Anybody here an Uber or Lyft driver?

[IAteYourMother]

i would never become an uber driver, since i can't do small talk.

If you're an uber driver, you shouldn't be small talking anyways

 

[AznAnarchy99]

If you're an uber driver, you shouldn't be small talking anyways

You don't have to talk to people but it's nice if you do. Uber started to get an influx of taxi drivers coming over to work and most of those guys are assholes.

 

[zardthebuilder]

i was about to signup with lyft until i found out that the driver cannot control the maximum distance of the ride. i was thinking about driving a maximum one-way trip of 20 miles so that i would drive about 1 hour at a time. the maximum one-way is 100 miles. you might end up in the middle of nowhere, which will mean 200 miles round trip. with a little traffic, your one trip might take 4 hours. and if you decline and ask the client to leave the car, your reputation will sink like a rock.

technically, i think it is easy to implement a miles limit. the passenger would enter their destination before requesting a ride. the system calculates the miles. only those drivers that are within their miles limit would be considered.

 

[IAteYourMother]

You don't have to talk to people but it's nice if you do. Uber started to get an influx of taxi drivers coming over to work and most of those guys are assholes.

It's really not that nice if I'm not interested in talking. If I want someone to talk to I'll call for a lyft, but after awhile it gets tiring and I just want someone to drive me to where I want while I mind my own business. Uber tends toward more of a black car style that I prefer at this point.

 

[stlc8tr]

I Uber hate is strong in the media for some reason. Been using it for a long time now with one issue (with a driver) and Uber swiftly took care of it. My friend was making $1200 a week in the LA area driving only at night about 5-6 hours a day.

Does he drive 5 days a week? If so, that seems above average for Uber drivers.

This article claims that they would not find a single NYC driver making $90K (gross).

http://www.slate.com/articles/busin...ring_company_says_its_drivers_make_great.html

 

[SketchMaster]

I worked in Denver 3 times last year and used Uber every time I needed to get somewhere that I wasn't driving myself...barely ever saw regular cabs and just assumed that the experience would be just like in any city that isn't LA/NYC/Chicago. (aka, shitty)

Hey! Denver is a real city, they have an Ikea store!

<-- lived in CO for 12 years.

Colorado springs was a joke for public transit. Maybe two buses that never ran, and it would cost you $20 for a 5 mile cab ride.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Does he drive 5 days a week? If so, that seems above average for Uber drivers.

This article claims that they would not find a single NYC driver making $90K (gross).

http://www.slate.com/articles/busin...ring_company_says_its_drivers_make_great.html

Yeah. He said Hollywood and DTLA was a gold mine.

also

http://blog.uber.com/LuxLAInvite

Wanna impress that girl with an S-Class driver? Now you can

 

[stlc8tr]

Yeah. He said Hollywood and DTLA was a gold mine.

also

http://blog.uber.com/LuxLAInvite

Wanna impress that girl with an S-Class driver? Now you can

I found another article about Uber driver earnings.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox...earnings_are_a_gamble_but_full_time_more.html

It looks like it's like most things in life. You have superstar earners and you have chumps. The range is anywhere from $1/hr to $59/hr.

 

[djnsmith7]

I drive for both, but I won't go into too many details. There are forums that are monitored very closely & there is a report of at least one driver whose activity was monitored while he was inside his home.

I know many of you have several questions. Instead of answering them, I'll point you to Uberpeople.net for your questions. I was somewhat actively engaged previously, but I have significantly minimized my participation.

My suggestion after several months in the industry: Decent money for Part-time work, but not as a full-time job. If you dig into the forum above, you'll find a detailed monetary breakdown.

I will share this:

It's extremely difficult to achieve the income Uber advertises on CL ($1800+ / wk). You have to work very long hours, work the Surge Pricing program with precision (no room for error), predict where an ever-moving target will be in 3-4 minutes (over a span of 7 square miles) and execute with precision (& do it within ever-changing traffic conditions). I've attempted to achieve this several times without exceeding 60 hours a week, without success. I will admit, being well-versed with all of the subdivisions within SF are crucial. But even being a subdivision expert doesn't negate chasing Surge Pricing's tail.

Digging deep into the forum above, you will find a gentleman that does this religiously 6 days a week. He will drive 5 minutes only to catch the tail end of an evaporating target, just to turn around & repeat for his entire shift. He only picks up passengers in Surge Pricing zones.

He spends 50% of his day chasing that virtual red zone. The other half of his shift, he has passengers in his vehicle. He's one of the few that comes close to the advertised income.

Wondering why he only drives in Surge Pricing areas? Breakdown: Based on my experience, the avg. non-SP fare in SF is $6. The avg. distance to the passenger is 1 mile & drive time is 5 mins. The avg. distance / fare is 1 mile & drive time is 5 mins. When you do the math, after Uber & Lyft take their 20%, it doesn't make sense. The driver makes next to nothing after expenses.

Downtime reading: Uber has a rapidly growing list of unsettling incidents. Most recently: Alejandro Done from Boston assaulted and raped his passenger.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Just about what I expected. Nothing of substance, as usual.

you get what you give......

 

[The_Dude8]

I found another article about Uber driver earnings.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox...earnings_are_a_gamble_but_full_time_more.html

It looks like it's like most things in life. You have superstar earners and you have chumps. The range is anywhere from $1/hr to $59/hr.

if you can afford a Tesla Model S, Mercedes Benz S-Class or BMW 7-Series. You won't be driving for UberLux.

