# 40-50% acceptance rate is OK



## Almost done (Apr 13, 2015)

First time poster, long-time driver here (13 months). Just wanted to dispel any worries about maintaining a high pax acceptance rate. 

I have been averaging under 50% for months. I only take rides that are less than 5 min away from me and/or surge. 

Happy to discuss other tips to help boost earnings


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## jiwagon (Feb 19, 2015)

60 hours x 41 an hour = $2,460 is that how much in fares you did last week?


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## Almost done (Apr 13, 2015)

My weekly net pay is around $2k. I live and work in SF, which is probably the best city to do Uber given the population density and small area.


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

Special exceptions are made for 60+ hour drivers??

I get hate-texts when I don't accept 80% of the pings.


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## bilyvh (Feb 4, 2015)

You must be one of those .01% of Uber drivers that truly make $100K a year. Congrats dude you deserve it.


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## Almost done (Apr 13, 2015)

Nope. I used to get those texts as well because I have always been below 70%, but I unsubscribed from all unsolicited texts from Uber.


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## Scenicruiser (Oct 17, 2014)

I would feel neglected without my weekly hate text


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## Casandria (Dec 20, 2014)

Uber San Antonio actually sent out this text yesterday "Demand is light, but so few cars online, ETAs are bad. If you're available and running errands or hanging out, try getting online to snag some trips."

I guess enough people wised up and realized all the dead miles with no chance of a return trip. There's still a few cars on the app, but maybe 20 in the whole city.


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## Almost done (Apr 13, 2015)

bilyvh said:


> You must be one of those .01% of Uber drivers that truly make $100K a year. Congrats dude you deserve it.


Not quite, but my cost base is probably 1.5-3.0 times higher than the average driver.


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## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

Uber in Denver just emailed that winter guarantees were over! I am happy about this, as I hope to see even fewer cars on Uber and more riders using Lyft (which has a higher rate here) because the wait times for Ubers are too high.


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## UBERxGc (Feb 8, 2015)

Proof being picky about rides pays off! **** acceptance rates.. Happy for you mate.

Try this little trick. Accept the ride (that you don't want) then cancel and choose 'Other" as the reason. But do it as fast as you can. 

I read that tip on this forum and tried it this past week. I'm pretty sure it worked (at least most of the time as my acceptance rate was 95% highest ever).

This trick also helps you be available for other pings faster since you do it in a few seconds rather than wait 15 seconds.


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## Almost done (Apr 13, 2015)

Thanks. I hope my post increases awareness that you don't have to accept all the ride requests, and helps drivers make more money. 

I'm going to be hopefully quitting for good in about 2 months after which I will reveal some tips on how to boost hourly rates.


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## Yankee (Feb 22, 2015)

Casandria said:


> Uber San Antonio actually sent out this text yesterday "Demand is light, but so few cars online, ETAs are bad. If you're available and running errands or hanging out, try getting online to snag some trips."
> 
> I guess enough people wised up and realized all the dead miles with no chance of a return trip. There's still a few cars on the app, but maybe 20 in the whole city.


Hi Casandria, I thought San Antonio k/o'd Uber? Was that a false report?


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## Casandria (Dec 20, 2014)

Yankee the city proper did, but they can still operate in the municipalities. Anyone still driving here is dumber than dumb. You can pick up in Alamo Heights and drop off downtown, but you will have to get back to Alamo Heights before you can pick up again.


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## Yankee (Feb 22, 2015)

Casandria said:


> Yankee the city proper did, but they can still operate in the municipalities. Anyone still driving here is dumber than dumb. You can pick up in Alamo Heights and drop off downtown, but you will have to get back to Alamo Heights before you can pick up again.


Wow! Yeah, I noticed that once it was k/o'd of San Antonion, there's a lot less business here in Austin. I figure people are coming in to work. I can't believe Uber is still trying to operate in a city they've been booted from.


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## OCBob (Jan 20, 2015)

UBERxGc said:


> Proof being picky about rides pays off! **** acceptance rates.. Happy for you mate.
> 
> Try this little trick. Accept the ride (that you don't want) then cancel and choose 'Other" as the reason. But do it as fast as you can.
> 
> ...


That might be great to test out. I actually rejected a few calls and somehow it didn't register with UBER and I think I had a 97% when I should have had about 91%.


