# Wait time for riders



## kenny (May 11, 2014)

Uber suggests a 10 min wait time and several attempts to reach out to the rider. The key word here is suggests, meaning it's to Uber's best interest that you follow this suggestion not yours. The best way to do this is once you are .1 mile away from the destination, click on arriving now. This gives the rider extra time to get going. The second I get to the destination I txt the rider that I'm right outside. After 3 mins and they are still not out, I will give them a call. Whether they say they are coming or whether they didn't pick up, I give them another 3 mins. That's a total of 6 mins. After this 6 mins mark I will cancel with a client no show remark. Unless this is their first time, you will always get the $10 cancellation fee. This is an optimal situation for you. You actually made above average fare with no work involved and no added mileage on your car. So Uber says 10 mins, if you follow uber wins, I say 6 mins, if you follow you win. Uber says several attempts, you follow uber wins, I say two attempts, if you follow you will win. Stop following what Uber suggest people, use your brain and wake up. Uber don't give a shit about the drivers, we are a dime a dozen. You think you just because you got a high rating and you bring in more money than the average top drives that Uber gives you special treatment? hahahaha think again. Be smart guys and be safe out there.


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## SoCal_Uber (May 2, 2014)

I generally give some riders a 5 minute grace period to finish up their coke lines and head out. But I tell ya those heroin kids just nod off and forget I'm outside!


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## myuber (Apr 18, 2014)

I give 5 mins then I call.. no pick up on the 2nd time calling.. I cancel the ride.. but if they pick up and say there coming and make me wait a long time.. 1 star.. you drive 10 mins to get there then wait 5 mins.. Then they pick up the phone.. make you wait another 10 mins.. get in the car and say I'm going 5 blocks to so an so bar.. 35 mins later.. you made $6 buck.. 1 star..


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## UberComic (Apr 17, 2014)

Had a guy request a ride last night who called right after I accepeted and asked if I could pick him up a half hour later to go to a bar ten minutes away. He also wanted to pay cash instead of through Uber since his debit card had no money on it. Told him that a half hour is a long time in Uber time and he should just call another car when he's ready.


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## GuitarJunkie (Apr 10, 2014)

The 10 minute wait time is how long you have to wait in order to get the $5 cancellation fee. Or $4 i should say.


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## kenny (May 11, 2014)

that's not true, I constantly cancel with a client no show after 6 mins and I still get the $10 cancellation fee. you only get 5 or 4? that's pathetic. in boston we get 10 after 5 mins, I do 6 mins just to be sure


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## myuber (Apr 18, 2014)

You don't get the $10 cancellation fee if your more then 5 mins after the eta time.. so if you hit traffic or in a really busy area..


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## kenny (May 11, 2014)

we are talking about the wait time u wait for the rider to come down to your car after you arrived at the destination


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## justin_uberX_seattle (May 8, 2014)

My issue usually isn't wait time. I had one rider take a little bit but he was a longer fare to Seattle it was worth it. My issue is when the little black dude is not where the person actually is. My strategy is to start texting driver right after I accept to get a solid address. Think that's okay?


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## kenny (May 11, 2014)

whatever you need to do to be efficient at this job and make some money is ok, forget what uber suggests. all of uber suggestions are for their benefits not urs


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## justin_uberX_seattle (May 8, 2014)

kenny said:


> whatever you need to do to be efficient at this job and make some money is ok, forget what uber suggests. all of uber suggestions are for their benefits not urs


U really don't like what uber suggests do u


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## myuber (Apr 18, 2014)

I have found that texting/calling the rider before heading there.. that rider seems to be thankful that I did contact them.


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## kenny (May 11, 2014)

point out a few uber suggestions that actually benefits u more than it would benefit the rider or uber. I'm all for equal partnership which is what we are supposed to be, but do u feel like a partner at all with uber?


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## SoCal_Uber (May 2, 2014)

1. I generally hit the "arriving soon" button a block away.

2. I wait at the listed address 2- 4 minutes. During this time I start to prep the 
text: ex "UberX parked outside 28 North Star St." 

3. By the 5th minute I send the text.

Its worked like a charm for me......


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## kenny (May 11, 2014)

how's uberx in LA, making decent money? how often are the surge charges?


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## SoCal_Uber (May 2, 2014)

LA is swamped with UberX, I'm looking at the customer App on the Ipad right now, and I don't want to head out tonight, endless swarms of X cars and its only a Monday night. Yet Uber is still ramping up even more new drivers with ads in Yahoo, local Craigslist, etc.....

