RIDEGURU
Angela Taylor (RedANT)
Ride Scholar from Seattle
1072 Rider DriverActivity
Posts by RedANT
No posts found.Featured Answers 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)
Bad poll, since it only allows you to enter numbers for ONE rideshare service. Since I run both Uber and Lyft simultaneously, my earnings are actually higher than what would be assumed by looking at the Uber numbers that were provided.
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I worked a 6 hr shift on Mon 7/23 (6 hrs actual time from getting in the car until I parked in the driveway)
Uber figure: $188.63 earned in 5 hrs, 13 min.
Lyft (not reported): $84.16
By the numbers entered, one would assume that I worked 5.25 hrs and averaged $35.92 /hr, while in reality I worked 6 hrs for a total of $272.79, an average of $45.46 /hr
Please fix to prevent confusion.
Why embed it? This forum layout is absolutely HORRIBLE.
They work the same way, ordering a ride and waiting for a driver to pick them up. The biggest difference is that their drivers are hourly employees rather than 1099 contractors. Less money, but with medical/dental and driving a company BMW. It's an option if you don't have a qualifying vehicle, or if you can handle working 8 hr shifts with 1 or 2 runs.
Depending on the weapon being used, I'll stop, grab my purse and abandon the vehicle. The person can chase me down, but I guarantee I'll have retrieved my S&W from my purse before they catch up to me.
If I don't have the opportunity to stop and get away, give him an opportunity to get out and leave.
Last choice, but certainly a valid one, is to hit your acceperator and run into something at high speed. If the criminal is threatening me, he probably isn't wearing his seatbelt, and a high speed impact will throw him through the front windshield and allow me an oppoetunity to escape. If he catches me outside, I whoop his ass and wait for the cops to arrive.
Taxi vs Uber... the answer varies greatly depending on the city that you're in.
For me:
Price:
Taxi - $2.60 drop, + $2.70 /mile + $0.50 /minute + $0.50 per extra passenger
Uber X - $1.95 service fee + $1.48 /mile + $0.25 /minute. (up to 4 passengers)
Also worth noting: Uber drivers can usually be at most locations within 5 minutes. With a taxi, unless you're near the airport or downtown, don't expect a taxi in under 20 minutes. (if they even show up)
Are taxi drivers better at navigating in the city? NO Most are recent immigrants that have only lived in the city for under a year. Admittedly, many Uber drivers are also clueless, but at least they have navigation to assist them.
Are taxis more trustworthy? We both require the same professional licenses, and need to abide by the same laws and regulations. I don't see a taxi as being superior, since most switch from driving a taxi to driving for Uber when they can afford to buy an appropriate vehicle.
People showing up uninvited ast the home of drivers is one of the main reasons a lot of drivers detest dealing with phones left behind. In another forum, the recommendation was to turn the phone off, then sink it to the bottom of a lake/bay and claim they must have left it somewhere else.
Impatient riders have reported their left phone "stolen," and gotten Uber drivers arrested. The risk is just too much to even have it in your possession.
Uber drivers are only paid per mile/minute and are NOT insured as movers. Not wanting to get stuck in an unprofitable ride that has the potential to damage your vehicle is a no brainer. Many people moving things then assume that you're going to help them move large items. My liability insurance doesn't cover vehicle damage from passenger items, not does it cover any injuries that may be incurred by moving items. Do people tip? Not usually. Show me the incentive of doing this.
As far as denying wheelchair access, that's a totally different subject. I had a lady on a pickup that assumed that I was going to get out of the car, help her get in, then load her wheelchair in the car. She told me "The ADA requires it." For some drivers that may not be an issue, but I'm a disabled veteran who needs a cane (I also have a walker thats prescribed but that I rarely use because it takes up the entire trunk) and it's dangerous for me to stop on a busy street, load a disabled lady twice my weight, when such would put my safety in jepoardy. Luckily the lady was understanding and cancelled/reordered, but some people would demand that I risk injury for that.
My safety comes before all else.
Mysstro works, but it's buggy, sometimes crashing, sometimes not logging me out of one app after accepting a ride on another. I liked how it was setup, but my cancellation rate skyrocketed when using it because of all the iinstances when I had to cancel a 2nd accepted ride. I'm not averse to using it, however I refuse to pay for a buggy program.
