# it's insane that uber doesn't show drivers the rider's desired destination



## insertgenericusername (Apr 8, 2016)

What if you can only drive for an hour or two and get an airport request? What if you don't want to drive 10 minutes away to take somebody less than a mile and make the minimum fare? What if....etc.

What a joke!


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## RedDragonQueen (Apr 2, 2016)

I agree. My husband does uber as well and got a call 20 minutes away and only had to drive them less than a mile.


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## Yomann (Sep 23, 2014)

I had that exact situation today.
Got a ping from 10 minutes away at 3.30pm.
Called and asked pax if 10 minute wait time is acceptable - it was.
Asked for destination and he mentioned a place 45 minutes away one way.
Told him I was very sorry, but I have a dental appointment at 5pm.
He blurted that he works for Uber, and I am not supposed to call and ask for his destination.
Told him I have a life, and I am available for a shorter ride, but will not miss my dental appointment.
He asked me to cancel, which I did and immediately went offline.
I get why Uber hides the destination, to prevent cherry picking and rejecting short rides, but the least they can do it to let us know if the ride is greater than 30/60 minutes.


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## insertgenericusername (Apr 8, 2016)

This is set up in such a way that it benefits passengers (because they're more likely to get taken promptly to their destination if we don't have the option to refuse based upon location), which benefits uber because they make more money from more fares/unit time, while drivers are left holding the shit end of the stick, not knowing where they'll be taking this person and if it's worth their time.


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## OrlandoUberX (Feb 15, 2016)

I think it sucks but I look at it as an adventure. You just gotta roll with it


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## John Highway (Feb 11, 2016)

OrlandoUberX said:


> I think it sucks but I look at it as an adventure. You just gotta roll with it


Sometimes, you roll 7s and 11s ... and sometimes, you end up with snake eyes.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Insane,abusive,and potentially dangerous.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

John Highway said:


> Sometimes, you roll 7s and 11s ... and sometimes, you end up with snake eyes.


Hell of a business model.
" God does not play Dice with the Universe "- Albert Einstein.

If I want to gamble I'll buy stock or go to a horse race.


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## nickd8775 (Jul 12, 2015)

you have to call and ask for destination if you have a limited time.


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## Firstime (Apr 2, 2016)

nickd8775 said:


> you have to call and ask for destination if you have a limited time.


Can you get into trouble for this?


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

Firstime said:


> Can you get into trouble for this?


Of course. If they tell Uber you're doing that


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## Tim In Cleveland (Jul 28, 2014)

Screw that...if it's over 10 minutes away, I ALWAYS contact them and see if it's worth my time. If it's not, I educate them: "Sorry, but that would take over 30 minutes round trip yet only pay me $2.40 before expenses. I will cancel so you can find a closer car".


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## Dontmakemepullauonyou (Oct 13, 2015)

Tim In Cleveland said:


> Screw that...if it's over 10 minutes away, I ALWAYS contact them and see if it's worth my time. If it's not, I educate them: "Sorry, but that would take over 30 minutes round trip yet only pay me $2.40 before expenses. I will cancel so you can find a closer car".


Then you go offline, he requests another car and possibly creates a small surge.


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## Scrapperloredo (Feb 19, 2016)

Is there a cap on miles that Uber will send it's drivers or is it limitless? Is there a possibility that a driver from the Bay Area could be sent outside of it, if a rider requests it? 

Last Friday, I drove a pax 51 miles one way from SJC to Oakland, it was painful to drive back encountering commuter traffic. The farthest I had to drive from San Jose is S.F. It seems once I drop off someone at SFO I somehow simultaneously pick up riders headed into the city where I spend my time responding to subsequent calls. I now know if I do not want to get trapped in San Francisco, to quickly go offline once I reach the airport, though Uber sometimes will ping me while I am still enroute. 

I am not saying I would not be willing to drive a pax if they needed a long distance ride but, I would appreciate a heads up from the Uber coordinators, with the option to pass, if I had a time constraint..


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## LadyDi (Nov 29, 2015)

I was on the highway and had a 25 min away ping. I called the client and asked if they knew it would take me this long to arrive. They said it was ok. The dropoff was 7 mins from where I picked them up. UGGGH. But... I keep getting hits once in the area so it worked out... that night.


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## Dang (Feb 2, 2016)

RedDragonQueen said:


> I agree. My husband does uber as well and got a call 20 minutes away and only had to drive them less than a mile.


lol sad


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## Santa (Jan 3, 2016)

You guys are picking away riders who are more than 5 minutes away????!!!!!! Come on people. Some areas are OK to go as far as 10 minutes but those areas need to be residential, with no markets/mall or entertainment areas near by. Most customers either go to these areas or work.

I don't pick up anybody who is more than 2 km not miles away. That's usually 5 minutes away.


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## Babs (Apr 9, 2016)

Santa said:


> You guys are picking away riders who are more than 5 minutes away????!!!!!! Come on people. Some areas are OK to go as far as 10 minutes but those areas need to be residential, with no markets/mall or entertainment areas near by. Most customers either go to these areas or work.
> 
> I don't pick up anybody who is more than 2 km not miles away. That's usually 5 minutes away.


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## Babs (Apr 9, 2016)

How do you not get anyone more than 5 minutes away? Do you delete those that are?


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## Santa (Jan 3, 2016)

It would've been nice to do that but no. I let it time out and go offline for a few minutes so i don't get the same ping again.


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## Babs (Apr 9, 2016)

If it times out is that the same as not accepting?


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## Don't Turn Around (Mar 17, 2016)

Babs said:


> If it times out is that the same as not accepting?


yes


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## dirtylee (Sep 2, 2015)

All of you must be new drivers. Uber used to show destinations. Every1 & their 3 legged dog cherry picked.


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

Plus it was blabbed about hear and by the very next day uber took it away. So who ever it was, shot everyone in the foot.


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## Babs (Apr 9, 2016)

They would have more drivers if destination s were posted,many times I gave an hour I can drive, but can't, cause can't do a long haul!


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## Absolute power (Apr 9, 2016)

I would advise all Uber drivers to organize in their cities and ask to have some of their concerns address by the Uber management team or Travis kalanick himself. Seriously. 

