RIDEGURU
Monica Castleberry (momof4)
Ride Expert from Philadelphia PA
Mom & Nursing Student by day Ride Share Driver by night always on the go
8198 Rider DriverActivity
Posts by momof4
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Uber's Secret "Project Luigi". Just another way to put the screws to the drivers.
Uber has 180 of Change, Uber Pro. Lyft in some markets added the long pick up fee for drivers. Then … -
Lyft finally got some B@!!$! They made a positive decision on their own without waiting on Uber to do it.
WTG Lyft! I always call these companies out for their BS however they have made a positive decision for the … -
Lyft finally does something right! About damn time.
Its about damn time! We have been complaining about this for months. Although it helped drivers it screwed up with … -
Is Uber's Customer Service Reps causing drivers to lose out on tips? You be the judge.
Or is Ubers app? Or both??? My son & his gf went out Friday night to his Christmas party & … -
Uber drivers seeing Surge Amt. on their maps but what is Uber really charging the rider? Where is all that money going? I can tell you.
I've seen this on 2 other occassions when my kids call me for a ride. This all started back in … -
Hope drivers dont fall for this! Drivers will end up working for free. Is there anything this company wont do to screw over drivers???
Just another way to not pay drivers. The interest will be so high drivers will be driving for weeks to … -
Uber wins small Victory in CA rape suit. What do you think?
I dont agree with Uber very often. They usually are at fault. However in this case it was not their … -
Didn't Uber say they were deactivating riders with low ratings?
I know Uber said they were giving riders time and suggestions to improve their ratings. That had to be at … -
Is Uber serious? Uber Offering snacks now when logging off.
Went out to drive today. Logged on accepted a trip. Completed it. Logged off to run an errand. The app … -
More on the Axios interview with Evil CEO Dara K. This dude is a total jerk.
The only thing this man gets right in the interview is autonomous vehicles are a long way off. How much … -
Lyft wants you to give up "Car Ownership". Say goodbye to your car and rely on using Lyft to travel.
Lyft wants you to "give up car ownership". They will help you sell your car. They paired up with Carvana … -
AXIO on HBO interviews Dara K. on drivers wanting to unionize. Short video. What a joke.
See link to interview below. Dara definately dont want drivers to form a Union. This last statement from him is … -
Will Uber and Lyft ever stop fighting laws? How do they get away with ignoring laws? Is drivers ever going to make what they deserve?
Will Uber and Lyft ever pay the drivers what they deserve? Will driver rates increase? Why don't Uber & Lyft … -
Drivers don't forget Thanksgiving Eve is the busiest drinking night of the year!
If you are new to driving for Uber & Lyft or you never thought about it this is the best … -
Uber being Sued by 96,000 Drivers in NY. When will it end? When are they not being suec?
Many wonder why Uber isn't profitable. Lets forget about about self driving cars, flying taxi's, submarines, helicopters, low rider fares, … -
Too funny!! Angry Moms Road Rage Against Lyft Driver. I would say Unbelievable except in todays world.
I have to say she deserves Mom of the Year Award for 2019. Click on link. The video/article is pretty … -
Will never take a NY trip again. Ever! Few questions in comments if anyone knows the answers. Would appreciate it:)
I try to avoid NY trips. I can usually tell on Uber by the amount of time as its a … -
Car accident recently. Will my Insurance notify Uber or Lyft for any reason?
PA driver. On the way back from a trip both apps were off as PA drivers cannot pick up passengers … -
Uber and Lyft Ballot Initiative guarentees only $5.64 per hr. for drivers in CA. Total BS.
http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/the-uber-lyft-ballot-initiative-guarantees-only-5-64-an-hour/ -
Lyft Pink Membership $19.99 per month. Offers 15% off, waived lost and found fees, and more. Is it worth it?
https://amp-usatoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/2484960001?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCKAE%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fmoney%2F2019%2F10%2F29%2Flyft-membership-plan-lyft-pink%2F2484960001%2F
Featured Answers by momof4
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This happened to me quite a few times. This particular night I get a request for Uber X I can seat 4 safely. I pull up there are 3 people they say we are waiting for one more. I am paying no attention to back seat they say ok we are good I start trip get 5 blocks from pick up look in rear view mirror I have 4 in back 1 in front. So what do I do? Do I say something? Do I end trip there and boot them out? I am sure you are all saying I would of. Lol There is 5 of them one of me, oh forgot to mention I am not in a very good neighborhood. Do I call police? I probably won't get past 91 before one of them can take my phone and if I can connect with 911 chances are police will not be there before I am beaten and my car is on cinder blocks. So I take my time ride the right lane nice and slow, stay away from traffic. We get to destination still in another crappy hood. I quickly end trip. The person they are meeting doesn't answer their call so they are not moving out of my car. Uh hello trips over. So they continue to sit in my car for 10 min deciding what to do. Fnally I get another rider so I find my voice and get the courage to say "I got to go" . Still another 2 min. go by. Finally guy comes out and they get their stuff out of my trunk and go on their way. Now I pull up with doors locked and don't unlock until I know how many are getting in my car. I've learned quite a few lessons driving for Uber this past year.