I once had someone forget their tablet in my car, and they contacted me through Uber to get it. I normally don't have a problem with driving it back to the owner, but in that case the dropoff point was 3 hrs/150 miles from my home. Am I going to drive for 6 hrs (unpaid), put 300 miles on my car and use $25 in gas to get a $15 "reward." HELL NO
I agree that a digital photo can, in some cases, be used as evidence, however the photos need to be taken by city cameras, or by cameras owned and certified by companies under contract with the city for that purpose. The "photo evidence" still needed to be "sworn/certified" by the company to be true before teh city was able to use it as evidence. I don't see how that requirement could be reconciled in any agreement with a open bike club.
FWIW I have zero tickets/accidents since getting my license in 1974, but my husband got a letter in the mail a few years ago with a ticket and an enclosed picture showing him running a red light. LOL
I'll take very short important calls. (only via speakerphone, and only appropriate conversations, LOL) Anything else I accept and ask the caller if I can call them back.
ReachNow lists temperature, radio station and allows for passenger to request "quiet time," etc. They're all listed on the app when you accept the ride, and drivers are expected to have it all "set" before arriving for pickup. (As well as water, snacks, etc)
I already know what I want. It's EXACTLY what is set in the car already.![tongue-out]()
I'm lucky to live in the land of Starbucks, whose CEO stated publicly that their restrooms are open to everyone. Alternately, you could do a few UberEats runs from a few specific fast food restaurants, get friendly with the staff, and go there.
If a passenger forgets something and lives within 10-15 minutes of me, I'll arrange to drop the item off at my convienience. If they get pushy, are rude, or live too far away, I:
1. Call and notify them that I am dropping it off at the Uber/Lyft office.
2. When calling, converse via speakerphone and videotape the conversation to CYA. If they're not available, text them from your Uber listed phone# and safeguard the text conversation on your phone.
3. Drop it off at Uber office and tell them that a passenger, ride #xxxxxxxx will be picking this up as agreed via phone conversation. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING
4. After dropping it off at Uber, call passenger again, tell them that the item is ready for pickup at the Uber office located at [address, city, state, phone#]. Make sure you get a video of that conversation as well, or at least a recording of you leaving a voice mail.
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IF YOU FIND A PHONE/TABLET IN YOUR CAR, VIDEO TAPE IT IN THE CAR TO DOCUMENT FINDING IT. FIGURE OUT WHO IT BELONGS TO, THEN POWER IT OFF SO THEY CAN'T "find my phone" to your house. Passengers are idiots, and you definitely don't want them knowing where you live, lest they come knocking at 2am or come with the police to recover their "stolen" phone. (Google it.. drivers have gone to jil over that)
While I support more strict driver screening, this isn't the solution to improved safety. Checkr is a joke, and shouldn't even be considered a valid background check. Thy're only used by Uber so that they can say "see! We background check our drivers "for your safety.""
When do we start screening some of the creeper passengers they put in our cars? They seem to be the bigger problem.
Some smaller rideshare companies already include profile preferences such as radio station preference, temperature, and "quiet mode." That they're not often discussed shows how well that "service" works. The more control you give to riders, the more self entitled they become.
Can't wait for "zen mode" to be implemented, where Lyft will dictate what temperature I maintain inside my car, what music I listen to, and other trip parameters that they don't pay for. Typical rideshare company, kissing passenger ass and giving self entitled passengers another way to abuse drivers in a vain attempt to gain market share. If this happens, I'll either ignore it, or I'll just stop driving for Lyft.
How do you come to the conclusion that it's unfair to passengers?
The fee passengers pay is the same. The only difference is how the fare paid is divided between drivers and Uber. In the end, passengers keep paying deeply discounted rates subsidized by drivers, Uber's profits increase, and yet again drivers end up paying for it all.
If rideshare drivers waiting for a pickup is a problem, then the solution is obvious... riders need to be on the curb and ready to go when the driver arrives, with NO STANDING TIME waiting while riders dick around inside their houses. The driver shows up, and if you're not on the curb waiting, ride is cancelled with a cancellation fee.