# Wollongong



## bulli-2516 (Mar 20, 2017)

Uber in the Gong, are Riders & Drivers really happy? I find surge in Wollongong is a waste of time and an insult to riders intelligence. Yes it surges during peak, and you can sit and watch it cycle in and out in 10 minute intervals. Riders simply wait for it to drop out! It seems to me the only time surge fares are accepted in any volume is last rides (after midnight on weekends) for an hour or so when riders are desperate to get home. I am keen to hear what other Wollongong drivers think!


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## mstrp (Apr 13, 2017)

I agree about the surge, I have never had a ping over 1.2. Was sat in Wollongong this afternoon after a drop off in the middle of 3x surge . Not one ping, 10mins later no surge. Happens all the time. Oh and I love the ping you get 1 minute after the hour where you would have qualified for the promo with one more ride.


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## bulli-2516 (Mar 20, 2017)

mstrp said:


> I agree about the surge, I have never had a ping over 1.2. Was sat in Wollongong this afternoon after a drop off in the middle of 3x surge . Not one ping, 10mins later no surge. Happens all the time. Oh and I love the ping you get 1 minute after the hour where you would have qualified for the promo with one more ride.


The promos are not worth chasing.. you work the hours and you should always earn above the promo value. In the Shire last Sat evening from 5pm I worked 8 hours @ $54 per hour. Not possible in the Gong.


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## RexDaddy71 (Sep 20, 2016)

Yep, not enough business yet, generally short trips and rate too low to justify not heading up to the Shire.

Last Sat wasn't too bad. I turn on when I leave home and head north and got first ping in Engadine at about 5pm. Got a few trips to Shark Park and a couple of 1.5-1.8x surges then got a nice one from Cronulla to the city, $150+ by 8pm. 

Cruising along nicely and wasn't planning on a late one so ended up setting destination for Wollongong (past home in Coledale) about 9-9.30. Got a ping from Shark Park to Heathcote and was ready to go home. Got over the Sea Cliff Bridge and a ping came up for Thirroul. It was relatively early so I took it and ended up getting four more trips and $60 for a bit over another hours work. Not too bad but not the norm.


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## Surge Donut (Jun 5, 2017)

I drove in Wollongong 3 days ago. It was surging 3.0x at lunch time over a huge area. Not one request in almost two hours. I feel sorry for anyone who bought a car to do Uber in Wollongong. Maybe demand will pick up in a few years.


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## bulli-2516 (Mar 20, 2017)

Surge Donut said:


> I drove in Wollongong 3 days ago. It was surging 3.0x at lunch time over a huge area. Not one request in almost two hours. I feel sorry for anyone who bought a car to do Uber in Wollongong. Maybe demand will pick up in a few years.


Thats typical... riders are not stupid, surge should be limited to max 1.8 and rates should be at least equal to Sydney rates. In fact the whole fare price list needs to be overhalled. Perhaps under new Uber management it will be. (my opinion)


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## l3wwy (Jun 25, 2017)

No one pays for Surge in wollongong, especially if over 2.3, customers know around that rate or after they may as well get a cab. Also not enough riders or drivers in from Dapto to Kiama. when i work on Saturday 3 to midnight or later, on average on that day im lucky to get $250 for that shift.


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## bulli-2516 (Mar 20, 2017)

l3wwy said:


> No one pays for Surge in wollongong, especially if over 2.3, customers know around that rate or after they may as well get a cab. Also not enough riders or drivers in from Dapto to Kiama. when i work on Saturday 3 to midnight or later, on average on that day im lucky to get $250 for that shift.


Exactly right.. you worked a solid Saturday shift for prob $100 after costs.. hardly worth the effort which is why I dont bother..


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## bulli-2516 (Mar 20, 2017)

There


bulli-2516 said:


> Exactly right.. you worked a solid Saturday shift for prob $100 after costs.. hardly worth the effort which is why I dont bother..


There is surge work in Wollongong if you're prepared to work the LATE shift on Sat night.. 11pm - 3am..


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## bulli-2516 (Mar 20, 2017)

Today in Wollongong.. 90 minutes online, 4 jobs, $26.. this is why I don't do Wollongong. Drove 12 minutes for a 3 minute trip.. stupid me.


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## Johno69 (Jun 6, 2017)

I've been doing Friday & Saturday nights from about 7:30 - 3:30. 

Fridays generally around $160 but Saturdays I do a consistent $400. 

Needless to say I'll be taking Fridays off in the future.


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## Adam86 (Aug 28, 2017)

I did my first drive the other day Oak flats to Oak Flats train station, made about $5 and then I did a job from Wollongong to Fairy Meadow made about $7.

I found that seeing as I live in Port Kembla I'm better of doing most of my drives in that area, rather than driving the 10km to Wollongong for a short trip, but then again, more opportunities there.

Ive found an issue where you go and pick someone up, but the app doesn't progress to track your route to the drop off spot, first time it kicked in when I was halfway to the station, and second trip it didnt kick in at all, and I wasn't able to complete my journey. Spoke to Uber and got it sorted.

I'm just starting out and only doing a few trips until I get the hang of it, but have been on trips when other opportunities have popped up. I think if you find the right balance it could be ok, like if you do 80 trips a week, if that's even possible in Wollongong, your earnings would be ok, but fuel costs would be high. Do a few trips to cover fuel expenses and it might be ok.


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