Monica Castleberry (momof4)

Ride Expert from Philadelphia PA

Mom & Nursing Student by day Ride Share Driver by night always on the go
8198 Rider Driver

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Posts by momof4

Comments by momof4

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     5 years ago in  What almost every driver says not to do. Sometimes when someone needs your help its worth the risk.

    Happy I didnt see your post before. I never really thought of that. My dad was a Police Officer I know he is flipping over in his grave just because I drive for Uber. He probably jumped out out of his grave Saturday night.  

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     5 years ago in  RIDERS: What are some of your reasons for not tipping a driver?

    I agree. Should not ask or hint. There are times in conversation where a rider will be asking questions about driving for Uber, how much do you make, biggest tip etc... I try to avoid mentioning tips at all. I avoid that topic like the plague:) I know some drivers have signs and tip boxes. I just cant do it. I would never put a sign or box in my car. Thanks for sharing your opinion. 

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     5 years ago in  Passengers need to wear seatbelts especially in bad weather if not all the time. Also need to consider tipping in bad weather.

    You would think. Especially driving with a stranger in bad westher. 95% of my riders will put them on if sitting in the front. The other 5% have to be told. 25%/30% in the back seat put them on and I am being generous. The rest have to be told. Mostly people under 30 yrs old have to be told in the backseat. Some get annoyed with me thats where my 4 stars probably come from:) 

    A1You think thats bad In the 17mths I've been driving I've had at least 12 adults probably more with kids  ranging from 18 mths to 6 yrs. old with no carseat. Some have more than 1 child. When i say I cant take you I hear "they will be fine", "other drivers do it", and "what am I supposed to do now"? Some have a few other not so nice 4 letter words for me in front of their child. Go figure. I dont understand it. 

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     5 years ago in  Uber Ambulance for Pets! Call 911-Pet

    I know was just joking.  Hoping the kitty is ok. 

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     5 years ago in  Driver cancelling on riders. Driver commenting "Don't hate the player, hate the game." Is this okay.

    Not saying to do anything for the $ but again how is it fair to driver who drives 10/20 min to pick up passenger that goes .75 miles up the road for 3.45. Lets say its not busy area driver gets no ride on way back 20 min.of dead miles. Now driver drove 25 min. for 3.45. Why would anyone think this is fair to driver? It just about covers the gas. 

     If your job asked you to work but you would lose money instead of making $ would you do it? Of course you wouldn't. Lets see where your honor and pride are when asked to work at a loss.   How can you expect someone to make a living? I'll tell my kids they cant eat today because of my commitment to a rider.   I'LL tell the bill collectors that I'll pay them with honor and pride.  

    Lyft is grest for sending driver on consecutive 20 min pick ups for a 3.50/4.50 ride. No way should any driver be expected to work at a loss. When a driver cancels there are plenty of other drivers that will accept their request. There is (approx)over 1 mil. Uber drivers and over 700 000 (approx) Lyft drivers.  A rider obviously wont have an issue getting another driver and most definately will not be stranded.

    What about riders who cancel on drivers. You drive 20 min sometimes longer  to a pick up sit outside for 5 min only to see CANCEL pop up. We get 3.75. Or the people that order both Lyft and Uber and whatever driver gets there 1st gets the ride other driver gets cancelled. In that half hour in both instances the driver may have lost a decent fare but instead made 3.75. Should be a bigger penalty for cancelling on drivers.

    Just beware Uber/Lyft wants to make money. They will do it by any means necessary. They dont care about drivers or riders. They screw drivers and rip off passengers. Read the forums, look at you tube videos. Look at the law suits, the articles. Can you not see what these companies do? It's not the drivers with no honor and pride. Shandeel said it best  I'll just put it another way "dont hate the driver (for trying to make a living) hate Uber/Lyft for screwing the driver and ripping off the rider".  If you only knew some of their tatics read the forums. Educate yourself before you judge the driver. 

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     5 years ago in  RIDERS: What are some of your reasons for not tipping a driver?

    Unbelievable. I dont understand there logic. Maybe they just lack common sense? Were not raised right? Yes some people are just cheap but it cant be the only reason they dont tip. Then I have other riders that tip well above what they should when I do nothing extra. I just dont get it. 

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     5 years ago in  Passengers need to wear seatbelts especially in bad weather if not all the time. Also need to consider tipping in bad weather.

