RIDEGURU
Smitten Kitten (SmittenKitten)
Ride Scholar from Washington DC
2098 RiderActivity
Posts by SmittenKitten
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Hackers Are Using The Uber App to SCAM Drivers!
I don't get it either.A new and insidious scam has popped up recently for drivers: scammers are using the … -
Building a Search Engine for Food Delivery [The Rideshare Guy]
Do you think this will work? or be successful?There are a lot of food delivery apps out there – … -
Can Uber and Lyft Fully Recover from the Pandemic? [RideshareGuy]
From the RideshareGuy:Uber and Lyft have been offering drivers big incentives to hit the road, mainly because of the … -
Another hiccup for Uber: Some drivers were being charged for giving rides [CNN]
Whatever happened to driver shortage and outrageous prices?(CNN Business)When a Chicago-area Uber driver checked his account balance after dropping … -
Uber ordered to pay $1.1 million after blind woman was denied rides more than a dozen times - CNN
Classic Uber moment.(CNN)Uber has been ordered to pay $1.1 million after an arbitrator ruled that the rideshare company's drivers … -
Users with fake names and no profile pics should not be able to use Uber
Whatever happened to accountability? How is this not obvious?https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-carjacking-rideshare-uber-lyft/10401859/ -
What history books will say about Uber
Not sure if it's "strange" but this will likely be true for econ books. -
Coronavirus is forcing Uber to return to its start-up roots [WP]
Good read.Coronavirus is forcing Uber to return to its start-up rootsFor years, Silicon Valley start-ups have built a … -
CDC: What Rideshare, Taxi, Limo, and other Passenger Drivers-for-Hire Need to Know about COVID-19
In case people haven't seen it. CDC has a formal posting.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness caused … -
Amazon Drivers Are Hanging Smartphones in Trees to Get More Work
Awesome. What time to be alive. Cell phones hanging from trees.Someone places several devices in a tree located close … -
Lyft is launching a car rental service. [The Verge]
Only available in two cities. San Francisco and Los Angeles:Lyft is launching a car rental service. Differentiating itself from … -
"Delivery-only" Restaurants Coming (SmartKitchen)
This reminds me of the branch-less banks that were so successful in the 2000-2010. There's been some consolidations and reversion … -
Uber founder Travis Kalanick has reportedly raised $400 million for his next act from Saudi Arabia.
He will make a few more billions by competing against his old company.https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-travis-kalanick-saudi-arabia-funding-cloud-kitchens-delivery-2019-11?utm_source=reddit.com -
Uber Says It Will Sue Los Angeles Over Sharing Scooter Location Data [Vice]
Uber is suing Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation asked Uber to start providing real-time location data for … -
The self-driving Uber that killed a pedestrian in Arizona wasn’t programmed to see jaywalkers.
How are they testing this stuff on our roads with our lives at stake? Human testing?Findings released by US … -
Uber lost $1.1 billion last quarter, says rides are profitable (sort of)
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/11/uber-lost-1-1-billion-last-quarter-says-rides-are-profitable-sort-of/?amp=1First time they are giving us more visibility into their revenue figures. Fun. Yet the company argues that things … -
Uber announced a series of changes to its app in an attempt to become the “operating system for your daily life.”
I can't read this with a straight face:The changes include giving users things to do other than call a … -
Ford executive says Full Self-Driving cars will last only 4 years on the road
Of course, this is in response to how people will stop buying cars once the autonomous vehicles are on the … -
Lyft: Not Disruptive Enough
Lyft's focus is mainly in urban ridesharing market in the US and Canada, while Uber is eyeing for global exposure … -
Uber and Lyft close at record lows as investors lose faith in ride-sharing companies
These Wall street investors...they should just be talking to the drivers. They could have told them this a long time …
Featured Answers by SmittenKitten
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As I read these responses, I think the answer depends on a few things:
a) How busy the night is. Yes, drivers do make money while driving and when the vehicle is moving. So, if it's a busy night, they'd rather be doing that. Some are saying, "it's better than making $0.00", but that logic only works if there aren't other passengers out there.
