# First Weekend Driving- How did I do?/Thoughts and Musings



## XFrost (Apr 17, 2015)

So Uber just launched in my town, after being told that they were coming 9 months ago. I signed up to be a driver then and after being accepted, heard nothing about the service launching here for the better part of the year. Finally, to coincide with a weeklong sporting event in the city, Uber decided to roll out. I decided to give it a shot, taking in to consideration many of the bits of advice I had read about here before starting.

A couple points: I am a student and was just looking for a flexible, part time gig to earn some extra bucks on my schedule. I have a 8 month old fuel efficient hybrid car, which helps in terms of the gas costs. Uber in our city is 1$ base, 1.30$.mile, and 0.18$/minute.

Numbers: My strategy, aside from my first couple trips learning how to use the app. etc., was to stay online at my house until pings came in. I live very close to two popular bars in town, as well as relatively affluent residential area. After completing trips, I would look to return home and if I got a ping on the way from either of the bars or houses around I would take it. Additionally, in looking at the math of driving, it seemed that driving during surge times was the only way to really generate an income that I found to be worth my time and depreciation level on the car. So I tried to not drive unless the surge was above 3x, and preferably would take surges at 4-5x (the highest I saw).

I drove Friday and Saturday night, and was online on the driver app for about a total of 8.5 hours. My total time where I was earning money during trips was about 3:25 minutes. I would say the rest of the time was spent between driving get pickups or watching TV at my house waiting. My total mileage driving, including to the pickups, was about 130 miles (total mileage during fares was about 72 miles or so). 16 trips total.

Total fares collected: 521.40$, net payout was roughly $420.00. Factor in taxes (after 0.57$/mile deduction, and I brought in about 300$ post tax for the time and miles driven. This seems pretty good, but I would appreciate your take on my approach?

Some tidbits:
Being a new driver, I messed up royally when, during a 4.5 surge, I picked up a ping that I later found to be from a rider that was juuuuust outside the surge area. A 35 dollar fare for a 22 mile, 45 minute trip was a bummer, considering had it been in the surge area it would have been about 160$. Wont make that mistake again. I did pretty well with minimum fare short trips during 4-5x surges of 19 to 20 bucks.

I am planning to pretty much only drive part time on weekends during the surges, as that appears to be the only time that they will be in effect. Any ideas on how I should proceed, given that this is a part time job, and I want to maximize what I can get for my time without depreciating my car extensively.

I have no sense or desire of giving my all to Uber, school comes first for me. And after looking at how poorly Uber pays in other cities like Orlando compared to here, it doesnt seem too horrible yet, but again, I want to generate income, and do that in the most efficient way possible. Thoroughly enjoyed reading the ideas and complaints/opinions on this site, hope you guys can give me some good advice.


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## Emp9 (Apr 9, 2015)

seems cool enough, i wouldnt go back in my house during a "shift" but thats your call. also you can see if the request has a surge or not before accepting it. Often times in the DC area i am in a surge and i get many pings from within and outside with no surge price , i cant seem to figure out whats going on with that.


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## Casandria (Dec 20, 2014)

When you get a ping, it will tell you if it is a surge or not. You actually have more time than you think to accept a ping so take a couple of seconds and if you know there is a surge nearby and it isn't a surge fare, let it go. Your rates are decent and even more so on a surge.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

I do the same thing, head slowly for home after a call. I'm not trying to work this as hard as I possibly can and I live in a decent area for calls so I'd rather be home relaxing between calls than sitting in my car somewhere waiting for the next one.

What you are doing right now is great, enjoy it while it lasts. You are getting a lot of surges because it's new and they don't have enough drivers. That will change in a few weeks and the surges will start to subside.


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## TeleSki (Dec 4, 2014)

Sounds like you're doing it right.


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## gprimr1 (Mar 7, 2015)

Being at home also reduces dead miles and risks to insurance


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## Fauxknight (Aug 12, 2014)

So your profit was about $35/hour and you're wondering how you did? Most drivers would kill to have your rates and apparent steady surge.


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## TwentyThree (Apr 18, 2015)

Keep on Driving my friend, don't let the Haters bring you down


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## jiwagon (Feb 19, 2015)

It's new in your city. That probably means you're not competing against many drivers, and Uber Black may not be available yet. Also, Uber won't be bugging you about cherry picking your fares with being new and such few drivers onboard. How's your rating? Also, consider that the weekend is prime time for vomit. The numbers show you did well, but consider the points I've made. The devil is always friendly at first. That's why he's the devil.


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## limepro (Mar 7, 2015)

Once they onboard a ton of drivers the surges start to dissapear. Even in the last month surges in Miami are harder to come by.


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## johnywinslow (Oct 30, 2014)

lol uber will launch you will do great! then they will hire too many drivers in your area and then cut rates and next thing you know you can not make 200$ in the same amount of time on the same nights! give it 6-8 months and you will understand how uber does business. Utill then take advantsge drive all you can now make all the money you can because its temporary! I used to make an easy 300-350 a weekend, now I struggle to make 200 on fri sat and sun! 4-5 hrs a day!


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## CNJtrepreneur (Mar 25, 2015)

I second the "you're lucking out b/c Uber is new in your area" sentiment. New Jersey is oversaturated with Uber and Lyft (from what I can see, the majority of drivers have both apps on most of the time).

My advice? Right now, work your ass off & score all the cash you can. Because eventually the windfall will stop.


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