    Thanks for the tip. Mine are both up high. People can start putting seatbelts on or call another Uber:)

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     5 years ago in  what is roughly the split of rides between Uber Pool, Uber X and Uber Black?

    I also qualify for XL. Not enough XL rides so I drive Uber X also. When I select Uber X it automatically comes with pool and express pool. When I drove my Focus I accepted more pool because I got great gas mileage & acceptance rate mattered. Now that acceptance rate isnt a big issue and I get much lower gas mileage I stay away from those trips. Only take them if I am finishing up a quest or I accidentally accept while texting. Lol 

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     5 years ago in  RIDERS: What are some of your reasons for not tipping a driver?

    I didnt mean just one of those things I posted. I meant all of them. As in  driver being polite, respectful, attentive, and pays attention. Drives  safely,car is neat and clean. Help with packages, luggage, and will make a stop or 2 if asked. Carries plain old phone chargers  (nothing fancy) as sometimes riders need to charge their phone and aux cord so they can enjoy their own music if they choose to. Ask if they want to use GPS or would they like to provide directions.  This is why I feel a driver should be tipped. I would hope most drivers out there would treat their riders as I stated above. Help them with their bags and make a quick stop if asked. So assuming that most do this then yes they deserve a tip. I know there are drivers out there that  dont say 2 words, cars are dirty, etc and wouldnt help their own mom out of their car. So no they dont deserve tip. I agree with LG PA on getting out of car & opening door. I dont do it either unless they are elderly, handicapped, hands are full. It is nice to hear that you tip 98% of the time. It would be great if all riders were like you. The weather conditions I drove in the snow and rain were absolutely awful and very dangerous. I seen multiple accidents on I 95 Saturday night. State Troopers were saying how bad it was on I 95 and TP. I watched people getting pried out of cars with power tools and jaws of life. I had 7 trips up and down 95 that night. Roads were flooded, windy out, constant down pour, I got all of those people to their destination safely along with all the other things mentioned above as did many other drivers that night. Your damn right I feel we should've been tipped especially that night. I bet on the 5 trips to the bar the bar tender got tipped for bringing some over priced drinks:) I do appreciate that you do tip. I also appreciate your feedback on why you should or shouldnt tip. Just trying to understand people I guess. Just want to know their logic and opinions. Thanks again. Keep on Tipping:)

     

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     5 years ago in  Uber and Lyft confirm drivers can’t broadcast videos of passengers after a string of privacy incidents

    Probably did look it up:) I am sure that when you reassured them that it was gone in 24hrs they felt better about. Obviously its a great idea to have a camera. Thats my next investment after holidays. I also understand it from riders point of view. Especially if you are a high profile person.  In general I think they may make some people uncomfortable. I had a few Home Health cases where there were cameras all over the house. I completely understand why and I would do it to if I had people coming to my house taking care of my mom or my kids. I felt uncomfortable at first knowing they were on eventually got used to it but every once in awhile it was still uncomfortable.    

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     5 years ago in  Passengers need to wear seatbelts especially in bad weather if not all the time. Also need to consider tipping in bad weather.

    Good idea. I have been thinking about putting sign in back of my car with a few things on it. Not asking for tips though lol.

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     5 years ago in  Passengers need to wear seatbelts especially in bad weather if not all the time. Also need to consider tipping in bad weather.

    I know in PA if you are over 18 and in the back seat you do not have to wear a seatbelt. I was shocked when I read it in driving manual. Front seat passenger and driver must wear a seatbelt.  It takes less than 10 secs to buckle up. It's better  to lose 10 secs of time than being ejected out of the car. If your in front seat your head goes through that windshield your going to get messed up or worse. Me ex went through windshield no seatbelt. Half his face was hanging off. It was awful. These passengers dont know what kind of driver we are. They know nothing about us. Then factor in bad weather, bad visibility, wind, flooded roads, and bad drivers on the road why wouldn't you put a seatbelt on. I have people get annoyed with me when I ask them to put it on. I just dont get it. 

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     5 years ago in  What almost every driver says not to do. Sometimes when someone needs your help its worth the risk.

