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Why I Turned in My UberX iPhone and Now Drive for Lyft

Editor’s Note: Today, I’m happy to introduce Scott Van Maldegiam as our newest contributor.  Since I only drive part time, I wanted to bring in someone with a fresh perspective who knows what it’s like to log 40-50 hours a week doing rideshare.  Scott is an ultra experienced driver from Chicago with a knack for analytics and a great attention to detail.  

You might already know Scott’s name from some of the great comments he’s left over the past couple months but Scott and I have been e-mailing back and forth behind the scenes for a while now.  I’m going to be featuring articles from Scott on a regular basis going forward so once you’re done reading, please leave a comment and let us know what you think about Scott’s first article for The Rideshare Guy!

Hi all. Harry has given me the opportunity to be a regular contributor to the blog and add another perspective on ride sharing from a driver in another market… CHICAGO! So, my opinions and information will be skewed by what is happening in the Chicago market, but I hope my thought process will help others make evaluations about what is happening in their own markets. With that said, my first topic is a comparison between Lyft and UberX. [Read more…]

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RSG006: The Ultimate Passenger Referral Strategy

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I’ve actually been working on this podcast episode for a couple months now (so I’m pretty happy that it’s finally ready to go live).  Most people believe that you can only make money with Lyft and Uber driving, but I’m here to help you think outside of the box.  Passenger referrals are a great way to make some extra money because you’re actually selling a product that works.

In the financial world (for those who don’t know I also run a personal finance blog), a lot of bloggers like to say the crappier the product, the better the sales pitch has to be to get you to buy it.  I see a lot of people get suckered into buying things like a whole life insurance policy because there are some damn good salesmen behind it.  That’s not the case with Lyft and Uber though since they are selling a great product.

In fact, they’re not even really selling anything since both services offer free first rides to new passengers.  You would think that it’d be easy to give free rides away but if you’ve ever tried it, you’ve probably realized that it’s a lot harder than it might seem.  Today I’m going to highlight the strategies I’ve been using and it should be a great opportunity for you to learn from my mistakes, copy my successes and maybe you can even teach me a thing or two.   [Read more…]

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Friday Rideshare Roundup: Is The Future of Ridesharing Here?

Editor’s Note: Today I’d like to welcome a new contributor, Jack Ross.  Jack has been involved in the rideshare industry from the get-go and he is a freelance writer and friend who will be providing commentary from time to time.  So have a look at some of the biggest rideshare stories of the past week and let us know what you think in the comments.

Meet Gett—Every Ride in NYC is $10 for 2014

New Taxi Service is Like Uber—but for Women Only

FlightCar Is Getting Into the Rideshare Raising Game

The market be getting saturated, y’all!!!

Seriously: one week, three separate companies I had never heard of getting off the ground and making news in three distinctly different ways: 1) an interesting business model (SheTaxis – all women drivers, only women pax); 2) an incredibly sneaky smart buzzworthy gimmicky pricing model (Gett – $10 for all rides, all distances in NYC) or 3) the ol’ fashioned way, with a whole lot of dough (FlightCar – ridesharing app for cars dropped at the airport that just raised a cool $13.5 million).

What does this mean for drivers? Great question. At first blush, at least, more potential companies worth driving for and a whole heckuva a lot of proof that ridesharing is here to stay. And in the long term, hopefully more momentum for a fair working wage to drive! #ibelieve

[Read more…]

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Are Lyft’s New Heat Maps A Good Thing For Drivers?

For someone like me who mainly drives during busy times, Uber’s Surge and Lyft’s Prime Time Pricing are a big part of why I can make so much per hour.  I like being able to turn on the app whenever I’m bored but that doesn’t always correlate to the highest earnings potential.  I need the occasional long ride on double surge to help boost my earnings and make it worthwhile.

Related Podcast: How I Averaged Over $40/hr Over One Weekend Of Driving

Whenever I hit the road, my goal is to make around $20-$30 per hour.  And even with the latest fare cuts, I’ve been able to achieve the lower end of this, but I will admit it’s been getting tougher.  Instead of complaining about the lower fares though, I’m constantly figuring out ways to get more rides, get longer rides and be more efficient when I do drive.  This mentality won’t work for everyone but if I’m not happy with my situation I’m going to do something about it instead of complaining or relying on someone else to fix things. [Read more…]

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Friday Rideshare Roundup: Are Lyft And Uber Alienating Their Workforce With These Low Rates?

The biggest story of the past couple weeks hasn’t appeared in the media too much, but it is happening every day out there on the roads.  Lyft recently brought back commissions and Uber followed suit by slashing prices by 20% and it looks like drivers have finally had enough.  I used to get questions about things like insurance and taxes on a daily basis and now every other e-mail I get is bashing Uber’s fare cuts or questioning Lyft’s business philosophy.

I have the luxury of driving rideshare part time so when rates fall low enough that it’s no longer ‘worth it’ for me to drive, I don’t drive as much.  But even though rates are lower than they once were, I still think there is lots of opportunity for drivers like me who can cherry pick the best hours to drive.  For now, I won’t be making the $40-$50/hr that I once was, but driving during busy times and holidays can still be pretty lucrative.

Related Podcast: How Much Did I Make Driving Over July 4 Holiday?

Ultimately, the people that will suffer most are the ones who drive full time.  I feel bad for them but at the same time it’s motivation for me to continue diversifying my sources of income.  I hate having to rely on other people to make money and that’s one of the reasons why I enjoy doing things like rideshare on top of my day job.  When other people are at home relaxing after a tough day of work, I’m out hustling trying to make some extra money.  And you should be too! [Read more…]