# Is it me or is Uber dying a slow death



## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

I've been a part-timer for about a year. I've noticed not only the the pay getting lower but the rider quality is getting worse and worse.

My experience during the past couple weeks.

Last week I pick up a threesome. They were still drunk from the night before, loud and obnoxious. I couldn't wait to get them out of the car. Gave them a 1 star. Didn't drive again for a week.

Today I pick up someone 10 mins away from a nice part of town which usually guarantees a $20 in my pocket fare. Nope, another guy still admittedly drunk from the night before smelling of pot going to work of all places. I made $4 in my pocket. He gets a 3* just for wasting my time.

Ok. I accept a ping about 5 mins. away. Drive up and it's a husband and wife with a kid running around and a four foot tall stroller. I don't think so. Let's abuse the Uber X driver and stuff a $400 stroller into his trunk and have him listen to our toddler yell for 20 mins. I do a slow drive through their buildings loop and burn my tires out of there..... cancel.

Then I take a ping which I realize when I get there is the mall. Nope.... I cancel. Not giving another cheapo a ride with the bags in my trunk for $4. Got enough scratches on the back bumper.

Next, accept a ping about 4mins. away. Guy comes out of his house with a moving box and a desperate look on his face. Nope.... not a moving service. He'll say something like, hey dude, I got some more boxes can we put them in the trunk. Oh yea and I need to go 5 blocks. I drive off. Just not going to be abused for $4

Ping from Target. Nope. Ping from supermarket. nope.

So I sign off until around 5PM. Pull down a quiet street and park at the address. Some guy strolls up to my car with a beer cup. I say, sorry no drinks. He says oh! closes the door and walks away. Then I see him with another person and they have drinks as well. No thanks. No more drunkers. Cancel.

I have canceled or refused pings 11 of the last 12 trips. Absolute waste of time and risk of abuse.

I am real close to signing off on this gig. I'd rather make $15 an hour with the delivery services than $19 an hour with the bottom dwelling transportation public.

Thats my gripe........ whats yours.


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## Taxi Driver in Arizona (Mar 18, 2015)

I love that the cheap-ass grocery store crowd is calling Uber now. You guys can have them, along with the drunk college kids.


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## UberBlackPr1nce (Dec 28, 2014)

Your gripe sound like a typical day/experience. What were you excepting when decided to drive?


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

Dude... stay with the taxi. I'm sure you know this. I see a move back to taxis at some point. The cheapos will take Uber and the regular folk will take either taxi or uber black car. But more likely taxi. Taxis will at some point smarten up and do apps and most of the foreign drivers will move onto uber. Just a guess.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

UberBlackPr1nce said:


> Your gripe sounds a typical day/experience. What were you excepting when decided to drive?


Better than this. It's actually just since around June that it's really started to suck. I could go out for a couple hours and put $35 - $50 bucks in my pocket cleared on a Sat Sun morning and do a couple weekdays for the same and make almost as much doing airport runs.
It was nice to have $150 hit my bank account for little work while a ran errands or the such.

Last year I could make $150 a day or two before holidays or clean up on a Friday.


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## UberReallySucks (Jul 17, 2015)

Major League said:


> I've been a part-timer for about a year. I've noticed not only the the pay getting lower but the rider quality is getting worse and worse.
> 
> My experience during the past couple weeks.
> 
> ...


_You just described my very experience with UBER to the T.

Last time I drove, I had this idiot at a hotel who didn't want to walk a distance equaling 3 cars length to get in my car. 
He called me instead to make what could have been a very easy pick up a very difficult one, and order me to come up more towards the reception area. 
So I just took off on his ass. Before making it out of the hotel property the idiot cancels the request. Then, the idiot sends another request which naturally comes to me, which I gladly accepted. Then I made the idiot wait for a few minutes then I cancelled the request... Reason: Other.

Pax had a 4.3 * and I should have known he was an idiot but it was very slow that day and I decided to take a chance on him.
The point is every time I decide to drive, I'm so disgusted with it I don't even wanna look at that stupid App for at least a few days._

_Also, another rule of mine, every time i get dragged into a minimum ride, I'm logging off right after completion, despite the little message from Uber saying "are you sure you wanna sign off. There's a high demand in your area at this time"... High demand for 4 dollars rides? Thank you but noooo thank you!_


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## poopy (Jun 28, 2015)

Uber is going strong.