I'm driving less and less, and at very specific times to offset the stress.
Money is there if you put in the marathon hours, but the income is definitely not like last year.

Surge is a fleeting unicorn, but it pops up once in awhile.


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

justin_uberX_seattle said:


> My issue usually isn't wait time. I had one rider take a little bit but he was a longer fare to Seattle it was worth it. My issue is when the little black dude is not where the person actually is. My strategy is to start texting driver right after I accept to get a solid address. Think that's okay?


I always text or call soon after I get a job to confirm the address in a built-up area or where there are small allotments. The geo-locating function is simply not good enough. It is the greatest waste of time to Uber drivers and cause of frustration for riders as they watch a uber drive away from where they actually are. This generates unfair lower ratings from Riders.


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## Joanne (May 7, 2014)

I had a repeat client this morning. First time she rode, I had to wait quite a while. Since there aren't many pings in my area, I just parked and waited. I knew this would happen again. She texted me right after I hit "arriving now" to let me know she would be a few minutes. I waited 9 minutes and texted her, saying that I would have to start the meter. I started the meter at exactly 10 minutes and she came out about 5 minutes later. I figured that since Uber says 10 minutes, I would wait that long in case she complained.


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## SunSmith (Apr 20, 2014)

Sounds like you did good Joanne. Slow passengers are costly.


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

SunSmith said:


> Sounds like you did good Joanne. Slow passengers are costly.


Very Generous


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## No-tippers-suck (Oct 20, 2014)

With that kind of low fare (1.10 in LA/OC) and a lot of short rides less than $10
I can't afford downtime and waiting too long.

Unless it's a 1st timer (then I go the extra mile and explain then nicely also explain that we rate the rider too and they don't want to get less than 5 stars right?)
OR if I receive a ping seriously 1-3 minutes away, then I understand that they might be sill paying their bill and need to wait for the waiter or so..

Other than that I start the timer on my ipad, immediately call or text them to let them know I am outside..
after 5-6 minutes I cancel as no-show and take my $5 bucks cancellation fee which is recently often greater than the trip I would have made.
also no stress and no risk of 1-4 star rating received 

However if someone call me and apologizes that they are still not ready, I wait a little longer.
but then decide how many stars I give depending on if they appreciate my service with a little tip for waiting.

I also refuse to drive-thru fast food.. it's always a pain in the ass, to wait then my car smells - no not doing that anymore.|
However I recently had a nice group of four, very friendly and respectful people, I told them that Uber X is different than Taxi or Black cars and our waiting time is not worth it so I would not be able to achieve a fair hourly rate. they said they will tip me an extra $20 if I did it..
I did and they gave me a total tip of $22 nice people !


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## uberdriver (Aug 4, 2014)

No-tippers-suck said:


> Other than that I start the timer on my ipad, immediately call or text them to let them know I am outside..
> after 5-6 minutes I cancel as no-show and take my $5 bucks cancellation fee which is recently often greater than the trip I would have made.
> also no stress and no risk of 1-4 star rating received


That sounds fair to me. But do I understand correctly that what you "start" is a non-binding timer counter just to keep track of the time elapsed since arrival, and not the actual Uber fare ? I guess if one did start the fare, then it would not be possible anymore to cancel as "no show" ? And indeed that would look pretty bad on the server record: If the passenger is a no show, how come the fare got started ?


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## No-tippers-suck (Oct 20, 2014)

Thanks for asking!

Yes of course a non binding timer - NOT the fare on the Uber app.
When I just started driving for Uber in April I sometimes started the ride same as I would have started the meter in the taxi. It's our time and our right to get paid from the moment we arrive.
If I personally used a taxi or Uber i request it when I'm ready to go.
It's a gesture of respecting another's time. Well not everybody does it.

The app I installed on my ipad is called "Speedometer" and is currently $1.99
You have a gas calculator and can input gas price and gas mileage or you can enter a fixed amount per mile to calculate your costs. Such as 0.56 cents per mile as the IRS accepts for business use of personal cars.
It tracks your rides just like Uber shows your rides with Google maps. So it helps to prepare taxes and deductions of business related expenses.

Also it has a fare calculator where you can enter a base price, amount per mile and per minute and I totally love it because when driving for Lyft you have no glue until the next day how much you get paid for the rides.
This way I see in real time just like a taximeter.

Long story short really a great app and just $1.99


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