Driver Advice

by Scott Van Maldegiam on September 20, 2018 17 Comments

5 Most Lucrative Holidays To Be a Lyft & Uber Driver

Have you started driving for Uber, Lyft, and other services yet? If not, click here to sign up and get your sign up bonus. If you sign up for multiple services, you’ll be able to compare surge/prime times. And if one of the apps crashes (which tends to happen on busy nights), you’ll have a backup.

I also recommend picking up a good dash cam. Riders tend to get belligerent on big nights. Click here to see a big list of essential gear you might need.

Driving for Uber and Lyft During the Holidays

Let’s take a look at what days of the year rideshare drivers see record numbers. My reasoning behind this list is pretty simple: follow the alcohol.

We already know that Friday and Saturday nights are peak demand times since everyone is out and about drinking, so it only makes sense that the biggest rideshare days of the year would coincide with the biggest drinking holidays of the year.

Best holidays to be a Uber and Lyft driver

Best holidays to drive for Uber and Lyft

1) New Year’s Eve

If you’ve been driving for any amount of time, you’re probably already familiar with the stories from NYE. New Year’s Eve is off the hook busy: multipliers are maxed out and this year’s NYE will likely be the biggest rideshare night we’ve ever seen! When I say maxed out, this means 8x for Uber and 3x for Lyft.

Most rides after midnight between 12:30 and 2:30 were steady at this high multiplier. The rest of the night is commonly above 4x except from about 10 until 12 when there is a bit of a lull. Plan to wait to eat dinner and take a break during this time. I started this past year about 3pm and I remember having a 5.5 multiplier around 5:30pm so demand is strong most of the day.

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It is not unheard of to make $500-$1,000 on NYE (even in the lowest cost market of Chicago) but you have to be prepared for the drama. There are mainly 2 types of riders on a night where there are high expectations. There are people who had fun and those that didn’t. There isn’t much in between and those that didn’t have fun will be surrounded by drama and tears, so be ready. [Read more…]

by Will Preston on August 3, 2018 Leave a Comment

How Would You Rate Denzel Washington’s Performance as a Lyft Driver?

Have you ever watched a movie, TV show or music video that featured Lyft or Uber logos? Maybe someone was actually “working” as a driver. We wanted to know how realistic these portrayals are and if there are takeaways for drivers, so we had senior RSG contributor Will Preston break down one of the latest movies to prominently feature rideshare driving, the movie The Equalizer 2 starring Denzel Washington.

In the recently released movie, The Equalizer 2, Denzel Washington plays a horrible Lyft driver who somehow gets repeat business. I wanted to better understand this dichotomy, so I decided to look at his dashcam footage. After all, it’s Denzel Washington, he’s getting repeat business as a driver – he must be doing something right, right?

In case you haven’t heard of The Equalizer 2, its plot summary from Google is:

“If you have a problem and there is nowhere else to turn, the mysterious and elusive Robert McCall will deliver the vigilante justice you seek. This time, however, McCall’s past cuts especially close to home when thugs kill Susan Plummer — his best friend and former colleague. Now out for revenge, McCall must take on a crew of highly trained assassins who’ll stop at nothing to destroy him.”

[Read more…]

by Harry Campbell on August 1, 2018 217 Comments

11 Common Reasons You Can Get Deactivated as an Uber Driver

Have you signed up to drive for Uber yet? Click here to sign up to drive for Uber

Signing up for a variety of driving and delivering services is a great way to diversify your income. If you currently only drive for Uber, sign up for other services to protect yourself against getting deactivated and losing your income. We recommend also signing up for Uber Eats, Lyft, Postmates, and Doordash

There are a lot of great reasons to be a rideshare driver, but at one time or another, we’ve all been frustrated by at least one of Uber’s policies.

Personally, I’ve always had problems getting reliable answers from Uber customer support. And not only is it tough to get an answer, but it can also be tough to get a straight answer. But once these policies start to affect your livelihood as a driver, things can turn in an instant.

Uber and Lyft don’t make it easy for new drivers to get help – that’s why I created The Rideshare Guide, a guide for new and long-time rideshare drivers. I cover everything from how to avoid deactivation (and increase your ratings!) to maximizing your income while on the road. Check it out here.

10 Things That Can Get You Deactivated As An Uber Driver

11 Things That Can Get You Deactivated As An Uber Driver

by Will Preston on July 13, 2018 Leave a Comment

How Much Did I Make Driving for Uber and Lyft on the 4th of July?

On July 4, RSG senior contributor Will Preston had his best night driving with Uber ever. And while not every holiday will be as lucrative, today Will shares his strategies for maximizing your time on the road, taking advantage of holidays, plus how much he made.

I grossed $355 ($326 from Uber and $29 from Lyft) driving the afternoon and evening of July 4th, which is now the most amount of money I believe I’ve made per hour ($35) since I started driving about two years ago. While San Diego is a busy town with mid-range Uber rates, it has minimal surge, so for drivers in my town, this is a lot of money!

In this article, I’ll share the strategies I used to maximize my earnings during the July 4th holiday, plus the mistakes I made that kept me from making more.

[Read more…]

by John Ince on July 11, 2018 Leave a Comment

7 Habits of Highly Effective Rideshare Drivers

Some drivers just seem to have the whole ridesharing thing down: great ratings, solid tips, and a pragmatic outlook on life. What makes these drivers different? Senior RSG contributor John Ince covers the 7 habits of highly effective rideshare drivers – do you agree?

As I approach my fourth year as a rideshare driver and my 70th birthday, it occurs to me that many of the habits that make you a good driver are the same habits that make you successful in life. So I decided to make a list, and I came up with seven habits of highly effective rideshare drivers. What would you add to this list?

[Read more…]