Driving for a profit with minimal problems is dying... and I'm sure the OP was _excepting _something totally different, a *year *ago -- when he started.


Uber-off


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

UberReallySucks said:


> _You just described my very experience with UBER to the T.
> 
> Last time I drove, I had this idiot at a hotel who didn't want to walk a distance equaling 3 cars length to get in my car.
> He called me instead to make what could have been a very easy pick up a very difficult one, and order me to to come up more towards the reception area.
> ...


Yea, it's really gotten bad. I'm in the northeast and I didn't think we would get this here but it really is getting worse. One of my first rides, when I started, was picking up a he/she. The person said hi in a male voice but looked like a lady. I was like o'boy. Perfect ride. I got $18 in my pocket for a 25 minute ride and a $2 tip.

That same trip, I'm lucky to get $15 and no one tips anymore.

That 30 cents per minute really helped. 20 minutes meant an extra $6. Now it's $3.

Haven't seen a tip in 6 months.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Major League said:


> I accept a ping about 5 mins. away. Drive up and it's a husband and wife with a kid running around and a four foot tall stroller. I don't think so. Let's abuse the Uber X driver and stuff a $400 stroller into his trunk and have him listen to our toddler yell for 20 mins.
> 
> Next, accept a ping about 4mins. away. Guy comes out of his house with a moving box and a desperate look on his face. Nope.... not a moving service. He'll say something like, hey dude, I got some more boxes can we put them in the trunk. Oh yea and I need to go 5 blocks. I drive off. Just not going to be abused for $4
> 
> Ping from Target. Nope. Ping from supermarket. nope.


.......you forgot that the toddler decides that yourUberXmobile is the perfect place to load his pants, about ninety seconds after everyone and thing is in the car and you have pulled off from the pick-up address.

Moving jobs have been a problem for the cab business for years. Too many people get a quote from a moving company, do not like it, so they decide that they are going to use a cab as a discount mover. We want to charge for our time and trouble, but they do not want to pay. I have seen more fines and suspensions issued to cab drivers by the Taxicab Commission over moving jobs than I care to remember. When I had a station waggon, I used to get the occasional moving job. I would pull up to the job. The customer would come out and explain himself to me. I would tell him that I would need to look at the stuff to see what it was going to cost. If he balked or questioned me, it was over right there. I would tell him that I could not help him, spin on my heel and walk away. If we got past that, the next question was "Will you require a receipt?". If "Yes", again, "Sorry, can not help you" and walk away. If we got past that, I would look at the stuff and tell him a price. The slightest flinch earned "Sorry, can not help you" and walk away. It got to the point where I would not do a moving job. If I were on the microphone and one came in, I used to grill the customer. If I did not like it, I told him that we could not help him.

We have only one Tar-ZHAY in the City. The Uber trips there usually are allright--nothing fantastic, as a rule, but nothing wrong with them, either. At least on Uber Taxi or UberX, you can accept them from that Tar-ZHAY, as they have a pretty good chance of being there. If I get one from my o wn cab company, unless I am two blocks from it, I throw it right back. They do not wait if they call a cab from what Uber calls a "legacy cab company".

The funny thing about stupidmarkets: the trips from them are allright in a cab in the City. In the suburbs, they are lousy jobs be it in a cab or UberX. In the City, groceries are no good in UberX, either.



Taxi Driver in Arizona said:


> I love that the cheap-ass grocery store crowd is calling Uber now. You guys can have them, along with the drunk college kids.


As I stated to the Original Poster, the grocery jobs in the City, in the cab, are not bad, Under our old Zone System, they were allright. Even with the meters, still they are allright. There is nothing fantastic about them, but there is nothing wrong with them, either. In the suburbs, they are not worth the trouble in a cab. I will keep the grocery jobs.

Funny thing about the drunk college kids. In the cab, again, they are not really too much trouble. UberX is a totally different animal when dealing with drunk college kids. It is no trouble to wait for them on campus in front of the dormitory. They are allright if they are taxi passengers. They can be real jackwadds if they are UberX users.

