# Uber is experimenting with a feature "choose where you drive"



## BurgerTiime

https://qz.com/1055050/uber-is-test...er-that-lets-drivers-choose-where-they-drive/

Uber is experimenting with giving a key decision-making power to drivers, making good on its "be your own boss" tagline.

The ride-hailing company is testing a "drop-off area filter" that lets drivers choose where they go. "We will only send you trips that have a drop-off location within the areas you have selected," reads a message introducing the feature, which was shared by drivers in multiple online forums. "The more areas you select, the more trips you'll likely get. And you can update your preference at any time."

Uber confirmed to Quartz that it is conducting a "small" test of the drop-off area filter. A spokesman declined to specify where the feature is being tested but said the drop-off zones drivers can opt into are large swaths of a city rather than individual neighborhoods. Drivers on Reddit reported spotting the feature in Boston and Toronto. "We are committed to our mission of reliable transportation, everywhere for everyone," the spokesman said in an emailed statement.

More than 2 million people drive for Uber worldwide and more than 600,000 in the US. The company hires these drivers as independent contractors and advertises the flexibility that they get by working on the Uber platform. But while drivers have long had control over their hours-they can sign on and off Uber freely-they've historically had little to no control over where Uber's routing algorithms take them.

Uber doesn't tell drivers where the drop-off is before they accept an incoming ride request. The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry. The system can frustrate drivers, especially when a ride takes them far from other prospective customers.

Giving drivers more control over their destinations could go a long way toward addressing this pain point. Quartz reported Aug. 15 that Uber is also testing a "long trip" feature that warns drivers when a ride is likely to last over an hour.

Uber has committed to improving its frayed relations with drivers. In late June, the company debuted a sweeping campaign to improve the driver experience, titled "180 Days of Change." As part of that Uber added a tipping option to its rides and food-delivery apps and tweaked its ratings system so that riders are asked to justify when they leave a driver less than five stars.


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## heynow321

This would be great and would be much better than the current destination filter


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## KMANDERSON

BurgerTiime said:


> https://qz.com/1055050/uber-is-test...er-that-lets-drivers-choose-where-they-drive/
> 
> Uber is experimenting with giving a key decision-making power to drivers, making good on its "be your own boss" tagline.
> 
> The ride-hailing company is testing a "drop-off area filter" that lets drivers choose where they go. "We will only send you trips that have a drop-off location within the areas you have selected," reads a message introducing the feature, which was shared by drivers in multiple online forums. "The more areas you select, the more trips you'll likely get. And you can update your preference at any time."
> 
> Uber confirmed to Quartz that it is conducting a "small" test of the drop-off area filter. A spokesman declined to specify where the feature is being tested but said the drop-off zones drivers can opt into are large swaths of a city rather than individual neighborhoods. Drivers on Reddit reported spotting the feature in Boston and Toronto. "We are committed to our mission of reliable transportation, everywhere for everyone," the spokesman said in an emailed statement.
> 
> More than 2 million people drive for Uber worldwide and more than 600,000 in the US. The company hires these drivers as independent contractors and advertises the flexibility that they get by working on the Uber platform. But while drivers have long had control over their hours-they can sign on and off Uber freely-they've historically had little to no control over where Uber's routing algorithms take them.
> 
> Uber doesn't tell drivers where the drop-off is before they accept an incoming ride request. The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry. The system can frustrate drivers, especially when a ride takes them far from other prospective customers.
> 
> Giving drivers more control over their destinations could go a long way toward addressing this pain point. Quartz reported Aug. 15 that Uber is also testing a "long trip" feature that warns drivers when a ride is likely to last over an hour.
> 
> Uber has committed to improving its frayed relations with drivers. In late June, the company debuted a sweeping campaign to improve the driver experience, titled "180 Days of Change." As part of that Uber added a tipping option to its rides and food-delivery apps and tweaked its ratings system so that riders are asked to justify when they leave a driver less than five stars.


I can wait till they get that to my city.


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## Brooklyn

So Uber used to advertise that they operate everywhere and don't discriminate..

Now they put in a feature that allows drivers to avoid working everywhere and essentially discriminate. Hm.


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## Kalee

How is selecting "drop off areas" a way of selecting where you work? Wouldn't selecting "pickup areas" make more sense?


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## Michael - Cleveland

Kalee said:


> How is selecting "drop off areas" a way of selecting where you work? Wouldn't selecting "pickup areas" make more sense?


You already have that by just being online where you want to do pick-ups.


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## Kalee

Michael - Cleveland said:


> You already have that by just being online where you want to do pick-ups.


False 
When I'm sitting in the areas I want to work and I'm getting ride requests 20 to 25 minutes away, 2 towns away ... that's not working the area I want to work. 
And I don't want to hear, "but just don't accept those ride requests Kalee. You will not be deactivated for low acceptance rate."

No, you won't be deactivated anymore. But the lower your acceptance rate, the fewer and fewer requests Uber allows to go through to you.


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## Jesusdrivesuber

Hmm, so a second destination filter for logistics drivers.

I wonder why I didn't get into the beta, I've *****ed about their filter and wrote so many times how to improve it or fix it's bugs, I should have been first in line!


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## JimKE

Brooklyn said:


> So Uber used to advertise that they operate everywhere and don't discriminate..
> 
> Now they put in a feature that allows drivers to avoid working everywhere and essentially discriminate. Hm.


I'm pretty sure Uber will be careful how they set up areas you can choose to drive to. From the story: "A spokesman declined to specify where the feature is being tested but said the drop-off zones drivers can opt into are large swaths of a city rather than individual neighborhoods."

I can see the feature being helpful in many areas. For example, here in South Florida many drivers in Broward County (north of Miami) don't like to get rides into Miami because they don't know the area, and they face a long deadhead back home.


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## Brooklyn

JimKE said:


> I'm pretty sure Uber will be careful how they set up areas you can choose to drive to. From the story: "A spokesman declined to specify where the feature is being tested but said the drop-off zones drivers can opt into are large swaths of a city rather than individual neighborhoods."
> 
> I can see the feature being helpful in many areas. For example, here in South Florida many drivers in Broward County (north of Miami) don't like to get rides into Miami because they don't know the area, and they face a long deadhead back home.


So when a majority of drivers start ignoring the Bronx and Brooklyn south and etc.. that isn't redlining?


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## TNCMinWage

Kalee said:


> False
> When I'm sitting in the areas I want to work and I'm getting ride requests 20 to 25 minutes away, 2 towns away ... that's not working the area I want to work.
> And I don't want to hear, "but just don't accept those ride requests Kalee. You will not be deactivated for low acceptance rate."
> 
> No, you won't be deactivated anymore. But the lower your acceptance rate, the fewer and fewer requests Uber allows to go through to you.


And how do you know this for sure? Do you know the algorithm?


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## Rakos

The thing that jumps out at me...

Is the figure 600,000 drivers in the US...8O

If you figure metropolitan areas...

Means large numbers per metro area. 

My area Tampa Bay has got to be min. 25,000...

And that would be conservative...

Rakos


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## mikes424

Kalee said:


> How is selecting "drop off areas" a way of selecting where you work? Wouldn't selecting "pickup areas" make more sense?


No. You can have a pickup at ORD that will take you anywhere from River Rd to Gary, Rockford or even Milwaukee. This feature is designed to filter out destinations you do not want to drive to.


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## touberornottouber

Kalee said:


> How is selecting "drop off areas" a way of selecting where you work? Wouldn't selecting "pickup areas" make more sense?


I agree. I would much rather be able to define a pickup area. I'm sick of getting $3 ride requests across a bridge or 15+ minutes away. The dropoff area isn't near as important for me.



TNCMinWage said:


> And how do you know this for sure? Do you know the algorithm?


There is funny business going on for sure with the algorithm. It isn't simply the closest driver. Sometimes I feel like Uber is reserving the $3 fares for me when I go over my weekly average. There are countless posts from drivers detailing funny business where they get sent many miles to get a request when there are 8+ closer drivers within a few blocks.


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## mikes424

touberornottouber said:


> I agree. I would much rather be able to define a pickup area. I'm sick of getting $3 ride requests across a bridge or 15+ minutes away. The dropoff area isn't near as important for me.
> 
> There is funny business going on for sure with the algorithm. It isn't simply the closest driver. Sometimes I feel like Uber is reserving the $3 fares for me when I go over my weekly average. There are countless posts from drivers detailing funny business where they get sent many miles to get a request when there are 8+ closer drivers within a few blocks.


How would specifying a pick up area eliminate those $3 rides?


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## touberornottouber

mikes424 said:


> How would specifying a pick up area eliminate those $3 rides?


Because the $3 rides tend to be in a certain area at a certain time of day here. I don't want to get requests 15 minutes away which usually are $3-$5 rides which are harder to locate (awful apartment complexes with no easily visible building numbers and pax who do not text where they are properly) and tend to have passengers who report and low rate for every little thing including not going 7+ mph over the speed limit to make up for them requesting the ride too late so they get to work on time.

There is just a certain area (which is over a 20 mile stretch actually) which I prefer to work at a certain time. The fares tend to be better and with far less hassle.