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## Casandria (Dec 20, 2014)

Yankee yeah, a lot of people have been going up there which I also think is pointless because unless you have a place to stay, you're never going to make enough to cover the cost of gas to get there and back and even a cheap hotel room. We're beyond desperate right now, but there is no way to make money driving for Uber here or in Austin if you don't already live there so I can't figure out why anyone is still trying. It was borderline before, but now there is no profit margin (even discounting vehicle maintenance or depreciation) no matter how you do the math.


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## OCBob (Jan 20, 2015)

Casandria said:


> Yankee yeah, a lot of people have been going up there which I also think is pointless because unless you have a place to stay, you're never going to make enough to cover the cost of gas to get there and back and even a cheap hotel room. We're beyond desperate right now, but there is no way to make money driving for Uber here or in Austin if you don't already live there so I can't figure out why anyone is still trying. It was borderline before, but now there is no profit margin (even discounting vehicle maintenance or depreciation) no matter how you do the math.


Can you set up ride share through Craigslist until you get a nice list of people that can text or email you for rides? I figure you can go in with a few people on an app.


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## Casandria (Dec 20, 2014)

OCBob I can't physically drive at the moment because I have a hernia. John will be working very soon, we just have to get through this month.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

how are you averaging $40/hour at these rates?

i cant put in 60 hours though

how can you make 2 grand a week at current Uber rates?

and although they havent said anything to you, surely Uber says/emails other people that have low acceptance rates


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## 1derfulnow (Jan 13, 2015)

I've been averaging 30-50 percent acceptance rates in OKC for two months. I got one "notice" from Uber that I'm far below my peers (90 percent). I emailed Uber and stated that I would not accept rides beyond a 5 minute ETA and got a standard response about customer expectations and that I should not turn on the app unless I was going to accept all rides. That was more than a month ago. My acceptance last week was 30 percent...and I've heard nothing further from Uber. Gotta have standards...you're here to make money for yourself, not Uber.


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## Yankee (Feb 22, 2015)

A


1derfulnow said:


> I've been averaging 30-50 percent acceptance rates in OKC for two months. I got one "notice" from Uber that I'm far below my peers (90 percent). I emailed Uber and stated that I would not accept rides beyond a 5 minute ETA and got a standard response about customer expectations and that I should not turn on the app unless I was going to accept all rides. That was more than a month ago. My acceptance last week was 30 percent...and I've heard nothing further from Uber. Gotta have standards...you're here to make money for yourself, not Uber.


AMEN!!!


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

1derfulnow said:


> I've been averaging 30-50 percent acceptance rates in OKC for two months. I got one "notice" from Uber that I'm far below my peers (90 percent). I emailed Uber and stated that I would not accept rides beyond a 5 minute ETA and got a standard response about customer expectations and that I should not turn on the app unless I was going to accept all rides. That was more than a month ago. My acceptance last week was 30 percent...and I've heard nothing further from Uber. Gotta have standards...you're here to make money for yourself, not Uber.


its not about standards, i doubt anyone WANTS to take a ping thats 45min away, i doubt anyone WANTS to take a ping outside of the current surge area they are in. Its not about what we want, everybody wants to pick and choose pings,but its about what Uber will ALLOW. Ultimately uber will allow but so much before they fire you.

Deactivate if you want to be particular


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

Almost done said:


> First time poster, long-time driver here (13 months). Just wanted to dispel any worries about maintaining a high pax acceptance rate.
> 
> I have been averaging under 50% for months. I only take rides that are less than 5 min away from me and/or surge.
> 
> Happy to discuss other tips to help boost earnings


It's kind of nonsensical that they should give you any grief. You may have a refusal rate of 50% (compared to 90% for others) or so, but according to your screen shot, you seem to have run twice as many calls as your fellow drivers.

What you are doing is a kind of dispatching. If Uber can set their rates at whatever they want regardless of costs and drivers aren't forced to sign on to the app....... There should be allowance to turn down calls. Clearly, given your number of calls, what you are doing works. That should hint that the typical UberXer is making at best 1/2 of what you are which isn't much for SF working 60 hours a week.

What is UberX per mile in SF?


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

Bart McCoy said:


> its not about standards, i doubt anyone WANTS to take a ping thats 45min away, i doubt anyone WANTS to take a ping outside of the current surge area they are in. Its not about what we want, everybody wants to pick and choose pings,but its about what Uber will ALLOW. Ultimately uber will allow but so much before they fire you.
> 
> Deactivate if you want to be particular


I just went back and looked at his fares/hour. They are only slightly higher than drivers who seem to be running 1/2 the number of calls. Forget the refusal rate, the screen says he is running 2x the number of calls as the drivers with high acceptance rates...... Why is his hourly almost the same? If you are driving 60 hours per week, you aren't chasing surges, you are putting your time in. Not sure I buy what I'm reading on that screen anymore.


