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The Most Lucrative Holidays To Be An Uber Driver

Have you started driving for Uber, Lyft, and other services yet? If not, click here to sign up and get your sign up bonus. If you sign up for multiple services, you’ll be able to compare surge/prime times. And if one of the apps crashes (which tends to happen on busy nights), you’ll have a backup. I also recommend picking up a good dash cam. Riders tend to get belligerent on big nights.

Driving for Uber and Lyft During the Holidays

Let’s take a look at what days of the year rideshare drivers see record numbers. My reasoning behind this list is pretty simple: follow the alcohol.

New Lyft Driver - Earn 1500:week

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.

Best holidays to be a Uber and Lyft driver

Best holidays to drive for Uber and Lyft

1.) 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 e at 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.

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A Conversation With a Chicago Uber Employee About Tipping

Tipping on Uber has gotten a lot of media attention lately and it seems as if the momentum for a tip option is building.  There have been companies like Vugo that have come out and added a tip option to their app and although it isn’t as smooth as an in app tip function, it does raise awareness of the issue with passengers.  I have actually spoken to drivers who have seen an increase in their cash tips just from using the tablet in their car and having passengers ask about tipping.

Today though, I wanted to share a guest post with you from an RSG reader in Chicago who recently had a conversation with an Uber employee about tipping.  In my mind, the Uber employee’s responses were pretty typical of Uber and really speak to the large disconnect between Uber and its drivers.  I also included a fun (sort of) poll at the bottom that I’m curious to see the results from.

I recently had the rare opportunity to ask an Uber employee a candid question that has been burning inside me: Why won’t Uber allow tipping?

A Conversation With a Chicago Uber Employee About Tipping

A Conversation With a Chicago Uber Employee About Tipping

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Uber Drivers Now Have A Tipping Option With Vugo!

A few weeks ago I got an interesting e-mail from the company Vugo.  For those who don’t know, Vugo (formerly known as Viewswagen) is a new rideshare start-up that is looking to put geo-targeted video ads in the back of Uber cars.  Just imagine how valuable it would be for a company like Budweiser to show your 20 something passenger a beer ad right before dropping them off at a bar.  That’s exactly what Vugo is trying to do.

I covered Vugo’s launch a couple months ago and have been keeping an eye on them since they’ve promised drivers$3/hr once things get up and running.  Now that might not sound like a ton but when you think about it on a weekly or even monthly basis, if you’re driving 40 hrs/week, that’s over $500/month!

As you guys know, I’m always looking for ways to diversify my income and think outside the box when it comes to working smarter, not harder.  And in my mind, Vugo could be a real opportunity for drivers who are looking to bump up their earnings without much, if any, additional work.

Some of you have been e-mailing me about this company and I will be doing a full review of them in a few weeks but today I wanted to let you know about a new feature they’re launching that could be a game-changer for Uber drivers. [Read more…]

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Should Uber Passengers Tip Their Drivers?

As drivers, there will always be things like rates, passenger requests and pay that will be beyond our control.  Obviously, lower rates are at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now but there’s not a whole lot we can do about it.  I understand the desire to vent though, since it’s human nature to not want to do the same exact job for 30% less pay.

But personally, I’m not going to waste my breath.  Complaining won’t get you anywhere in life and there will always be people willing to work for less.  It’s up to you to do something about your situation if you’re not happy with the way things are.

My Number One Issue Right Now

As you guys know, my site is all about finding solutions to problems.  I don’t think rates are headed up in the near future so for me, the biggest issue right now is what to do about Uber’s tipping policy.  Uber’s official policy states:

Being Uber means there is no need to tip drivers with any of our services.

First of all, I have no idea what ‘Being Uber’ means but the rest of the message is clear: riders are not supposed to tip their drivers.  This has been Uber’s policy since the beginning, but it comes with one large caveat.

Uber’s rationalization for not having to tip drivers has always gone something like this: since Uber pays an above average wage, there is no need for passengers to tip drivers.  Drivers aren’t ‘supposed to’ work for tips like waiters or bell hops do in other service industries so there is no need to tip them.  That was Uber talking there, not me 🙂

Now that policy was fine when Uber was paying above average rates but since their fares have come down significantly in the past six months, that line of thinking no longer sits well with me. [Read more…]