You think I wouldn't notice? It is totally messed up that you take my iphone cables. Sure, your phone's battery …
Featured Answers by RPaulson
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I actually want new drivers to take this as an advice. Don't pick up crappy riders. Cancel immediately.
This technically isn't cancelling a ride mid-ride, but I went to the mall to go pick up this woman on a Thursday night. There was some traffic and some confusion as to which exit she was waiting. When I pulled up, she started berating me for being late and started to nag. I knew this would be a $5.00 1-star ride. So you know what I did? I told her to get out of the car and cancelled it. Don't need this crap.
Why is this a good advice? Because if you don't start the ride, those crappy passengers cannot give you a 1-star rating.
I've driven for both, but I stick with Uber in most instances. Lyft has the more casual culture. Fistbumps and high-fives. Uber seems more mechanical and corporate.
In my personal experience Lyft paid out a lot less. I had it in my mind that Lyft paid me about $1 a mile cheaper. Not scientific, I know.
Speaking of double-dipping drivers, here's something my fellow driver shared with me.
It's another way for Uber to keep up the driver retention. I am a driver, and I know this was the primary reason. At least that's what all the drivers are saying.
I think Trump already announced it. Women are allowed but Trump himself needs to do the interviews.
"We're asking women to vouch for the guys," he said. "A woman likely is not going to expose other women to someone who's going to harm them."
Is this legal?
Are you saying it's ok to have my garage like this? Oh phew. Hail the ridesahres. (pun unintentional)
So you are equating this to cord cutters?! Oh, man. It makes it eerily true now.
What do you mean "small talk." Is that some feature?
I would pull over, lock the doors, and wait for help to arrive. LOL.
I drive an Uber, so I am not sure how I would be able to get away with stealing it. There are too many ways to track what happened. I suppose I could argue that I didn't notice the violin and gave too many additional rides. At which point, no one will be able to prove that *I* took it.
I am not even smart enough to make anything of it though. Where would I go? Some blackmarket? Chinatown? Call up the Sotheby's? I have a feeling I will just mess up and get thrown into jail. I'd be so scared of the darn thing in my car.
I've been driving for about 8 months, and I've been doing this math as well. I actually spoke to a few other friends driving Uber X and many of them went back to driving the Yellow back in April when they saw their tax obligations.
Depreciation on your car, maintenance fees, and tax liabilities....those seem to be big ones.
You are so polite to say, "It just wasn't for me." Why don't you just say, "It kinda sucked, put craploads of milege on my 2014 Sol and harassed by random people?!
Isn't it obviously Lyft? I thought Lyft offers tipping directly on the app but Uber doesn't?
They send you a 1099. I think if you made over $600 or something. You file it like you are an inependent contractor.
If they only use volume of users, there will be issues. This means:
1) Larger restaurants with more capacity will naturally be more recommended. PF Changs and other touristy restaurants will rock it consistently.
2) Restaurants near popular destinations will always be ranked higher. The McDonald next to Empire State Building will be the hottest restaurants in midtown. In fact, any highrise or a large office building will add to the popularity of the restaurant.
3) Restaurants that are popular for any reason will be ranked higher. It may have nothing to do with food or service quality. It can be a place that was featured on a movie, a celebrity got shot there, etc.
4) Restaurant having private functions will be considered "popular." I may be recommended to go to a restaurant that is having a private function, wedding, etc. just because there are many getting dropped off. Oh, how pissed I would be if I got takent here and got denied at the door.
It'll be purely based on popularity and there is so much more to it than that...
Plus, there is a major flaw to this
"Uber determines their ranking for each of these based on popularity of drop-offs at the restaurants overall and at specific times of day, what kind of ride users selected to get there and more."
...but that only measures 1) frequency of visits by others and 2) when people are visiting. Are you kidding me? How do they expect to be able to make relevant recommendations?