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## anOzzieUber (Oct 31, 2014)

Huberis said:


> I just went back and looked at his fares/hour. They are only slightly higher than drivers who seem to be running 1/2 the number of calls. Forget the refusal rate, the screen says he is running 2x the number of calls as the drivers with high acceptance rates...... Why is his hourly almost the same? If you are driving 60 hours per week, you aren't chasing surges, you are putting your time in. Not sure I buy what I'm reading on that screen anymore.


AFAIK none of the figures (top drivers) have anything to do with the others.

So the top drivers did 72 trips, drove 31.7 hours, made $39/hr and accepted 97% of rides. This is not the average of one group of "top drivers". This is four groups, the top drivers by hours, by fares/hr by acceptance rate and by trip driven.

So the top drivers make $39/hr were possibly just part timers doing maybe 10 hours a week and make $39/hr by working the late night Friday & Saturday drunk crowd and getting surge.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

Thank you for the clarification. I assumed the numbers are all relative. What you are describing is another example of Uber Algebra. So basically, what I am reading suggests you are doing better than the typical cherry picker. Just one more example of meaningless Uber statistics to keep a person mindlessly humming along. Given the Uber reality and the fact that your refusal of calls is completely up front and you are being accountable, It is hard not to respect that. Someone isn't doing their job right, or not delivering much if a driver needs to refuse 50% of their assignments to make it work. That shows a lack of dispatching. There is none.


anOzzieUber said:


> AFAIK none of the figures (top drivers) have anything to do with the others.
> 
> So the top drivers did 72 trips, drove 31.7 hours, made $39/hr and accepted 97% of rides. This is not the average of one group of "top drivers". This is four groups, the top drivers by hours, by fares/hr by acceptance rate and by trip driven.
> 
> So the top drivers make $39/hr were possibly just part timers doing maybe 10 hours a week and make $39/hr by working the late night Friday & Saturday drunk crowd and getting surge.


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## ctuber (Feb 2, 2015)

Almost done said:


> First time poster, long-time driver here (13 months). Just wanted to dispel any worries about maintaining a high pax acceptance rate.
> 
> I have been averaging under 50% for months. I only take rides that are less than 5 min away from me and/or surge.
> 
> Happy to discuss other tips to help boost earnings


I can confirm also that acceptance rate has not had any impact from uber for me. Once daytime guarantees were nixed in CT, my acceptance rate has been below 80 for the past month, lowest week has been 34% I believe, haven't had a single text or email from uber about it and am making more $ per week and more trips than I did when I worked the guarantees and accepted every lousy ping, then went and hid. I am picking and choosing high profit rides knowing where they come from with experience and asking destinations at times when I'm unsure. Some pax get upset when I tell them I'm not driving 15 mins to take them 1 mile to train, but I don't give a crap, I am running a business and making use of a platform to serve MY needs first.


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## UberGirlPBC (Jan 18, 2015)

Almost done said:


> First time poster, long-time driver here (13 months). Just wanted to dispel any worries about maintaining a high pax acceptance rate.
> 
> I have been averaging under 50% for months. I only take rides that are less than 5 min away from me and/or surge.
> 
> Happy to discuss other tips to help boost earnings


So, when you ignore, sometimes they keep pinging you and that's how your acceptance rates got so low? I am going to try that other option that UberxGc said. I thought all ignores or cancellation went against you? But then again, it is called acceptance rate, not pick up rate. Got it!


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## Western Warrior (Jan 20, 2015)

Since the last rate cut to .90 cent/mile, my acceptance rate's been below 50% because I refuse to accept less then 1.5x & 5 plus miles away. I've rec'd a dozen warnings but still no deactivation.


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## My Cabby (Dec 2, 2014)

duggles said:


> Uber in Denver just emailed that winter guarantees were over! I am happy about this, as I hope to see even fewer cars on Uber and more riders using Lyft (which has a higher rate here) because the wait times for Ubers are too high.


When I read that I didn't know how to react because Winter is much better profit because of weather. In the Summer many walk, bike and bus in warm weather and less airport delays. Yes, there are tourists but most rent cars. Good thing you pointed out the good for me ...fewer cars much better.