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## KMANDERSON

Brooklyn said:


> So Uber used to advertise that they operate everywhere and don't discriminate..
> 
> Now they put in a feature that allows drivers to avoid working everywhere and essentially discriminate. Hm.


They can't force drivers to work anywhere.Yes they never let you know where the riders going.
But they can't stop drivers from not picking up in a certain area unless they want to change the classification to employees.


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## Rakos

So legally they can't affect p/u point...

Butt...they CAN affect drop off point....hm

Sounds like the prelude ...

To another good Uber screwing...8)

Rakos


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## Trebor

BurgerTiime said:


> https://qz.com/1055050/uber-is-test...er-that-lets-drivers-choose-where-they-drive/
> 
> Uber is experimenting with giving a key decision-making power to drivers, making good on its "be your own boss" tagline.
> 
> The ride-hailing company is testing a "drop-off area filter" that lets drivers choose where they go. "We will only send you trips that have a drop-off location within the areas you have selected," reads a message introducing the feature, which was shared by drivers in multiple online forums. "The more areas you select, the more trips you'll likely get. And you can update your preference at any time."
> 
> Uber confirmed to Quartz that it is conducting a "small" test of the drop-off area filter. A spokesman declined to specify where the feature is being tested but said the drop-off zones drivers can opt into are large swaths of a city rather than individual neighborhoods. Drivers on Reddit reported spotting the feature in Boston and Toronto. "We are committed to our mission of reliable transportation, everywhere for everyone," the spokesman said in an emailed statement.
> 
> More than 2 million people drive for Uber worldwide and more than 600,000 in the US. The company hires these drivers as independent contractors and advertises the flexibility that they get by working on the Uber platform. But while drivers have long had control over their hours-they can sign on and off Uber freely-they've historically had little to no control over where Uber's routing algorithms take them.
> 
> Uber doesn't tell drivers where the drop-off is before they accept an incoming ride request. The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry. The system can frustrate drivers, especially when a ride takes them far from other prospective customers.
> 
> Giving drivers more control over their destinations could go a long way toward addressing this pain point. Quartz reported Aug. 15 that Uber is also testing a "long trip" feature that warns drivers when a ride is likely to last over an hour.
> 
> Uber has committed to improving its frayed relations with drivers. In late June, the company debuted a sweeping campaign to improve the driver experience, titled "180 Days of Change." As part of that Uber added a tipping option to its rides and food-delivery apps and tweaked its ratings system so that riders are asked to justify when they leave a driver less than five stars.


About the long trip feature, I think it would be great if I can accept ONLY long trips. Similar to how a truck driver opts in for cross country routes rather than local.


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## Brooklyn

KMANDERSON said:


> They can't force drivers to work anywhere.Yes they never let you know where the riders going.
> But they can't stop drivers from not picking up in a certain area unless they want change the classification to employees.


So what you're saying is it'll be easier to get a ride out of a good neighborhood to a bad neighborhood than for the customer to get a ride from a bad neighborhood to a good neighborhood?

Bruh this all seriously sounds like redlining


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## touberornottouber

Rakos said:


> So legally they can't affect p/u point...
> 
> Butt...they CAN affect drop off point....hm
> 
> Sounds like the prelude ...
> 
> To another good Uber screwing...8)
> 
> Rakos


I'm pretty sure they already disburse pings partially according to where the ride is going. Ever notice that if you have a good week early on then towards the end of the week you will always get a bunch of $3 rides? I believe part of the algorithm levels driver earnings depending on history to try to put you close to your average.

For example if your average is $300 per week in 30 hours worked and you are already at $250 in 22 hours on Saturday morning then you can probably count on getting a bunch of sub $5 rides for the rest of the week.

I believe the effect more happens when there are more drivers out and around you. But if there are few drivers out sometimes the algorithm will still give you the ping since there is no one else.



Brooklyn said:


> So what you're saying is it'll be easier to get a ride out of a good neighborhood to a bad neighborhood than for the customer to get a ride from a bad neighborhood to a good neighborhood?
> 
> Bruh this all seriously sounds like redlining


Really we should all have the right to know the exact pickup and destination prior to accepting since Uber has that information and we are independent contractors and not employees. It should be my choice whether I want to take a ride -- whether it is profitable for me.

This is even more of an issue if Uber actually has an algorithm in place which DISCRIMINATES against drivers based on certain factors.


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## KMANDERSON

Brooklyn said:


> So what you're saying is it'll be easier to get a ride out of a good neighborhood to a bad neighborhood than for the customer to get a ride from a bad neighborhood to a good neighborhood?
> 
> Bruh this all seriously sounds like redlining


No I'm saying since Uber labels us as independent contractors they can not force you to drive in certain areas.


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## Brooklyn

touberornottouber said:


> I'm pretty sure they already disburse pings partially according to where the ride is going. Ever notice that if you have a good week early on then towards the end of the week you will always get a bunch of $3 rides? I believe part of the algorithm levels driver earnings depending on history to try to put you close to your average.
> 
> For example if your average is $300 per week in 30 hours worked and you are already at $250 in 22 hours on Saturday morning then you can probably count on getting a bunch of sub $5 rides for the rest of the week.
> 
> I believe the effect more happens when there are more drivers out and around you. But if there are few drivers out sometimes the algorithm will still give you the ping since there is no one else.
> 
> Really we should all have the right to know the exact pickup and destination prior to accepting since Uber has that information and we are independent contractors and not employees. It should be my choice whether I want to take a ride -- whether it is profitable for me.
> 
> This is even more of an issue if Uber actually has an algorithm in place which DISCRIMINATES against drivers based on certain factors.


But you're a faux-IC

If they turn everyone to employees then their overhead explodes. Can't do that.

If they let you see and drivers begin denying trips left and right then their platform becomes unstable and is greatly affected.



KMANDERSON said:


> No I'm saying since Uber labels us as independent contractors they can not force you to drive in certain areas.


Well then they would have to log every trip and then the IC's can be sued for redlining?


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## KMANDERSON

Brooklyn said:


> But you're a faux-IC
> 
> If they turn everyone to employees then their overhead explodes. Can't do that.
> 
> If they let you see and drivers begin denying trips left and right then their platform becomes unstable and is greatly affected.
> 
> Well then they would have to log every trip and then the IC's can be sued for redlining?


I pick up in all areas.The only area I hate are uptown our downtown where the traffic horrible.Driving people in suit and ties all day for minimum fare is not worth it to me.


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## Kalee

TNCMinWage said:


> And how do you know this for sure? Do you know the algorithm?


Your acceptance rate correlates with the number of ride requests that you receive.
Example: A driver with a 50% acceptance rate will get approximately half the number of ride requests of a driver with a 100% acceptance rate (assuming there are only 2 drivers in the area during like times of day).


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## KMANDERSON

Kalee said:


> Your acceptance rate correlates with the number of ride requests that you receive.
> Example: A driver with a 50% acceptance rate will get approximately half the number of ride requests of a driver with a 100% acceptance rate (assuming the 2 drivers are in like areas during like times of day).


I'm sure they will have a limit like destination filters.


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## Brooklyn

KMANDERSON said:


> I pick up in all areas.The only area I hate are uptown our downtown where the traffic horrible.Driving people in suit and ties all day for minimum fare is not worth it to me.


That's good for you. But now imagine all the drivers who will avoid neighborhoods now that they can specifically choose neighborhoods to service.


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## KMANDERSON

Brooklyn said:


> That's good for you. But now imagine all the drivers who will avoid neighborhoods now that they can specifically choose neighborhoods to service.


I'm sure uber will put a limit on it like destination filters



Brooklyn said:


> That's good for you. But now imagine all the drivers who will avoid neighborhoods now that they can specifically choose neighborhoods to service.


But what stops them from doing it now?


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## JimKE

Brooklyn said:


> So what you're saying is it'll be easier to get a ride out of a good neighborhood to a bad neighborhood than for the customer to get a ride from a bad neighborhood to a good neighborhood?
> 
> Bruh this all seriously sounds like redlining


It's not "redlining," whatever that means to you. A driver determines where they pick up by where they sit or drive between rides.

If a pickup is too far away -- or in a high-crime area -- the driver has absolutely no obligation to accept the ride. We are independent contractors.

Uber is not "redlining" because they took the ride request and offered it to drivers. Uber did their part.

If nobody accepts the ride, that's the drivers' prerogative...nothing wrong with that.


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## KMANDERSON

JimKE said:


> It's not "redlining," whatever that means to you. A driver determines where they pick up by where they sit or drive between rides.
> 
> If a pickup is too far away -- or in a high-crime area -- the driver has absolutely no obligation to accept the ride. We are independent contractors.
> 
> Uber is not "redlining" because they took the ride request and offered it to drivers. Uber did their part.
> 
> If nobody accepts the ride, that's the drivers' prerogative...nothing wrong with that.


Uber is so oversaturated in my city I seriously doubt that their not a ride for everybody.


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## Rakos

KMANDERSON said:


> Uber is so oversaturated in my city I seriously doubt that their not a ride for everybody.


That's the problem...

It's like popular fishing sites...

Once discovered they decline rapidly...

That's why you need to be discerning...

And pick your timing to hit those spots...

I used to love driving by an Uber driver...