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I've picked up strippers twice. One stripper had a fit & started screaming at me because I didnt pick her up at stripper enterance. The app put me in front of the place. I had never been there before. She called me screaming so I drive around to where she told me but there were people all over plus 2 entrances/exits so I ask the first female I see if she was my passenger. She ignores me then I see Mr. Big and Beefy with the tight muscle head shirt on wave me over. She opens door starts screaming why didnt you come here 1st & why were you talking to those people? I try to explain that the pick up location put me up front and what people are you talking about? She screams the people in the car. I reply "what people, what car" . She screams again the people in the car. I am getting annoyed now, because she hasnt stopped screaming at me and what people in what car not a clue who she was referring to. I should've left when I was eligible for cancel fee. We drive a mile GPS says make left turn screaming stripper barks order i will tell you where to go. We go another mile another barking order "pull into that gas station I need something". She needed something all right some manners or a foot up her ass. I pull in to this gas station that is packed has a line of cars to get in (will explain the line of cars at 3am at a gas station another time). I finally get into lot she gets out and I plot my escape. Why should I take her screaming, order barking ass anywhere else they dont pay me enough for this? I put the car in drive ready to pull out and my guilty conscience kicks in. Its 3am you cant do that. Then the little devil on my shoulder says go for it. Good conscience won I stayed but when she got back in I had a little talk with her. By the time i dropped her off she was happy. So happy when she got out she said "i am going to give you 5 stars". I wanted to reply "stick your 5 stars so far up (that thing you shake for money)that they shoot out of your mouth and hand over some of those bills you made tonight. She was out right rude and bossy.
The 2nd stripper I picked up didnt yell at me but she also barked orders. Wont get into much detail as I just wrote a book about stripper #1. Her barking orders were hello as she entered car order #1"put this radio station on, order #2 turn volumn up ill tell you when to stop" #3 dont speak to me while music is on #4 put the heat up. No please no thank you ànd you guessed it no tip. Last but not least we pull up to destination my app shows end trip you've arrived i end it wait for her to get the hell out. But she needs to bark 1 more order #5 "I've never been here before just sit here until I can find my friend then you can leave". Must be a stripper thing to bark orders and not tip. These 2 were in my first month of driving they taught me a few things that night. No, one of those things was not how to work a stripper pole. Thanks for sharing R Paulson. Would love to here more stories.
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This time I pick up 3 men in there 30's from India at a strip club in Bensalem PA. They get in dont seem really intoxicated. We have a coversation then they are talking amongst themselves. I look at GPS. Its putting me on PA Turnpike. Now where ever I get off I am not going to know where I am so obviously relying on GPS completely. Go up a few exists get off. Its dark as hell. I swear Bucks County suburbs doesnt like or is too cheap to put up street lights. Everything is so dark you see nothing when you look behind you. At this times roads are not only dark but no traffic around. The guys start speaking in their language now, up to this point their conversations were all English even to each other. Before I go further I was under impression destination was one of their homes. Now I have to turn into a dark business complex. Everything closed no one around. My mind thinks they are plotting to hack me up into little pieces lol This is just too shady. No houses, everything dark, no people, no cars. I am so ready to turn around at this point but had no idea where I could go or what i would say to them about turning around. Hearts pounding, nervous. Drive about .5 mile and up on my right was a Hotel. Never so grateful to see one. This was my 2nd experience on a ride that really scared me being a female driver. I think after all my stripper, strip club experiences (as I have 2 other time I had a pick up) I need to stay away from those places. Those rides are either miserable, scarey or just plain strange. Do you think Uber would deactivate me for not driving to or picking up from those places? Lol Yes definately.
