Guest Post

by Melissa Berry on June 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

What It’s Like To Be Part of Lyft’s New Prime Time Experiment

Recently, Lyft announced it would be testing a Prime Time beta program for some drivers in Chicago. While not new (Lyft tried this new system in Tampa, FL, and Uber has made changes to its surge pricing), it isn’t until now that we had someone with firsthand experience write about this beta test. Today, we have a guest post from Mark Smithivas about Lyft’s Prime Time beta testing in Chicago.

Do you have a rideshare experience you’d like to share? Reach out and pitch me! You may see it featured here – and you’ll also receive a $50 Amazon gift card if we publish your article.

I’m a part-time rideshare driver in Chicago, IL who has been driving for over a year with 3,000 rides under my belt. When I first started I only drove for Lyft, but added Uber about 4 months ago to augment my earnings. Uber now represents about 85% of my rides now simply because I get more rides and better bonuses on that platform.

Last week, I got an e-mail from Lyft that I was selected to be in a beta test of a new heat map scheme. No details were given on how this new scheme would work, other than a vague promise that it would address some of the issues brought up from previous driver feedback about the current Prime Time maps. Lyft previously tested this new system out in a smaller market (Tampa, Florida) and there was some outcry from drivers there about it.

Basically, the new system deploys a flat-rate bonus instead of a percentage-based multiplier. So instead of seeing a map with 25, 50, or 100% Prime Time, you would now see a map offering anywhere from $5-20 fixed bonus for a particular ride.

I decided to give the trial a fair shot since it sounds like something Lyft wants to eventually roll out nationwide. (Note: Uber has also announced a similar scheme rolling out in selected markets as well).

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by Melissa Berry on May 25, 2018 Leave a Comment

We’re In it Together: Providing an Excellent Driving Experience

Today, we have a guest post from Rick S. of Baltimore, MD. Rick has a great attitude toward driving, and he shares his thoughts on making driving a pleasant experience for everyone, including other drivers.

In the article below, Rick shares why rideshare driving is more than just one driver’s individual experience – it’s the sum of all drivers’ experiences. If you’re wondering why you received a bad rating or no tip from a passenger, Rick reminds us that other drivers also play a part in making ridesharing positive for passengers. Rick explains why multiple positive interactions for riders is important, and how providing the best experience you can makes it better for all drivers.

Do you have a unique ridesharing perspective you’d like to share with us? Reach out and pitch me! You may see it featured here – and you’ll also receive a $50 Amazon gift card if we publish your article.

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by Melissa Berry on May 4, 2018 Leave a Comment

How to Handle a Difficult UberEATS Delivery Encounter

Are you considering becoming a delivery driver, for UberEATS, Instacart, DoorDash or any of the other numerous courier services? You may be concerned about hangry people yelling at you if you make a mistake – we all know it happens! Today, we have another guest post from Carla D. Laskey about one of her worst UberEATS delivery experiences, how she handled it, and tips for handling that and other difficult UberEATS delivery scenarios.

Sometimes delivering for UberEATS can be a ‘fairy dust sprinkle’ kind of experience. You know what I mean: one of those rare and wonderful days when everything seems to be going your way during your shift.

For example, one day I signed on to UberEATS and received a delivery request within 3 minutes – score! Over the course of the day, I had regular but not intense delivery requests and, best of all, my last delivery of the day was on the way back to my house!

On days I like that, I make more than my $10/hour minimum. That’s the number that works for me, and you can read more about why I ensure a $10/hour delivery day with UberEATs here. Overall, you can see why I considered days like that to be what I call an UberEATs fairy dust sprinkle kind of day.

Unfortunately, not everyday will not be an UberEATs fairy dust sprinkle kind of day. Some days will instead be the kind of days we wish we could start all over, or even erase the days as if they never occured.

They don’t happen often, but I’ve had my share of those kind of days as well. One in particular still makes me shudder when I think about how much worse it could have been, and how I could have alleviated the situation by simply following a simple “best practice” guideline that on that day I choose to ignore. Let me share what happened.

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by Harry Campbell on April 11, 2018 Leave a Comment

How to Get Started Charging with JUMP Bikes

Many drivers complain about the short-distance trips passengers request, since they don’t make us very much money and can sometimes take us away from surge or other busy zones. JUMP Bikes is one company looking to reduce those short mileage trips. In addition, JUMP Bikes is offering a charger program to UberEATS bike couriers, similar to Bird’s Charger program. RSG guest contributor Bryan Goebel explains what JUMP Bikes is, how it works, and the JUMP + UberEATS partnership.

I’ve been riding a bicycle in San Francisco for more than 20 years, but when I first signed up to do UberEATS by bike, it was grueling work. UberEATS sent me up some of the city’s steepest streets. There were many times I had to conquer those hills on foot and even that wasn’t easy. I’m a stronger and fitter bike courier now, but during those sweaty moments I kept thinking: I sure wish I had an electric bike.

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by Harry Campbell on March 7, 2018 47 Comments

What Can Drivers Do if They Forgot to Track Their Mileage?

Harry here. Uber and Lyft typically send out 1099s by January 31st, so hopefully you’ve been tracking all of your mileage! But if not, we’ve teamed up with Stride Tax for a guest post to help you figure out how you can still claim all those lost miles.

This post was written by Stride’s Tade Anzalone, who heads up their tax and finance support and is an Enrolled Agent with the IRS.

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