    I only did 2 trips 11.00 and 17.00 surge. The whole city along with Lower Bucks was surged. Surge was up to 30.00 in some areas. I will drive in snow but never again if traffic is heavy. Uber screwed me on both long pick up fees. One trip took 26 min the other 47 min. I was paid for 2 min for both for long pick up fee 1.97 and 2.57. They pd. me according to what it should've took not what it actually took. I emailed them countless time explaining the traffic and weather. They just kept sending me scripted responses on how long pick up fees work. I've done long pick ups during surge 20 min. received 7.00 but they were not hearing it this time. They also were telling riders my arrival time was what it usually takes no traffic or snow. Riders were getting annoyed. I had 3 or 4 cancel. I started texting riders my real arrival time so I wouldn't get anymore cancels.  Not worth it if traffic is heavy. 

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     5 years ago in  Drivers Playing games when waiting for rides. If you've downloaded racing games from Google Play you may have downloaded malicious app.

    I know some drivers in another thread said they play games while waiting for ride request. Google Play had some games that downloaded malicious app. Just thought I would share.

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     5 years ago in  Uber and Lyft confirm drivers can’t broadcast videos of passengers after a string of privacy incidents

    The only reason they came out and finally said something is they were probably afraid they would somehow be sued also.  The video thing is great to protect drivers from false accusations but never should've been able to post to docial media. Uber should've came out with a policy right away from the start preventing drivers from posting videos all over social media. There are drivers who do Uber Karaoke with riders but they get permission first from those riders or they dont post them. I can understand drivers telling stories about riders on social media assuming real names are never mentioned. We only get a 1st name and name disappears after trip is ended. The stories dont hurt anyone. Videos can destroy a persons life so not fair.  Just like a lot of videos out there can ruin people's lives. Anyone with a phone can take a video anywhere anytime and post to social media without permission or post half the video that doesnt tell the full story. Sorry but no one should be able to post any video or pic without a persons consent. Since its acceptable and happens all the time best thing one can do is behave in public and watch what you say & do especially knowing you are being recorded as in what happened to the hockey player. 


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     5 years ago in  Tipping Guide for Millennials. Unfortunately not one mention of Uber/Lyft.

    Lol. True but this article stated some services jobs should be tipped just not Uber/Lyft.   If millennials were writting them it would read "never tip anyone ever again, so not necessary:) In their mind they feel no need to tip anyone for anything,  no need to work hard, dont know what a 40 hr work week is, have no work ethic, dont feel they should call out of work, they just don't show up & think thats ok, and lets not forget they feel its ok to be on their phone while at work when they feel like it as long as they feel like it. Heaven forbid you ask them to get off their phone & do some work. They look at you like ypu lost ypur mind. 

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     5 years ago in  Thousands of ride share drivers’ certifications revoked or suspended

    Definately not commend Uber. They should've done better background checks and caught these people before they ever made it as a driver. 3rd party background checks only go back 7 yrs. To do a proper background check that goes back further and covers all States you need a fingerprinted FBI background check. They are not much more money. Uber takes 2.00/2.20 (depending on city) booking fee per trip to cover Insurance, app upgrades, and backround checks. Every driver every trip that booking fee is taken out of so you can imagine the amt of $ they make. When I started Nursing school 18 mths ago I pd less than 50.00 for FBI fingerprinted background check. Uber could afford to do those same checks. Yes we should be concerned that there ate that many criminals in the world. Unfortunately we live in a world thats not a safe place anymore. Most not all places of business will not hire someone who has a record period even if its a one time DUI that didnt kill someone (not saying that any DUI is ok). Uber wants to put as many drivers as possible on the road they obviously dont care what that driver is or was. If they did care hiring process would be much better/stricter.

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     5 years ago in  As a driver or passenger, have you experienced any thing during a rider share experience that REALLY made you angry? I mean ready to pop mad!

    I posted a comment about a month ago but I now found 2 more things that really makes me more angry than the other post. First- RIDERS PUT your SEATBELTS ON especially in BAD WEATHER. I dont care about the ticket & insurance will cover law suit as much as I dont want you flying through my windshield. I dont want to watch as they scrape your dead lifeless decapitated body off the road nor do I want to live with that for the rest of my life (even though it wasnt my fault). 2nd - In bad inclement weather snow or rain if your Driver gets you to destination safely TIP the driver. Obviously you are not driving your own vehicle for a reason. You either dont have a car, your drinking, or you dont want to drive or dont know how to in bad weather. Would it kill you or break your bank acct to give the driver a few dollars extra for risking their lives and car to get your ass out to dinner, movie, or the bar? Think about it, if your answer is yes your just a terrible person or as cheap as they come. 