And PINGGG...got it in the bag...8>)

Rakos


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## Brooklyn

JimKE said:


> It's not "redlining," whatever that means to you. A driver determines where they pick up by where they sit or drive between rides.
> 
> If a pickup is too far away -- or in a high-crime area -- the driver has absolutely no obligation to accept the ride. We are independent contractors.
> 
> Uber is not "redlining" because they took the ride request and offered it to drivers. Uber did their part.
> 
> If nobody accepts the ride, that's the drivers' prerogative...nothing wrong with that.


So what happens if drivers choose to avoid a certain neighborhood?

Customers would be requesting trips and wouldn't be getting cars no?

Oh ok.


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## TNCMinWage

touberornottouber said:


> I agree. I would much rather be able to define a pickup area. I'm sick of getting $3 ride requests across a bridge or 15+ minutes away. The dropoff area isn't near as important for me.
> 
> There is funny business going on for sure with the algorithm. It isn't simply the closest driver. Sometimes I feel like Uber is reserving the $3 fares for me when I go over my weekly average. There are countless posts from drivers detailing funny business where they get sent many miles to get a request when there are 8+ closer drivers within a few blocks.


I guess. I just haven't seen that but I don't drive in a crowded area so maybe that's just my observation based on my area. I always see the driver that is geographically (not driving time) closest to the pax get the ping. Are you sure the other drivers just aren't ignoring the pings because they all see that pax is 15 mins away too? And then it ultimately winds up in your hands after?



Kalee said:


> Your acceptance rate correlates with the number of ride requests that you receive.
> Example: A driver with a 50% acceptance rate will get approximately half the number of ride requests of a driver with a 100% acceptance rate (assuming there are only 2 drivers in the area during like times of day).


Ok makes sense but how do you know this for sure?


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## JayBeKay

It's about time. Literally. If I'm on a schedule, before picking up, I have no idea if I will be on the road for 10 minutes or an hour. Not good if I need to be somewhere for an appointment.


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## Skepticaldriver

This is the most ridiculous bs ever. 

All either company needs to do is show the pickup address and the drop off address on the ping when drivers decide if that trip is a good fit. 

Its just like the scheduled ride feature on lyft where you can see the pu and do address and you can grab it or not. 

Fares are already at an all time low and suprising drivers with the inconvenience of being stuck somewhere after that trip is a slap in the face especially when this has the potential to make all parties happy, or happier atleast. Its become very adversarial between drivers and passengers these last two years. Its not like we cant ditch these people or tell them no based on timing and duration of trip which is one hundred percent legal if this is the end of ones self appointed shift.

Like it couldnt be any easier. Just be upfront.

The company who does that will win drivers who will find themselves with the carrying capacity to support a large rider community.


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## MoreTips

Here is a example of what we have been given in Tampa with the new pick your drop off feature. It let's us pick what countys to work towards or all of them. It's nice if your wanting to guarantee the ride will go back to your own county. (at least if you live in one of the two main county's)


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## Alison Chains

This is redlining but we're pragmatic people and all have our own criteria so there will probably be nothing to pin on Uber. I'm not saying that I mind, even though I'd be much more interested in seeing destinations before I commit to a 45-minute ride when I have a kid to pick up from school in 20.

I'll take what I can get for now, though. You can make me a pretty happy driver if you give me the option to blacklist campus as a destination and skip the $3 rides through a construction maze with freshmen who have no idea where they're going. I've been preferentially working the 'hood to avoid it this week but at some point you will get sucked into a few lossy rides. Let demand for those rides raise the rates and I'll work campus again.


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## Gmbbody

JimKE said:


> I'm pretty sure Uber will be careful how they set up areas you can choose to drive to. From the story: "A spokesman declined to specify where the feature is being tested but said the drop-off zones drivers can opt into are large swaths of a city rather than individual neighborhoods."
> 
> I can see the feature being helpful in many areas. For example, here in South Florida many drivers in Broward County (north of Miami) don't like to get rides into Miami because they don't know the area, and they face a long deadhead back home.


 I'm in pompano and I don't mind rides to Miami. However, I don't like going north of Boca or south and or west of downtown Miami so this would help.


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## Entitled_ Bro

Alison Chains said:


> This is redlining but we're pragmatic people and all have our own criteria so there will probably be nothing to pin on Uber. I'm not saying that I mind, even though I'd be much more interested in seeing destinations before I commit to a 45-minute ride when I have a kid to pick up from school in 20.
> 
> I'll take what I can get for now, though. You can make me a pretty happy driver if you give me the option to blacklist campus as a destination and skip the $3 rides through a construction maze with freshmen who have no idea where they're going. I've been preferentially working the 'hood to avoid it this week but at some point you will get sucked into a few lossy rides. Let demand for those rides raise the rates and I'll work campus again.


Could be actually good if all the ants redlined themselves. I don't mind getting long rides when it's surging as it helps me make the same amount of money than staying in the same traffic clogged streets.


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## grams777

The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry​They know well and good that the main reason they don't show the destination is because the short rides usually pay too little. So they have to dangle the carrot of hoping for a profitable ride so the drivers will pick them all up.


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## touberornottouber

grams777 said:


> The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry​They know well and good that the main reason they don't show the destination is because the short rides usually pay too little. So they have to dangle the carrot of hoping for a profitable ride so the drivers will pick them all up.


The thing is with the over-saturation in most areas I don't think it matters much anymore. Someone will want the $3 fare provided it is close enough.

Also if they have problems getting people to do $3 rides then they could always waive their fees on the ride. Here the minimum charged to the pax is $6.20 but I only get $2.95 of it. Give me $6.20 and it becomes something different entirely.

We all know what is stopping this....they never want to lose while they expect us to take unprofitable rides.


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## Monkchoi

Last night, I received a request while ending a current trip. I always accept it in the past but this time, after finding out that I have to drive 18 minutes/10 miles, I immediately cancelled the request. Would anyone drive this far and take the risk of a short trip? Don't know anything about Uber's algorithms but would the trip be longer than the pickup? Hmmm

8/18 Update, 3 of my last 4 requests has been far. Wanting me to drive 8 miles , 14 miles, 13 miles. This sucks!


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## KMANDERSON

grams777 said:


> The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry​They know well and good that the main reason they don't show the destination is because the short rides usually pay too little. So they have to dangle the carrot of hoping for a profitable ride so the drivers will pick them all up.


Exactly, this has nothing to do with poor area being underserved.If uber want that area served all they have to do is put boost in that area like they do in a downtown finacial district.


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## phtll

Kalee said:


> No, you won't be deactivated anymore. But the lower your acceptance rate, the fewer and fewer requests Uber allows to go through to you.


Has this ever been proven?



touberornottouber said:


> I'm pretty sure they already disburse pings partially according to where the ride is going. Ever notice that if you have a good week early on then towards the end of the week you will always get a bunch of $3 rides? I believe part of the algorithm levels driver earnings depending on history to try to put you close to your average.
> 
> For example if your average is $300 per week in 30 hours worked and you are already at $250 in 22 hours on Saturday morning then you can probably count on getting a bunch of sub $5 rides for the rest of the week.
> 
> I believe the effect more happens when there are more drivers out and around you. But if there are few drivers out sometimes the algorithm will still give you the ping since there is no one else.


This is confirmation-bias nonsense, I'm pretty sure. If you get a ton of minimum fares in a day, it's probably because *lots of rides are minimum fare*. If you strung together a bunch of 10-mile runs in a row, it was probably coincidence.


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## JimKE

Brooklyn said:


> So what happens if drivers choose to avoid a certain neighborhood?
> 
> Customers would be requesting trips and wouldn't be getting cars no?
> 
> Oh ok.


That's correct. Is there a problem with that? Do you want to *mandate* that Uber drivers drive in high-crime areas? If so, talk to your Mayor.


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## Brooklyn

JimKE said:


> That's correct. Is there a problem with that? Do you want to *mandate* that Uber drivers drive in high-crime areas? If so, talk to your Mayor.


I guess that whole "better than taxis" and "service everywhere" and "we're different and don't discriminate" novelty wore off.

And it's actually the law that you can't openly avoid an area. Can you low key choose not to work them? Yea. But openly stating you won't work areas is illegal.


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## JimKE

MoreTips said:


> Here is a example of what we have been given in Tampa with the new pick your drop off feature. It let's us pick what countys to work towards or all of them. It's nice if your wanting to guarantee the ride will go back to your own county. (at least if you live in one of the two main county's)
> View attachment 149263


Thanks for posting that. It's the first actual look I've seen.

If that's what we get here in South Florida it might be helpful to some, but drivers will have to be careful what they wish for. And they'd have to break the counties up some -- Miami-Dade is over 2,000 square miles!

For example, if Gmbbody gets a ride to MIA, and then sets his preference back to Broward, hopefully he understands that there is a whole world of ghetto between Miami International Airport and Broward. A better idea for him might be to zip over to the beach and set his DF for Dania Beach.



Brooklyn said:


> I guess that whole "better than taxis" and "service everywhere" and "we're different and don't discriminate" novelty wore off.


Well, you have to understand that all Uber's babble about areas "underserved by taxis" is just PC BS.

The real reason they don't show destinations is what grams 777 said above: they don't want drivers cherry-picking rides.