 

[dguy6789]

Wow, let's profit off a supposedly legal carpool program, and try to work around the laws. Why didn't I think of that???

So you're saying it's perfectly OK to skirt all the regulations, safety, license, bonds, insurance, etc... that governs the taxi industry, and instead allow any knuckleheads to drive around and pick up people. All in the name of... what?

Wait what? Are you a conservative or not? You just listed SOP for virtually all wealthy Republican run corporations.

 

[zardthebuilder]

My suggestion after several months in the industry: Decent money for Part-time work, but not as a full-time job. If you dig into the forum above, you'll find a detailed monetary breakdown.

thank you for sharing your insight. i think it is a matter of cost accounting. as a full-time job, your car is an expense. and time is money. if you properly allocate your expenses, the money is not great. as a part-time hobby, except for gas, your car might be considered a "fixed" expense and your time is leisure. so, anything you make over your gas money is gravy. and you can also chose to only work when you know there is a high probability of surge pricing.

 

[jlee]

uber's corporate culture doesn't fit my personality. i ran the Lyft concept by my wife, and she didn't say no. i might just start the application process with Lyft and see how far I can go before I have to commit.

Try it yet? I now have a vehicle that's new enough, and I'm thinking about give it a shot.

 

[halik]

Love using the service, would never drive myself (or rent my place/car on airbnb or similar). Unless you're pretty poor, you have to think VERY HARD about shielding your assets from liability in these services, as a lot of insurances will be looking to cancel your claims if you're doing some sort of quasi-commercial venture.

There was an example of some lady getting sued after the "shared" her car and the driver killed some guy in an accident.

 

[jlee]

Love using the service, would never drive myself (or rent my place/car on airbnb or similar). Unless you're pretty poor, you have to think VERY HARD about shielding your assets from liability in these services, as a lot of insurances will be looking to cancel your claims if you're doing some sort of quasi-commercial venture.

There was an example of some lady getting sued after the "shared" her car and the driver killed some guy in an accident.

Valid point, for sure. They do have insurance coverage, but I'm not sure how good it is when it comes down to an actual claim.
https://www.lyft.com/drive/help/article/1229170

 

[Ns1]

Instead of answering them, I'll point you to Uberpeople.net for your questions.

I tore through this site for ya'll.

The TL;DR version:

.73 cents a mile, someone grossed $90 for 9 hours. Drivers leaving in droves, but there's the occasional outlier. Things used to be good, but fierce competition and rate cuts = drivers fucked

Anyone on ATOT want to confirm/deny?

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I'm waiting for Hotnife to startup to save me a ton of money on surgical routines I may need in the future. Who needs to pay real doctors or use real surgical facilities when I am sure it can be done in the back seat of an Uber or Lyft vehicle with the right app.

 

[jlee]

I'm waiting for Hotnife to startup to save me a ton of money on surgical routines I may need in the future. Who needs to pay real doctors or use real surgical facilities when I am sure it can be done in the back seat of an Uber or Lyft vehicle with the right app.

You're saying a taxi driver is safer / more skilled than some random person with a clean driving record?

Have you ever been in a taxi?

 

[BarkingGhostar]

You're saying a taxi driver is safer / more skilled than some random person with a clean driving record?

Have you ever been in a taxi?

No, I'm saying you need to get a sense of humor. Anyone willing to enter the Darwin zone surely gets what they deserve.

 

[Ns1]

No really, it's gotta be impossible for uber drivers to make money.

Took a 4 mile ride today for 8 minutes @ 5.25. He gets 4.25 less 20% fee, so $3.40

It took him 5 minutes to get to my location. It takes him 10 minutes to get back to "home base". So 23 minutes spent for $3.40 not including costs - I almost feel bad.

 

[jlee]

No really, it's gotta be impossible for uber drivers to make money.

Took a 4 mile ride today for 8 minutes @ 5.25. He gets 4.25 less 20% fee, so $3.40

It took him 5 minutes to get to my location. It takes him 10 minutes to get back to "home base". So 23 minutes spent for $3.40 not including costs - I almost feel bad.

Wow, that's bad.

I'm curious how the Lyft numbers turn out. Base fee plus $1.20/mi or $1.80/mi for Lyft Plus, minus 20%.

 

[Ns1]

Wow, that's bad.

I'm curious how the Lyft numbers turn out. Base fee plus $1.20/mi or $1.80/mi for Lyft Plus, minus 20%.

From my research last night, they get paid more cuz lyft allows tips BUT average 1 lyft trip for every 4 uber trips.

He also had bottles of water in the back - imagine if I took one, bringing his "profit" to $3.15 less gas/etc.

 

[Ns1]

I think I'm gonna start bringing cash for tips, cuz I just feel guilty.

Poor dude today got pinged when he was 7 minutes away, about 2 miles. He got to my area in 8 minutes or so but got roadblocked by construction. Took him an extra 4-5 minutes.

I tell him where I need to go and we go, about 3.5 miles and 9 minutes. So to get back to where he started from approx 20 minutes. Total time/distance, assuming he goes back to home base after dropping me off = 10 miles, 40 minutes.

He received the princely sum of $4.77 less 20% fee, or $3.82 less costs. Gas is 60 cents, so $3.22 less depreciation/other wear & tear for 40 minutes of work.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Took a ride from Orange County to Hollywood the other day for $55.