Income

by Will Preston on January 26, 2018 15 Comments

Can a Part Time Driver Get the Lyft Power Driver Bonus in 2018?

In some markets, driving to get Lyft’s Power Driver Bonus (PDB) is a good strategy to earn more. But does it work in all markets, and would it work for part-time drivers? Senior RSG contributor Will Preston outlines his strategy to get the Lyft PDB as a part-time driver in a medium-sized market.

As a part-time rideshare driver who drives for both Uber and Lyft, I have always found Lyft’s Power Driver Bonus to be out of reach. I never even got close to some of the metrics needed to qualify, so I never even considered it. However, as Lyft’s popularity appears to increasing, particularly among the younger crowd, I decided to try to qualify for the bonus one weekend and see what happens.

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by Christian Perea on January 4, 2018 9 Comments

Wrapify Wants To Pay Rideshare Drivers To Advertise On Their Car

This is a sponsored post from Wrapify. As always though, all opinions are our own. I kinda like Wrapify because it’s a way to earn extra money while irritating Uber and Lyft 😉

A few months ago I heard about a company called Wrapify that was paying drivers a monthly fee to wrap their car in an ad. It sounded too good to be true, so I decided to try it out. The company is now looking for more drivers in San Francisco and New York, and they’re willing to pay some pretty good money too.

Drivers who run ads on their cars can earn an extra $200 on average a month, and the best part is that they prefer people who do a lot of driving in busy areas. That way their advertisements will make as many impressions as possible.

Who do I know that meets these criteria??? Rideshare drivers!

Pay varies depending on the campaign, location, and how much you’re driving, but it seems like a natural fit for rideshare drivers since you’re already out on the road a ton.

Passive Income Is Nice

Even an extra $60+ a week can make a big difference, and the nice part about this revenue stream is that you don’t have to do anything extra (except log miles on the Wrapify app).

I signed up and, after a week, I got an offer in the San Francisco peninsula. Assuming I drove 5 days a week, that adds up to an extra $60+/week or $240 a month that I otherwise would not have made.

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by Jay Cradeur on December 11, 2017 16 Comments

How Bonuses Differ Between Small and Big Markets

Many of our writers drive in California or other big cities across the country, and today we wanted to feature a comparison between a big market and small market. What are drivers earning in big markets vs. small markets? Do small markets offer better opportunities in different areas for drivers? We had RSG contributors Jay Cradeur (big market) and Joe Pierce (small market) go head to head to see how the markets differ – and how drivers can take advantage of their markets no matter where they’re located.

Today we are going to look at the differences between working in a big market and working in a small market. Specifically we will look at the different bonus structures that are available in each market type.

We will be comparing bonuses in San Francisco and Minneapolis, where both Uber and Lyft compete with each other for drivers’ attentions. Jay Cradeur will share his driving experience in San Francisco, and Joe Pierce will share his driving experience in Minneapolis.

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by Scott Van Maldegiam on November 20, 2017 17 Comments

The 4 Most Lucrative Days Of The Year To Be a Rideshare Driver

With Halloween fresh in everyone’s mind, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look at what other days of the year rideshare drivers might 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.

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.

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 November 6, 2017 27 Comments

Who Tips Better: Lyft or Uber Passengers?

Everyone wants to know the best driving strategies, how to get paid and how to earn more money. One of those answers is “get more tips” – but how do you know which app, Uber or Lyft, has better tippers? Intrepid RSG senior contributor Will Preston tackled this difficult question with his own research – the answers may (or may not) surprise you!

Lyft drivers always talk about how they get paid more on Lyft, and in our most recent survey of over 1,100 drivers, they did indeed report earning over $2 per hour more than Uber drivers. Since the rates are the same in most cities (except for Lyft Line rates, which are higher), there are only two reasons this could be the case. Either the bonuses are way better, or Lyft passengers tip more.

The former has never applied to me, as the Power Driver bonus always requires way more rides than I’m capable of doing in a weekend of driving. The latter never made sense to me either, because I always got plenty of cash tips from my Uber rides, both before and after they supported tipping. So I never really understood the “I get paid more with Lyft” mantra.

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