The hard part with the drunk college kids is getting them out of the gin mill. This can mean real trouble on the strips. You are in front of the gin mill, you have contacted the passenger(s) and explained the situation, which they have acknowledged. Still, Our Future Leaders will not come out. Then, the horns start to honk, the police starts to bang on your hood and tell you to move and the parking flunkies start waving their summons books in your windshield. This is one reason why I skirt the strips and go through the residential sections off the strips. People there do want cab rides. Rarely will anyone bother you while you wait on a residential street.



Major League said:


> Taxis will at some point smarten up and do apps and most of the foreign drivers will move onto uber. Just a guess.


Taxis have had applications for some time. The only one that works with individual drivers that seems able to survive, so far, is Uber Taxi, but it is available only in limited markets. There is Curb and Flywheel, but they work with fleets, only. Arro has just hit New York City, and it appears to be well received there. It is on its way to Washington. I do not know if I will be able to sign up for it. Verifone has Way2Ride that is in beta-testing, here.

Most of the cab drivers here are foreigners. It has been that way since the late 1970s. In fact, there was one well known company here that for years did not want the foreigners. By the time that they had realised their mistake, it was too late. Once too many of their older drivers had hung up their keys, it was the end of it as an independent company. The name still exists, but it is simply a cog in the machinery of a larger fleet that has over twenty companies affiliated with it.

Most of the illegals were foreigners, as well. They have long sinced moved on to Uber. One thing that Uber did here was "legitimise" the illegals.



Major League said:


> One of my first rides, when I started, was picking up a he/she. The person said hi in a male voice but looked like a lady.
> 
> Haven't seen a tip in 6 months.


We have had those here for years. I never did pay much attention to them, anyhow. All that I care about is do they have cash or a credit card that will clear. If it is Uber Taxi, or UberX, I do not have that worry, even. Even if the card is bad, Uber still pays me.

With one exception, the only tips that I get on UberX are from black or Spanish-speaking women who do not live here.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

Lots of good info.


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

I highly doubt people will go back to taxi's when rates are 3X less.

Plus I have had 3 newbies this week saying Uber is like a God send. These are former taxi users.


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## DB2448 (Jun 30, 2015)

UberReallySucks said:


> _You just described my very experience with UBER to the T.
> 
> Last time I drove, I had this idiot at a hotel who didn't want to walk a distance equaling 3 cars length to get in my car.
> He called me instead to make what could have been a very easy pick up a very difficult one, and order me to come up more towards the reception area.
> ...


Hang out by Hotels and housing developements between 1 and 6pm. That's what I'm starting to do. Did this the other day and got an $8 and $20 trip after Uber Fees in about three hours total. Including drive time.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Major League said:


> I've been a part-timer for about a year. I've noticed not only the the pay getting lower but the rider quality is getting worse and worse.
> 
> My experience during the past couple weeks.
> 
> ...


You had a bad day, surely they're not all like that, eh ?


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## Kalee (Feb 18, 2015)

Major League said:


> I've been a part-timer for about a year. I've noticed not only the the pay getting lower but the rider quality is getting worse and worse.
> 
> My experience during the past couple weeks.
> 
> ...


OMG...this so describes how things are going for me! I cancel for all the same reasons!
Uber is in the toilet now.


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## KMANDERSON (Jul 19, 2015)

Taxi Driver in Arizona said:


> I love that the cheap-ass grocery store crowd is calling Uber now. You guys can have them, along with the drunk college kids.


the cheaper the rates get you going to grocery stores malls bus station.It 2 dollars in my market after uber pay.They drop the minum fare from 2.40 to 200 so expect all the crap rides for those rate.I guess 2.40 was to expensive I love when uber drops the rates cause uber cut never lowers they could at least take only drop there cut from 20 percent to ten percent on those fares


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## Emp9 (Apr 9, 2015)

you might as well quit driving, at $1 a mile or less this is what uber turned into. i learn to ignore some pings from bars or walmart, but some use the actual address and its hard to know what it is. anyway these all come with this job.

i had 4 bobo's pack in my car to go less than 1 mile and had the nerve to keep saying i make 1,000 a night. i said yeah these $5 rides where i get $3 before gas really add up.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

Oscar Levant said:


> You had a bad day, surely they're not all like that, eh ?


