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)
If someone impersonates a cop, do you further regulate cops, or do you punish the offenders for their criminal activites? The same applies in the rideshare world.
You did approx $1k working 40.75 hours. That's pretty good, but not impressive enough to make me give you A THOUSAND DOLLARS. Broken down, some of us actually work, and average more per hour than that. This is what I did with Lyft this week. (Regular Lyft)
Drivers drive for a reason... because they don't have a thousand buck lying around to give away to someone they don't know online.
If their rating is low enough that even Uber thinks that they should be gone, then they should be culled. Having a credit card and an app shouldn't be Carte Blanche to do whatever you want.
"People knowingly get in wrong Uber and are then surprised when the driver is sketchy."
Passengers of both sexes are guilty of this. (and it's probably MORE prevalent among male passengers, it's just not reported)
I value my schedule flexibility. Being classified as an employee would kill that, and would almost certainly result in me walking away from rideshare.
Many proponents of becoming employees only want to see the side that benefits them the most, while ignoring the potential associated pitfalls. What do these people want?
Issues:
1. Minimum wage. Yes, a minimum wage may sound like a safety net, but if Uber and Lyft are forced to classify you as an employee, I can pretty much guarantee that that's EXACTLY what you'll get... the state minimum wage. In California the minimum wage is $12 /hr, meaning after you lose your job as an independent contractor, and *IF* you're selected for hire, you'll be compensated $12 /hr + mileage (20-25 cents /mile?) Assuming you average 150 miles per day over a 8 hr shift, you're looking at $12 x 8 hrs = $96 + $30 mileage = $126 per shift. (Keep in mind also that you won't have the option of stuff like instant pay anymore, so you'll have to wait two weeks for your paycheck, AND what you receive will probably also be missing 20-30% tax withholding. Last year a company named ReachNow hired drivers for their service, driving company BMWs, and they only offered $14 /hr in Seattle. This is no different.
2. Benefits. Unless you're a full time employee, it's doubtful that you'll receive any benefits, and I can guarantee that the rideshare companies will do everything possible to prevent you from being classified as full time. What does that mean? A cap on the number of hours you'll be allowed to schedule. Expect These companies to limit your hours, i.e. NO BENEFITS FOR YOU.
3. Flexibility. I value my flexibility above all else, and having the freedom to work as many, or as few, hours as I wish is a huge benefit. I also like that I can work for both Uber and Lyft simultaneously. If you're an employee of Uber, I can guarantee that you won't be allowed to drive for Lyft, or at least not at the same time. If you're selected for employment, I'd guess that a NON-COMPETE agreement would be required, because if Uber is paying you, you can't be simultaneously working for their main competitor. Further, some areas also limit how many hours you're allowed to work. (40 hr work limit per hour for jobs like truck drivers) If you're going to be available to work 40 hrs with Uber, you can't afford to work any hours for Lyft without violating the law. Sorry, once you're committed to one rideshare company, all others are probably off the table.
4. Unions People talk about unions and collective bargaining if drivers are reclassified as employees. Unions for rideshare, however, won't fare any better than unions for other minimum wage occupations, like McDonalds employee. No, Uber and Lyft aren't going to pay you $25 /hr + benefits, they'll offer you something like $12 /hr + 25 cents /mile driven, and that's non-negotiable because that's all their margin will cover. Your pay will NOT exceed the amount of the fares.
This change is horrible for many drivers.
In Seattle: (one of the test markets)
Per mile dropped from $1.11 /MILE to $0.63 /MILE (-$0.48 /MILE)
Per minute rose from $0.1875 /MIN to $0.285 /MIN (+$0.0975 /MIN)
Pickup fee of $0.45 was also added
45 cents + 9 cents a min doesn't overcome a 43% cut in mileage rate
After running the numbers on my last several days, MY AVERAGE FARE EARNINGS DROPPED BETWEEN 25 AND 34%.
From the Lyft email:
Note that you'll earn with the same rates as you would when heading to the passenger and when you're on your way to their destination.
Assuming pickup is 2 miles/5 minutes away, you'd:
lose 48 cents per mile x 2 miles = - 96 cents
gain 9.75 cents per minute x 5 minutes = 49 cents more + 45 cent pickup = + 94 cents
Net: 2 cents lost on the way to the pickup, and huge losses to passenger destination.
No. Generally, the driver doesn't receive the destination information until after you're in the vehicle.
Some "UberPro" drivers are able to see the approx drive time to your destination beforehand, but that "perk" requires that you accept a very high percentage of your ride requests.
Rideshare driver numbers in NYC were/are capped by the City Council. If you're not already approved you're going to have to wait until they open up hiring again.
The NO MINORS rule is a RIDESHARE rule, not a legal requirement. Taxis can transport minors, the only difference is that the taxi companies allow it.
Should a driver be fired and sued for unwittingly breaking an Uber company rule and mistaking a minor for an adult? The precedent set by this will affect us all.
Riders can be elitist and judgmental assholes. That's why. Many male passengers harshly critique our driving because bullshit "women driver" stereotypes persist and empower them to do so.
The best advice I can offer is to not let it get to you. If you let it bother you It'll fester and eat you away inside until you snap. The rideshare companies know that their rating systems are useless as a quality control metric, however it works perfectly as a tool to manipulate naive drivers into taking bad/unprofitable/unsafe runs that benefit Uber/Lyft. Ignore ratings unless your numbers start to drop below 4.8.
If the kids parents couldn't detect the threat of suicide, how is a rideshare driver supposed to?
When I pickup in a residential neighborhood in the dark, it's hard, if not impossible, to gauge the age of the person I'm picking up. Further, with all the recent accusations against inappropriate driver conversations/advances, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of drivers avoid conversation with female passengers altogether. How is the driver supposed to know the passengers age? You can't card the rider. What do you do if the rider is disabled? Do you risk refusing to pick her up and getting deactivated?
Responsibility lies firmly with the kids parents that were around her everyday for the past 12 1/2 years, not the driver who picked her up in the dark and drove her downtown.
If your kids were in the car, would you use that? The same rules of decency should apply here.
Rideshare doesn't pay enough for me to lower myself to using something like that. If you need to go, stop somewhere and use proper facilities.
What promotions do we currently get? Most have already disappeared into the wind, and we're already working at base rates with gross market over saturation to make things worse.
I have a sign posted on the back of the seat headrests, that state:
"FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL PERSONS AND TO PREVENT FRAUD, SECURITY CAMERA IS IN USE"
To me it looks like a unlicensed, unregulated, uninsured and illegal for hire taxi service.
Agreed. In addition to that, those that choose "employee" status would most likely also be restricted from working on competitor platforms.
I don't want to be an employee. I just want to be a contractor who is treated and compensated fairly.
I absolutely agree with you. The last thing we need is more crap to "verify" before talking to our passengers. This is just another reason not to call passengers sir or ma'am.
FWIW - Most of my recent Lyft "cancellations" are cancelled by Lyft and sent to other drivers because there's another driver that's closer, etc.
You didn't specify start point, so I'll quote you from my location in Seattle, WA:
Base Rate: $1.07
Mileage: 2,648 miles @ $1.11 /mile = $2,939.28
Time: 39 hrs (2,340 minutes) @ 18.75 cents /min = $438.75
Subtotal: $3,379.10
Taxes (10%): $337.91
20% Gratuity: $743.40
Approx total: $4,460.41
I accept VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and cash (Full, cleared prepayment required)
Sooo... when are we going to Atlanta?
Lipstick on a pig.
We don't need confusing hidden charges to make extra money, the rideshare companies just need to raise rates so drivers don't need to beg for tips to survive.