b) Whether the driver drives an UberX, UberXL, UberBlack, or UberSUV. The per minute fee is quite different between these services. In Boston, UberX makes $0.21/minute ($12.6/hr), UberXL $0.35/minute ($21/hr), UberBlack $0.45/minute ($27/hr), and UberSUV $0.50/minute ($30/hr). UberX drivers would be at a disadvantage and perhaps be grumpy, but UberSUV guys probably don't mind nearly as much.
c) Location probably matters. The per minute fee is also different from city to city. For example, Boston UberX drivers get paid $0.21/minute but those in San Diego make $0.15/minute. That's a big difference. You may argue that there is a cost of living adjustment, but $0.15/minute is $9 per hour before Uber takes its cut.
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Here's the driver edition:
Before:
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After:
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Here you go. two screens You first are prompted to leave a review, and then upon doing so, the tipping page opens.
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BTW, there used to be a "$0" option and someone told me there used to be a "No tip" option too. It looks like they updated that though. Perhaps the drivers didn't like it.
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The fact remains that Uber is in bed with all the law makers in NYC, so I doubt anything too negative will happen to Uber. Any measures that will be put into place will likely benefit Uber as they do have influence over this decision.
For all we know, this "change" was proposed by Uber. They too knew the sharp rise of rideshares would become a problem.
For example, thy will
- Limit the number of rideshares to exactly the # Uber wants on the road, after they carefully analyze the demand.
- Put some rules or emasures in place to "limit" the number of competitor driver apps in NYC, say make it more difficult to drive for multiple.
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Uber and Lyft both analyze the photo you submit, by putting them through an automated scan. They supposedly check for various properties of the photo to look for inconsistencies and associate a credibility score to it. They check for information such as when the photo was taken, what camera was used, etc. (more on that later)
Before you ask what exactly Uber checks (which no one except Uber knows), let me interest you on something you probably didn't know.
Your images that you take on your smartphones or digita cameras store various properties in its metadata. There are many fields that you probably didn't know you were sharing when you send your files around.
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Are you scared yet?
Yeah, you should be scared because this applies to any photo you share with anyone. (but since this is a ridesahre forum, I should stick to what Uber cares about.)
I was going to post a full list of metadata properties that you can identify, but that's a pretty lengthy list. I will pickup a few things below:
- Timestamp
- Date Created/Date Modified (If different, the image was "editted")
- GPS Location, such as lat/long and even altitude.
- What camera or smartphone was used
- Flash on/off
- Exposure
- Camera Lens
- Resolution, etc.
So how do they verify?
Since I don't work for Uber, I don't know exactly what they check. However, if I were one of their engineers, and I had to catch crooks, I would look for the following:
- Was the photo taken on a different day then when the rider occured?
- Was the photo ever modified or editted?
- Was the photo taken on a different smartphone than the one driver uses? If so, why?
- Does the photo match up with any other photos submitted by other passengers?
- Does the photo match up with the car that the driver drives?
Why so secretive about this process?
Well, it's because none of these things will *prove* that the photo is not authentic or that the incident didn't happen. If the file was modified or if the pic was taken by a different camera than the smartphone the driver conveniently had in his hand, you would start to doubt the authenticity.
This is why Uber won't tell you exactly why you are being denied the cleaning fees or that you don't have credibility.
I hope I have adequatey answers how Uber *must* be fighting back against this cleaning fees fraud. They do it because they can, and it isn't that hard.
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Vancouver doesn't have Uber or Lyft yet. There's a feud over this. Here's an article from June.
'Unfathomable': Vancouver tourism industry lashes out against absence of Uber
Excerpt
"Members of British Columbia's tourism industry are speaking out against the BC NDP for failing to deliver on a promise to bring app-based ride-hailing services to the province in time for this year's travel season.