Actually, I signed on 4 times total since last Saturday and they all sucked. I just didn't mention the other jobs I canceled or pings I refused. I signed on with the other driver service i use this morning and had a $28 and $12 job done and complete within an hour and a half. That was in my pocket money. It may be some people are preferring this other service or luck of the draw. I will say this. I'm going to start driving with preference to the other service. The two rides I had were incredibly polite and friendly and spoke in a low tone. As soon as I dropped the 2nd rider off I had another ping but had to go off and do something non work related today.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

KMANDERSON said:


> the cheaper the rates get you going to grocery stores malls bus station.It 2 dollars in my market after uber pay.They drop the minum fare from 2.40 to 200 so expect all the crap rides for those rate.I guess 2.40 was to expensive I love when uber drops the rates cause uber cut never lowers they could at least take only drop there cut from 20 percent to ten percent on those fares


Yea. Just keep doing that same thing. It's the only way to make the point. Uber has quit sending me the you cant drive for 10 min notice since if they want us to be truly considered 1099s then they cant force us to take rides or we are then employees. If enough riders are slighted by drivers then they go somewhere else or stop using the service. Just keep dinging their ratings and canceling or refusing pings.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

Emp9 said:


> you might as well quit driving, at $1 a mile or less this is what uber turned into. i learn to ignore some pings from bars or walmart, but some use the actual address and its hard to know what it is. anyway these all come with this job.
> 
> i had 4 bobo's pack in my car to go less than 1 mile and had the nerve to keep saying i make 1,000 a night. i said yeah these $5 rides where i get $3 before gas really add up.


Did you mean BOZO's  Next time, just drive off. Sometimes what will happen is you'll get one or two at the car and when they get in they'll say there are more. What you do if you think that there might be more than what you see is keep the doors locked and drop the window. Then say how many as I have to clear out some space. If they say theres another 1 or 2, I say, hold on, I have to clear some room. I then burn the tires. If there is traffic in front of you just say I need to pull around and clear some stuff out. I always keep stuff on the front seat. Then after you reach the getaway point burn tires and cancel as no fare to rider. Wash and repeat until you find a fare your happy with.

I know this sounds counter intuitive. Like why are you turning down fares, its a waste of time, gas and money. In some way this is true, but as driver we have to make a point to not only Uber but to the riders. Make them use XL which really should be for 3 or more riders and riders with a ton of crap. They should pay more and really that is what XL is for.


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## uberparadise (Aug 2, 2015)

Major League said:


> I've been a part-timer for about a year. I've noticed not only the the pay getting lower but the rider quality is getting worse and worse.
> 
> My experience during the past couple weeks.
> 
> ...


Wow I feel your pain. I admire u sticking up for yourself. I had a guy try to do a midnight departure from his apartment. He had many boxes and his family ready to take off. The real kicker was when we arrived at his new place he got out went upstairs and didn't help unload. The nerve of some people. How bout those speed bumps killing your suspension as u meander toward the correct building number in their large apartment complexes. Those locked gates are a real pain as well.


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## uberissohonest (Aug 7, 2015)

when i drove a cab, we got a $15 moving fee on top of the fare (still thought i was getting ****ed).and that $15 applied to each trip it took to get job done. i havent had anyone trying to uber-move yet, but i will be cancelling the **** out of them when i see a bunch of their shit on the curb,


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## KMANDERSON (Jul 19, 2015)

Taxi Driver in Arizona said:


> I love that the cheap-ass grocery store crowd is calling Uber now. You guys can have them, along with the drunk college kids.


Thanks we will give them back if you want lol


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## Bob Smith (Jan 11, 2015)

LOL. I picked up 4 people in my little hatchback. they had a total of 10 bags all together. my trunk was rammed. they had bags by their feet and on top of them. it was in the evening so there was traffic and 4 different stops. all in all a 13 dollar fare my cut was maybe $8-9. Not worth it at all. there was also was this ****ing cheapo with her groceries who sucked me in at a 2.2. I literally could have gotten $50-60 today off that 2.2 alone if i declined her and drove someone else. unfortunately I got the grocery lady. By the time I finished the ride the surge was done.. if I knew better i would have declined her ass. I got robbed today.


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## uberissohonest (Aug 7, 2015)

we also (taxi in charleston) got .50/bag after first 6 bags. i never bothered charging, was more in a hurry to get them the **** out of my car.