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I think you should be able to. I have had a few riders who are happy to see a woman driver. I even had a male who said he would rather have a woman because a male driver may be able to over power a male rider. Some of these young girls pass out from drinking. Some are so drunk that a male driver could do something and she probably wouldnt remember. If these women who got raped had a female than the rape would've never happened. Young women tell me all the time some of their male drivers hit on them some are just creepy make them feel uncomfortable. One young woman said her driver bought her cigs alcohol, and tried to kiss her after ride was over. Women tend not to be criminals, rapist, etc. I would think they wouldnt be hitting on male passengers to the point that the msle rider is uncomfortable. Unfortunately these women who have had these issues dont report driver because they are afraid he will come back to their house.
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Lilly, Can you please clarify or correct me if I am wrong as I dont want to be giving my riders wrong info. If you schedule a ride more than 60 min. in advance your fare is locked in. If you schedule a ride in less than 60 min. in advance Uber gives you an estimate. Then when you are matched with a driver fare could increase if there is a surge in your area. Thank you.
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Uber and Lyft base fares on the longest route to riders destination (time & miles). Most Drivers take the shortest route. Driver is paid for the miles they drove & the amt. of time it took. I arrive at riders destination switch off GPS & go back to Uber or Lyft app. It will say 5 to 15 min until destination. I do the speed limit, I use WAZE app, my car doesn't fly, and its not an amphibious car. Passenger got charged for that 5 to 15 min even though it didnt take that long and they get charged for the miles I didnt travel. This is why drivers are complaining. Uber and Lyft are making a few dollars less than us or the same amount. Nothing we can do as we agreed to be pd per mile and time. Upfront pricing scam. What sucks is riders think we are getting 75%/80% of the fare so they may not be tipping for that reason. Especially on long trips that are 50.00 to 150.00. I am driving for Uber as I text this. When I have some free time later today I will post some screen shots so passengers can see whats going on. O will also screen shot my next trip that says we have X amt of time until destination when we are all ready there.
I've had a few riders from other cities say that they can only schedule trips heading to the Airport. Apparently its only in certain markets. I am assuming in big busy cities its available. In smaller less busy cities it may not be available or only available when heading to and from airports in those cities. Uber doesnt assign a driver for any cities scheduled trips. That request goes out like all other request, to the nearest driver. It does go out a few minutes earlier than the scheduled time because if the driver is 1 min late Uber gives rider a $10 credit in my market. In my experience and in speaking with riders from all over the US the scheduling option isnt available in all cities. If you are in a city or rural area that it usually takes an Uber 15/20 min to get to you and you are leaving after 10pm before 7am I would not depend on Uber. Especially if you need to be somewhere by a certain time.
The driver that was telling the You Tuber about this made no mention about rates being decreased recently in their market. I dont know anyone in those markets but I'll see if I can find out if their per mile, per min rates were lowered recently. Thank you for the info. Red Ant do you mind if if I screen shot your comment to put in my email to the You Tuber?
Very well stated RedAnt. Couldn't agree with you more. Maybe different cities/states have different laws but here in Philly to receive benefits you have to be a full time employee. Minimum wage is $7.50 per hour. Most employers that are paying minimum wage to 12.00 per hr dont hire full time employees because they dont want to pay benefits like Health Insurance. Uber/Lyft would probably only give drivers part time hrs. That would be their out to pay health insurance. Do these people realize that if they were to offer Health Insurance it would probably be the bare minimum with $5,000.00/$10,000.00 deductibles. Employers are also not required to pay 100% of the premium. There would be a copay towards that premium each month. Do they realize they would have to maintain a 85/90% acceptance rate? Very low cancel rate? You would have to take every crappy ride sent your way. No thank you to all of the above. Making us employees isnt the answer. Really stinks that what these drivers in CA do may trickle down to every state. I just hope they make the right decision. Most drivers I talk to or see on forums, You Tube videos etc... dont want to be employees. The ones that want all these benefits I dont think they want to be employees. Problem with that you cant have your cake and it eat to. I dont know what they are thinking. Increase the rates, make it safer with valid ID when riders sign up, stop believing every rider out there when they report BS, be more transparent, go back to the 75/80% to the driver. Real simple drivers would be happy and Uber & Lyfts problems go away. Even if they just raised rates nothing else it would probably make drivers happy. Uber and Lyft seem really hell bent on not increasing drivers rates at all no matter what.
When I need to make a stop it would be great if there was one place that would have eveything I may need. A clean restroom, vaccum, air machine, mac machine (no fee or keep it low at 1.00).