    I try not to post tipping discussions in forums but after driving this past snow storm 2 wks ago and relentless downpour & flooded roads this past Saturday night in Philly & Lower Bucks I really felt the need to address it. If a rider never ever tips an Uber driver they should on these bad weather days for multiple reasons that I dont feel the need to go into detail as it should be common sense. Although common sense is lacking in many people.



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     5 years ago in  Driver cancelling on riders. Driver commenting "Don't hate the player, hate the game." Is this okay.

    I agree with Shandeel but also with AngieKM169. It isnt fair and may not seem right. When I accept a ride I immediately go off the other app. The reason being is I dont want to be tempted to do what Shandeel did but I have done it a few times. It is very tempting to do it. From a business standpoint its the best thing to do. Drivers are running their own business and straight fares with no surge and a short ride on top of that is a loss for that driver. Drivers are not out there to lose money. This is Uber/Lyfts fault for under paying drivers. Short trips via Uber or Lyft is a loss to a driver unless they are trying to reach a certain amt. of rides for a bonus. Here is a scenario that I find happens more with Lyft but also happens with Uber. I get a request that is 15/20 min away on Lyft (I am not getting paid a dime to drive to rider) I pick up rider that goes 1 mile to local supermarket 3.50 is what I get for trip. How is that profitable for a driver? It's not. It's a loss for that driver. I've had that happen multiple times in a row while driving for Lyft. Trust me its not much at all but with Uber you may make .50 to 1.00 if pick up is further than 10 min away but Lyft dont pay you a dime.  People who dont drive dont realize the wear & tear on our cars, up keep, gas, oil, tires etc... maybe if riders gave a few dollars tip for such short trips it would help somewhat. You cannot fault a driver not to take or cancel a trip when they are going to lose money. A rider will not be left stranded some other driver will pick them up lets face it there are many drivers in any given area at any given time. Uber/Lyft take 20/25% (depending when driver signed up). Then on top of that percentage they take 2.00 to 2.60 per ride for booking fee (depending on the city) and "other fee" usually .15 to .75. There are some ride that Uber makes more than driver multiple pool  rides (3 pick ups gives Uber 6.00 booking fee + percentage). My daughter took an Uber XL last weekend 122.00. Normally a 50.00 ride but area was surged. I checked my driver app, it showed surge was 10.00 extra for driver. That would give driver 62.00.  So where did 60.00 go? Not to driver, not to other, not to rider so who does that leave?  Riders need to realize Uber isnt being transparent. They are being less transparent than ever. Uber knows that riders & drivers dont discuss fares. Its an awkward topic and just not brought up. Maybe it should be discussed so it becomes clear they are taking more than they should. Drivers are losing money all the time so you really cant fault a driver for not wanting to take a trip that cost them money instead of making money. It does stink when driver cancels I get it but as I said they wont be stranded some one will come get them.

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     5 years ago in  Cargo and other snack services for Rideshare

    I agree MattC. I wouldnt feel comfortable selling those things since Uber tells you to offer them free. I dont offer them either except really hot days and some holidays. If a rider gets in and sees you are selling them they may have something to say if there last few drivers had water and snacks for free.  On the one night I changed cars & forgot to grab my chargers and aux cord I had a few riders say "my last driverr had blue tooth or aux cord" or "my last driver had chargers". I would feel uncomfortable selling things Uber suggested for free. Just like the whole tipping issue. I still have people say "Uber said riders didnt have to tip".  I do see in other forums where people do sell snacks but I guess it depends on where you drive how well it works.  Maybe we will get lucky and a few drivers who use Cargo will share their experience.

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Featured Answers by momof4

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     6 years ago in  Extra passengers

    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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     6 years ago in  A Night In The Life of An Uber Driver! Drivers/Riders please share your story!

    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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     6 years ago in  A Night In The Life of An Uber Driver! Drivers/Riders please share your story!

    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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     6 years ago in  Can you select the gender of the operator?

    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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     5 years ago in  Does Uber charge a fee for scheduled rides?

    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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     5 years ago in  How does Uber/Lyft scam passengers? Ideas on their tactics to set higher fares and surges. Share your suspicions, angry riders!

    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. 

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