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## uberparadise (Aug 2, 2015)

uberissohonest said:


> when i drove a cab, we got a $15 moving fee on top of the fare (still thought i was getting ****ed).and that $15 applied to each trip it took to get job done. i havent had anyone trying to uber-move yet, but i will be cancelling the **** out of them when i see a bunch of their shit on the curb,


HOW about a Fast death. Growth without supervision is a recipe for disaster.


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## UBERBUS_LA (Jul 9, 2015)

Gave ride to three f------g, idiots girls without surge, drove 1 mile to pick them up and they went 0.2 mile. It was like across the street. Its how they abuse system.


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## ocbob2 (Aug 18, 2015)

UBERBUS_LA said:


> Gave ride to three f------g, idiots girls without surge, drove 1 mile to pick them up and they went 0.2 mile. It was like across the street. Its how they abuse system.


THE Only Way To Nail them is mess with their rating. I normally give 4 stars for min rides and no tip but that is just pure lazy and abusive towards you. 2 star them and hopefully drivers won't be picking them up.


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## UBERBUS_LA (Jul 9, 2015)

ocbob2 said:


> THE Only Way To Nail them is mess with their rating. I normally give 4 stars for min rides and no tip but that is just pure lazy and abusive towards you. 2 star them and hopefully drivers won't be picking them up.


I get it. I Our rating is the average of last 500 trip. How riders rating is calculated? Any inforation?


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## ocbob2 (Aug 18, 2015)

UBERBUS_LA said:


> I get it. I Our rating is the average of last 500 trip. How riders rating is calculated? Any inforation?


I doubt they have 500 but I have no clue as I have picked up people with 5.0 rating and said they always use Uber. Then the ride continues on and you know they have been dinged before. If not, your 4 star just did the trick.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

ocbob2 said:


> I doubt they have 500 but I have no clue as I have picked up people with 5.0 rating and said they always use Uber. Then the ride continues on and you know they have been dinged before. If not, your 4 star just did the trick.


I ding 3* or less if there is any grief whatsoever. I give 4* for stuff like not entering the dest. before they get to the car or too much perfume/cologne.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

UBERBUS_LA said:


> Gave ride to three f------g, idiots girls without surge, drove 1 mile to pick them up and they went 0.2 mile. It was like across the street. Its how they abuse system.


2 star. Actually drive up to them, look at them and drive off. The only way I stop for that is if they are waving a 10 spot for me.


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## UBERBUS_LA (Jul 9, 2015)

Another stupid couple in the morning wants to find his parked car around Santa Monica pier asked me to go to different streets. Because of him I missed surge which might get me a trip to LAX. Is it just my luck or its common annoying riders?


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## hanging in there (Oct 1, 2014)

Major League said:


> I've been a part-timer for about a year. I've noticed not only the the pay getting lower but the rider quality is getting worse and worse.
> 
> My experience during the past couple weeks.
> 
> ...


I have to disagree with your title. I don't see it as Uber dying a slow death, I see it as Uber growing into "phase 2" of it's natural expected business cycle. At first it was more of an elitist thing, a special thing, but as Uber takes over more and more of the traditional taxi business, which is all according to plan, then you as a driver can expect to experience more and more of what us taxi drivers experience in a typical day. I found myself grinning ear to ear as I read some of the posts in this thread, it is really funny to me to hear you guys *****ing and moaning about stuff that I wouldn't think twice about because it just simply comes with the territory and at the end of the day you have whatever money you made "in your pocket" and you go home to drive another day.

Yesterday as a taxi driver I made $778 in gross fares. (My best day Uber X/XL was $516.) Yesterday was kind of a shitty day, had my share of bad luck and tons of shitty pax. If I had been picky I would have rejected most of them, and wound up with maybe $200 gross.

If you cherry-pick one out of 13 calls and burn rubber on the rest, IMO it's time you started to look for another "job".


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## gprimr1 (Mar 7, 2015)

I def don't' think it's dying a slow death. Last Friday there were so many cars out it was insane. 

Hanging in there has some good points.