"People come and go, 'OK, can I have my Lyft or my Uber?' and then turn on their app and there's no cars," said Ian Tostenson, a spokesperson for Ridesharing Now. The coalition is aimed at lobbying the provincial government to create a framework that would allow companies such as Uber and Lyft to operate alongside the taxi industry.
Before forming government last summer, the BC NDP promised it would pass legislation regulating app-based ride-hailing services in the province before the end of 2017.
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Where to wait during downtimes is something every driver needs to eventually figure out for each local market. This is a sign of you beoming a veteran driver! It's the rite of passage. :)
So, basically the question is where to wait during those slow times like mid-mornings and mid-afternoons. You have to think about how society works and who your target should be doing those times. Working people are at work, and students are at school. So who is out?
- Seniors and retirees
- Housewives or caregivers
- Tourists
- People who aren't working, running errands, going to doctors', etc.
So, What destinations are popular during the days. They are very different from busier times. so, try these places.
- Hospitals
- Grocery stores
- Strip malls, car dealerships, etc. (every town/city has these roads)
- Senior centers
Notice that downtown business districts and transportation hubs are relatively empty during the day. So, make sure to try out all these locations, and see if you have a better ping rate! Good luck!
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Here's a good articlef for the riders. It's tips on how to identify and finding your driver.
https://ride.guru/lounge/p/how-do-i-know-if-the-uber-driver-is-who-he-says-he-is
$800 / $4.33 = 185 rides. How feasible is that for a new driver?
You mean like that driver with the Taco Bell executive?
Isn't that the allure? The total longshot. If two people really meet up that way, it was fate...what an miraculous encoutner People love that stuff. ..and if enough people love it, maybe enough people will go to this site, and the % will go up.
You gotta believe, man. We can't all be realists.
The third article about how Uber is losing money to gain marketshare remind me of the story of Starbuck and how they expanded while putting local coffee shops out of business.
Nothing new. There would be a nice local coffee shop. Starbucks wants to take over, but instead of competing, they'd build 5 Starbucks around it, charge super-low prices, then squeeze the original one out. Then they shut down 4 Starbucks. What you are left with is one winner.
I am sure this is a nice gesture, but most likely is that drivers prefer to make money than receive a bunch of stickers.
I mean...that's what they are in it for. Money.
That makes some serious sense. Obviously, the rates are higher for luxury car service. If you own a Lexus, why compete with Lyft's Corollas.
Maybe this is the way to differentiate between all the drivers with 4.8~5.0 star ratings?
A part of me wonders if they realized their star-rating is flawed and they had to come up with a new metric.
I didn't realize that only appears when I leave 5-star ratings. I didn't realize how elaborate it has become though. Wait, I don't think I get that screen you have. What gives?
I think it's a great idea. I think.
It's a tough topic, because drivers may be trying to be friendly and making conversations. Lyft shows indications that they encourage the drivers to be more friendly. (They can be rated by passengers, and one of them is, "driver entertaining.") Then there are customers who want to be left alone.
I can see this "feature" pushed down from Uber may be a good solution.
Thsi is assuming I knew what it was and it's potential worth, right?
I'd totally touch it. When would you ever have the chance? I have great respect for such irreplaceable items, but what an opportunity! I mean, I would totally play it...attempt to play it. Is that bad?
Woah woah. Uber isn't randomly coming up with a threshold to suspend the drivers, right? That number is being determined by the curve. I am sure they are working on some type of percentile system, where bottom 10% of drivers will be suspended for days. It just happens that in your city, 4.25 star rating puts you in that bottom bucket.
WAT. and they aren't even discrete about it either when they mention creating restaurant guides, etc.
At least Apple hides its intentions to take over the world and do some massive crowd analysis.
So what do I do? Just kill Uber app from the background?
Many of these can be attributed to the expectation misalignment. Remember that Uber Blacks used to be pitched as Everyone's Private Driver. If it's my private driver, I'd expect to have some freedom like listening to my music, talking on the phone, letting the driver wait, or drive around not having a destination.