They don't care about Brooklyn and the Bronx -- never have and never will. But they're not going to say that publicly. Uber is wild and crazy, but not stoopid.



> And it's actually the law that you can't openly avoid an area. Can you low key choose not to work them? Yea. But openly stating you won't work areas is illegal.


Maybe in Zoo Yawk...not many places elsewhere.


----------



## KMANDERSON

Brooklyn said:


> I guess that whole "better than taxis" and "service everywhere" and "we're different and don't discriminate" novelty wore off.
> 
> And it's actually the law that you can't openly avoid an area. Can you low key choose not to work them? Yea. But openly stating you won't work areas is illegal.


All areas have so called bad areas to them even the suburbs.


----------



## Nomad

Honestly, this is a brilliant move by Uber in the argument of independent contractor vs employee.

The next move should be to set your own rate. For instance, you say you will only take rides that are 1.4x surge or higher. You have set your rate and they will only send you rides with a surge of 1.4x or higher.

It effectively ends any complaints of control that might sway a judge toward setting a precedent of the employee/employer relationship being present.

In the meantime, we all wait patiently for our new settings to kick in, only to find out that our number of rides is cut drastically while ants are kept running in circles collecting all the base fare rides while pax are charged surge rates by Upfront Pricing. The income virtually stops for any drivers cherry-picking with settings and we're forced into the realization that we either have to lower our standards or look for work elsewhere.

It is absolute brilliance.


----------



## KMANDERSON

Nomad said:


> Honestly, this is a brilliant move by Uber in the argument of independent contractor vs employee.
> 
> The next move should be to set your own rate. For instance, you say you will only take rides that are 1.4x surge or higher. You have set your rate and they will only send you rides with a surge of 1.4x or higher.
> 
> It effectively ends any complaints of control that might sway a judge toward setting a precedent of the employee/employer relationship being present.
> 
> In the meantime, we all wait patiently for our new settings to kick in, only to find out that our number of rides is cut drastically while ants are kept running in circles collecting all the base fare rides while pax are charged surge rates by Upfront Pricing. The income virtually stops for any drivers cherry-picking with settings and are forced into the realization that they either have to lower their standards or look for work elsewhere.
> 
> It is absolute brilliance.


The only one that let you set your own rate was sidecar.That was the only decent rideshare company.


----------



## Nomad

KMANDERSON said:


> The only one that let you set your own rate was sidecar.That was the only decent rideshare company.


Ah... the one... the only... original rideshare (I can't find an emoji that is longingly looking into the past, so just picture it yourself)


----------



## JimKE

Nomad said:


> Honestly, this is a brilliant move by Uber in the argument of independent contractor vs employee.
> 
> The next move should be to set your own rate. For instance, you say you will only take rides that are 1.4x surge or higher. You have set your rate and they will only send you rides with a surge of 1.4x or higher.
> 
> It effectively ends any complaints of control that might sway a judge toward setting a precedent of the employee/employer relationship being present.
> 
> In the meantime, we all wait patiently for our new settings to kick in, only to find out that our number of rides is cut drastically while ants are kept running in circles collecting all the base fare rides while pax are charged surge rates by Upfront Pricing. The income virtually stops for any drivers cherry-picking with settings and we're forced into the realization that we either have to lower our standards or look for work elsewhere.
> 
> It is absolute brilliance.


I agree. I see this as more of a cosmetic move than anything else. I will give Uber credit for honestly trying to make an improvement, but the real-world application of this may be more like what you describe.

In some cities it may work fine; in others, not so much. In fact, Tampa is one of the markets where it actually might be beneficial (from what I remember living in Tampa way back when). It will be interesting to see what the results of the tests are.


----------



## KMANDERSON

Nomad said:


> Ah... the one... the only... original rideshare (I can't find an emoji that is longingly looking into the past, so just picture it yourself)


Yeah general motors bought them out.


----------



## Nomad

KMANDERSON said:


> Yeah general motors bought them out.


They bought out emoji's that longingly look into the past?

Those GM bastards!


----------



## JimKE

Nomad said:


> They bought out emoji's that longingly look into the past?
> 
> Those GM bastards!


It's Corporate America...they own everything! If they've bought our emojis, what could be next?  What will be left???


----------



## roadman

Sounds good. No more trips to dulles or bwi. And any other area where I have to dead head it back without any compensation.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

Kalee said:


> False
> When I'm sitting in the areas I want to work and I'm getting ride requests 20 to 25 minutes away, 2 towns away ... that's not working the area I want to work.
> And I don't want to hear, "but just don't accept those ride requests Kalee. You will not be deactivated for low acceptance rate."
> 
> No, you won't be deactivated anymore. But the lower your acceptance rate, the fewer and fewer requests Uber allows to go through to you.


 exactly. I have a very low acceptance rate, and still get the same number of ride requests as anybody else in my area.


TNCMinWage said:


> And how do you know this for sure? Do you know the algorithm?


----------



## TNCMinWage

phtll said:


> Has this ever been proven?
> 
> This is confirmation-bias nonsense, I'm pretty sure. If you get a ton of minimum fares in a day, it's probably because *lots of rides are minimum fare*. If you strung together a bunch of 10-mile runs in a row, it was probably coincidence.


Exactly. I love how so many drivers on here think they know how the algorithm works - I keep hearing more and more ridiculous stories on how they think they are getting screwed or allocating less rides or worse rides. They are purely speculating, and conspiracy theories abound...


----------



## goneubering

touberornottouber said:


> There is funny business going on for sure with the algorithm. It isn't simply the closest driver. Sometimes I feel like Uber is reserving the $3 fares for me when I go over my weekly average. There are countless posts from drivers detailing funny business where they get sent many miles to get a request when there are 8+ closer drivers within a few blocks.


That seems to be the case. Last night I got a request for 15 minutes away. I did not accept that one. Then I checked the rider app and noticed two closer cars. My next request was five minutes away which I accepted.


----------



## Kalee

Michael - Cleveland said:


> exactly. I have a very low acceptance rate, and still get the same number of ride requests as anybody else in my area.


Unless you work for Uber, please explain to us how it is that you know so much about the number of ride requests everyone else in your area receives?


----------



## LoveUber1

Choose where you drive sounds awesome. LAX is my fav drop off by far


----------



## TNCMinWage

goneubering said:


> That seems to be the case. Last night I got a request for 15 minutes away. I did not accept that one. Then I checked the rider app and noticed two closer cars. My next request was five minutes away which I accepted.


And how do you know that the two other drivers didn't ignore the 15 minute ping before it got routed to you? Don't you think that seems a reasonable explanation? There may have also been aliens and UFO's involved I suppose...


----------



## goneubering

TNCMinWage said:


> And how do you know that the two other drivers didn't ignore the 15 minute ping before it got routed to you? Don't you think that seems a reasonable explanation? There may have also been aliens and UFO's involved I suppose...


They certainly could have, but they were less than five minutes from the rider. Cannot know for sure either way. I do like your alien and ufo theory though! 



LoveUber1 said:


> Choose where you drive sounds awesome. LAX is my fav drop off by far


Even with the construction?



Kalee said:


> Unless you work for Uber, please explain to us how it is that you know so much about the number of ride requests everyone else in your area receives?


I was wondering the same thing.


----------



## TNCMinWage

goneubering said:


> They certainly could have, but they were less than five minutes from the rider. Cannot know for sure either way. I do like your alien and ufo theory though!
> 
> Even with the construction?
> 
> I was wondering the same thing.


I ignore pings from 5 mins away all the time, when it's from a pax or place I don't want to pick up from. So I don't see why that isn't the likelier explanation. But yes we can go with the alien theory as well.


----------



## goneubering

TNCMinWage said:


> I ignore pings from 5 mins away all the time, when it's from a pax or place I don't want to pick up from. So I don't see what that isn't the likelier explanation. But yes we can go with the alien theory as well.


It was a nice neighborhood. Just too far. If I had been closer, I would have accepted.


----------



## dirtylee

KMANDERSON said:


> I can wait till they get that to my city.


Never going to happen in dfw. No one would select anything south of I-30. Thousands would have collin county & dfw airport selected.


----------



## Oscar Levant

BurgerTiime said:


> https://qz.com/1055050/uber-is-test...er-that-lets-drivers-choose-where-they-drive/
> 
> Uber is experimenting with giving a key decision-making power to drivers, making good on its "be your own boss" tagline.
> 
> The ride-hailing company is testing a "drop-off area filter" that lets drivers choose where they go. "We will only send you trips that have a drop-off location within the areas you have selected," reads a message introducing the feature, which was shared by drivers in multiple online forums. "The more areas you select, the more trips you'll likely get. And you can update your preference at any time."
> 
> Uber confirmed to Quartz that it is conducting a "small" test of the drop-off area filter. A spokesman declined to specify where the feature is being tested but said the drop-off zones drivers can opt into are large swaths of a city rather than individual neighborhoods. Drivers on Reddit reported spotting the feature in Boston and Toronto. "We are committed to our mission of reliable transportation, everywhere for everyone," the spokesman said in an emailed statement.
> 
> More than 2 million people drive for Uber worldwide and more than 600,000 in the US. The company hires these drivers as independent contractors and advertises the flexibility that they get by working on the Uber platform. But while drivers have long had control over their hours-they can sign on and off Uber freely-they've historically had little to no control over where Uber's routing algorithms take them.
> 
> Uber doesn't tell drivers where the drop-off is before they accept an incoming ride request. The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry. The system can frustrate drivers, especially when a ride takes them far from other prospective customers.
> 
> Giving drivers more control over their destinations could go a long way toward addressing this pain point. Quartz reported Aug. 15 that Uber is also testing a "long trip" feature that warns drivers when a ride is likely to last over an hour.
> 
> Uber has committed to improving its frayed relations with drivers. In late June, the company debuted a sweeping campaign to improve the driver experience, titled "180 Days of Change." As part of that Uber added a tipping option to its rides and food-delivery apps and tweaked its ratings system so that riders are asked to justify when they leave a driver less than five stars.


