Angela Taylor (RedANT)
Ride Scholar from Seattle
1072 Rider DriverActivity
Posts by RedANT
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The Uber driver app in the Google Play store has a rating of 4.4/5 stars. I posted a comment/rating on Google Play:
Me: "If drivers have a 4.4/5 star rating, Uber calls us failures and deactivates us. Why is this rating acceptable or different?"
Uber: "Hi RedANT. This doesn't sound right. We want to take a closer look into this for you. Please send a quick note to t.uber.con/drivercontact so we can connect."
(Needless to say, I did NOT contact them with my real information)
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Old system:
$25 trip @ 2x surge = Passenger pays $50 (driver made approx 65% of the total = $32.50, and Uber/Lyft made approx 35% of the total = $17.50)
New system:
$25 trip @ 2x surge = Passenger still pays $50 (Driver makes 65% of $25 = $16.25 + a $2.50 fixed "surge" = $18.75 earned by driver. Uber/Lyft collect the balance of $50 - $18.75 paid to driver = $31.25 = approx 63%) Driver pays for 100% of their car payment, insurance, gas, and maintenance. Uber/Lyft does nothing but change policies and adjust app settings to increase their share. Passengers get fleeced.* Please note that all numbers are approximate, and will vary greatly depending on the area you're in.
** Driver pay was previously paid based on a per minute rate + mileage rate + surge multiplier.
Pay is now based on a per minute rate + mileage rate + a flat surge fee that is a fraction of the former multiplier payout. This change effectively increases Uber and Lyfts share of the fares significantly, taking money out of driver pockets and increasing company revenue. Regardless, I'd bet that Uber and Lyft will still post huge Q1 losses as they head into their respective IPOs.
This is why drivers are pissed. (And rightfully so)
You generally seem to be upset because the scheduled ride was cancelled. My question would be how long before/after the scheduled ride was she at the pickup point? Ounce the pickup time arrives, you have like 5 minutes before the ride is cancelled. The driver isn't getting paid to sit and wait. If he isn't driving, he's losing money.
Doubtful. The politicians will use the fear of inflation to prevent that from happening. No more freebies.
Most Americans are "at risk" of heart attack or stroke, and having an arbitrary A1C requirement for consideration as a rideshare would unnecessarily destroy the pool of available drivers. You also (potentially) run into medical privacy issues, as well as violations of the ADA if disabled drivers are unreasonably excluded from employment.
My late husband, an absolutely ripped retired US Marine, died from a heart attack while working out. Sometimes bad things happen to physically fit people too. As a disabled driver who has driven hundreds of thousands of miles over the years, (with only one speeding ticket ~40 years ago) I'm as safe a driver as you can find, but because of a irrelevant disability, I'd probably be kicked to the curb. I just don't see the merit of "screening" for problems where none really exist.
There are a lot of dangerous rideshare drivers, but most are dangerous due to their driving habits and (in)experience, and not based on a physical disability. What situations have you seen that indicate that physical conditions are a problem?
Not at the same time. You can drive in the area where you have your driver's license. (car also has to be registered there, and you have to register with Uber/Lyft to drive in that area)
If you're taking a Lyft shared ride, you need to indicate the actual number of riders in your party, regardless of age.
The reason for this is that the 3 year old toddler is still required to be in a car seat, which occupies one of the available seats in the car. What do you do if you have 3 other paying customer assigned to that shared trip? Who should eat that loss?
All things considered, you're probably best off just order a regular Lyft ride.
There is no luggage allowance, just a passenger seat allowance. If you have 2 people and 2 bags, you should be ok on a Uber X/Lyft. More than that or oversized bags? Consider ordering an XL or other larger vehicle.
Having an app/script is only one part of the equation. You also have to deal with government regulatory and licensing issues, and have to advertise your services enough to drive local riders to your service. That's a ton of work to drive rideshare.
Honestly, if you're talented enough to get all that sorted out and done, you're better off opening a more profitable non-rideshare business instead.
