# Which GPS do you use?



## touberornottouber (Aug 12, 2016)

I haven't done any rides yet but I am wondering how the GPS thing works. I have my own Garmin GPS and am leaning towards using that but once I pick up the customer does Uber automatically pop up some GPS for me on the phone to enter the destination address and also use that?

Just curious. Again I've yet to do my first ride so please be gentle.


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## martnov (Oct 3, 2016)

Don't worry it's a fair question. On my experience the Uber Driver App lets you choose between waze and google map in addition to the car you will be using. I tried google in the begining but it just didnt work for me. I changed to waze and things went much better for me. In the near future you'll have your opinion. Good luck.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

martnov said:


> Don't worry it's a fair question. On my experience the Uber Driver App lets you choose between waze and google map in addition to the car you will be using. I tried google in the begining but it just didnt work for me. I changed to waze and things went much better for me. In the near future you'll have your opinion. Good luck.


Yeah, I used to use Waze but Waze tries to outsmart traffic too much for me, I would hate when it would change my navigation right before a turn.

I like maps bc it makes it clear when you arrived to a destination and what house number.

Have you figured out a way for waze to give you.navigation when you are in another app? Maps will pop up over whatever app is running, nice feature.


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## Frontier Guy (Dec 27, 2015)

I use Google maps, Waze has too may variables, and it's too easy to troll and create problems.


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## mikes424 (May 22, 2016)

I use Waze. I like it because it gives updates on traffic conditions, red light cameras, police locations, etc


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

Don't even think about the garmin. Your phone is all you need. Customers will probably ding your rating if you use the garmin.


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## Athena (Oct 24, 2016)

I drive for Lyft, the actually recommend Waze, which is what I have been using.
I had two IT professionals tell me that Waze is the best, with Google Maps being compared to swiss cheese, full of frickn' holes & problems.

I agree, stay away from using Garmin, it looks unprofessional. Good luck!


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## shiftydrake (Dec 12, 2015)

I have been using Tom Tom since 2004 I don't like Google or waze


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## touberornottouber (Aug 12, 2016)

Coachman said:


> Don't even think about the garmin. Your phone is all you need. Customers will probably ding your rating if you use the garmin.


Would it be okay to keep it on just as a backup or would that cause problems too?


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## martnov (Oct 3, 2016)

touberornottouber said:


> Would it be okay to keep it on just as a backup or would that cause problems too?


l 
First few rides until you get your feet wet at least in my opinion their shouldn't be a problem. Be aware that pasengers are used to see us use basic apps like waze or google maps and may find it weird that your using a backup gps. Questions like does "he/she" know where is the destination? Is the driver more focused on the gps rather than on the road? And with this you could be penalized in your ratings. Just be sure to ask if they have a prefered route and in a friendly way if you noticed that something went wrong let them know your new since they tend to be less hard on the ratings when this is said.


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## stuber (Jun 30, 2014)

I like using a combination of two. First, look at a map so you know where you're going. Then run a GPS as a back up. GPS is often smarter than me, but not always. The crowd sourced info on Waze is great for road trips. My buddy recently used the Twitter feed from DOT to avoid a major delay on a long haul trip. There's no single best method.


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## UberLou (May 5, 2015)

Waze it the best option for me. Yes, sometimes it tries to outsmart traffic but if you know your area really well you can ignore some of the suggested routes. 

All GPS options are only as good as the driver.


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

Pax will definitely ding you for using an outside GPS. The time alone that it would take for you to input the address manually into your external GPS will cause pax to become impatient with you. There is no need for that stress. Just click "Navigate" on the app and drive on. I have built in GPS in my vehicle, never used it once.


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## touberornottouber (Aug 12, 2016)

Thanks everyone. I did my first ride and it went okay (~$8.50). I used only the Waze app built in from Uber with a mount. However I've decided to keep my Garmin up also as a backup and because I find the display easier to read. So I will use the standard built-in Uber thing for navigation but keep the Garmin on also as a backup.


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## freddieman (Oct 24, 2016)

i use uber nav because i don't have to toggle back and forth between the apps. i like waze but having to load up the app is a *****. uber app is so powerful it takes over your phone. no wonder my iphone doesn't trust uber application.


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## ddelro219 (Aug 11, 2016)

google maps just to avoid having to download another app on my already crowded phone. i tried waze before, nothing terrible about it but no need for another maps app wth the apple maps and then uber's app too. i have other google accounts which helps make things more simple so i'll stick to google. google gets a lot of its hazard notifications from waze. 

the uber nav would at times take me in such roundabout routes versus a direct and more sensible one - on pool rides (yeah yeah, i know), it makes me think they purposely route me certain ways to increase chances of another ping; which would be fine until the first pax questions your nav skills and knowledge of the area.


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## AllGold (Sep 16, 2016)

I tried Waze for a while but found it took me the long way too often. The "long way" it chose was probably faster but since mileage is much more expensive than time, it was costing pax more and understandably, they didn't like that.

I use Google Maps but it has some things that bug me. One is it always wants to calculate the "Fastest Route" when I'm 4 blocks away in a straight line from my destination. Yeah, thanks, I think I can figure out the fastest route now.

The other thing that bugs me is often it doesn't show the destination address (house number - instead it shows latitude/longitude). So when it does that, most of the time when I get close to the destination I switch back to Uber.

I use an iPhone so the built-in navigation inside the Uber app is available to me but I've never been impressed with it.

I can't see using a stand-alone GPS (and I have a nice one) because entering the address is too much of a pain and is time consuming when using an app on your phone is integrated and only takes one tap.


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## touberornottouber (Aug 12, 2016)

AllGold said:


> I can't see using a stand-alone GPS (and I have a nice one) because entering the address is too much of a pain and is time consuming when using an app on your phone is integrated and only takes one tap.


Yeah I would never use the Garmin to enter addresses unless something went wrong with the built in GPS app. What I like the Garmin for is the clear street name displays and the way it tells me my speed and the speed limit. With the mounted phone one it is harder for me to see than with the dedicated Garmin. It might be because my android phone is only 5.2" though. Also I will probably use the Garmin in the event I get a long distance run.


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## tradedate (Nov 30, 2015)

I keep a Garmin, just as a back up. Uber and Lyft are so well integrated with Google Maps and Waze, that it's a waste of time to sit there tapping in every destination into a Garmin. 

If I ever had problems with cell phone issues after I picked up someone, it's nice to have a dedicated GPS unit as a back up. I find that it maintains a GPS signal more reliably than a smart phone.

For the Maps vs. Waze debate, you'll usually see a 50/50 split for driver preference. They both work fine, so you can try them both and pick your preference. And Google owns both apps, anyway.


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