After about 15 months of being in various stages of shut down, the country is opening up and people are going out once more. Big events like concerts, sporting events and more will be drawing large crowds.
In addition, big holidays are just around the corner, and people now more than ever want to get together with friends or family for these events. How should you handle these situations? What’s the best way to earn big money with minimal hassle?
Tips for Avoiding Pain Points
1. Learn When Events are Happening
The best way to be prepared for big events is to know what is happening, where it’s happening and when. From there, you can make a better decision on if you should drive in that area or not.
Some drivers, myself included, prefer to do the drop-offs for events and avoid pickups to avoid the big crowds. Granted, picking up the passengers after a big event is a great way to earn surge pricing and bank big.
2. Know the Zones
Most cities that have bigger events at baseball stadiums and arenas have designated drop off and pick-up zones. Be sure you learn and follow these zones. I know in Minneapolis/St. Paul, the traffic coordinators and police will ticket you if you don’t follow the directions.
If there is an event that has a specific zone, Uber and Lyft are usually pretty good about telling you exactly where to go for the pickup and drop off locations. However, if you want to research it ahead of time, event centers and stadiums should have the Uber/Lyft loading and drop off zones listed somewhere on their websites.
When you approach a zoned area, there should also be clear signs indicating where the pickup and drop off locations are.
3. Keep in Touch with Your Passenger
If you’re picking up after a concert has let out or after the baseball game is over, you might have a difficult time finding your passenger and they might have a hard time finding you.
My advice is to give them a call as you’re approaching so you can coordinate a better pickup spot or help each other find one another. One way to do this would be to have a special feature added to your car to make you easier to find. This could be a magnet that you put on your car specifically for picking up at big events.
Many drivers who are used to picking up after big events get out, or even airport pickups, have colorful, lit up signs in their cars that make it easy for people to find the car. Some of those signs even have words like “Paula’s Lyft Driver” or “Mike’s Car” to make it even easier to identify the driver.
You could also consider carrying a flashlight that’s a unique color, so you can wave it toward a group of people while telling your passenger what to look for. In some cities, Lyft has their amp, which acts as a beacon. Your light color will match the color on your passenger’s phone to help make finding each other easier.
If you are able to reach the actual event area and park, try to look for somewhere easy to find so you can tell your passenger that you’re parked under the “Main Entrance” sign (or whatever you’re near) with your flashers on. This will help guide them to you.
4. Keep Your Doors Locked
One thing that I cannot stress enough is to keep your doors locked until you confirm your passenger is the correct person. I don’t know how many times people try to get into my vehicle when I’m not on the job at the moment or when I’m stopped at a stoplight on my way to a passenger.
You can’t trust passengers to know what they are doing at all times. This means you need to be on your game at big events. Keep your window cracked or halfway down so you can easily talk with your possible passengers to confirm who they are before allowing them inside your vehicle.
5. Be Patient or Move On
You have to realize, if you want to bank on those surges after a huge event, you’re going to need a healthy dose of patience to get through it. If this doesn’t sound like something you can do, it’s best to recognize that up front and move on to another location that won’t be as crowded and congested.
6. Don’t Accept Rides Off the Platform
This is a huge liability and not worth it, in my opinion. Your insurance won’t cover you if you get in an accident, and neither will Uber or Lyft’s insurance. While the cash might be nice, is it really worth possibly losing your insurance, your license and possibly getting sued by your passenger if anything goes wrong?
7. Educate Yourself
If you’re still not sure of the best ways to earn while driving, consider taking our course: Maximum Ridesharing Profits. You’ll learn the ins and outs of the trade so you can maximize your earnings.
Get on out there and start earning the big bucks at events all over town. Check your community calendars and city events pages to see what’s happening in your city this summer.
Have you noticed higher demand, especially for events and holidays? What has your driving experience been like?
-Paula @ RSG