Dont know how far you want to take this or how big you want it to be but here are a few other suggestions. Maybe a small store that would carry smokes, air freshners, car products (paper towels, wipes, oil, tire shine, fix a flat, etc) keep those things at a decent price (maybe not walmart cheap but not gas station expensive). Hate having to stop at a Wal Mart or other big store but also hate buying these things in a small gas station mini mart that cost a fortune. Lottery machine. You could make some money off this also. If it gets busy add a Food Truck. You have a good idea here. Gives drivers a place to hang out & meet other drivers, straighten up their car, grab some snacks or whatever they may need. If they need to take a nap or they are from out of state they would have a safe place to park. Get other business to give you discount cards for Uber/Lyft drivers. Car washes, gas stations, Tire places ,Pep Boys, etc... They get the business, drivers get a discount, you are helping the drivers. You can even ask these businesses to put a code on the card and everytime someone uses the code to purchase something you get a small fee ($1/$2). Make drivers show you their app so you just have rideshare drivers and not just general public takung up spots.
A few riders will comment how clean my car is. A few will put it in my Lyft ratings. I pick people up from airport and drop people off at the airport. I dont where they have been or what there hygiene is. What I do know is I am in my car, my family is in my car I do not want any of us picking up any kind of illness. Furthermore I transport kids (with parents & car seats), and riders that have cancer, or are very old. Their immune systems are not the greatest. I do not want to be responsible for anyone catching any disease or illness because I was too cheap or lazy to spray some lysol. My car is kept clean for my own sanity. I hate clutter and a dirty car. I am not a germaphobe but I see the things people do and dont do in public restrooms. It's absolutely disgusting. I've worked in healthcare my entire life there are certain illness, diseases that people may have that I dont know about because they may not share that info. Their immune systems are not strong enough to fight off bacteria/germs. So with that being said I dont care what people think. I know my car is clean and if anyone gets sick most likely it wasnt from my car so not my fault:) Riders should look out for themselves by washing their hands especially after bring in public places . Most dont. Dont want them bringing their dirty bacteria infested hands in my car. Lol I use Lysol in the car but there are a few people I would've love to Lysol their entire body before they got in my car. I have a bottle of hand sanitizer in the back for riders. So far in the 3 months its been back there 3 riders have used it.
The area probably would surge but depending if its a glat $ surge or the area is on a multiplier surge that could get costly. If Uber offers 1.25/3.00 surge some drivers wont even head that way. If its a 3.0X multiplier drivers may go although most drivers know not to chase the surge. Its a risk either way. Either there are drivers in the area or there isnt. Surge kicks in and rides go from 12.00 to 36.00. Too many problems could arise. If you dont care about the cost, have a big budget set aside, and guest dont mind waiting then go for it. You can always throw another post up and ask "Are there any drivers who drive in give the area the venue is in". Maybe a driver from that atea can give you more info. Its kind of hard to give a better answer when we dont know where you ate talking about. I would try posting again asking for driver or riders from the area you need drivers to be at. That may help you get a better idea.
I do like driving. If we became employees and they controlled when and where we went on the app, had to accept all trips, I would no longer drive. I like the flexibility, not punching clock, and picking which rides I want. If that changed they would have to be offering a real big fare increase for me to stay.
I had a few in Philly when I did a few bar pick ups one night after that young girl was killed. I explained why we needed their name first. Only one 30 something drunk female with her hubby gave me a hard time. He basically told her to shut up. She was killed in SC and was from NJ. Seems like drivers from down South were having issues. Not sure where else.
I live in Far Northeast Philly my neighborhood is 2 blocks from Bucks County PA (out of Philly. In the suburbs). I am 20 min away from NJ. I drive in all those areas. Uber is used the most in Philly and Bucks. Lyft is pretty close to Uber in NJ. The issue I have with Lyft is pick up times tend to be 10 to 20 min away. Uber pays for pick ups longer than 10 min away (15 min approx 5.00 20 min approx. 10.00)not big bucks but they give you something. Lyft pays nothing for long pick up. After you travel 15 min to pick up Lyft rider s are going on a 5 min ride 2 miles up the road for 3.45. So not worth it. A few weeks ago I screen shot 20 trip request. 3 trips were 5 to 10 min away to pick up rider. 17 trips were 12 to 20 min away. Had I taken those 17 trips it wouldve taken me at the very least 3.4 hrs to 5.6 hrs of unpaid time and gas. What a total waste. Short trips on Lyft tend not to tip. Long trips I get more/better tips. Uber riders are better tippers. Uber riders also tip with cash more than Lyft riders. These are based on my rides cant speak for other drivers.
Got the notice 2 days ago in my city. I drive X and XL but rarely do I accept XL on Lyft because the trips are always 20 min away. Hell regular Lyft trips are 12 to 20 min away. My acceptance rate in Lyft is about 3% each week. Take Lyft trips if Uber is slow.