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## #responseuber (Aug 5, 2015)

hanging in there said:


> I have to disagree with your title. I don't see it as Uber dying a slow death, I see it as Uber growing into "phase 2" of it's natural expected business cycle. At first it was more of an elitist thing, a special thing, but as Uber takes over more and more of the traditional taxi business, which is all according to plan, then you as a driver can expect to experience more and more of what us taxi drivers experience in a typical day. I found myself grinning ear to ear as I read some of the posts in this thread, it is really funny to me to hear you guys *****ing and moaning about stuff that I wouldn't think twice about because it just simply comes with the territory and at the end of the day you have whatever money you made "in your pocket" and you go home to drive another day.
> 
> Yesterday as a taxi driver I made $778 in gross fares. (My best day Uber X/XL was $516.) Yesterday was kind of a shitty day, had my share of bad luck and tons of shitty pax. If I had been picky I would have rejected most of them, and wound up with maybe $200 gross.
> 
> If you cherry-pick one out of 13 calls and burn rubber on the rest, IMO it's time you started to look for another "job".


And when the taxi industry collapses and you are driving full time for uber exclusively and getting deactivated/fired for having unacceptable ratings because you didn't cherry pick your rides, let me know then if that grin still reaches from ear to ear.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

hanging in there said:


> I have to disagree with your title. I don't see it as Uber dying a slow death, I see it as Uber growing into "phase 2" of it's natural expected business cycle. At first it was more of an elitist thing, a special thing, but as Uber takes over more and more of the traditional taxi business, which is all according to plan, then you as a driver can expect to experience more and more of what us taxi drivers experience in a typical day. I found myself grinning ear to ear as I read some of the posts in this thread, it is really funny to me to hear you guys *****ing and moaning about stuff that I wouldn't think twice about because it just simply comes with the territory and at the end of the day you have whatever money you made "in your pocket" and you go home to drive another day.
> 
> Yesterday as a taxi driver I made $778 in gross fares. (My best day Uber X/XL was $516.) Yesterday was kind of a shitty day, had my share of bad luck and tons of shitty pax. If I had been picky I would have rejected most of them, and wound up with maybe $200 gross.
> 
> If you cherry-pick one out of 13 calls and burn rubber on the rest, IMO it's time you started to look for another "job".


I hear ya. But it's as much a rebellion as it is sane mind. I don't drive full time and don't want scum in my car. If I drove taxi with a nice big window separating us or even the fact that I wasn't using my own car, I could care less. I'd drive nice and slow and stop at all the yellow lights and let them be D heads. In a lot of cities there is a big window separating the riders and I would just shut the little window and play my music. Then have them shove their greasy money through the window at the end. Yea the good passengers I'd strike nice conversation with and get a nice tip. But driving a personal car is a different animal and it's my business what I want in my car. peace.


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## Nick781 (Dec 7, 2014)

I had a group of people come out with beers in their hands, I saw them and drove off. I saw a hot Venezuelan chick with a baby but I let them ride lol. Timing is everything I find.


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## hanging in there (Oct 1, 2014)

Major League said:


> I hear ya. But it's as much a rebellion as it is sane mind. I don't drive full time and don't want scum in my car. If I drove taxi with a nice big window separating us or even the fact that I wasn't using my own car, I could care less. I'd drive nice and slow and stop at all the yellow lights and let them be D heads. In a lot of cities there is a big window separating the riders and I would just shut the little window and play my music. Then have them shove their greasy money through the window at the end. Yea the good passengers I'd strike nice conversation with and get a nice tip. But driving a personal car is a different animal and it's my business what I want in my car. peace.


Well in my case taxi driving and Uber driving is identical in those respects. The taxi is my own 2014 minivan that I purchased new off the dealer lot last year, zero miles. Now it has 114k miles. There is no window separating the front and back seats, and I almost always offer the choice of front or back seat to the pax. If anything I should be more picky with my taxi customers since I was driving my older 2006 minivan for Uber.

In terms of driving slow, it is financially better to drive fast in a taxi since we don't get paid for miles AND time, just miles OR time if we are going less than, I think, 13mph. However, I think it is funny to see some of these Uber drivers going very slow thinking they are going to squeeze a few more of those precious 18 cent minutes into the ride. It is still better to go faster and get onto the next ride IMO. Maybe you make another 54 cents by going slower by 3 minutes on that ride but you missed another good ping by 3 minutes. Or put another way, I would gladly trade 54 cents for an extra 3 minutes of my life, to use as a sorely needed bathroom or snack break for example.


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## Altima ATL (Jul 13, 2015)

uberparadise said:


> HOW about a Fast death. Growth without supervision is a recipe for disaster.


