Ok, so you’re a rideshare driver. The money is decent, you’re doing the hustle, you’re paying the bills. Don’t you ever wonder if you could do more with less? Enter Solo, an app that helps you learn when to go online for the most earnings with the least amount of time spent on the road.
Solo shows you a leaderboard to see where you rank against other drivers in your market. It also gives you the peak arrival times for major airports and pin-points high-demand rider areas so you know where to be and when.
Rideshare and delivery driving can be unpredictable, but Solo helps add predictability to your day and week.
Solo in Action
Recently, Matt, a driver in Boston, earned over $50 an hour (before expenses). According to Solo, that’s more than 2.5x the average earnings for a driver in the area. His weekly total earnings was $2,374!
Here’s Matt’s Solo dashboard showing he’s at the top of the leaderboard for the week of May 13-19.
In the Solo app, you can see the average earnings for drivers in your area. In this instance, the average earnings for Boston was about $20/hr. Matt was earning well above that at $51/hr.
Matt’s Strategy
His strategy is pretty simple but effective. Matt says to drive when the money is there (helped by the info compiled by Solo) and choose the most profitable rides.
Matt said, “I decline 4 out of every 5 rides they send me. I’d make far less if I even took even half of the rides. I decline a couple rides like the first screenshot and then get the second.”
We recommend that you also know your city inside and out. If you know the traffic is stopped dead at 4 PM every day on a certain highway, avoid that area at that time so you’re not sitting in traffic not earning anything.
Look for any hidden gems in your city when you know demand is going to be hot, and make sure you position yourself to get those requests.
You also have to know what you can reasonably expect from your market. All markets are different. You can’t compare your earnings in Minneapolis to someone’s earnings in Los Angeles. They are not the same markets by any means, so don’t expect the same outcomes.
And probably most importantly, relentlessly decline low offers and bad rides. It may seem like more is better, but if you’re choosy about the rides you accept, you can be a more effective earner.
If you put all of these methods into your driving strategy and you’re still not seeing decent earnings, then your market may be a bit of a dud for the time being. Consider pivoting to other gig work to see if you can earn better.
Sometimes, rideshare is hotter than delivery, and sometimes, the reverse is true. You can be sure to maximize your earnings across all platforms by being on all platforms. If you’ve hit downtime but want to keep going, check out how the other apps are doing to see if you can keep going for the day.
Sign up for Uber and Lyft for your market today!
Social Media Responses
On LinkedIn, Alex Davis responded, “Great insights, Harry! Matt’s strategy is spot on. Knowing your market and being selective with rides really makes a difference. Thanks for sharing this, it’s a good reminder to work smarter, not harder.”
Powercurve Colorado confirmed on X, “The key is cherry picking like hell, reserve trips, airport trips, and working both the Uber/Lyft apps.” Their average before expenses for the year has been $37/hr in the Denver/Boulder market.
Not everyone applauded Matt or confirmed that they have been able to have similar results.
On Facebook, commenter Chuck stated, “And I bet he spent almost 24 hrs a day in his car. There is no way that could be done in the majority of cities / Uber areas across the US. Not with the BS monies they pay drivers today, which is approx 30 to 40% less than it was 5 yrs ago!”
Another commenter stated that some markets, such as New Zealand, it’s difficult to cherry pick. Steve said, “You get trip duration and direction if you’re Gold or above, but you don’t get the amount you will receive for the trip. You can cherrypick but a lot of the time you’re flying blind.”
Perks of Solo
The Solo app does more than show you the average earnings of drivers in your area.
Guarantee Your Daily Pay
Solo offers guaranteed pay if you work a certain amount of hours for the day and don’t earn what they predict.
Manage Your Schedule
Some people work better with a schedule, and rideshare and delivery don’t often come with a scheduled time for you to work.
You just go online when you’re ready and start your day. But if you need more structure, you can set up a schedule on the Solo app to show which app you should work for and when.
Smart Schedule
Solo has a Smart Schedule feature that shows you which apps are the best to work for at any given time in your market. They boast that drivers who optimize their schedules can earn up to 40% more per hour.
Final Thoughts
Solo does cost money to use. You’ve got the choice of Basic services for $6/month, Pro for $10/month, and Pro Plus for $15/month.
However, keep in mind that since you are an independent contractor for all of these platforms, you can write off the cost of a Solo subscription on your taxes.
Read Harry’s full review of the Solo app here!
Overall, if you’re wanting to maximize your earnings, like Matt did, Solo sounds like an affordable option that does the math and statistical analysis for you to find the best times to drive.
I love that it is catered to each market, so you won’t get skewed results based on a market that is nowhere near you.