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## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

My Cabby said:


> When I read that I didn't know how to react because Winter is much better profit because of weather. In the Summer many walk, bike and bus in warm weather and less airport delays. Yes, there are tourists but most rent cars. Good thing you pointed out the good for me ...fewer cars much better.


In my experience (driving since last June) winter was only good when in snowed. Otherwise, most nights were dreadfully slow. Whereas summer brought endless events throughout the city stacked on top of each other during a weekend. Last week was great for instance, last Nuggets game, last Avs game, first Rockies games, all happening together for the most part. I was busy and made money. Rockies are out of town this week and everyone else is done for the season, this week has been dead.

The overall demand is tied more to what's happening in the city than it is weather, temperature, or any other random factor like that.


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## Michael - Cleveland (Jan 1, 2015)

UBERxGc said:


> Try this little trick. Accept the ride (that you don't want) then cancel and choose 'Other" as the reason. But do it as fast as you can. I read that tip on this forum and tried it this past week. I'm pretty sure it worked (at least most of the time as my acceptance rate was 95% highest ever).


You're robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Your acceptance rate may show as being higher this way, but your cancellation rate will sky-rocket.
Uber can't do anything to you for choosing not to accept rides - that's your prerogative, per the terms of the Uber Partner Agreement.
But they CAN deactivate you for cancelling on riders all the time.
Be careful about what you're doing.

*The OP is correct: 'acceptance rate' is meaningless to drivers...*
it's only important to Uber because it improves 'quality of service' to the riders.

https://uberpeople.net/threads/account-suspended-for-24hr-due-to-high-cancellation-rate-10.17810/


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## UberGirlPBC (Jan 18, 2015)

Oh


Michael - Cleveland said:


> You're robbing Peter to pay Paul.
> Your acceptance rate may show as being higher this way, but your cancellation rate will sky-rocket.
> Uber can't do anything to you for choosing not to accept rides - that's your prerogative, per the terms of the Uber Partner Agreement.
> But they CAN deactivate you for cancelling on riders all the time.
> ...


Ooohhh chit thanks! I will just ignore rides I think I cannot handle, got it


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## KeJorn (Oct 3, 2014)

$39 - $42 per hr?

sounds nice...


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## BigBUberMaker (Mar 21, 2015)

So . . . .what does that mean that "top driver's" earn per hour in DFW?

If these drivers complete 40 trips in 26.7 hours (40/26.7 = 1.50), that essentially means there is a $1.50 SRF each hour.

$18 fares per hour - $1.50SRF - 20% uber fee = $13.20/hour.

Awful!


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

Yeah that's bad

But not surprising if they are driving for less than $1/mile


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## UBERxGc (Feb 8, 2015)

Michael - Cleveland said:


> You're robbing Peter to pay Paul.
> Your acceptance rate may show as being higher this way, but your cancellation rate will sky-rocket.
> Uber can't do anything to you for choosing not to accept rides - that's your prerogative, per the terms of the Uber Partner Agreement.
> But they CAN deactivate you for cancelling on riders all the time.
> ...


The trips i cancel that way don't show on my statements. Doesn't that mean uber won't know about them? Usually cancelled trips by drivers show on the statement and count towards acceptance rates anyway but not when i do it that way.
Please correct me if i'm wrong.
Also acceptance rate matters when it comes to guaranteed hours. That's the only reason why i'm bothering myself with this trick.


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## Desert Driver (Nov 9, 2014)

duggles said:


> Uber in Denver just emailed that winter guarantees were over! I am happy about this, as I hope to see even fewer cars on Uber and more riders using Lyft (which has a higher rate here) because the wait times for Ubers are too high.


Lyft paxs are so much more fun than Uber paxs, as a general rule.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

UberGirlPBC said:


> So, when you ignore, sometimes they keep pinging you and that's how your acceptance rates got so low? I am going to try that other option that UberxGc said. I thought all ignores or cancellation went against you? But then again, it is called acceptance rate, not pick up rate. Got it!


yeah acceptance rate
but theres also a frowned upon thing by Uber called cancellation rate



UBERxGc said:


> The trips i cancel that way don't show on my statements. Doesn't that mean uber won't know about them? Usually cancelled trips by drivers show on the statement and count towards acceptance rates anyway but not when i do it that way.
> .


they dont show up if you cancel quickly,however
but you hit the cancel button
so there's no reason why Uber would not be sent a notification that you canceled it now right?


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## UBERxGc (Feb 8, 2015)

Bart McCoy said:


> they dont show up if you cancel quickly,however
> but you hit the cancel button
> so there's no reason why Uber would not be sent a notification that you canceled it now right?