I would love this, I can think of a few areas that are traffic nightmares that I would prefer to avoid, if I could.


----------



## KMANDERSON

dirtylee said:


> Never going to happen in dfw. No one would select anything south of I-30. Thousands would have collin county & dfw airport selected.


It will if they roll it out nation wide


----------



## Skepticaldriver

Man. Sidecar did this upfront transparency before uber snd lyft and it was awesome. They just lacked the massive investment needed. 

I love how transparency and decency could make this a win win proposition for all parties involvedbut its funny how uber and lyft are like "ill take my wins one at a time"


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

Brooklyn said:


> That's good for you. But now imagine all the drivers who will avoid neighborhoods now that they can specifically choose neighborhoods to service.


From what we know right now, the drop-off filter isn't that specific or narrow... it only allows a driver to choose a pretty wide geographic area, not a 'neighborhood'.



touberornottouber said:


> The thing is with the over-saturation in most areas I don't think it matters much anymore. Someone will want the $3 fare provided it is close enough.
> 
> Also if they have problems getting people to do $3 rides then they could always waive their fees on the ride. Here the minimum charged to the pax is $6.20 but I only get $2.95 of it. Give me $6.20 and it becomes something different entirely.
> 
> We all know what is stopping this....they never want to lose while they expect us to take unprofitable rides.


Here in Ohio, Uber just raised rates the rates in the Akron market by 12% without raising the rates in the Cleveland market (just 30 miles north). I can't tell if that was to encourage more pick-ups in Akron/Canton and to keep drivers from that market down there (and encourage more drivers from the Cleveland area to work down there). If they raise the rates in Cleveland to match, then we'll know that's not the case. If they don't raise the rates here then we'll know they are looking for ways to 'distribute' drivers throughout a region.



Kalee said:


> Unless you work for Uber, please explain to us how it is that you know so much about the number of ride requests everyone else in your area receives?


Good question! Because I am online, talking to other drivers in the city, live, every minute I am out driving Uber (and a lot of the time I am not even driving). It's like the old days of CB raidio for truckers. We let each other know where and when we get pings, when we accept (and reject) rides and where the rides are going. If you don't have an active Zello channel for your city, you might want to start one.



KMANDERSON said:


> If will if they roll it out nation wide it will.


Just guessing, but can't imagine it going nationwide... only in cities where it makes sense, like LA, where they could help keep drivers in the San Fernando Valley in the valley, and inland drivers (Pasedena/Pomona) drivers in their area. The reason? Because a driver who has to pick-up their kids from school/daycare in 90 minutes would have to turn down a ride from the valley to LAX - and that creates a waste of time for the rider (and the driver).


----------



## artemis

But when will they allow you to do more than just 2 destination trips in a 24 hour period?


----------



## SMOTY

You guys can't be negative about eveything. This is a great feature for those days you don't want to drive far out!!!


----------



## empresstabitha

goneubering said:


> It was a nice neighborhood. Just too far. If I had been closer, I would have accepted.


Nice neighborhood = DOUCHIEST passengers


----------



## goneubering

empresstabitha said:


> Nice neighborhood = DOUCHIEST passengers


Why so negative? I've given over 2000 rides and only had a very few bad riders.


----------



## WaveRunner1

Isn't setting a limit on destinations a conflict with independent contractor status? Sounds like an employer.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

artemis said:


> But when will they allow you to do more than just 2 destination trips in a 24 hour period?


What irritates me more is that (at least here) you can't use the destination filter when in the queue at the airport. Makes no sense: they can send you ride requests from outside of the airport - but you can't use the destination filter while at the airport.



WaveRunner1 said:


> Isn't setting a limit on destinations a conflict with independent contractor status? Sounds like an employer.


so you would prefer they not provide this tool to drivers at all - so they can preserve their claim that drivers are not employees?


----------



## WaveRunner1

Michael - Cleveland said:


> What irritates me more is that (at least here) you can't use the destination filter when in the queue at the airport. Makes no sense: they can send you ride requests from outside of the airport - but you can't use the destination filter while at the airport.
> 
> so you would prefer they not provide this tool to drivers at all - so they can preserve their claim that drivers are not employees?


Did I say that? Why do you persist in misinterpreting comments? What I'm saying is, as an independent contractor, I should have the right not only to accept rides or not but where to accept rides and destinations.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

WaveRunner1 said:


> Did I say that? Why do you persist in misinterpreting comments? What I'm saying is, as an independent contractor, I should have the right not only to accept rides or not but where to accept rides and destinations.





WaveRunner1 said:


> Did I say that? Why do you persist in misinterpreting comments?


 How is a question a misinterpretation?


> What I'm saying is, as an independent contractor, I should have the right not only to accept rides or not but where to accept rides and destinations.


... unless it's against public policy for transportation services. If you choose not to follow TNC policies that are meant to comply with non-discrimination requirements of the DC Taxi Commission, then you're not only an independent contractor, you are also a ********* operating illegally. (that is supposed to read: "a G Y P S Y cab, operating illegally" - but the editor apparently bans that word?)

In short, it appears that your complaint is that Uber's policies try to comply with local regulations.

*DC Taxi Commission*

*COMPLIANCE:

Protected Characteristics *
DCTC recognizes that taxicab operators should never discriminate against certain customers by not picking them up, not taking them where they wish to go or by treating them with less respect based on what are considered by the DCTC to be protected characteristics or traits These characteristics include:
Race  Color  Religion  National origin  Sex  Age  Marital status  Personal appearance  Sexual orientation  Gender identity or expression  Family status 35  Family responsibility  Genetic information  Political affiliation  Disability  Level of formal education  Source of income  Place of residence or business

...

*Prohibited Discrimination*
Examples of Prohibited Discriminatory Conduct include, but are not limited to, the following:  Not picking up a passenger on the basis of any protected characteristic or trait, including not picking up a passenger with a service animal  Requesting that a passenger get out of a taxicab on the basis of a protected characteristic or trait  Using derogatory or harassing language on the basis of a protected characteristic or trait  Refusing a call in a specific geographic area of the District

...

*Geographic Discrimination*
DCTC recognizes how important it is to take the customer to the requested destination without discriminating against that customer based on where he or she wishes to go.  Except during time periods allowing ride sharing, [ie; unrelated riders going to different locations - sharing the cost of the ride] the operator shall not ask the destination of the passenger until the passenger is in the taxicab. A dispatcher shall not ask the destination of a passenger. If the dispatcher learns the destination of a passenger (for example, a caller says they want to go to the airport), that dispatcher shall not then convey the destination when dispatching an operator to pick up the passenger unless requested to do so by the passenger or the passenger has an emergency.​
The whole point of the TNC's policies is to prevent local, state and federal authorities from finding a need to [further] regulate how they operate.

If you don't want to comply with the TNC policies, you can turn off your app, stop paying Uber/Lyft for ride requests and either operate as an illegal cab or get a hack license.


----------



## pegasimotors

I hope they don't give too much priority to drivers using this vs. other drivers not using this


----------



## somedriverguy

Brooklyn said:


> That's good for you. But now imagine all the drivers who will avoid neighborhoods now that they can specifically choose neighborhoods to service.


Yes, imagine all the drivers sitting around not getting paid while waiting for their unicorns. Now take all the rides they don't want. Now look at your paycheck.


----------



## Retired Senior

Brooklyn said:


> So when a majority of drivers start ignoring the Bronx and Brooklyn south and etc.. that isn't redlining?


But many Ct drivers try to avoid the hi-way traffic. On Fridays a round trip to JFK from Bridgeport, normally 3 hours at most, becomes 6. Can you really use the term : "Redlining" in this example?


----------



## RideshareSpectrum

BurgerTiime said:


> Uber doesn't tell drivers where the drop-off is before they accept an incoming ride request. The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry


That's the biggest bunch of booshat I've heard in a while at least in my market... I ride the algorithms where it takes me and take PAX wherever they want to go. Rates are on the ground as it is so it doesn't matter where you pick someone up, their end result is a dirt cheap ride. The issue is long distance pick ups for minimum fare rides due to the normalization of rideshare. PAX will take a pool on Sunday to go 1/4 mile and if it takes me 15 min to arrive for pick up that's a net loser. If those PAX need to wait longer than 15 minutes for a ride that rolls off my phone then so be it.


----------



## phtll

KMANDERSON said:


> All areas have so called bad areas to them even the suburbs.