I also heard a very poignant quote one time - that was accredited to someone (but sadly I cannot remember whom), but it went on to say:

"In business, what got you there will not necessarily be the same as what keeps you there." (Wonder if Travis learned that in business school).


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## Walkersm (Apr 15, 2014)

Man OP's post would make a great skit:
Todler, Nope
Drunk, Nope
3 Drunks, Nope
Packages,Nope
ETc ETc ETc.

End Of day : All right lets see How I did. $0.00
Alright, Good Day, go home, get an early start tomorrow.


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## That Uber Driver (Sep 14, 2015)

uberparadise said:


> Wow I feel your pain. I admire u sticking up for yourself. I had a guy try to do a midnight departure from his apartment. He had many boxes and his family ready to take off. The real kicker was when we arrived at his new place he got out went upstairs and didn't help unload. The nerve of some people. How bout those speed bumps killing your suspension as u meander toward the correct building number in their large apartment complexes. Those locked gates are a real pain as well.


Who goes in locked apartment gates? I text that Pax "Uber is by the leasing office" The Pax will text me back "OK be right there".


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

hanging in there said:


> Well in my case taxi driving and Uber driving is identical in those respects. The taxi is my own 2014 minivan that I purchased new off the dealer lot last year, zero miles. Now it has 114k miles. There is no window separating the front and back seats, and I almost always offer the choice of front or back seat to the pax. If anything I should be more picky with my taxi customers since I was driving my older 2006 minivan for Uber.
> 
> In terms of driving slow, it is financially better to drive fast in a taxi since we don't get paid for miles AND time, just miles OR time if we are going less than, I think, 13mph. However, I think it is funny to see some of these Uber drivers going very slow thinking they are going to squeeze a few more of those precious 18 cent minutes into the ride. It is still better to go faster and get onto the next ride IMO. Maybe you make another 54 cents by going slower by 3 minutes on that ride but you missed another good ping by 3 minutes. Or put another way, I would gladly trade 54 cents for an extra 3 minutes of my life, to use as a sorely needed bathroom or snack break for example.


I hear ya. I used to think, not bad that I'm in traffic for 20 mins as I get $6 Xtra. That's an extra fare. But now with it at what 15cents $3 just aint worth it.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

Walkersm said:


> Man OP's post would make a great skit:
> Todler, Nope
> Drunk, Nope
> 3 Drunks, Nope
> ...


 I only drive app. 2 hours 4 or 5 days a week. I tend to know where the better paying jobs start from near my home so I go hang out and usually get an airport or downtown run. If I do an airport ride 2x, I'm done for the day as that's $40 cleared. It's when I get downtown or coming back that I get super picky. Sometimes, I'll stay out longer if it's surging or if it's obviously a big money day. I've had days where 6 runs puts $75 bucks in my pocket cleared but mostly I stay around $35 to $50 per day. Every once in awhile when I'm in the groove and everything is going right, I stay out and do $100+ but that's rare. The only way to do this and keep the number of runs low enough, on my 2 hour days, is to be super picky. I normally run the Uber and Lyft app at the same time and refuse or except and then cancel 3 runs to get the 2 or 3 that I want. I can tell by where I'm picking up, in the town I sit in, whether or not its a good run. It's not 100% foolproof but it's good enough.

Something I learned about 3 months into this gig is there are two options. One, go all in and drive like a madman. I dont like this option because it equals ruining my car and my mind(riders,traffic,pedestrians) and body with all the sitting. The other option is to hit and run and run the day before and on holidays.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

Altima ATL said:


> I also heard a very poignant quote one time - that was accredited to someone (but sadly I cannot remember whom), but it went on to say:
> 
> "In business, what got you there will not necessarily be the same as what keeps you there." (Wonder if Travis learned that in business school).


Yea. It's similar to eBay. People come into eBay thinking they're going to make a killing selling Ipods until they find out that they can't find Ipods cheap enough to sell on eBay and that eBay is actually the best wholesale location. At least with eBay, output is always much less than input and the wear and tear on Keyboards and mice isn't much.


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## Hotep31 (Jan 24, 2015)

D


Major League said:


> I've been a part-timer for about a year. I've noticed not only the the pay getting lower but the rider quality is getting worse and worse.
> 
> My experience during the past couple weeks.
> 
> ...