Yeah, that made a lot of sense. But it could be a glitch on the system or something. There must be a difference if cancelled quickly and not show on the statement vs cancellations that show. 
Anyway, I'm happy to take my chances since it isn't a job I'd cry if i lose. Also, they will probably send me a warning before deactivation.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

UBERxGc said:


> Yeah, that made a lot of sense. .


let me try to clarify
anybody that knows the least bit of coding/computer programming will agree with me on this
it doesnt matter about latency, all that means is there is a delay, but does NOT mean the signal doesnt travel there
simply meaning, even though there might be a 15 second delay, all that means is that Uber gets sent a signal a lil bit later that you canceled. hitting the cancel button sends the signal
My point is, even though these canceled trips dont show up in your trip list, does NOT mean Uber computers are not notified that you canceled. That would be piss poor programming if it didnt.
Latency or not, Uber is notified that you accepted a ride
and at some point, it is OBVIOUS that it HAS to receive a signal that you canceled, otherwise you would still be on the trip........
Now why folks believe things like accepting and canceling arent logged is beyond me


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## Desert Driver (Nov 9, 2014)

Bart McCoy said:


> let me try to clarify
> anybody that knows the least bit of coding/computer programming will agree with me on this
> it doesnt matter about latency, all that means is there is a delay, but does NOT mean the signal doesnt travel there
> simply meaning, even though there might be a 15 second delay, all that means is that Uber gets sent a signal a lil bit later that you canceled. hitting the cancel button sends the signal
> ...


How do magnets work?


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## 1derfulnow (Jan 13, 2015)

My correspondence with Uber last month:
ME TO UBER:

In the Okc area I receive ride requests with 15min ETAs. These ETAs become 20 minutes or more once accepted by the ap. By not accepting the trip I am saving the rider time by driving a demand increase in the riders area.

FROM UBER:

We want the Uber system to be as reliable as possible so riders are always able to get a ride when they need one. To help make that happen, we use acceptance rates to encourage drivers to accept all trip requests. When you're sent a request that is a bit further away, it does means you're the closest partner to the request.

If the trip is far away, its best if you contact the rider and advise them of the updated ETA. If they choose to cancel, it will not affect your acceptance rate. If the cancellation occurs after 5 minutes, you will be compensated according to the cancellation policy.


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## gaj (Nov 11, 2014)

Desert Driver said:


> How do magnets work?


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

Almost done said:


> First time poster, long-time driver here (13 months). Just wanted to dispel any worries about maintaining a high pax acceptance rate.
> 
> I have been averaging under 50% for months. I only take rides that are less than 5 min away from me and/or surge.
> 
> Happy to discuss other tips to help boost earnings


I realize that SF rates are among the highest rates for mature Uber markets;
Base fare $2.20, $0.26 per minute, $1.30 per mile. I don't see anything that indicates what level of Uber you drive for. Are you an UberX driver or do you drive at some other level?


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## Desert Driver (Nov 9, 2014)

gaj said:


>


Excellent reference! Awesome episode.


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## Noobler (Feb 12, 2015)

Do you drive Select/Plus/Lux/XL/Black/Suv as well as X? Would explain a bit more about the fare/hour. If you are one of the higher end uber platforms like Select, and not many others doing Select in your city, they might be more lemient when it comes to acceptance rate.


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## Almost done (Apr 13, 2015)

I only drive Uber x here in San Francisco. I, like most Uber X drivers, used to make $20-30/hour. The increase in my hourly pay has coincided with the rollout of Uber Pool. 

While there really isn't that much downtime here in SF, uber pool has definitely lead to an increase in demand for rides and hence, an increased frequency of surge pricing. 

Before Uber pool, I would have to drive 10-12 hours a day to make $300. Now I only work about 7-8. 

Again, once I get this new job I will tell you guys how you can maximize your earnings.


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## Noobler (Feb 12, 2015)

Ya we dont have UberPool in Toronto yet. I can see how that increases income. 

I eagerly await the knowledge you have to share !


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## Cooluberdriver (Nov 29, 2014)

UBERxGc said:


> Proof being picky about rides pays off! **** acceptance rates.. Happy for you mate.
> 
> Try this little trick. Accept the ride (that you don't want) then cancel and choose 'Other" as the reason. But do it as fast as you can.
> 
> ...


If you do this, then uber will send you a warning and if you do it again it will be a deactivation..


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