If people would say what they mean and just say "places where the people have no money", then yeah, everywhere has them.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

Kalee said:


> Your acceptance rate correlates with the number of ride requests that you receive.
> Example: A driver with a 50% acceptance rate will get approximately half the number of ride requests of a driver with a 100% acceptance rate (assuming there are only 2 drivers in the area during like times of day).


Absolutely untrue for this market.
Your acceptance resets every week - so it's easy to test to see what's happening in your market (if you know other drivers who will participate with you to test it).

I didn't drive much last week. Early in the week I had some work to do while I was near the airport so I figured I'd sit in the waiting lot and go through emails and voice-mails. I was prepared to accept any XL request at any surge level - but no other requests. I rejected (or let expire) a half dozen requests. There were 20+ other drivers in the lot - some 'on-app', others only going online when it surged. My acceptance rating was 0 as in zilch. I kept getting knocked offline - and just going back online each time that happened. I still received as many 'pings' as the other drivers. After I did a surge XL that took me downtown, even with my now 10% acceptance rating I continued to receive as many requests as the other drivers I was talking to.

Maybe it's true in other markets that your acceptance rate lowers the number of requests you receive, but not here
(and I suspect that's it's just another one of those internet conspiracy rumors about Uber).



Entitled_ Bro said:


> I don't mind getting long rides when it's surging as it helps me make the same amount of money than staying in the same traffic clogged streets.


I love traffic clogged streets on a 3.+ surge on an XL ride - I'm perfectly happy to make $60/hr without moving a mile. 
Same goes for Taco Bell at 3AM
ie: no surge? not a chance - big surge?
_"are you sure you guys don't want to sit at that picnic table and eat? 
I'll wait! How about a tour of the city... have you seen the Rock-N-Roll Hall of fame?" _​


----------



## REX HAVOC

I bet it won't work for the airport rides.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

REX HAVOC said:


> I bet it won't work for the airport rides.


What won't 'work' for the airport rides?
Here in CLE the airport appears to be capped at a 3.1 surge - but there is no real traffic to sit in on airport rides (but I do give lots of 'city tours' to people visiting for the first time!)


----------



## Kalee

Michael - Cleveland said:


> Your acceptance resets every week - so it's easy to test to see what's happening in your market (if you know other drivers who will participate with you to test it).
> 
> I didn't drive much last week. Early in the week I had some work to do while I was near the airport so I figured I'd sit in the waiting lot and go through emails and voice-mails. I was prepared to accept any XL request at any surge level - but no other requests. I rejected (or let expire) a half dozen requests. There were 20+ other drivers in the lot - some 'on-app', others only going online when it surged. My acceptance rating was 0 as in zilch. I kept getting knocked offline - and just going back online each time that happened. I still received as many 'pings' as the other drivers. After I did a surge XL that took me downtown, even with my now 10% acceptance rating I continued to receive as many requests as the other drivers I was talking to.
> 
> Maybe it's true in other markets that your acceptance rate lowers the number of requests you receive, but not here
> (and I suspect that's it's just another one of those internet conspiracy rumors about Uber).


I call shenanigans.
I have _NEVER_ seen anyone's acceptance rate "reset" each week.

If your acceptance rate is resetting from 10% to 100% each week then you _MUST_ be in cahoots with Uber because that JUST. DOESN'T. HAPPEN.


----------



## Nomad

Kalee said:


> I call shenanigans.
> I have _NEVER_ seen anyone's acceptance rate "reset" each week.
> 
> If your acceptance rate is resetting from 10% to 100% each week then you _MUST_ be in cahoots with Uber because that JUST. DOESN'T. HAPPEN.


It resets. I can't verify that it's exactly "each week," but it definitely resets at about that pace.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Brooklyn said:


> So when a majority of drivers start ignoring the Bronx and Brooklyn south and etc.. that isn't redlining?


Exactly. Just like a Yellow cruising the Battery looking for that Stockbroker with the iminahurrypalgetmetoJFKfast look and passing all working stiff and minorities.
The 7 years I drove a medallion cab in Boston the yuppies would put their arms out to pantomime wings aka I'm flying.
And since State Street is an annex of Wall Street, half of these guys were New Yorkers so I know they do the same thing there.


----------



## Johnny Driver

I don't really care about the location I will drop of as long as it's in my state. I would however be more impressed if they let us have some pick up distance parameters or other settings like I am willing to drive farther to pick up for a longer trip or if the pax wants to pay me extra for anything over a 10 minute drive for pickup.


----------



## Kalee

Nomad said:


> It resets. I can't verify that it's exactly "each week," but it definitely resets at about that pace.


It doesn't


----------



## somedriverguy

Kalee said:


> It doesn't


It depends on your market and how quest/boost/incentive is handled there. In Los Angeles it resets every Monday morning at 4 am.


----------



## Another Uber Driver

As an official of a cab company, I have been down this road. In fact, it was mostly I who worked with our lawyer when some do-gooders concocted a case and proceeded to sue the company. It was, in fact, over drivers not picking up in certain areas, because they did not hang out in those areas to wait for calls. We would accept the requests, we simply could not cover them because we had no driver near enough to them to cover the request. When you tried to be realistic and tell them to call someone else so that they would not have to wait and have no cab show up, you got into trouble for that, as well. Our drivers were independent contractors, but that did not help us. It further did not help us that the judge that we got was obviously biased toward the plaintiffs and, as I later learned, there were numerous indirect_* ex parte*_ communications between the judge and the plaintiffs.

The company wound up getting the shaft on it, Still, we did wind up burning the do-gooders with regard to the visions of Big Bux that they had dancing in their heads. As one of the leaders of one of the do-gooder organisations later put it "Suing the cab companies is not the answer". Yeah, Right. These do-gooders found out that with one or two exceptions (my company was NOT one of the exceptions), given the choice of the balance sheet of a late twentieth/early twenty-first century Washington cab company or a Colorado short line in the 1930s, you would be better of picking the Colorado railroad every time. The do-gooders did not get even twenty per-cent of what they were expecting from us. They got nothing from some of the other cab companies that they sued, as those companies filed for bankruptcy. Ours almost did.



Brooklyn said:


> So Uber used to advertise that they operate everywhere and don't discriminate..
> Now they put in a feature that allows drivers to avoid working everywhere and essentially discriminate.


That is essentially what they are doing. You can select to Red Line __________________________. What is to stop a driver from selecting this or that place?



Kalee said:


> How is selecting "drop off areas" a way of selecting where you work? Wouldn't selecting "pickup areas" make more sense?


You can select the pick up areas already. If you are en route to an area where you do not want a trip, you turn on the "GO OFF LINE" feature. Once you end the trip, select "GO OFF LINE" again. Leave it OFF LINE until you are somewhere that you will accept a trip. The newer destination filter simply allows the driver not to be taken to that place in the first place.



Michael - Cleveland said:


> You already have that by just being online where you want to do pick-ups.


^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



Brooklyn said:


> So when a majority of drivers start ignoring the Bronx and Brooklyn south and etc.. that isn't redlining?


For a city the size of New York, they almost would have to allow you to de-select boroughs, at least. In the Capital of Your Nation, you might have to allow the de-selection of quadrants or vast swaths of the city as well as certain suburbs. Here, I suspect that many drivers would de-select East of the Anacostia River and Prince George's County, Maryland.



KMANDERSON said:


> No I'm saying since Uber labels us as independent contractors they can not force you to drive in certain areas.


In theory, yes. That, however, did not help my cab company. In fact, over the years, starting with the courts and finally getting to the politicians and regulators, it got to the point where cab companies are held responsible for the actions of drivers, even though they are independent contractors. Geography, in some cases, is a Federally Protected Class. It would not be difficult for a court to make the leap from cab company to TNC.



Brooklyn said:


> But now imagine all the drivers who will avoid neighborhoods now that they can specifically choose neighborhoods to service.


^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^ Conversely, those drivers who do choose to service those neighbourhoods will stay busy---until a trip takes them to a more regullarly served neighbourhood, that is.



JimKE said:


> It's not "redlining," whatever that means to you. A driver determines where they pick up by where they sit or drive between rides.
> 
> If a pickup is too far away -- or in a high-crime area -- the driver has absolutely no obligation to accept the ride. We are independent contractors.
> 
> Uber is not "redlining" because they took the ride request and offered it to drivers. Uber did their part.
> 
> If nobody accepts the ride, that's the drivers' prerogative...nothing wrong with that.


I do not disagree with you , but the courts and the politicians/regulators do not agree with you. Those defences did not help my cab company.



grams777 said:


> The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry​They know well and good that the main reason they don't show the destination is because the short rides usually pay too little. So they have to dangle the carrot of hoping for a profitable ride so the drivers will pick them all up.


While your statement about jerk runs is not incorrect, indeed, my experience as a cab dispatcher and driver bears it out, there is also the factor of drivers' not wanting to go to certain places. If they put out the destinations, drivers would reject trips for both reasons. In fact, you have customers currently complaining that if they have names that sound like this or that, they must wait longer, get many drivers' cancelling or do not even get picked up. I had one lady call me one time and ask why I had cancelled and tried to imply that I was cancelling for this or that reason. What was funny was: 1. Her name was "Susan" or some other common female name and 2. I had _*not*_ cancelled, the trip was still on my screen and I had every intention of covering her request. It turned out that some drivers had cancelled on her. thus she thought that she was calling one of them.