Uber can be very childish. I understand people want affordable rides. But I've had trips less than $2.50 the minimum ride. 

Uber advertise it as $5 minimum fares. Only for you to figure that's what the rider should pay. I check and a lot of times they end up paying $4:56. 

I don't believe drivers should be driving anyone for less than $5 net.


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## TrikkiNikki (Apr 10, 2016)

I am a brand new driver and today was my third day. I live in the Central Valley of California. I have already had some pretty good experiences but this whole thing about knowing the destination before would be helpful. I had a situation today where a pax wanted me to drive him to the Bay Area... 85 miles away... and it's raining. I asked him before I started the trip where we were headed and he told me, "I put it in", so I was thinking it couldn't be too far. Then I start and it's 85 miles away lol. I kind of panicked and told him I was really sorry but I couldn't possibly do that. He ended up having to be stuck there and figure something out. I felt bad but I explained to him that I don't know where a rider is going until I pick them up. It's 4 hours round-trip with no money on the way home cuz I didn't want to get stuck there. I think if a pax wants to go farther than say, 20 miles, there should be a feature in the app to notify the driver. Or at least they could text or call. Of course, they don't know that we don't know where they are going. I'm hoping word gets around and they start to know that info. 

Long story short, that was embarrassing lol.


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## William1964 (Jul 28, 2015)

Debating sanity is kind of harsh. If you understand the process legal process. Insanity please always feel most of the time simply because the person knew what he was doing was wrong.

I'm not saying what you said is unreasonable or not unreasonable. The Safety and Security of uber customers are in the hands of people like you and me. That being said they should treat us a little better listen to her complaints and be reasonable with their actions for and against us


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## tommyboy (Mar 10, 2016)

I just drive and let the app guide me it usually works well. Chasing surges wastes time unless you position yourself to take advantage of them on your first ride of the day then your getting pinged pretty much all day. The time Flys when your busy


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

TrikkiNikki said:


> I am a brand new driver and today was my third day. I live in the Central Valley of California. I have already had some pretty good experiences but this whole thing about knowing the destination before would be helpful. I had a situation today where a pax wanted me to drive him to the Bay Area... 85 miles away... and it's raining. I asked him before I started the trip where we were headed and he told me, "I put it in", so I was thinking it couldn't be too far. Then I start and it's 85 miles away lol. I kind of panicked and told him I was really sorry but I couldn't possibly do that. He ended up having to be stuck there and figure something out. I felt bad but I explained to him that I don't know where a rider is going until I pick them up. It's 4 hours round-trip with no money on the way home cuz I didn't want to get stuck there. I think if a pax wants to go farther than say, 20 miles, there should be a feature in the app to notify the driver. Or at least they could text or call. Of course, they don't know that we don't know where they are going. I'm hoping word gets around and they start to know that info.
> 
> Long story short, that was embarrassing lol.


Good for you. You did the right thing.


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## Zebonkey (Feb 2, 2016)

TrikkiNikki said:


> I had a situation today where a pax wanted me to drive him to the Bay Area... 85 miles away.


I'll drive them all day at u-black / suv rates. One trip like that would make my day. Makes no sense at uberx rates, unless the rider offers a substantial cash insensitive upfront. Once I had 3 trips like that in one day with a few short trips in between. Made over 1400 in fares. Too bad, it doesn't happen too often these days.


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## UXDriver (May 20, 2015)

RedDragonQueen said:


> I agree. My husband does uber as well and got a call 20 minutes away and only had to drive them less than a mile.


Should have ignored the request or accept then cancel

Only himself to blame


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## TrikkiNikki (Apr 10, 2016)

Zebonkey said:


> I'll drive them all day at u-black / suv rates. One trip like that would make my day. Makes no sense at uberx rates, unless the rider offers a substantial cash insensitive upfront. Once I had 3 trips like that in one day with a few short trips in between. Made over 1400 in fares. Too bad, it doesn't happen too often these days.


I even thought about it for a minute but then I'd already been driving 5 hours that day and am still debating about driving people at night and it would have been dark by the time we got there and I would just want to go home at that point.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

insertgenericusername said:


> What if you can only drive for an hour or two and get an airport request? What if you don't want to drive 10 minutes away to take somebody less than a mile and make the minimum fare? What if....etc.
> 
> What a joke!


Uber's policy exists to prevent driver cherry picking which trumps an individual's need to know destination in advance. All taxi companies have this policy, as well. However, that policy only makes sense for taxi companies, or vehicle for hire/livery companies where drivers are doing it solely make a living. The concept "rideshare" to me, should mean someone wants to find someone to share a ride in the direction the driver was headed to help with costs, etc. But, in reality, a rideshare company is a de facto taxi company, and the no - destination policy proves it.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Yomann said:


> I had that exact situation today.
> Got a ping from 10 minutes away at 3.30pm.
> Called and asked pax if 10 minute wait time is acceptable - it was.
> Asked for destination and he mentioned a place 45 minutes away one way.
> ...


If Uber were truely a "rideshare" company, you'd have a point. But it's a de facto taxi ( or livery ) company. Uber needs to quit calling itself a rideshare company, it's a misnomer, in my view.


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

Oscar Levant said:


> If Uber were truely a "rideshare" company, you'd have a point. But it's a de facto taxi ( or livery ) company. Uber needs to quit calling itself a rideshare company, it's a misnomer, in my view.


So long as Uber continues to bill the company as ridesharing, Uber should be exempt from the normal rules that govern transportation companies, including the rules against discriminating based on destination, which frees the company to show drivers the destination so we can decide for ourselves whether we want to share our ride to that destination.

Once Uber decides to rebrand the company as a transportation company, then Uber should have to meet all the rules that govern transportation companies, including the rules against discriminating based on destination.

But, of course, being the greedy little pig that it is, Uber wants to have it both ways, and we drivers suffer the consequences of that.


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## MiddleClassedOut (Jun 11, 2015)

Text riders over 10 minutes/3 miles away and ask them for an additional pick-up fee. I've been doing it for months on Lyft, it's one of my secrets to maintaining my acceptance rate. I find $10 gets them to cancel right quick.