Generally, (or at least in this area) you must have a valid in-state driver's license, your vehicle must be registered in-state, you must have valid in-state insurance coverage, and you must have a local business license.
To drive in Florida you'd have to
1. Get a FL driver's license;
2. Transfer your driver account to that Florida market;
3. Register your vehicle in Florida, (and pay the new vehicle impact fee)
4. Insure the vehicle in Florida.
The passenger is responsible for providing and securing an appropriate car seat that complies with local laws.
No car seat for their kid = NO RIDE.
Providing your own car seat is NOT recommended, since you then become liable for any car seat failures, for injuries sustained because of inappropriate sizing, or for not securing the seat properly if anything happens.
The $5 fare isn't worth that liability.
UberPro is just another program, used by Uber, to manipulate drivers into taking unpalatable rides. 4.35 rider rating? you better take that or you'll lose all those "hot" pro benefits like dent repair. Since ignoring the program, the quality of rides I've received has improved, and I don't have to listen to the threats of losing "status."
LOL @ $2,500,000,000.00 for a scooter company that charges $1 + a few cents a minute and has HUGE operation costs.
They're a bigger investment disaster than Uber and Lyft.
People drag their luggage from the house, to their car, to the airport, through the terminal, pick it up to put it in the overhead, pull it out after landing, drag it across another terminal and to the curb.
After all that, do you really think that putting it on a shuttle is a deal breaker?
If a shuttle is too inconvenient, they always have the option to rent a car... but, of course, they'd still have to drag it onto a shuttle to pickup their car.
How many rideshare drivers are at the airport at any given time? Removing them from curbside opens up the entire area, and moves rideshare drivers, (many of whom are clueless morons) to a dedicated pickup.
From what I can gather, curbside pickups were disallowed, and passengers have to catch a shuttle to a pickup location. It may be "tragic" for those used to the chaos of LAX, but this is very similar to the setup in Seattle where pickups are only allowed on the 3rd floor of the parking garage. This alleviates curbside congestion and pushes all riders to one area for easier pickup.
This is probably a good thing, IMO.
A ride like that should be under $15
Booking in advance may help if you're traveling during high demand hours when surge/primetime may affect be in effect, but if you need to cancel, the cancellation fee on a scheduled ride is generally higher.
Personally, I'd just wait on ordering your ride until 5-10 minutes before you're ready to go.
Again. I'm a RIDESHARE DRIVER. It's not my place to make judgement calls and report to the police people I don't know based on suspicion. That's NOT my job.
Your Utopian society may involve calling police and making anonymous about your neighbors, but in mine, that's infringing on the privacy of others. If I see someone in a compromising situation I'll help if possible, but don't you dare REQUIRE me to participate in your politically correct witch hunt for the sake of "saving" people whose situation I don't personally know.
Want to know what kind of society this creates? It creates a society where neighbors don't trust neighbors. Where people live in fear of being wrongly accused. Where people are unjustly accused of things without being afforded an opportunity to present their side.
Back in the 80's someone once made an "anonymous" call about a mother neglecting her kids. Social services harassed her. Neighbors stared through the cracks in their blinds at the obvious "bad" mother. Guess what... I'm a damn good mom, and that call damn near cost me my career and ability to actually support my kids. That's what happens when you leave "law enforcement" to unqualified people in the community.
Leave law enforcement to the appropriate people, not the average clueless American.
We're RIDESHARE DRIVERS, not the police or social workers.
These people eat. Are you going to train grocery store clerks and fast food workers? Where does one draw the line?
Step One is to provide "training."
Step two will be to hold drivers responsible if we fail to spot and/or report suspected persons.
NO THANKS
The IRS rate is based on business vehicles, like semis and large commercial vans and box trucks that get under 10 mpg. Using that to figure out driver expenses is useless. FWIW, my average cost to operate my vehicle is approx 30 cents per mile.
Top .5% in all categories except acceptance and cancellation rate. 😊
Yay for UberPro Blue status!