# Why do riders use Uber Select?



## Lnsky (Jan 2, 2016)

I understand it for date nights or for business travelers but why do some single passengers use Uber select?

What is the benefit other than a slightly nicer car? Is it perhaps a better driver? I mean if you are going five miles and not rich what is the incentive?


----------



## Bob Reynolds (Dec 20, 2014)

Sometimes the app just defaults to Uber Select and they don't know any better.

Others have had unpleasant experiences with UberX and they feel they get a better ride with Uber Select.


----------



## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

It's not a slightly nicer car. It's a much nicer car. You may get a car that is better than UberBlack for essentially half the price.

You can do UberX with a 2005 Chevy Aveo or some other econobox. I am frequently complimented on my car and also hear LOTS of complaints about how shitty some other cars are. I always explain how Uber rates are too low to justify a nice car and that's why I only drive surge and that they can't really blame the full time UberX drivers for using beaters.


----------



## uberguuber (Feb 23, 2015)

what he said


----------



## Lnsky (Jan 2, 2016)

Slon said:


> It's not a slightly nicer car. It's a much nicer car. You may get a car that is better than UberBlack for essentially half the price.
> 
> You can do UberX with a 2005 Chevy Aveo or some other econobox. I am frequently complimented on my car and also hear LOTS of complaints about how shitty some other cars are. I always explain how Uber rates are too low to justify a nice car and that's why I only drive surge and that they can't really blame the full time UberX drivers for using beaters.


Well yeah I drive on both platforms as do many. And x people always compliment my car but I see a lot of Select cars pickup X pax because in my city you can't choose which platform. So they basicay get a select at X costs a lot.

If you are going 2 miles I don't see why it matters. But I do avoid certain areas of town in x because the people that get in haven't showered or smell like smoke which punishes my next rider and me.


----------



## RobGM84 (Oct 26, 2015)

I operate as both a rider and a driver so I guess I can lend that perspective.

1) uberselect is guaranteed to be a decent car with a high rated driver (minimum is 4.8 with 100+ rides I believe). This ensures I won't get some brand new driver that can't get me where I am going. This is worth it to me sometimes as I have had a few very bad drivers and some very suspect cars.

2) select surge is independent of X surge. Often X will be at 2x surge and select (or black) will have no surge. I think at that point the choice to upgrade is a no brainier.

3) at current rates the difference in price between X and select is nearly trivial for most riders. Most would barely notice the difference between a $11 fare and a $5 one especially when splitting between multiple riders. This highlights the futility of Ubers constant race to the bottom. They can clearly charge more and make more without reducing ridership.


----------



## SteveNBham (Dec 30, 2015)

Lnsky said:


> I understand it for date nights or for business travelers but why do some single passengers use Uber select?
> 
> What is the benefit other than a slightly nicer car? Is it perhaps a better driver? I mean if you are going five miles and not rich what is the incentive?


I am a bigger guy and won't ride in a small car.


----------



## Chariotawaits (Nov 17, 2015)

I have clients in Nashville in the music industry that use Select for their every day running around and then Uber Black for the CMAs and other special events. They can afford it and have expressed that they avoid X surge by using Select only and appreciate the nicer cars. Here in Nashville, the first and last time I saw surge on Select was NYE. I had folks pick select on NYE after midnight because that was the only way to get a ride.

I drive both X and Select as I have an Altima with the Black Leather interior and premium sound system. Most of my Select rides are business folks on expense accounts, to and from Airport or from Hotel on night out to Honky Tonk's etc. Select rides have saved my daily earnings many a time. If you have the ratings and the car to do both X and Select, it is the way to go.


----------



## SECOTIME (Sep 18, 2015)

Uberx is the $1.00 mcdouble

Select is the 1/4 lb'r with cheese

You only eat the mcdouble if you're damn near broke.


----------



## Chariotawaits (Nov 17, 2015)

In most cities now a mile on X won't even get you to the $1 McDouble... Minimum ride fee, I forgot....


----------



## R44KDEN (Jul 7, 2015)

In Denver, you can now choose to do Select only, which I run. I might only do 2-3 Select rides a week and only from DIA. I had a CU college kid use Select from the airport to Boulder the other day. But you could not live off Select trips - because there simply arent enough trip requests.


----------



## ColdRider (Oct 19, 2015)

Some of us don't want to be crammed in a ten year old civic or sentra


----------



## maui (Dec 22, 2015)

Lnsky said:


> I understand it for date nights or for business travelers but why do some single passengers use Uber select?
> 
> What is the benefit other than a slightly nicer car? Is it perhaps a better driver? I mean if you are going five miles and not rich what is the incentive?


I can't see why anyone would pay $12 for a Angus burger at a restaurant when you can get a cheeseburger at McDonalds for $1.

I would LOVE to drive Select. Boston currently has blacklisted all new Black Divers for over a year. My car Infiniti G37x would not qualify as it is white, but would qualify for Select in most cities I have seen.

My UberX passengers generally LOVE my car, the feedback I have heard from a few who generally ride UberBlack is it is just as nice as those and when they ask why I am not driving for Black, some don't know the car has to be Black on Black. Go figure.

Feedback I get on Pax who comment is that UberX is for the most part a step above cabs, cars are small, most drivers barely speak English - the general impression in Boston at least, is UberX is really now the immigrant cab driver.

General feedback I saw when researching Select vs UberX is Select gets business, upscale, or splurge who are looking for a nicer date ride for an evening.


----------



## RobGM84 (Oct 26, 2015)

R44KDEN said:


> In Denver, you can now choose to do Select only, which I run. I might only do 2-3 Select rides a week and only from DIA. I had a CU college kid use Select from the airport to Boulder the other day. But you could not live off Select trips - because there simply arent enough trip requests.


not that you could live off UberX at current rates anyway 

That said, Lyft+UberSELECT is a nice compromise so far. It also gives me the opportunity to upsell Lyft riders to UberSELECT with my promo code.