I have asked Lyft about it, Google this site, they didn't say I couldn't do it. Use your independent contractor status to your advantage.


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## Patoola (Apr 10, 2016)

That truth is, drivers would always decline trips that are less profitable. So you don't get that option.


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## phillipzx3 (May 26, 2015)

RedDragonQueen said:


> I agree. My husband does uber as well and got a call 20 minutes away and only had to drive them less than a mile.


And the problem is.....? Remember, Uber drivers were going to show the cab industry, "how it's done." Turns out Ubers are better at cherry picking than the cabs are.

If your husband doesn't want to be a cab driver, tell him to get a REAL job and stop playing the part of a cabbie.


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## phillipzx3 (May 26, 2015)

Patoola said:


> That truth is, drivers would always decline trips that are less profitable. So you don't get that option.


Exactly. Cabs rarely get a destination sent with the order. 99 times out of 100, I don't learn of the destination until the passenger is in the car.


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## RedDragonQueen (Apr 2, 2016)

phillipzx3 said:


> And the problem is.....? Remember, Uber drivers were going to show the cab industry, "how it's done." Turns out Ubers are better at cherry picking than the cabs are.
> 
> If your husband doesn't want to be a cab driver, tell him to get a REAL job and stop playing the part of a cabbie.


He has gotten a real job. In fact he has 3 other jobs. This is just to make a few more dollars when we need to make ends meet. Not everyone is doing this full-time you know....


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

Patoola said:


> That truth is, drivers would always decline trips that are less profitable. So you don't get that option.


What is not profitable for one driver might be profitable for another.

For example, if I am in the north end of town and want one last ride taking me toward my home south of town, I would not want another ride taking me farther north. But if I was in the same exact spot when the ride request came in and lived north of town and wanted to go home afterwards, I would love to be offered that ride.


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## JohnnyCosta (Mar 26, 2016)

At times a large majority of my pings are 13 to 15 minutes away and usually the rider is only going a mile or two down the road, so I ignore these stupid calls. I'm getting tired of $3.50 earnings for these pings. I know if you ignore more than 3 consecutive pings, the ********* at Uber will send you a nasty message and block you temporarily, but I ain't wasting my gas and wear and tear on my vehicle answering pings more than 7 or 8 minutes away.


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## Superdriverau (Apr 10, 2016)

Yomann said:


> I had that exact situation today.
> Got a ping from 10 minutes away at 3.30pm.
> Called and asked pax if 10 minute wait time is acceptable - it was.
> Asked for destination and he mentioned a place 45 minutes away one way.
> ...


Have an appointment in an hour, don't drive. simple as that. It's common sense to not commit yourself to something if you need to be somewhere in an hour or so.
If we started rejecting people based on distance and what not, we'd be no better than a taxi.

If you have things to do during the day, Uber AFTER it. Common sense people.


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## Yomann (Sep 23, 2014)

Superdriverau said:


> Have an appointment in an hour, don't drive. simple as that. It's common sense to not commit yourself to something if you need to be somewhere in an hour or so.
> If we started rejecting people based on distance and what not, we'd be no better than a taxi.
> 
> If you have things to do during the day, Uber AFTER it. Common sense people.


This problem is solvable, and was done so by Sidecar, which did not operate "down under".
Their app had a pick up radius and a destination radius that could be configured on the fly at any time.
Given most rides are 10 minutes or less, I do NOT want to quit driving 90 minutes prior to my appointment.
We are independent contractors and if you read the Uber contact, we are under no obligation to accept any ride we choose not to.
And we are much better than a taxi; less than half of a taxi fare to begin with ......


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

Absolute power said:


> I would advise all Uber drivers to organize in their cities and ask to have some of their concerns address by the Uber management team or Travis kalanick himself. Seriously.
> 
> Uber can be very childish. I understand people want affordable rides. But I've had trips less than $2.50 the minimum ride.
> 
> ...


My opinion is that we shouldn't take on the risk of hauling ANY total strangers around for any less than $8.00 in our pockets for any trip...$2.00 pickup fee plus $6.00 haul fee plus any other garbage that Foober wants to add to fatten their coffers.


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## Superdriverau (Apr 10, 2016)

Yomann said:


> This problem is solvable, and was done so by Sidecar, which did not operate "down under".
> Their app had a pick up radius and a destination radius that could be configured on the fly at any time.
> Given most rides are 10 minutes or less, I do NOT want to quit driving 90 minutes prior to my appointment.
> We are independent contractors and if you read the Uber contact, we are under no obligation to accept any ride we choose not to.
> And we are much better than a taxi; less than half of a taxi fare to begin with ......


It's a two way street. We are under no obligation to accept any ride we choose, and uber is under no obligation to keep us on.

Mind you Australians aren't too bad... If they're happy to wait more than 10minutes it's because their trip is going to be 20+ minutes or they'd order something closer or walk. Unless it's 2 or 3 am in which case it's up to the driver if they want to drive more than 10 minutes. I usually dont mind.


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## Tnasty (Mar 23, 2016)

phillipzx3 said:


> Exactly. Cabs rarely get a destination sent with the order. 99 times out of 100, I don't learn of the destination until the passenger is in the car.


The dispatcher knows, but they are busy too let you know.


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## Superdriverau (Apr 10, 2016)

TrikkiNikki said:


> I am a brand new driver and today was my third day. I live in the Central Valley of California. I have already had some pretty good experiences but this whole thing about knowing the destination before would be helpful. I had a situation today where a pax wanted me to drive him to the Bay Area... 85 miles away... and it's raining. I asked him before I started the trip where we were headed and he told me, "I put it in", so I was thinking it couldn't be too far. Then I start and it's 85 miles away lol. I kind of panicked and told him I was really sorry but I couldn't possibly do that. He ended up having to be stuck there and figure something out. I felt bad but I explained to him that I don't know where a rider is going until I pick them up. It's 4 hours round-trip with no money on the way home cuz I didn't want to get stuck there. I think if a pax wants to go farther than say, 20 miles, there should be a feature in the app to notify the driver. Or at least they could text or call. Of course, they don't know that we don't know where they are going. I'm hoping word gets around and they start to know that info.
> 
> Long story short, that was embarrassing lol.