KMANDERSON said:


> The only one that let you set your own rate was sidecar.That was the only decent rideshare company.


...............until it told you that it would not pay you if the customer's credit card was no good...............................Uber will pay you regardless. Lyft does make you wait twenty four hours if the customer's card is declined, but, eventually it will pay you.



roadman said:


> Sounds good. No more trips to dulles or bwi. And any other area where I have to dead head it back without any compensation.


...........at least not for base rates..................If I get Dulles, I will not wait at the TNC yard, but I can get to Falls Gulch or the western part of Arlington pretty quickly. Arlington can be a pool trap, though, so you must be careful what you accept there. This goes double from the hours of Three to Five-Thirty P.M. when the fatcats on Willyburg, Little Falls or Yorktown are sending home their domestics.

If I get Friendship, I just go home, afterward.



Kalee said:


> Unless you work for Uber, please explain to us how it is that you know so much about the number of ride requests everyone else in your area receives?


Talk to the drivers?


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## TwoFiddyMile

Another Uber Driver I got the shaft this morning between 2 and 5am- 4 out of 5 jobs blew up into nogos or cancelations. When the IVR computer attempted to ping me 10 miles north on a "priority job" I rejected it not once but 4 times.

I'm usually very accommodating and a company man. At a certain point, the computer burns you enough you burn it back.
Like you, I prefer a HUMAN dispatcher. Guys like me clean up when a flesh and blood dispatcher knows what I'm capable of.
Feed me
Feed me
I'll clean up the crumbs when necessary.


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## Another Uber Driver

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Like you, I prefer a HUMAN dispatcher. Guys like me clean up when a flesh and blood dispatcher knows what I'm capable of.
> Feed me
> Feed me
> I'll clean up the crumbs when necessary.


I used to have guys like that. They would chase all of the garbage jobs and cover them, especially the voucher jobs and the regulars who went nowhere or somewhere nobody wanted to go.. At my last two companies, the dispatcher had the discretion to hit them with good jobs to back up the hard working driver. Oh yes, the sharpshooters used to caterwaul, but you could tell them that when they started helping out, you could help them, too. At one of my companies, the dispatcher had no such discretion, although I violated that frequently. Oh yes, some Fleet Lawyer or sharpshooter would come into the office and BOO HOO HOO to the Management, but I used to pull the tickets that the driver whom I helped had covered and was quite loud about how I needed to do something for this guy so that he would continue to help out. I always won. Still, it was a factor in the mutually agreeable decision that I leave that cab company.


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## Michael - Cleveland

See the announcement in the NOTIFICATIONS section: Uber has increased the number of destination Filters to 6 per day.


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## TwoFiddyMile

Another Uber Driver said:


> I used to have guys like that. They would chase all of the garbage jobs and cover them, especially the voucher jobs and the regulars who went nowhere or somewhere nobody wanted to go.. At my last two companies, the dispatcher had the discretion to hit them with good jobs to back up the hard working driver. Oh yes, the sharpshooters used to caterwaul, but you could tell them that when they started helping out, you could help them, too. At one of my companies, the dispatcher had no such discretion, although I violated that frequently. Oh yes, some Fleet Lawyer or sharpshooter would come into the office and BOO HOO HOO to the Management, but I used to pull the tickets that the driver whom I helped had covered and was quite loud about how I needed to do something for this guy so that he would continue to help out. I always won. Still, it was a factor in the mutually agreeable decision that I leave that cab company.


At the end of the day, I really just want to see top revenue. I don't care how I get there. Airports, grocery jobs, laundry jobs.
I'd prefer a minimum of perceived dangerous felons, but it's also part of the gig.


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## ridesharegurl2017

Kalee said:


> False
> When I'm sitting in the areas I want to work and I'm getting ride requests 20 to 25 minutes away, 2 towns away ... that's not working the area I want to work.
> And I don't want to hear, "but just don't accept those ride requests Kalee. You will not be deactivated for low acceptance rate."
> 
> No, you won't be deactivated anymore. But the lower your acceptance rate, the fewer and fewer requests Uber allows to go through to you.


Maybe this is Naive but I am not yet an uber driver, just lyft. Is it normal to get requests 20-25min away with uber? Doesn't that mean you are the closest driver to that area? It seems a bit extreme. My longest ride to get to a pax was about 3.5miles away 12 minutes cuz traffic.


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## JimKE

Another Uber Driver said:


> I do not disagree with you , but the courts and the politicians/regulators do not agree with you. Those defences did not help my cab company.


I don't care what corrupt politicians/regulators -- or the taxi companies who *own* them -- think.

I also think you missed the point, as far as Uber is concerned.

If a person in an "underserved neighborhood" lights up their Uber app and requests a ride, Uber's magic algorithm finds a driver and offers them the ride. If they don't take it, Uber offers the ride to another driver, and another, and another, and another...until someone either takes the ride, or the requesting customer cancels. Uber does their part -- they provided the app, and they made a good-faith effort to complete the transaction.

Uber is NOT discriminating against anyone. They receive the request; they process the request. And the vast majority of requests from "underserved neighborhoods" *do* get accepted, the rides are completed and the rider, driver, and Uber are happy.

Unless someone can show a _systematic program_ to *deprive* "underserved" people of service, that whole argument is pure BS. It's a wet dream of the grievance industry, not real stuff.



ridesharegurl2017 said:


> Maybe this is Naive but I am not yet an uber driver, just lyft. Is it normal to get requests 20-25min away with uber?


LMAO...Oh my goodness...NO! At least not in any urban area. 5 minutes away is long...7-8 minutes away is laughing material. The norm for me here in Miami is 1-4 minutes.


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## Another Uber Driver

JimKE said:


> I don't care what corrupt politicians/regulators -- or the taxi companies who *own* them -- think.
> 
> I also think you missed the point, as far as Uber is concerned.
> 
> If a person in an "underserved neighborhood" lights up their Uber app and requests a ride, Uber's magic algorithm finds a driver and offers them the ride. If they don't take it, Uber offers the ride to another driver, and another, and another, and another...until someone either takes the ride, or the requesting customer cancels. Uber does their part -- they provided the app, and they made a good-faith effort to complete the transaction.
> 
> Uber is NOT discriminating against anyone. They receive the request; they process the request. And the vast majority of requests from "underserved neighborhoods" *do* get accepted, the rides are completed and the rider, driver, and Uber are happy.
> 
> Unless someone can show a _systematic program_ to *deprive* "underserved" people of service, that whole argument is pure BS. It's a wet dream of the grievance industry, not real stuff.
> 
> LMAO...Oh my goodness...NO! At least not in any urban area. 5 minutes away is long...7-8 minutes away is laughing material. The norm for me here in Miami is 1-4 minutes.


I do not know the situation in Florida, but "Big Taxi" that owns politicians and regulators is urban myth, here, literally and figuratively.

It is not I who missed any point. It is the courts that do not agree with you, not taxi companies. Perhaps you missed my point. The short version is:

1. Taxi company accepts request.
2. Taxi company advertises request.
3. No one picks up request.
4. Customer may cancel or may not, bottom line: customer does not get ride.
5. Customer complains to do-gooder organisation,
6. Do-gooders investigate, find this happens frequently.
7. Do-gooders sue cab company.
8. Politicians and regulators find out about law suit.
9. Politicians pass rules penalising taxi companies for not sending cabs that they do not have to send.

Lawyers want money. Lawyers look for targets that have money. The TNCs have money. Most of it might be on paper and most of what _*ain't on no paper*_ is likely overseas,, thus out of the reach of U.S. Courts, but there must be a few million lying around somewhere on which a lawyer can lay his hands. The lawyers will take that. The leap from cab company to TNC is not a difficult leap.

The cab companies are and were not discriminating against anyone, either. They took the request. The courts did not agree.

Then, there is the doctrine of Burden Shifting, which is a fancy way to say "deprive the accused of his protections guaranteed under the Constitution". It is Beta Sigma, but it is the law. What happens is all that someone need to is run into court and holler "DISCRIMINATION!" and suddenly, the accuser is not required to prove anything but the accused must prove that he did not discriminate.

The argument of the do-gooders and the regulators is Beta Sigma, but the courts, the regulators and the politicians do not think that it is Beta Sigma. You can not care all that you will, but if the rules get put into place, Beta Sigma or not, you are stuck with them. The "Grievance Industry", with the help of the League of the Perpetually Offended has a nasty habit of getting its way.


