Driving Experience

by Harry Campbell on September 13, 2017 52 Comments

5 Things I Have Learned After 12,500 Trips

Driving full-time for Uber and Lyft can be both challenging and tiring. If you’re not prepared mentally and physically to be a full-time rideshare driver, it can overwhelm even the most enthusiastic drivers. Today, we have a guest post from Jay Cradeur, a full-time driver from San Francisco who’s completed over 12,500 trips. Here are tips for new and current drivers based on what he’s learned over the last 12,500 trips.

I began driving for Uber and Lyft in January 2016 and since then, I’ve completed over 12,500 trips. I have driven in both the Sacramento market (one month) and San Francisco markets exclusively.

I moved to San Francisco early in my career in order to capitalize on this market’s unique qualities. San Francisco has both high rates and high demand. During this time, I have learned quite a bit about how to not only maximize my earnings, but also make this job enjoyable and repeatable. By repeatable, I mean you don’t need to overexert yourself or stress yourself so that you don’t want to drive anymore and quit. The turnover rate among drivers is ridiculously high.

Let me share five tips and techniques that will keep you making good money while also keeping you joyfully on the road regardless of where you live.

Make Every Mile Count

Did you know that every 1,000 business miles can generate $535 in tax deductions? Never miss another mile with the new QuickBooks Self-Employed automatic mileage tracker.

[Read more…]

by Melissa Berry on September 8, 2017 9 Comments

5 Things to Do Before You Start Driving

Everyone thinks it’s easy to get started driving with Uber and Lyft, but the truth is, there is some thought that goes into becoming a rideshare driver – especially if you want to be successful. Whether you drive full-time or part-time, there are some basic (like signing up!) and not-so-basic (like insurance) things that new rideshare drivers should consider before they get on the road. Today, RSG contributor Melissa Berry outlines her experience signing up to drive with Uber and Lyft, how long the process takes, and what you should do while you wait to be approved to drive.

I recently started driving for Lyft, at Harry’s recommendation to drive for Lyft before Uber, and have found it very interesting, to say the least. In case you don’t know me, I’ve been editing all the blog posts, podcasts and videos around the site for the last two years! And now I’m joining the rank of rideshare drivers.

Since Harry and Christian signed up a few years ago, things have changed pretty dramatically with Lyft and Uber. So, I thought I’d share my experiences signing up for both Lyft and Uber. It’s easy to sign up and become a new Uber or Lyft driver, but at the same time it’s not as easy as I thought it would be.

For those of you thinking of signing up to become a rideshare driver, here are five things you should do before you hit the road.

[Read more…]

by Curtis Preston on September 6, 2017 Leave a Comment

Best Ways to Get a Response from Uber Phone Support

Uber now offers phone support in many cities, although it’s still working on rolling out phone support nationwide. However, phone support can be very different from the support you receive via your app, email, or even in-person. Today, RSG contributor Curtis Preston outlines what you need to know about Uber support, the type of questions they can answer, and how Uber can make phone support better.

Uber phone support is better than nothing, but it has a long ways to go. Based on my experiences with it, they’ve done a good job with quick response times and I’d say it’s a typical first-level outsourced-to-overseas phone support system, but it’s also missing a few key components.

My opinion is that Uber’s phone support is bad – but it’s still better than nothing.

[Read more…]

by Christian Perea on August 18, 2017 26 Comments

Will These New Features Make Driving for Uber and Lyft Better?

Uber and Lyft are competing to make their apps and driver efficiency better, but will these changes really improve the driver experience? Today, senior RSG contributor Christian Perea outlines potential upcoming changes to our Uber and Lyft driver apps – some that will make a big difference to drivers.

Over the next few days, Uber is set to announce even more information as part of their 180 Days of Change. Stay tuned for an announcement here on Tuesday, when Uber is set to unveil Chapter 3 of the 180 Days of Change.

We’ve seen competition heating up between Uber and Lyft ever since Uber started to put the heat on Lyft with their “180 Days of Change”. We’ve compiled a list and roundup of all the leaked screenshots, rumors, and tests that are going on for drivers that haven’t even launched yet. Whatever happens, hopefully we will get some more money out of it!

Uber and Lyft are almost always testing features among different drivers throughout different markets. Some of these features make it out to the public while some are quickly put back in a box and never heard from again. Right now though, both are testing a lot of interesting changes to their apps that I think have a strong chance of being rolled out to everyone.

And of course, we’ve already seen some big changes in the last few months. Tipping on Uber, 24 hour phone support, increased pay for Lyft Line rides, and showing PrimeTime on incoming requests.

All of these are part of a big push right now to make the app better for drivers.

[Read more…]

by Curtis Preston on August 16, 2017 38 Comments

How to Handle a Passenger Who Threatens Your Life

We all have weird stories when it comes to passengers: the pukers, the over-sharers, the longest rides, biggest tips, etc. Some of these stories are funny, some are weird, but some are downright scary. Today, RSG contributor Curtis Preston shares a scary situation that happened to him recently and how Uber handled it. What would you have done in this situation?

We’re collecting your stories! We’re looking for record-breaking stories, like longest ride, biggest tip, strangest pet brought into your car, most money in a day/week/month, biggest surge percent, etc. Send your stories by contacting us here and look for your story in an upcoming post on RSG!

You’re about to hear a story whose climax ends with an Uber passenger threatening my life. I’ve given over 3,000 rides via Uber and Lyft, and nothing close to this has ever happened to me. As I mentioned in a few other articles, my car has apparently been puked in more often than any other Uber driver I’ve ever met, and I’ve had to kick out a few passengers who set off my “Spidey sense.” But what happened on this Friday night was on a whole other level.

[Read more…]