Gabe Ets-Hokin

by Gabe Ets-Hokin on December 1, 2019 Leave a Comment

Earn Extra Money By Helping People Pass Their Driver Exams

If you ask RSG contributor Gabe Ets-Hokin what happened to his Rideshare earnings in 2019, he will take you to the nearest cliff and point down. Oversaturation of drivers and massive reductions of bonuses as well as the regular fare cuts have made it harder to earn the decent hourly rate he enjoyed the previous five years. How did he work harder, not smarter and help keep his income up? Find out below!

2019 has been pretty rough for me professionally. Like a lot of gig workers – and I’ve been a gig worker on and off since the 1990s – the arrangements you build for yourself work… until they don’t. And so once again I have to reinvent myself, applying my skills and experiences to find some other way to keep my income growing – or at least steady.

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by Gabe Ets-Hokin on November 27, 2019 Leave a Comment

The 5 Best Electric Vehicles for Uber and Lyft Drivers

What if we told you that you could give yourself a $3-per-hour raise right now? Well you can…if you switch to an electric vehicle (EV) for your gig work, be it delivery driving or rideshare. The amount you save using electricity instead of gas really can boost your earnings by that much! EV champion and RSG contributor Gabe Ets-Hokin shares what the best electric vehicles for Uber and Lyft drivers are below.

EVs: 10 or even five years ago, it would be a tough sell to get me to try to use one for rideshare work. That’s because making a living wage in this industry requires a variety of careful strategies, and driving an overpriced vehicle with a limited range and long recharging times isn’t one of them.

Times have changed, and we have more choices in this space. If you’ve done the research and think an EV – or plug-in hybrid-electric (PHEV) – is a good match for your driving strategies and lifestyle, read on: I’ve got some choices for you.

If you’re not ready to buy a rideshare vehicle yet, check out our list of recommended rental options for drivers here.

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by Gabe Ets-Hokin on November 20, 2019 Leave a Comment

From Lyft Express Drive to Fair – How to Get the $500 Fair Switch Bonus

The rapidly maturing rideshare industry now offers most drivers plenty of ways to pay for a rental vehicle to use with Uber, Lyft or a delivery company. But which one is best? We’d say one that pays you back a little in bonuses to cover the rental fee. RSG contributor Gabe Ets-Hokin tried out Fair’s “Switch” program. Let’s see what he found out.

You want to drive some Uber, but you don’t have wheels. What to do? Well, it used to be a problem, but now it’s not. If you live near a big city, odds are that you have multiple car-rental options if you want to do rideshare. Since I’ve been using Lyft Express Drive lately, I was dispatched to try out Fair’s “Switch” program, which rewards drivers with an extra $500 bonus for coming from Lyft’s Express Drive program. Here’s what I found.

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by Gabe Ets-Hokin on November 11, 2019 1 Comment

All the Details on the Minimum Wage Uber and Lyft Want to Pay Drivers

Recently, a new group calling itself ‘Protect App-Based Drivers and Services’ (PABDASA) launched a new website in an attempt to shift public perception against California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5). But what is PABDASA and will it benefit drivers? RSG contributor Gabe Ets-Hokin breaks down what you need to know about PABDASA below.

California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which goes into effect January 1, will reclassify most gig workers: workers for Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Grubhub, DoorDash and a myriad of others as employees, making these companies’ paths to profitability much harder.

In response, Uber, Lyft and DoorDash committed $90 million, and Instacart and Postmates pitched in another $10 million, to sponsor a statewide ballot initiative to overturn it. I was curious: will pay increase or decrease? What kinds of benefits will they give us? Will it be a better deal than what we have now?

Luckily, on October 29, Protect App-Based Drivers and Services posted the text of PABDASA on its website. I’ll go through the important sections with you and then let you know if I think we’ll have a better deal under PABDASA or as employees.

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by Gabe Ets-Hokin on October 23, 2019 Leave a Comment

The 5 Best Cars for Rideshare Drivers

As rideshare drivers, we’re probably some of the best judges of cars. After all, cars are where we spend 100% of our working drive time, and if operating that car isn’t a pleasant, profitable experience, it has to go. So what are the best cars for rideshare drivers? Resident RSG Car Guru Gabe Ets-Hokin picks his five faves.

What’s the best car for rideshare driving? Oh boy, what a can o’ worms! My short answer is this: the car that works best for you. So how do you figure that out? Well, before I bought my rideshare car, I spent about three months reading, researching and figuring what would make me the most money. I’ll share with you my methods – and my short list of final picks, and hopefully you can use it to get into the perfect ride.

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