Damn and I thought I was a prick lol. Good job man I ****ing hate malls and restaurants. I live in s college town those kids really irritate me


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## Courtney2010 (Aug 21, 2015)

UberReallySucks said:


> _You just described my very experience with UBER to the T.
> 
> Last time I drove, I had this idiot at a hotel who didn't want to walk a distance equaling 3 cars length to get in my car.
> He called me instead to make what could have been a very easy pick up a very difficult one, and order me to come up more towards the reception area.
> ...


Same thing happened to me. Pax pinged her location wrong then expected me to drive the wrong way down a one way street so that she would not have to walk a few steps...CANCEL!...she even called me and said that "WE" needed to get going because she had somewhere to be. Don't know how she got there but it wasn't in my car.


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## uberissohonest (Aug 7, 2015)

Courtney2010 said:


> Same thing happened to me. Pax pinged her location wrong then expected me to drive the wrong way down a one way street so that she would not have to walk a few steps...CANCEL!...she even called me and said that "WE" needed to get going because she had somewhere to be. Don't know how she got there but it wasn't in my car.


what's funny is that cab drivers were always able to pretty much say (through the diapatcher translating more diplomatically) **** YOU. MAKE A GODDAMN EFFORT. YOU WEIGH A HUNDRED POUNDS. ME AND THE CAB WEIGH 4000. im guessing at least the dispatchers at least have it easier now.


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## MoneyUber4 (Dec 9, 2014)

Major League said:


> I've been a part-timer for about a year. I've noticed not only the the pay getting lower but the rider quality is getting worse and worse.
> 
> My experience during the past couple weeks.
> 
> ...


No, I don't think that UBER is dying. UBER is making a ton of money. 
20% and to 40% commission from every driver for a cheap electronic signal that is not much cost to them.

UBER has NO expenses but the drivers do.

The drivers are dying.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

Courtney2010 said:


> Same thing happened to me. Pax pinged her location wrong then expected me to drive the wrong way down a one way street so that she would not have to walk a few steps...CANCEL!...she even called me and said that "WE" needed to get going because she had somewhere to be. Don't know how she got there but it wasn't in my car.


Heard Boston has a ton of 1 ways. Idiots.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Taxis used to have all these crappy jobs.
Moving is the worst. THEY say it will fit, I know it wont. Won't stop the ****** pax from shoving and shoving and shoving.
Let's face it- when you all started, TK convinced you this was SUPERIOR to cab work.
He lied.


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## uberissohonest (Aug 7, 2015)

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Taxis used to have all these crappy jobs.
> Moving is the worst. THEY say it will fit, I know it wont. Won't stop the ****** pax from shoving and shoving and shoving.
> Let's face it- when you all started, TK convinced you this was SUPERIOR to cab work.
> He lied.


does charlotte allow you to charge a moving fee on top of the fare? in charleston we got a $15 moving fee on top of the fare. if it took more than one trip, meter kept running and another $15 per load.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

uberissohonest said:


> does charlotte allow you to charge a moving fee on top of the fare? in charleston we got a $15 moving fee on top of the fare. if it took more than one trip, meter kept running and another $15 per load.


$20 moving fee plus meter.
Problem is, most of the moving jobs are evictions, and the pax aren't honest with dispatch.
I compromised with the last eviction. Full $2 surcharge for all the kids, ran the meter, let them do all the loading.
Yeah I took a hit on the pay, but if youre a lifer you most likely have a heart- broke me heart to see the 9 month old baby getting evicted.


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## #responseuber (Aug 5, 2015)

More grocery store pickups 

http://time.com/money/4038678/free-uber-ride-groceries/


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## Sly (Aug 30, 2014)

Taxi Driver in Arizona said:


> I love that the cheap-ass grocery store crowd is calling Uber now. You guys can have them, along with the drunk college kids.


It wouldn't bother me if rates were 1.80 and they didn't 4 star me for not being an SUV.


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## Major League (Oct 16, 2014)

#responseuber said:


> More grocery store pickups
> 
> http://time.com/money/4038678/free-uber-ride-groceries/


Ha! Now I'm going to make it an ironclad policy to never pick-up another shopper. I don't live there but just on principle alone.


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## Taxi Driver in Arizona (Mar 18, 2015)

#responseuber said:


> More grocery store pickups
> 
> http://time.com/money/4038678/free-uber-ride-groceries/


That's awesome. Enjoy your free ride!


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