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## TwoFiddyMile

Another Uber Driver said:


> I do not know the situation in Florida, but "Big Taxi" that owns politicians and regulators is urban myth, here, literally and figuratively.
> 
> It is not I who missed any point. It is the courts that do not agree with you, not taxi companies. Perhaps you missed my point. The short version is:
> 
> 1. Taxi company accepts request.
> 2. Taxi company advertises request.
> 3. No one picks up request.
> 4. Customer may cancel or may not, bottom line: customer does not get ride.
> 5. Customer complains to do-gooder organisation,
> 6. Do-gooders investigate, find this happens frequently.
> 7. Do-gooders sue cab company.
> 8. Politicians and regulators find out about law suit.
> 9. Politicians pass rules penalising taxi companies for not sending cabs that they do not have to send.
> 
> Lawyers want money. Lawyers look for targets that have money. The TNCs have money. Most of it might be on paper and most of what _*ain't on no paper*_ is likely overseas,, thus out of the reach of U.S. Courts, but there must be a few million lying around somewhere on which a lawyer can lay his hands. The lawyers will take that. The leap from cab company to TNC is not a difficult leap.
> 
> The cab companies are and were not discriminating against anyone, either. They took the request. The courts did not agree.
> 
> Then, there is the doctrine of Burden Shifting, which is a fancy way to say "deprive the accused of his protections guaranteed under the Constitution". It is Beta Sigma, but it is the law. What happens is all that someone need to is run into court and holler "DISCRIMINATION!" and suddenly, the accuser is not required to prove anything but the accused must prove that he did not discriminate.
> 
> The argument of the do-gooders and the regulators is Beta Sigma, but the courts, the regulators and the politicians do not think that it is Beta Sigma. You can not care all that you will, but if the rules get put into place, Beta Sigma or not, you are stuck with them. The "Grievance Industry", with the help of the League of the Perpetually Offended has a nasty habit of getting its way.


One of the worst parts of being a dispatcher is triage.
"I.dont have a cab for you. You are an hour outside of our service area. 
You are going 5 blocks. Give me a credit card and when a cab frees up and can make the run I'll get it out there. I'm going to charge your card $100.00. oops he hung up. Why did he hang up?"


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## Alison Chains

ridesharegurl2017 said:


> Is it normal to get requests 20-25min away with uber? Doesn't that mean you are the closest driver to that area? It seems a bit extreme. My longest ride to get to a pax was about 3.5miles away 12 minutes cuz traffic.


That'll depend on your market. You're big city. I'm five counties of small metro college town and countryside, in which it is pretty likely that someone will try to haul you clear across town when drivers are scarce at 6:30 am. Your 3.5 mile outlier is my normal when I'm not clinging to the campus ant farm but I'll also do it in 8 minutes instead of your 12.


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## Kalee

Never ever ever accept these requests:


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## KMANDERSON

WaveRunner1 said:


> Isn't setting a limit on destinations a conflict with independent contractor status? Sounds like an employer.


You are only a independent contractor because it cheaper to call you that.



dirtylee said:


> Never going to happen in dfw. No one would select anything south of I-30. Thousands would have collin county & dfw airport selected.


I was hoping to avoid uptown


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## darkshy77

Michael - Cleveland said:


> You already have that by just being online where you want to do pick-ups.


Yes but it would not send you out of the area. In Houston you can end up 50 plus miles away. It would be great to just work around on the suburbs


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## metal_orion

heynow321 said:


> This would be great and would be much better than the current destination filter


I exploit very well that sweet destination filter. I love it!


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## WaveRunner1

metal_orion said:


> I exploit very well that sweet destination filter. I love it!


lol @ $1 tip. Someone was feeling "generous" that day. Would've been especially nice on "Double Tip Tuesday"


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## Michael - Cleveland

darkshy77 said:


> Yes but it would not send you out of the area. In Houston you can end up 50 plus miles away. It would be great to just work around on the suburbs


?? Here in CLE we get a 'LONG TRIP' notice if the ride is going to be more than 45 minutes from the pick-up location. Do you get those in Houston?



WaveRunner1 said:


> lol @ $1 tip. Someone was feeling "generous" that day. Would've been especially nice on "Double Tip Tuesday"


hehe... At least they didn't implement the tip feature with "%" - if they had, riders would feel great about giving a 20% tip on a min fare ride - giving us all of 60 cents!


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## Agent037

Kalee said:


> False
> When I'm sitting in the areas I want to work and I'm getting ride requests 20 to 25 minutes away, 2 towns away ... that's not working the area I want to work.
> And I don't want to hear, "but just don't accept those ride requests Kalee. You will not be deactivated for low acceptance rate."
> 
> No, you won't be deactivated anymore. But the lower your acceptance rate, the fewer and fewer requests Uber allows to go through to you.


My acceptance rate is about 20% now.. Sorry, kids... The pool is closed

Uber wants to make NYC drivers really independent contractors?. Let them opt out of uberpoop. Start there fuber.



Kalee said:


> Never ever ever accept these requests:
> 
> View attachment 151422


Location? And also would the pax also accept such a long time waiting?. .. Dont think so


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## Nagodesi

I emailed them asking where can I drive to make a decent living, no response till this day..


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## THEGOLDENGREEK

BurgerTiime said:


> https://qz.com/1055050/uber-is-test...er-that-lets-drivers-choose-where-they-drive/
> 
> Uber is experimenting with giving a key decision-making power to drivers, making good on its "be your own boss" tagline.
> 
> The ride-hailing company is testing a "drop-off area filter" that lets drivers choose where they go. "We will only send you trips that have a drop-off location within the areas you have selected," reads a message introducing the feature, which was shared by drivers in multiple online forums. "The more areas you select, the more trips you'll likely get. And you can update your preference at any time."
> 
> Uber confirmed to Quartz that it is conducting a "small" test of the drop-off area filter. A spokesman declined to specify where the feature is being tested but said the drop-off zones drivers can opt into are large swaths of a city rather than individual neighborhoods. Drivers on Reddit reported spotting the feature in Boston and Toronto. "We are committed to our mission of reliable transportation, everywhere for everyone," the spokesman said in an emailed statement.
> 
> More than 2 million people drive for Uber worldwide and more than 600,000 in the US. The company hires these drivers as independent contractors and advertises the flexibility that they get by working on the Uber platform. But while drivers have long had control over their hours-they can sign on and off Uber freely-they've historically had little to no control over where Uber's routing algorithms take them.
> 
> Uber doesn't tell drivers where the drop-off is before they accept an incoming ride request. The company has said it does this to prevent drivers from discriminating against passengers heading to poorer and less accessible neighborhoods, which have historically been underserved by the taxi industry. The system can frustrate drivers, especially when a ride takes them far from other prospective customers.
> 
> Giving drivers more control over their destinations could go a long way toward addressing this pain point. Quartz reported Aug. 15 that Uber is also testing a "long trip" feature that warns drivers when a ride is likely to last over an hour.
> 
> Uber has committed to improving its frayed relations with drivers. In late June, the company debuted a sweeping campaign to improve the driver experience, titled "180 Days of Change." As part of that Uber added a tipping option to its rides and food-delivery apps and tweaked its ratings system so that riders are asked to justify when they leave a driver less than five stars.


It be nice to have riders connect with there FAV DRIVERS FOR PERSONAL REQUESTED PICK UP . If the driver is in the riders area, the rider should be able to request his favorite driver as most riders always ask how can we can yiu again to drive us if your available and in that area ..

is this possible ????? please help the riders and drivers and make it easier with out telling riders its not possible and hopefukky one day it will be feature available for alm riders to have as first choice of UBER CAR REQUEST & DRIVER


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## Bart McCoy

all this yip yap about the feature, can anybody give some real life usage of the feature? Can't you effectively use this to only take long trips?


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## metal_orion

WaveRunner1 said:


> lol @ $1 tip. Someone was feeling "generous" that day. Would've been especially nice on "Double Tip Tuesday"


lol People in Chicago are cheap


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## Monkchoi

ARD said:


> I stop all new ride requests while I'm with a pax en route to their drop off. Then I turn back on and if the new request is on the way to where I want/need to go, I take it, no matter how far. If it's not on my way, and far out, I cancel every time.


Don't get me wrong but if you do that, you're limiting the potential to get a request at the same drop off location or one that is very close. If you're lucky, you might get hit with a cancellation by rider and thus a $3.75 fee. . It happened to me a few times. If it's too far away, I have the option to cancel the ride.


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## Johnny Driver

THEGOLDENGREEK said:


> It be nice to have riders connect with there FAV DRIVERS FOR PERSONAL REQUESTED PICK UP . If the driver is in the riders area, the rider should be able to request his favorite driver as most riders always ask how can we can yiu again to drive us if your available and in that area ..
> 
> is this possible ????? please help the riders and drivers and make it easier with out telling riders its not possible and hopefukky one day it will be feature available for alm riders to have as first choice of UBER CAR REQUEST & DRIVER


I would like it better if I could mark the pax that I would like to pick up again when receiving the requests. Those who might like me I might not like them.


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## Retired Senior

Bart McCoy said:


> all this yip yap about the feature, can anybody give some real life usage of the feature? Can't you effectively use this to only take long trips?


Not in my experience. After a few non-acceptance pings you will get a worrisome message from UBER. And by declining to accept all and any rides that are not "long distance" your ratings will suffer!


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## uberdriverfornow

so many drivers in the SF bay area, i never get a request to go more than 7 miles or so, even in non peak times


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## Bart McCoy

so did this feature ever come to fruition in the DC market?


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## Skepticaldriver

uberdriverfornow said:


> so many drivers in the SF bay area, i never get a request to go more than 7 miles or so, even in non peak times


Thats not the point of the thread nor was it the point of said feature.


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## KMANDERSON

Bart McCoy said:


> so did this feature ever come to fruition in the DC market?


No they killed it when they dropped destination filters from six to two.Never got past the testing phase.


----------