I like that idea. If a destination is 40minutes away then I can agree about it letting us know. Injad a trip from Melbourne to CLifton springs at 3am. The trip was an hour and a half one way. $100 wasnt too bad, but I also had to gradually make my own way back by myself.

There being a feature that warns us that the trip will be longer than an hour would be a helpful idea.


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## Tnasty (Mar 23, 2016)

I hate when I try to do the fuber in my spare time. I get taken 30 miles from home in rush hour traffic.I feel like my day is being hijacked to put me where fuber wants.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Superdriverau said:


> Have an appointment in an hour, don't drive. simple as that. It's common sense to not commit yourself to something if you need to be somewhere in an hour or so.
> If we started rejecting people based on distance and what not, we'd be no better than a taxi.
> 
> If you have things to do during the day, Uber AFTER it. Common sense people.


I would need to stop driving 2.5 hours ahead here in Houston. It's not practical to do that, obviously.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

phillipzx3 said:


> And the problem is.....? Remember, Uber drivers were going to show the cab industry, "how it's done." Turns out Ubers are better at cherry picking than the cabs are.
> 
> If your husband doesn't want to be a cab driver, tell him to get a REAL job and stop playing the part of a cabbie.


When was the last time a cab driver got paid $2 and no tip for a trip?


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## Uberchampion (Oct 17, 2015)

Babs said:


> They would have more drivers if destination s were posted,many times I gave an hour I can drive, but can't, cause can't do a long haul!


NO MORE DRIVERS PLEASE!
☺


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Uber, like life,does not show your destination.
Enjoy the journey.

Uber on.


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## Uberchampion (Oct 17, 2015)

tohunt4me said:


> Uber, like life,does not show your destination.
> Enjoy the journey.
> 
> Uber on.


Uber is like a box of chocolates......lol


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

...OR like a box of queasy intestines that explode in your face when you least expect it.


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## rocksteady (Mar 19, 2015)

No it's not. Some would find it next to impossible to get a ride if they did. It's completely understandable why they don't.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

Well, Lyft shows it, and they've been doing better business lately...


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## Flarpy (Apr 17, 2016)

RedDragonQueen said:


> He has gotten a real job. In fact he has 3 other jobs. This is just to make a few more dollars when we need to make ends meet. Not everyone is doing this full-time you know....


If your husband has to work a total of 4 jobs "to make ends meet" then your family has some very severe budgeting problems.

My Lyft mentor said he worked all the time because he and his wife had 4 kids with another one on the way. At the end of the mentoring session I reached into my glove compartment, pulled out a condom, handed it to him and said "Here, these are cheap."


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## RedDragonQueen (Apr 2, 2016)

For your information he just got laid off from a very high paying job. We've done what we have had to to avoid being a burden to the state. We don't want to be the family that takes all the food stamps, cash aid, etc. we are both able bodied and we are both working hard.


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## Fireguy50 (Nov 23, 2015)

Babs said:


> They would have more drivers if destination s were posted,many times I gave an hour I can drive, but can't, cause can't do a long haul!


Yes, I turn down a ride because my son was getting out of school soon. I could have done a short ride on campus, but not 45min to the mall. So they got cancelled and Uber customer service as a whole team took a hit that day.


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## Rat (Mar 6, 2016)

insertgenericusername said:


> What if you can only drive for an hour or two and get an airport request? What if you don't want to drive 10 minutes away to take somebody less than a mile and make the minimum fare? What if....etc.
> 
> What a joke!


If they showed you the destination, nobody would pick up the short runs. Duh!


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## NCTechmar (Jun 25, 2016)

insertgenericusername said:


> What if you can only drive for an hour or two and get an airport request? What if you don't want to drive 10 minutes away to take somebody less than a mile and make the minimum fare? What if....etc.
> 
> What a joke!


If they showed drivers the destination, then it will definitely be a deciding factor if you accept. Uber has NO problem with you driving 20 minutes to do a 3 mile ride and then you having to do 20 minutes back to get to a populated area. As long as they make the fare, that is all that matters.


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## Lynette (Jun 26, 2016)

Absolute power said:


> I would advise all Uber drivers to organize in their cities and ask to have some of their concerns address by the Uber management team or Travis kalanick himself. Seriously.
> 
> Uber can be very childish. I understand people want affordable rides. But I've had trips less than $2.50 the minimum ride.
> 
> ...


Agreed. Drive 10 mins to take someone 2 blocks and you get $2:00 cheeper to stay at home.


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## Ebonywhitewolf (May 29, 2016)

It gets a little irritating when people say "but if uber shows us where people are going then some people wont get rides." 

.......ok, and? Im following ubers lead when it comes to the business relationship and attitude between uber, drivers, and pax. If uber and pax dont care if i'm making money or not then i don't care if some pax never get rides. But if uber wants to create a business environment where we try to benefit all parties as equally as possible (within reason of course its never going to be perfectly equall) then im willing to have that mind set. But don't ask me to care about people that don't care about me.


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

Ebonywhitewolf said:


> It gets a little irritating when people say "but if uber shows us where people are going then some people wont get rides."
> 
> .......ok, and? Im following ubers lead when it comes to the business relationship and attitude between uber, drivers, and pax. If uber and pax dont care if i'm making money or not then i don't care if some pax never get rides. But if uber wants to create a business environment where we try to benefit all parties as equally as possible (within reason of course its never going to be perfectly equall) then im willing to have that mind set. But don't ask me to care about people that don't care about me.


Bravo!


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

Easy solution don't accept rides that are more then 10 minutes away unless you're in a situation where it's worth it (ie. I work downtown denver and over 80% of rides out side of Downtown are going Downtown or to the Airport , If I take someone 20-40 minutes outside of the city , drop them off and then get a request 15-20 minutes away , I'll accept it and hope it's going to a more lucrative area . Most the time it is )

Also don't be scared to call a pax and ask them where they are going . Yesterday I was at Denver Internation Airport doing a drop off and wanted to get a ride back to downtown where I live . My first ping was a lyft pax , I called the rider to verify his location for pick up and casual asked where he was heading , he was going somewhere I didn't want to go so I told him I couldn't take him there and that I would cancel the ride for him , 3 minutes later I got an Uber Select ride going 3 blocks from my house it paid me $70 the Lyft ride would have paid me $30 and I would have had to drive another 25 minutes to get home )


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

Rat said:


> If they showed you the destination, nobody would pick up the short runs. Duh!


