RIDEGURU
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)
As a driver I drive to make money, and if you're "offended" that I accept tips, then chances are that you never intended to tip to begin with, and are simply looking for a way to justify not tipping your driver. Let me ask you:
Do you tip in restaurants? Do you tip when you have food delivered? Are you always offended by waitresses and delivery people? Why the hostility towards drivers?
If you think that penalizing drivers for several months (for me, a rating affects me for approx 6-9 months) is justified because they accept tips, you're EXACTLY the type of passenger I 1 star and leave waiting for a ride when you order one.
"UberPro" is just another attempt to coerce drivers into accepting more pings and declining/cancelling fewer pings. Want to maintain your "status?" Make sure you maintain at least 4.85 rating/85% or higher accept rate, and less than 4% cancellation rate.
The rewards:
- 3% discount on gas purchased with your GoBank card (vs the 4% I get on my COSTCO Visa)
- Additional useless quest (I got a $20 for 20 rides)
- "Priority" Uber support from India
- "Free" roadside assistance that sucks compared to what I get from the roadside coverages I have thru USAA and AARP.
The only "benefit" I actually received was the stupid gold border around my profile picture. LOL
I'll keep it for now, but I suspect it won't renew since I doubt I'll be able to maintain the 85% accept/4% cancellation rates.
If I find an electronic item, I try to contact the owner, and I report the find to Uber or Lyft. (If I know which passenger left it) If unsure, I drop it off at the local police station and get a receipt. I've had passengers track their phone to my home once. Next time they can track it to the police station instead.
I absolutely agree.
On Lyft, unless we choose to change it, the default rating left for passengers is 5 stars. Why aren't we afforded the same courtesy?
You're not alone, but it sounds like this rideshare stuff is getting to you. Do yourself a favor and step away from it for a while. RELAX. Last week I let the stress get to me, and I damn near lost my life to a heart attack on Monday. It's not worth your health.
GOOD LUCK
I believe it. Uber and Lyft put tens of thousands of new cars on the road, and have them mindlessly run around town chasing fares. It's inevitable that more cars = more accidents.
Cities need to follow NYC and cap the number of rideshare drivers.
Yet again, more pre-IPO Uber PR hype.
Uber is blowing hot air, hoping that useless media will repeat the information without asking Uber in depth questions on how they plan to make this work. Just as planned, one outlet reports it, and the rest of the flock of parrots repeat it to the rest of the world.
To make UberEats work, Uber needs:
1. Affiliate Restaurants;
2. A customer base capable of supporting the service;
3. Drivers;
My understanding is that UberEats, like many of the delivery companies, takes 20-30% of all orders delivered. In surburbia you're not going to find a lot of businesses that can eat that fee outside of large chain restaurants, leaving UberEats with predominantly fast food delivery. Uber may have the McDonalds agreement tied up, but Grub Hub has Burger King and Subway, Door Dash has Wendys and Taco Bell, so there aren't many other places UberEats can turn to. Considering how horrible the UberEats system is setup, I'd be surprised if anyone chooses to jump ship to affiliate with Uber. UberEats will essentially be known as McDonalds delivery. FAIL.
To make money, Uber needs a lot of customers to entice partner restaurants. They don't have it. Suburban soccer mom households aren't going to switch to dinner delivery from UberEats. People may come in the beginning to take advantage of money losing discounts courtesy of UberEats, but people aren't going to stick around for an UberEats service that is known for sucking.
Finally, to make things work, Uber is going to need tens of thousands of delivery people. Where are they going to find those people? The people most likely to be open to delivery are the same people Uber has been screwing as drivers. Like the vast majority of drivers, people aren't going to sign up for Uber, and once people start getting "paid," even those numbers will wither and die. (Or am I missing something and the current UberEats delivery people are really making bank?) Most probably, any potential delivery people are already delivering other foods. Do you think Dominos, Pizza Hut and chinese restaurant delivery drivers are going to leave their jobs for Uber? LOL @ them if they do.
Like everything Uber does now, it's all for show to build their house of cards. It isn't mean to be sustainable, just enough to prop things up until after their IPO.
Come on guys, WTF?
This thread was supposedly about fraud against drivers, but if you follow the links in the article it's about how drivers defraud riders.
DO WE REALLY NEED TO BEAT THAT DEAD HORSE AGAIN?
Please, no. Quickly verifying the drivers license plate number and the picture on the Uber app is more than enough.
The average rider looks at the front license plate, then they walk around to look at the back license plate, then back around to look at the front again. Guess what... NOTHING CHANGED except that you're wasting the drivers time and pushing him/her to frustration and ride cancellation. If you're lucky and they do put up with your ridiculous antics, hopefully you won't have pissed them off enough for them to destroy your rider rating.
If you're that paranoid, please just ride the bus.
I quit taking the article seriously on their first "RECOMMENDATION" of Keep Snacks and Water Handy. The only one recommending that is Uber and Lyft, and certainly not the majority of drivers.
The only universal recommendations I would give are 1. Don't give out freebies. 2. Don't do pool/shared rides. 3. Don't take low rating passengers. (I won't take anyone less than 4.7)
All the rest will vary depending on where and when you drive.
The maximum coverage is variable, based on the requirements set by the state that you're driving in. Regardless, their aupplemental insurance is horrible, with a $1k deductible that drivers are required to pay in the event of any accident.
I was a 4.96/4.98 driver before pool/shared. When I started taking those rides my ratings tanked to 4.90/4.91. (in only 3 weeks) Since refusing to take any sort of shared rides, my ratings have rebounded to 4.94 and 4.99.
Analyse that however you choose.
I don't want a gym membership, I want to get paid better.
If I want to workout, I can do that at home, plus Uber isn't going to reward drivers with perks that cause them to workout. They rather have you driving for peanuts and making them money.
This is all Uber hype to "get people excited" about investing in Uber next year.
Like you said, Uber is best as a side gig, NOT as a main source of income.
Considering the current rates of rideshare pay, I'd recommend against purchasing a vehicle for rideshare, although in some areas it can help if you're in need of basic transportation and need a way to earn the money to make the payments. I drive very part-time hours, (generally less than 20 hrs /wk) I don't do weekends, nights or holidays, and I make more than enough to cover gas, insurance, maintenance costs and two car payments every month.
The troubling part is that Uber drivers aren't allowed to pick up anyone except rides that are pre arranged through the app, so people are just hopping into cars without even knowing whose car it is. The system works as long as everyone follows the rules. Unfortunately, many riders, (and quite a few drivers) aren't familiar with the rules.
Uber WANTS to be the next Amazon, but they're not going to get there with harebrained ideas like flying cars and scooter and bike rentals. They've survived so far by bribing and strong arming their way through the regulatory process, but people are starting to see through that ruse. They're investing to diversify rather than make a profit, and in the end they'll fail miserably across the board.
Don't know about anyone else here, but my average hourly earnings are down an average of 27% compared to the same week last year. (numbers are consistent over the past several weeks)
I know the city infinitely better, I've refined my driving techniques to be more efficient and my rating are higher, but profits over the last year are definitely down significantly. I only wish I still had stats from the year before, but compared to 2016 I'm guessing I'm down at least 40%.
I don't eat in my car. People complain about any small smell, including food. It's not worth risking.
If I get hungry, I log out and eat a sit down meal, or better yet, wait until I get home and cook a real meal.
What part of "POSING AS A UBER DRIVER" do you not understand?
If I dressed up as an employee at the Burger King you work at and committed a crime, should you be penalized because someone pretended to be an employee?
This guy didn't go through a background check, because he wasn't a real driver.
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING.