by on Leave a Comment

Is Uber Lowering Rates Again? Yes and No…

Don’t forget to join us tomorrow for our July YouTube live on Tuesday July 17 at 5pm PT! You can subscribe to our Youtube channel here and be sure to turn on notifications (instructions here) so you know when we go live.

It looks like Uber is lowering rates again, but in addition to decreasing mile rates, they’re also increasing time rates.  On the surface, this doesn’t seem to make a huge difference in what drivers will get paid, but as any veteran driver will tell you, it’s important to have a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to Uber and their rate changes. Let’s find out if drivers will be getting paid more or less after this rate change.

Drive with Uber 1

Is Uber lowering rates on drivers? Yes, and no. We break it all down for you here -

Find your next ride with FarePilot

FarePilot shows you hotspots to help you get more rides. Download it here.

[Read more…]

by on 317 Comments

Top 9 Ways To Contact Uber Support When You Need Help

Sometimes I like to joke that one of the reasons why my site is so popular is because Uber and Lyft are so bad at customer service.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to contact Uber with a question only to get a completely stock reply that often doesn’t even answer the original question.  I’ve gotten really good at asking only one question at a time and making sure that I keep it super simple for those guys.

I will give Uber some credit though, because even though the answer isn’t usually what you want to hear, or even what you asked about, at least they respond pretty promptly these days (within 1-2 hours in my experience). Lyft, on the other hand, sometimes take up to a week to get back to me. And sometimes, drivers’ emails get lost in a black hole somewhere up in San Francisco, never to be seen again.

Clearly these companies haven’t mastered customer service yet and that is one of the reasons why I work so hard to answer all of your questions that come in. I can’t respond to every Tweet or Facebook comment but I do respond to every question I get via email.

Just make sure you do a little searching beforehand.  If you ask me a question that is easily Google-able or that I’ve already answered a million times you’re likely to get an Uber-like response out of me 🙂

With that being said, there are still a lot of questions that you’ll need to contact Uber for and there are certain things that they’re very good at answering and dealing with.  I’ve compiled an epic list of all the places that you can go to get help from Uber (no matter what city you’re in).

Uber and Lyft don’t make it easy for new drivers to get help – that’s why I created The Rideshare Guide, your ultimate go-to guide for every Uber, Lyft or rideshare question you could have. The Guide is based on my years as a driver, and talking to and helping out drivers like you. Check it out here.

Getting help from Uber can be an exercise in frustration. Here are 9 tested ways to contact Uber when you need help from the RSG.

[Read more…]

by on Leave a Comment

Who’s Really To Blame for Traffic Congestion, and What Can Be Done About It?

Depending on what city you live in, you may notice traffic is becoming a big problem. But is it ridesharing’s fault – or is it something else? And if Uber and Lyft are to blame, what should be done about it, if anything? Senior RSG contributor John Ince tackles those questions and potential solutions below.

The San Francisco Examiner published an article in 2017 that stated ‘Uber and Lyft Responsible for Two-Thirds of Downtown Traffic Violations‘, a story that led to a fight over drivers, congestion – and who should be responsible for it. San Francisco is not unique in this battle, as Uber and Lyft have fought in many city halls around the globe, combatting accusations of congestion.

Depending on what city you live in, you may notice traffic is becoming a big problem. But is it ridesharing's fault - or is it something else? And if Uber and Lyft are to blame, what should be done about it, if anything? Senior RSG contributor John Ince tackles those questions and potential solutions below.

[Read more…]

by on Leave a Comment

Calculating How Much Uber Takes from Drivers

Have you ever wondered how much Uber makes from drivers? It’s difficult to know exactly how much Uber makes in profit vs. drivers’ profits, but senior RSG contributor Will Preston tackles this challenging question and shares his analysis below.

I made a little over $200 driving 400 miles last weekend in about 12 hours of driving. But the question I wanted to answer is how much did I actually make – and how much did Uber make – after we take all expenses into consideration.

How much Uber makes from you will depend on when and where you drive, and how much you make in tips will also factor in to your calculations. For the purposes of this article, I’ll break down some key concepts to understand before getting into the spreadsheet I created to determine how much money Uber makes off of my driving. I’ve included a copy of the spreadsheet for you to run your numbers as well – let us know what you come up with in the comments.

Have you ever wondered how much Uber makes from drivers? It’s difficult to know exactly how much Uber makes in profit vs. drivers’ profits, but senior RSG contributor Will Preston tackles this challenging question and shares his analysis below.

[Read more…]

by on Leave a Comment

Everyone Is Upset About New Surge and Prime Time. Should They Be?

Recently, we featured a guest post from the perspective of a Chicago driver affected by Lyft’s potential new changes to Prime Time. A lot of of drivers understandably have many questions about Lyft’s new Prime Time, plus Uber’s changes for new surge. Senior RSG contributor Christian Perea tackles those questions, and how new surge/Prime Time may affect drivers, below.

Recently, we featured a guest post from the perspective of a Chicago driver affected by Lyft’s potential new changes to Prime Time. A lot of of drivers understandably have many questions about Lyft’s new Prime Time, plus Uber’s changes for new surge. Senior RSG contributor Christian Perea tackles those questions, and how new surge/Prime Time may affect drivers -

[Read more…]