Not true at all.

In the cab business, short trips were fine, as long as you were right there for them. Short runs aren't taken if they require 5 minutes or more of deadheading to get there.

The best day I ever had driving a cab was when a teachers convention was in town, and they relied on cabs to get from one downtown hotel to another and to the convention center. 60 trips in 10 hours


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

People will still take short rides, short rides can be great I'm downtown areas taking people bar to bar, hotel to convention etc.. 
Also with all the PDB it'd good for filler rides to hit those bonuses to increase your earnings on your bigger fares

Plus most drivers are new and will just accept everything


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## Baby Cakes (Sep 6, 2015)

Ebonywhitewolf said:


> It gets a little irritating when people say "but if uber shows us where people are going then some people wont get rides."
> 
> .......ok, and? Im following ubers lead when it comes to the business relationship and attitude between uber, drivers, and pax. If uber and pax dont care if i'm making money or not then i don't care if some pax never get rides. But if uber wants to create a business environment where we try to benefit all parties as equally as possible (within reason of course its never going to be perfectly equall) then im willing to have that mind set. But don't ask me to care about people that don't care about me.


THANK YOU for saying this. I hate when people say 'dont cherry pick it leaves less cherrys for the rest of the drivers' Some rides simply should not be done. If someone is 20 miles from any driver why is it a given them getting a ride is more important than a driver being able to viably take that trip?


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## Baby Cakes (Sep 6, 2015)

I_Like_Spam said:


> Not true at all.
> 
> In the cab business, short trips were fine, as long as you were right there for them. Short runs aren't taken if they require 5 minutes or more of deadheading to get there.
> 
> The best day I ever had driving a cab was when a teachers convention was in town, and they relied on cabs to get from one downtown hotel to another and to the convention center. 60 trips in 10 hours


with current insentives uber is giving in LA area short trips are the best actually. If I only got those I would make $25/hr for driving comparably very few miles/wear and tare on the car.


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## CastleSD (May 24, 2016)

I just don't see why there is even an expectation, from anyone, that we should ever be in the position to lose money on any ride. Ever. This isn't a casino, it's income and it involves high expenses. If we are good business people, a loss on a ride is a bad business move. It helps us in no way. And no, we can't "make up for it on other rides" because we make so little on those rides. There's zero reason to take the loss. Uber cuts the rates so low that the driver has to pay out of pocket to complete the ride? HELL no. I'd rather throw that money away on blackjack rather than pay for some cheap pax to get a ride down the block. This could easily be solved in a number of ways, like don't send a ride request that is further than the destination, or if a passenger is going on a min fare ride and no drivers are close by, then give pax option: do you want to pay more to bring a driver closer or do you want to wait until a driver is in your area? Surge the minimum fare rides, make the pax pay, not the driver. And I agree with the long-distance heads up. More than 30 minutes AND in which direction. Although the destination filter will somewhat solve this, if it wasn't just Pool and Line.


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## Tim In Cleveland (Jul 28, 2014)

I_Like_Spam said:


> Not true at all.
> 
> In the cab business, short trips were fine, as long as you were right there for them. Short runs aren't taken if they require 5 minutes or more of deadheading to get there.
> 
> The best day I ever had driving a cab was when a teachers convention was in town, and they relied on cabs to get from one downtown hotel to another and to the convention center. 60 trips in 10 hours


Yeah, but with Uber they are almost NEVER "right there" and take a lot of time yet pay less than $3.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Yomann said:


> I had that exact situation today.
> Got a ping from 10 minutes away at 3.30pm.
> Called and asked pax if 10 minute wait time is acceptable - it was.
> Asked for destination and he mentioned a place 45 minutes away one way.
> ...


In my view this is the inherent flaw in the whole ride sharing concept. In my view I believe that transporting people for profit should be done under professional circumstances only licensing blah blah blah and drop the whole ride share idea.
Anyway you can complain all you want to but because knowing destinations leads to cherry picking it will never be done --no taxi company, no vehicle for hire company with on demand rides will do this, it just isn't done so give up on the idea. From the owner's point of view it's not insane at all it's good business to prevent driver cherry picking , which is not only bad for business but bad for other drivers. You might be a perfectly honest person and want to know the destination merely for scheduling issues not for cherry-picking issues but if destinations are given, then the privilege will be abused, that's why it's not done.


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## BWC38 (Jun 25, 2016)

People keep talking about cherry picking, but why is that a bad thing. Gas, oil changes, car washes, car repairs, maintenance, insurance, etc. all that comes out the drivers pockets, not Ubers. If they paid for half of those things, unknown destinations wouldn't be such a big deal because they are helping with the cost of doing business, but they pay nothing aside from discounts that don't help much at all


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

BWC38 said:


> People keep talking about cherry picking, but why is that a bad thing. Gas, oil changes, car washes, car repairs, maintenance, insurance, etc. all that comes out the drivers pockets, not Ubers. If they paid for half of those things, unknown destinations wouldn't be such a big deal because they are helping with the cost of doing business, but they pay nothing aside from discounts that don't help much at all


Exactly right. Cherrypicking is good for both the driver and the customer. Ubertools will never recognize this, but it is what it is. If Uber were truly a technology company, it could and would solve the problem of matching drivers and customers who are both happy to go where the customer wants to go for a rate the customer is willing to pay.

But Uber really isn't a technology company. By acknowledging that it lacks the intellectual muscle to solve this problem, it is admitting that it is just another cab service that must hide information from its drivers like all the other cab services do. LOL.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

BWC38 said:


> People keep talking about cherry picking, but why is that a bad thing. Gas, oil changes, car washes, car repairs, maintenance, insurance, etc. all that comes out the drivers pockets, not Ubers. If they paid for half of those things, unknown destinations wouldn't be such a big deal because they are helping with the cost of doing business, but they pay nothing aside from discounts that don't help much at all


Your complaint is relevant only to the rate being so low, that's a whole other issue.