Totally agree. Employee, No way! They would just raise the rates to what they were 2 yrs ago even a year their problems would go away. They have to know this. They are determined not to give us crap.
I read something that said a driver picked "cant find the rider" but was there for 7 min & rode around in the area. Uber wouldnt give them the cancel fee. Technically by choosing that you are admitting fault, you cannot find your rider. I am not telling you not to use it just saying what another drivers experience was when they used "cant find rider". I cannot say if its true or not I dont personally know the person who posted it. It's not an option on my app. They finally gave me "accepted trip by accident". Lol I have used 3 different types of Galaxy phones. When I have my Uber app on (used to do it on Lyft also until they put the "accept bar" on there to accept trip)and I am texting, posting on hear, FB, etc... a request comes in on Uber as I am using the keyboard I end up accepting the trip. I've been complaining to Uber for 2 yrs since I started:) I try to be careful but I average 2/3 cancellations per week because of it. So now I pick "accepted by accident". Lol
What worries me the most is whatever happens in CA is probably going to go down in every state. Our future is in the hands of CA drivers. Hope they do the right thing or we could all be screwed.
If we were to become Employees it shouldnt affect what hours we work. That would be up to Uber & Lyft. Just because your an employee doesnt mean you have to work set hrs. Dont think Uber & Lyft want that much work to make up schedules anyway. I am sure we would be forced to take every ride requests that hits our phone. We are not supposed to carry weapons now. Employee or not rather get deactivated/fired than be dead. If I am not mistaken that $ per mile we get to write off, say goodbye to that if we become employees. Regardless if any rules they would impose I want no parts of bring their employee. I also dont trust Gov. officials either. They are in for kick backs or some other personal gain. Anytime they get involved just means more $ taken away from us. I just dont see us becoming employees Uber and Lyft will be bankrupt.
I do agree not really sure what they are trying to do in CA because although they are asking for all those things they dont want to be employees. If your a Pvt. Contractor you cant expect what they are asking for. I dont have the answers but maybe they need to come up with something in the middle for "gig workers" if thats possible. Do they realize health insurance alone will still cost them $. Not many companies with employees pay 100% of their premium. Maybe have people sign up as Independent Contractior they get to keep their 75/80%. If your an employee that wants all those benefits then take X amt out of each mile. Uber & Lyft have both said if they have to make drivers an employee their business is done. I've been following a few Rideshare You Tubers. One of them has started some new things and is looking into possibly starting a new ride share company (not tryp lol). He has a lot of good videos up. If you havent seen them you should check them out.
WWW.rideshareprofessor.com (Rideshare Professor)
WWW.Dustin is Driving - sorry cant seem to find link but this will take you to his channel
WWW.youtube.com/channel/UCIJS Kevin The Apptrepreneur
All of these guys are pretty good and up to date on whats happening out there with Uber and Lyft. One of them is on the negative side:) They will let you know what is going on out there.
I do not want to be an employee. I like making my own hours, declining or taking a trip, instant pay. What I dont like is the rates (Lyft just made one on XL rides in many markets), no safety for drivers, no respect for drivers. Increase the rates, make riders sign up with valid gov issued ID (along with the friends they order for), real names of riders (not names like to the window, d!@k swallower, and the man, etc), deactivate riders with bad ratings(Uber says they will but not believing it), transparency, honesty, respect, and 75/25% or 89/20% (not the bs with upfront pricing). Most of what I mentioned will not cost them a dime.
Just be aware that price is what it normally cost. If there are not enough drivers in the area it may cause that area to surge to bring more drivers. The cost for the ride will then increase. The cost could increase by 1.25 per ride or much more ($10 and up). I've had rides where the rider has paid $35.00 more than it normally cost. Not trying to discourage you but want you to be aware of the surge pricing. Hopefully there will be enough drivers in the area.
Would like to know also. Who are they picking up? Study definately needs to check more than 9 cars. I want to know where these super clean toilet seats are to use them when out on the road.
They need to do a much better study then 9 cars. They probably used cars they rent out to drivers who may not care to clean it because its not their car. I cant imagine what toilet seats they checked. The rest rooms I see out on the road are absolutely disgusting . People dont even wash their hands. I call the study BS.
I agree 9 cars doesnt make for an accurate study.
I would rather use the spray. Imo I think its better and easier. I have a small wet/dry vac put out by Armour All with small attachments that get into those really hard to reach spots. I keep a hand hell wisk broom in my car. When I stop to get gas I brush off mats and any other crap that gets tracked in. If need be stop at gas station or car wash to use their vacuum. I am OCD with keeping my car clean:)