Uber

HooRU · 2025-04-23T01:21:24+00:00

I started Uber 4 days ago. I’m not making the money that I was told to expect by other drivers, but I’m still learning. I’m going all over the west half the state here. One observation is that my beloved city here is a worse dump than I thought, the streets are in very bad shape all over, everywhere, and most of us here are poor or of modest means. But the people are what makes my home town meaningful. New Haven is quite a bit like NYC, much more than I expected, in so many ways. The people I meet are so diverse and that diversity is what makes America great, honest to God. Blessed souls with amazing stories. If you don’t understand diversity, you won’t hack this job. One young lady I met was from Madagascar, she was very pretty and really really nice. I met a street lawyer who told me about his hard efforts to help poor drug addicts and how, black or not, he grew up much like a white kid, watching PBS and learning about the world. Race is a lie, we are ONE race, the human race. Honest go God, all these people are marvelous and amazing souls. I have seen rich neighborhoods with neighbors with dogs talking to other neighbors, massive crouds of people crossing streets, bizarre streets that are horrible to navigate. What an experience. I’m blown away. The pay sucks terribly, but the people make it worth it, that and having wheels. I may have extreme anxiety, but I’m rising to the occasion, I’m braver than I thought. Sadly, driving 12 hours will eat up my guitar time and I miss playing through my amp. In order to make money, I’m going to have to work 7 days a week, maybe not always full days though. The rental and added insurance is a little less than 400 dollars. I was given a Kia midsize. One thing that I can say about this car is it is more comfy than my sisters very good Honday SUV. The rental lady told me she would take care of me, and she did! The work is a little terrifying, imagine your worst traffic nightmares, but I’m already getting used to it. Folks I’m going to plead with you: If you are in the USA, for Heaven’s sake, tip your drivers, deliverers AND transporters. They earn less than you think and even if they aren’t likeable, they are probably amazing souls if you give them a chance. Some riders don’t want to talk and are a bit gruff, but I don’t mind, they are carrying weight inside and I get it. The tips are what makes this job at least mean a small something. I might only earn 3-400 a week after costs, and that is working very long hours, but consider that I am paying for a car and insurance so add that into where one earns. Be good to your drivers. Understand them and pray for them.

Somewhat-Reticent

Sparkchaser Indeed, though hard to find in polarized.
Handy during dark-shift for those sensitive to excess blue-light time.
Also available as flip-ups.

HooRU

Guys, they are just the beginnings of cararracts. Catarracts are the decomposition of your lenses, I would not drive if they told me they were in any ways bad. Many my age have them, the beginnings of them. I’m allowed to drive. If you look at me you can’t see anything except women tell me that I have pretty eyes. It helped get me my wife, hah hah.

HooRU

One bad thing about Uber is there is a selection for restrooms, but it only gives addresses, NOT directions and it only give them when you are live, meaning they push you to take riders and it goes against you if you don’t forego the break and pick up yet more people. They are slave drivers.

I had a GOOD day today, I earned about 40 in tips. I figure I’m a nice person so that helps.

But the young’uns are usually jerks, especially young women, very unpleasant, and fiddling with their phones making a racket distracting you. Kids today are such jerks. Bad attitudes.

Somewhat-Reticent

HooRU Kids

Kids have money for rides? How old are these young’uns, roughly?

broknsymetry

Somewhat-Reticent Kids have money for rides? How old are these young’uns, roughly?

Mom and Pop’s plastic no doubt.

Astyanax

HooRU I had a GOOD day today, I earned about 40 in tips.

Have you ever figured how much you’re really making per hour with this after expenses?

ThirdShifter

Astyanax Have you ever figured how much you’re really making per hour with this after expenses?

I knew someone driving Lift who calculated he was making less than minimum wage.

Sparkchaser

broknsymetry Mom and Pop’s plastic no doubt

They take PayPal.

Sparkchaser

HooRU Guys, they are just the beginnings of cararracts. Catarracts are the decomposition of your lenses, I would not drive if they told me they were in any ways bad. Many my age have them, the beginnings of them.

I think many would be surprised to know they have cataracts starting. I think the optometrist first noticed at around 50. I had them operated on at 77.

telcodad

Sparkchaser I think many would be surprised to know they have cataracts starting.

Yeah, my eye doctor noted last year that I have cataracts starting now. ;(

HooRU

It is correct that mom’s and dad’s are ordering trips. They should know better and I think bigger fines need to go out for infractions.

I almost got T-Boned today, a man ran a red light driving into the sun.

MacLeech

HooRU It is correct that mom’s and dad’s are ordering trips. They should know better and I think bigger fines need to go out for infractions.

Infractions for what? Bad behavior of younger people in your vehicle? As a driver, aren’t you rating your passengers? Are you accepting rides from all passengers, or do you dismiss the passengers with lower ratings?

HooRU

The infractions are knowingly reserving rides for minor unaccompanied, and/or without car seat.

It costs the company and the driver money and time. They try and trick us or pressure us into breaking the law. Those are infractions.

Losing such a far is a potential loss of gas, time, and dollars for the driver and hours and labor for the company who must examine the infraction and investigate.

I get paid 4 dollar for a fare that was supposed to be over 20, and wasted gas and about a half hour wasted going there. In that time, after arguing with me, I could have done 2 or 3 normal fares and my gas use and wear and gear on a total loss.
You should need this explained to you. You’re bright.

MacLeech

HooRU So are you giving those passengers 1 star ratings? Are you reporting them to Uber at all? Who is the “They try and trick us or pressure us into breaking the law”? The passenger or Uber?

The time and money that Uber spends to investigate is not your concern. Wear and gear on a rental car is not your concern either. That is their costs of doing business.

It sounds like you’re just going with it, accepting passengers against TOS hoping to profit. Not all money is good money, sometime you just have to take the loss early and learn from it. Giving rides to unaccompanied known minors is opening yourself to all sorts of possible legal troubles, least of which is getting fired by Uber for breaking their Driver TOS. Not reporting them is just enabling them.

Uber Teen Accounts allow for some underage rides, and you should be notified before pickup in those cases with right to refuse, but if you accept you still have to report problems with passengers.

Have you looked into being an Uber Eats driver?

Sparkchaser

Back to cataracts…..

The parking lot where they do the surgery

Heat84

How do you tip an Uber driver? I can never find where you do that, and you would would think Uber would send you a text or email asking for a tip. I believe Lyft does that.

Heat84

HooRU

Are you gonna also do Lyft? Some people do both. You could also do Uber Eats, DoorDash, InstantCart, etc. It probably doesn’t make sense to do just one of these since you can easily do multiple.

dave

Heat84

It’s right there in the app - I think on the ‘rate your driver’ thing that comes up after a ride. At least, that’s how I remember it, though it has been quite a while since my last Uber trip.

HooRU

It’s right after the ride as dave said.

Also, I’m doing an Uber rental through Hertz, I cannot use the car for anything but Uber lift and Eats. I get enough fares to not need to do eats. The problem is the fares don’t pay well enough and eats is no better.

MacLeech

HooRU The fares are set by Uber mostly based on distance, duration, and demand.
https://www.uber.com/us/en/marketplace/pricing/
You are hoping for high tips and not getting them.

The way to make up for low tips is higher quantities of fares. That is why people provide multiple services. You’ve got to hustle.

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