In the meantime....

Cherry picking is a bad policy if allowed for two reasons:

1. it results in poorer service, overall ( not in every case, but in the aggregate ).
2. Image a bowl full of dull fruit, with a few cherries in it, and someone picks the cherries them leaving you with the dregs in the bowl, would you like that guy? I wouldn't. Do unto others.........etc. Cherry picking steals a good ride from the next driver who should have gotten it, that next driver could be YOU. This is why NO taxi company allows it ( not any one of the dozen companies I have ever worked for, allowed it. ). If there is no cherry picking, then by averages you have just as good of a chance as anyone else to have a decent week. If EVERYONE cherry picks, then riders suffer, and stop calling Uber, and if they stop calling Uber, that hurts everyone, including YOU. In other words, you are crapping in your own back yard when you cherry pick.

Here's another fact for you I learned from years of being in the on-demand transportation business: drivers who strategize for quantity of rides make more money than those who strategize for quality of rides --- but it will only be true if the cherries are not stolen unfairly from the bowl.


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## Rat (Mar 6, 2016)

Oscar Levant said:


> Cherry picking is a bad policy if allowed for two reasons:
> 
> 1. it results in poorer service, overall ( not in every case, but in the aggregate ).
> 2. Image a bowl full of dull fruit, with a few cherries in it, and someone picks the cherries them leaving you with the dregs in the bowl, would you like that guy? I wouldn't. Do unto others.........etc. Cherry picking steals a good ride from the next driver who should have gotten it, that next driver could be YOU. This is why NO taxi company allows it ( not any one of the dozen companies I have ever worked for, allowed it. ). If there is no cherry picking, then by averages you have just as good of a chance as anyone else to have a decent week. If EVERYONE cherry picks, then riders suffer, and stop calling Uber, and if they stop calling Uber, that hurts everyone, including YOU. In other words, you are crapping in your own back yard when you cherry pick.


I've worked for three differant cab companies and they all let the dispatchers cherry pick who got what ride. I was the benificiary at one company and made out like a bandit, until that dispatcher had to leave for health reasons.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Rat said:


> I've worked for three differant cab companies and they all let the dispatchers cherry pick who got what ride. I was the benificiary at one company and made out like a bandit, until that dispatcher had to leave for health reasons.


Yeah, that kind of crap can happen, but as more and more taxi companies go digital, it's happening a lot less. I worked for Red and white taxi in L.A during the 70s, and one of the dispatchers was caught feeding a particular driver, one of his buds, and when management found out, they fired him. I doubt this type of thing is approved of by taxi company management.


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## UberHammer (Dec 5, 2014)

Oscar Levant said:


> Your complaint is relevant only to the rate being so low, that's a whole other issue.
> 
> In the meantime....
> 
> ...


You are completely leaving out the fact that drivers are buying leads from Uber. If you were buying bowls of fruit, would you let them give you bowls of fruit filled with pieces of shit in it? Let alone let them tell you not to cherry pick so you don't have to eat the shit?

The fact of the matter is Uber's selection of what is and is not a good lead has absolutely ZERO accountability. If they decide a good lead is one that is 50 miles away, the only way for drivers to hold Uber accountable to such shitty leads is to NOT accept them... which of course is called "cherry picking" and discouraged. Understand?


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## CrazyT (Jul 2, 2016)

I've seen drivers at the airports who call all the riders or text them to ask about destination, and then cancelling the ride if it's not to their liking. I watched one guy do this 9 times in a row. Many ruders are getting pretty ticked off when their ride gets cancelled a few times before someone shows up to get them. The guys doing it say the short rides don't pay them enough to do them. I point out it could put you in position for more, but they don't care. So ill do 4 short runs from the airport and back before they take 1. And they wonder why they can't make money.


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## Rat (Mar 6, 2016)

Oscar Levant said:


> Yeah, that kind of crap can happen, but as more and more taxi companies go digital, it's happening a lot less. I worked for Red and white taxi in L.A during the 70s, and one of the dispatchers was caught feeding a particular driver, one of his buds, and when management found out, they fired him. I doubt this type of thing is approved of by taxi company management.


Management is well aware and condones and sometimes instigates it. Gator City Taxi in Jacksonville would siphon off airport runs asking for taxis and put them in "limos"(vans). I had a bootleg radio that would pick up the limo channel and stole those runs back all the time. Pax hopped right in because they were expecting a taxi, not a van. I got caught several times, but I would tell dispatcher (over the taxi channel) the passenger said he called for a taxi but dispatch must have forgotten to put the call out.


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## BWC38 (Jun 25, 2016)

Oscar Levant said:


> Your complaint is relevant only to the rate being so low, that's a whole other issue..


Not really. Rates are supposed to be low. That's the appeal. Half the price of a taxi or more than half unless demand goes up (surge). Uber would just be a standard taxi company with a few differences if they had similar rates. That's why Uber is stealing so many customers and that's why they are gaining so much more customers. Uber is labeled as rideshare. It's not like a traditional taxi. Uber should show us "partners" dropoff destination so we the driver can decide if we want to take it.

Drivers working incentives wouldn't decline short rides because they are still relying on acceptance rate to get said incentives. So anyone saying drivers would decline short rides are simply wrong

The rider shouldn't even be informed of a driver accepting and agreeing to pick them up until driver has seen address and decided they want the ride. This helps driver with scheduling and makes it overall fair. If no driver is willing to take the ride, either a surge needs to be set, or the rider can just call a taxi and still end up paying more anyway. Some drivers would want a long ride at times for a big earning. Other times, they will want to remain local because that's what they prefer, they have somewhere to be, WHATEVER

This is the ideal part time job according to Uber. Yet, if I say "I only want to work 4 hours today before class/my full time job", yet, I get a long 90 minute ride out of my way when I have to be at work in a few hours, I will be late for work unless I tell pax I can't take them once they are already in the car expecting this ride. Horrible experience for both.

Uber needs to make up their mind. If they want to treat me as an employee (especially with this hourly guarantee BS which has screwed me over at least 8 separate occasions where I made very little, now to the point I only work outside of them), they by law should have to pay for maintaining the upkeep of my car.