----------



## Lnsky (Jan 2, 2016)

RobGM84 said:


> not that you could live off UberX at current rates anyway
> 
> That said, Lyft+UberSELECT is a nice compromise so far. It also gives me the opportunity to upsell Lyft riders to UberSELECT with my promo code.


Wow I'm pretty sure lyft will cut you off if they find out you are doing that.


----------



## RobGM84 (Oct 26, 2015)

Lnsky said:


> Wow I'm pretty sure lyft will cut you off if they find out you are doing that.


If they find out that I am passing out business cards that have my information as well as my Turo, Uber, and Lyft promo codes on them? I highly doubt it. There is a difference between pushing it and introducing it during the conversation with the pax.

Number one thing I hear "wow, nice car...this is like Lyft-Black"

Number two thing "so, do how long have you been driving for Lyft"

Natural conversation with every pax "yeah, this is part-time outside my regular job. I generally only drive when my cars aren't rented on Turo. I drive for both Lyft and UberSELECT"

pax: "Turo? UberSELECT?

me: "UberSELECT is uber but with 100% nice cars like this one. Turo lets you rent this car and drive it yourself. Here's a card if you want to check it out sometime"

since i normally drive the pax to the bar and not the other way...guess what they are thinking for that ride home?


----------



## Emmanuel12 (Jan 6, 2016)

I have no idea why anyone would Uberselect when same exact car doing UberX. I request UberX if its an Aveo I cancel until I get a 2015 Camry


----------



## ADefaultUser (Nov 11, 2015)

Left a major concert in SF, pulled up a select no surge no wait. Up came a nice new Avalon that was recently cleaned.


Based on my recent X experiences, I will only ride Select from now on. Quadruple bonus points cuz I get someone that is generally not wanting to commit suicide at any given moment, like most X drivers on this forum.


----------



## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

Emmanuel12 said:


> I have no idea why anyone would Uberselect when same exact car doing UberX. I request UberX if its an Aveo I cancel until I get a 2015 Camry


If a Camry is your idea of a nice ride, then you are not the target demographic at whom UberSelect is aimed.


----------



## Emmanuel12 (Jan 6, 2016)

You didn't get my point. Why pay Uberselect money when I can get Uberselect and pay Uberx money. Same car doing select are required to accept X in some market. In some market you will fall into starvation if you don't accept X with a Select car.


----------



## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

Emmanuel12 said:


> You didn't get my point. Why pay Uberselect money when I can get Uberselect and pay Uberx money. Same car doing select are required to accept X in some market. In some market you will fall into starvation if you don't accept X with a Select car.


Once again, the target demographic for UberSelect isn't going to bother weeding through UberX jalopies to finally get a hungry Select driver. They'll just request an UberSelect and pay the extra few $$$.

Your argument is basically "I don't understand why people buy fresh steak, you can get a rotten steak out of the trash for free and cut away the rotten bits!" You're not wrong, but it's not what most people will do.


----------



## R44KDEN (Jul 7, 2015)

Emmanuel12 said:


> You didn't get my point. Why pay Uberselect money when I can get Uberselect and pay Uberx money. Same car doing select are required to accept X in some market. In some market you will fall into starvation if you don't accept X with a Select car.


If you're like me, I only have Select active (on my X account). I can only receive Select pings. While some people might do what you suggest above (and good luck to you/them) all the people I pick up chose "Select" right off the bat.


----------



## GainesvilleGuy (Dec 30, 2015)

You are right Emmanuel, My vehicle is classified as Select but because where I live there is low activity I still get the Uberx requests...and If I don't accept it counts against me. No win situation. The only thing good about the Select rides I have...most of them have been long distance (45 minutes or longer), so what I make on those is like doing 10-12 regular Uberx trips.


----------



## GainesvilleGuy (Dec 30, 2015)

R44KDEN said:


> If you're like me, I only have Select active (on my X account). I can only receive Select pings. While some people might do what you suggest above (and good luck to you/them) all the people I pick up chose "Select" right off the bat.


I had talked to Uber twice so far about wanting only "Select", and both times was told it is set to only Select..however I am still getting pinged for Uberx.


----------



## Davetripd (Dec 14, 2015)

In addition to the others posts It's still cheaper than a cab


----------



## SumGuy (Jul 29, 2015)

SECOTIME said:


> Uberx is the $1.00 mcdouble
> 
> Select is the 1/4 lb'r with cheese
> 
> You only eat the mcdouble if you're damn near broke.


Mmmmm. McDoubles...


----------



## SECOTIME (Sep 18, 2015)

I've had one before. It gave me gas for 45 minutes.


----------



## SumGuy (Jul 29, 2015)

At least you were able to entertain the pax.


----------



## Aga Muhlach (Jan 8, 2016)

Emmanuel12 said:


> I have no idea why anyone would Uberselect when same exact car doing UberX. I request UberX if its an Aveo I cancel until I get a 2015 Camry


I always wondered why riders cancel on me. A few months ago at a local bar, I had some guy cancelled on me twice. After the 3rd request, I texted "Do you want the ride or not?"


----------



## wk1102 (Dec 25, 2015)

maui said:


> I can't see why anyone would pay $12 for a Angus burger at a restaurant when you can get a cheeseburger at McDonalds for $1.


I only eat at McDonald's because they are not allowed to accept tips. :/


----------



## wk1102 (Dec 25, 2015)

SECOTIME said:


> I've had one before. It gave me gas for 45 minutes.


45 minutes? You got ripped off... I get 2-3 hours worth per McDouble


----------