I have been texting all pax dropoff location (not exact address) before I even move to pick up. If they don't respond within a few minutes, I cancel and wait for next ping. If they respond with a place I don't want to go for personal reasons, I cancel. I should have that right. If I get complaints and threats of deactivation, so be it.

I work in DC. The reward Zone is mainly DC. I live just outside of DC in south MD. I can usually get back home from most parts of DC within half an hour. If I am working DC and get a ping going deep into VA, far from where I live, I am only willing to take that if surge is high, then make my way home using set a destination feature as we get to use that only twice a day. If I have no more of those left, why should I be left in the dark?. Why only 2?

Uber drivers are all over the place, have different motivations when it comes to the rides they want, and live all over the place. A pax in most cases would eventually get paired with a driver that WANTS the ride, not forced. Everyone is happy. This is just Uber being extreme control freaks.

Same with pool rides. Now you can't even decline a pool ride and are forced to use Uber partner app GPS. Because of that, I am completely done with pool rides.

Usually after a Long ride out of where I want to be with high surge, I made enough for one day, so it's worth it, and I am cool with the large fare. Other than that, no way. Taking a ride like that with no surge would be dumb, because VA doesn't surge nearly as often as DC. Why should I set myself up for failure just to make a rider I don't know happy?.

After a ride like that, I would be desperately trying to make my way back to DC or home. VA surges appear random if anything compared to DC. You would have a bad day working that area all day. With the reward zone, Uber is basically saying "these are the busy areas, work here", so why wouldn't I?

As an independent contractor that pays for everything to do business, I should be able to choose what rides I am willing to take. Not be forced into any given ride. The fact that they showed the address, but now don't is pathetic. Funny how there was no protest, but I bet most didn't even know you could view dropoff address on the waybill.

Uber don't pay for dead miles. If I have to drop off pax in an area that don't have much business, that leaves me in a tough spot. Driving way out of the reward zone doesn't benefit me, it hurts me. They shouldn't have a stupid reward zone either if they want pax to take all rides no matter where the dropoff is unless they pay to get you back in that reward zone or change the business model completely. Too many flaws with Uber


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

BWC38 said:


> Not really. Rates are supposed to be low. That's the appeal. Half the price of a taxi or more than half unless demand goes up (surge). Uber would just be a standard taxi company with a few differences if they had similar rates. That's why Uber is stealing so many customers and that's why they are gaining so much more customers. Uber is labeled as rideshare. It's not like a traditional taxi. Uber should show us "partners" dropoff destination so we the driver can decide if we want to take it.
> 
> Drivers working incentives wouldn't decline short rides because they are still relying on acceptance rate to get said incentives. So anyone saying drivers would decline short rides are simply wrong
> 
> ...


Bravo! This post is right on the money.


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## French Angel (Jul 19, 2016)

RedDragonQueen said:


> I agree. My husband does uber as well and got a call 20 minutes away and only had to drive them less than a mile.


That's why I will not answer a ride more than 7 mins away!


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## BWC38 (Jun 25, 2016)

French Angel said:


> That's why I will not answer a ride more than 7 mins away!


I would call and ask where they are going. If it's worth it, I would pick them up. May even get a possible tip for driving a long distance to pick them up (with Uber, wouldn't expect it though). People shouldn't be scared of contacting the riders. Now I do it before every ride


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

BWC38 said:


> Not really.
> 
> Rates are supposed to be low.
> 
> ...


There is no such thing as "supposed to" insofar as prices.

Uber's rate isn't sufficient to compensate drivers for use of their vehicles, a scenario which, in my view, is the issue, not destination foreknowledge.

Complain all you want, but I've been in the on-demand transportation biz since the 70s, it's not going to happen, and the reason is cherry-picking, and cherry picking is bad for business, in the long run, and that trumps all your arguments for. Sure, I wouldn't mind knowing
the destination, but I understand why Uber doesn't give it out, nor do any on-demand transportation do this.

Rideshare model is a flawed concept. Either you set out to work, or you do your "things to do" list. You really can't do both in a day, not that well. that's how I approach it, I only work when I am able to put in a full shift. If I have to do something, I do Uber AFTER I do what I have to do, not before. Destination foreknowledge would be nice, but's it's just a bad business policy, which is why they don't do it.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Rat said:


> Management is well aware and condones and sometimes instigates it. Gator City Taxi in Jacksonville would siphon off airport runs asking for taxis and put them in "limos"(vans). I had a bootleg radio that would pick up the limo channel and stole those runs back all the time. Pax hopped right in because they were expecting a taxi, not a van. I got caught several times, but I would tell dispatcher (over the taxi channel) the passenger said he called for a taxi but dispatch must have forgotten to put the call out.


With more companies switching to digital transmission, scooping other driver's trips via a scanner or eavesdropping device is becoming history.
Any company that condones dispatch feeding I would quit working for.


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## BWC38 (Jun 25, 2016)

Oscar Levant said:


> There is no such thing as "supposed to" insofar as prices.
> 
> Uber's rate isn't sufficient to compensate drivers for use of their vehicles, a scenario which, in my view, is the issue, not destination foreknowledge.
> 
> ...





Oscar Levant said:


> There is no such thing as "supposed to" insofar as prices.
> 
> Uber's rate isn't sufficient to compensate drivers for use of their vehicles, a scenario which, in my view, is the issue, not destination foreknowledge.
> 
> ...


you didn't trump anything I said. Prices are the way they are to give riders an affordable ride. They openly talk about affordable prices. So unless something changed, I am right. I am not mad at that. Taxi prices are ridiculous. I already negated the cherry picking argument if you actually read everything. If you want to debate that, quote that specific part of my comment. Otherwise, what I say must still be valid. I am open to being proven wrong


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

BWC38 said:


> you didn't trump anything I said. Prices are the way they are to give riders an affordable ride. They openly talk about affordable prices. So unless something changed, I am right. I am not mad at that. Taxi prices are ridiculous. I already negated the cherry picking argument if you actually read everything. If you want to debate that, quote that specific part of my comment. Otherwise, what I say must still be valid. I am open to being proven wrong


I stand by my statement with years of experience to back me up. As for taxi prices, heck, even they are not high enough. 
In San Diego most taxis are $2.80 a mile. That's not enough in this town. As an UberSUV driver, we are $15 on the drop, $4.30 a mile, and now we're talkin' profitable, also, we have a $25 minimum. No one complains, people pay it without blinking an eye. If they do, then they call UberX, and I don't want those customers, they are all cheapskates.

Work on the cheap all you want, but if you do then you are are living in crying-in-your-beer town.

It's your choice, I can't help you if you don't see it.

Sorry, but there it is.


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## BWC38 (Jun 25, 2016)

Oscar Levant said:


> I stand by my statement with years of experience to back me up. As for taxi prices, heck, even they are not high enough.
> In San Diego most taxis are $2.80 a mile. That's not enough in this town. As an UberSUV driver, we are $15 on the drop, $4.30 a mile, and now we're talkin' profitable, also, we have a $25 minimum. No one complains, people pay it without blinking an eye. If they do, then they call UberX, and I don't want those customers, they are all cheapskates.
> 
> Work on the cheap all you want, but if you do then you are are living in crying-in-your-beer town.
> ...


You can't compare a regular taxi ride to Uber SUV. UberX prices are at least half the price of a taxi. I don't see how only taking rides that benefit me are anything but a positive. This job is based on the rides. You don't get paid for time. If I have to wait it out to get the ride that best benefits me, so be it.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Oscar Levant said:


> From the owner's point of view it's not insane at all it's good business to prevent driver cherry picking , which is not only bad for business but bad for other drivers.


"From the owner's point of view..."?

According to Uber, WE ARE the business owners. Uber is just providing an app...


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

Fuzzyelvis said:


> "From the owner's point of view..."?
> 
> According to Uber, WE ARE the business owners. Uber is just providing an app...


Oh, now you've done it . . .


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## BWC38 (Jun 25, 2016)

So last night I was working in DC within the reward zone, when I get a ping. 1.5 surge. I text pax dropoff location. He says Baltimore near BWI. I decided to take the ride which ended up being like a 45 minute, 32 mile ride. I ended up making $45 after Ubers cut. Imagine that number without surge, smh. Pathetic.

Pax almost never tip. Uber clearly states it's not neccessary, so based on that alone, we should have freedom of knowing address before hand because pax are getting the most affordable taxi ride in town without the need or expectation to tip a dime

I parked in a hotel parking lot that I dropped pax off at. I then use the set a destination feature so it could give me rides headed back to the DC reward zone (I am not working incentives right now but that's still the area with the most business and surge). I sat in my car for SIX HOURS without a single ping. I turn set a destination off out of frustration, so that it can search for regular rides. Half an hour, nothing. I then go to get something to eat, driving about 5 miles away from hotel, STILL online, no ping.

Even when I drive the 22 miles home, because at that point I was too pissed to continue working, STILL no ping to get back to DC and they kept displaying this stupid message like every 10 or so minutes stating "You have been logged online for a long time with no activity, would you like to stay online", LMFAO. Of course I want to stay online stupid Uber system. I am trying to get a ride to my set destination, DUH

Basically taking that ride, I set up my own failure. This just further supports everything I said in an earlier post. Taking certain rides does not benefit the rider. I only ended up making about $89 for the day, but it could and SHOULD of easily been double that amount If I "cherry picked" more accurately.

I was relying on the set a destination to get me back to DC before early morning surge and it failed me. Why should I be forced to drive to an area where I won't recive any pings, and I am so many miles away from my home?. I had to drive back home 22 dead miles when I should of been paid those 22 miles and then some with the stupid set a destination feature. Never going on that side of town again.

I was logged online a good 11 hours. Half that time was spent doing nothing. I will continue my strategy of texting pax before pickup and decline ride if no response or the location will potentially lead to a loss/bad night. I don't see how they can punish the drivers for doing this when we have to cover any and all cost to conduct business

Uber is flawed and they need to make a lot of improvements. They go all out to satisfy pax but seem to look at us drivers as disposable. I can't even get a ride during hourly gurantees and they have not done a thing to help me after 4 visits telling them about the issue.

Even if I could, I refuse to do pool rides after the dumb changes they made with it. So basically I can't work hourly because my acceptance would be too low after declining all the flooding pool request. Acceptance rate and cancellations should only matter with partners on incentives. A driver like me that's not working incentives shouldn't have to worry about maintaining either of those rates.

Unless it's a minimum 2.0 surge or close, maybe 1.8 being my bottom number, and I am ready to call it a night anyway, I am never putting myself in that situation again. Uber can kiss my ass if they take issue with it.


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## JapanFour (Mar 8, 2016)

this is why you dont take pingss farther than 7-10 mins away.


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## phillipzx3 (May 26, 2015)

BWC38 said:


> Not really. Rates are supposed to be low. That's the appeal. Half the price of a taxi or more than half unless demand goes up (surge). Uber would just be a standard taxi company with a few differences if they had similar rates. That's why Uber is stealing so many customers and that's why they are gaining so much more customers. Uber is labeled as rideshare. It's not like a traditional taxi. Uber should show us "partners" dropoff destination so we the driver can decide if we want to take it.
> 
> Drivers working incentives wouldn't decline short rides because they are still relying on acceptance rate to get said incentives. So anyone saying drivers would decline short rides are simply wrong
> 
> ...


As an "independent contractor," just turn their app off. Then you have 100% control over the trips you want to service. ;-)


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## AnotherCapeDriver (Jul 22, 2016)

Brand new to this so if this has been discussed before, be gentle.

What happens if you don't close the ride until you get home? If a rider wants to go somewhere where you don't want to go because you don't get paid for driving back, why not just leave the ride open until you get back? If you informed the rider that these are your terms for taking the ride, they can accept the terms or cancel.


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## luvgurl22 (Jul 5, 2016)

insertgenericusername said:


> What if you can only drive for an hour or two and get an airport request? What if you don't want to drive 10 minutes away to take somebody less than a mile and make the minimum fare? What if....etc.
> 
> What a joke!


Lol.Cos none of us would show up for most requests if it did


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