Uber and Lyft To Earn Extra Cash? (average, tips, application)
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The little ads that came up on my Facebook page say $13/hr. Also, governments are leaning toward making Uber drivers get commercial insurance, like a cabbie.
I was considering doing it at one point and even filled out the application and did the background check. But the more I heard about it the more I reconsidered. I started reading driver stories at Uber Drivers Forum and determined that it wasn't for me. From everything I've heard and read, it WAS lucrative. Guys that were the first drivers in a new area were making $20 or so an hour after expenses a few years ago. Now, it looks like it's more like $8-10 an hour. The more people that drive in an area the less Uber pays you. You make more if you work peak times - 10pm - 3am Friday and Saturday. But then you're dealing with drunks and may end up cleaning puke out of your back seat or getting bad feedback for no good reason. The key to making more is obviously to have a fuel efficient and reliable vehicle. Otherwise it's just more money out of your pocket. Also keep in mind that Uber charges you $10 a week to rent their phone and you have to get your vehicle inspected at your expense before you can hit the road. You will be dropped if your feedback gets below 4.5/5 stars. Then there's the insurance issue... On second thought it wasn't for me. YMMV though.
Making $20/hr isn't exactly, "great" either, it's average wage so you could get that doing other things as well. Why wear down your own car for it?
Work overtime if someone needs extra money or PRN/second job else where.
Like brian571 said, there's not a lot going for it, if they charged more, people would take cabs, so that is the "glass ceiling" for these services. And I don't think you even get tipped.
A friend of mine drives for Lyft to make some extra money. He only works when there is something big going on (which in Nashville is a lot of the time). He likes it - he's one of those who loves to talk with people and he gets extra money for a few hours a week.
Keep in mind that the people who post on the Uber forums are trying to scare away other drivers. Note how many of them say they stopped driving for Uber 6 months ago but still post ten times per day on a driver-only forum. They're also infiltrated by disgruntled cab drivers who do nothing but spread negativity.
I've driven full-time and part-time in Orlando, Florida since last summer. Part-time is the way to go here since we don't have a busy downtown area loaded with car-less professionals. Driving after 9pm is the most lucrative as that is when the Uber riders are out in full force. I've never tried the early morning commuter/airport drop-off type hours but I hear they can be good as well. The night crowd is more predictable so you don't waste time or gas wondering where the fares are. I make $400 per week pretty easily just driving after 9pm.
After 500+ rides I've never had anyone get sick in my car. If it ever happens, we're told to get the car professionally cleaned, email a pic of the receipt to Uber, and they'll reimburse you. I'd much rather drive interesting drunk people at night with no traffic than with uptight commuters during rush hour. Plus, the fares are higher during the later hours due to "surge pricing" by Uber. Sometimes it's 1.3x the going rate, sometimes as much as 5x like after a concert or sporting event.
About 75% of the passengers are pretty chummy and love to talk to the driver, unlike with a regular cab. Almost all conversations start with one of us asking how long we've been riding/driving with Uber. As a guy, I must admit that I enjoy talking to women on a friendly level all night long. (Yes, numbers do get exchanged.) I've also laughed out loud more giving Uber rides than I have doing anything else in my entire life. That is not an exaggeration....I tear up from laughing all the time, both when talking with or just listening to passengers. Oh yeah, the 25% who aren't talkative are still polite, they're just focused on their phones.
Uber does charge $10 per week for the iPhone that they send you. You can use your own smartphone for free if you want though.
The Uber pay is direct deposited into my checking every Thursday. Uber takes 20% plus $1 per ride and the rest goes to the driver. On a typical part-time week I'll give 50 rides in 4 nights, totaling $500 in fares. Deduct $50 for the $1/ride fee, that's $450. 80% of that is $360. Deduct $10 for the iPhone, and my pay is $350 (plus $50-$100 in tips, a few burgers, and a phone number or two).
Again, that's in Orlando. I give rides to vacationing Uber drivers from all over the country who make a lot more. I've had two guys show me a screen shot of their best weeks' pay and they were both over $2000. Another said he makes $700 per weekend in Dallas on top of his full-time job.
If anyone here is interested in driving for Uber, let me know here or by private message. I had a million questions before starting and wished I had someone I could have talked to.
Keep in mind that the people who post on the Uber forums are trying to scare away other drivers. Note how many of them say they stopped driving for Uber 6 months ago but still post ten times per day on a driver-only forum. They're also infiltrated by disgruntled cab drivers who do nothing but spread negativity.
I've driven full-time and part-time in Orlando, Florida since last summer. Part-time is the way to go here since we don't have a busy downtown area loaded with car-less professionals. Driving after 9pm is the most lucrative as that is when the Uber riders are out in full force. I've never tried the early morning commuter/airport drop-off type hours but I hear they can be good as well. The night crowd is more predictable so you don't waste time or gas wondering where the fares are. I make $400 per week pretty easily just driving after 9pm.
After 500+ rides I've never had anyone get sick in my car. If it ever happens, we're told to get the car professionally cleaned, email a pic of the receipt to Uber, and they'll reimburse you. I'd much rather drive interesting drunk people at night with no traffic than with uptight commuters during rush hour. Plus, the fares are higher during the later hours due to "surge pricing" by Uber. Sometimes it's 1.3x the going rate, sometimes as much as 5x like after a concert or sporting event.
About 75% of the passengers are pretty chummy and love to talk to the driver, unlike with a regular cab. Almost all conversations start with one of us asking how long we've been riding/driving with Uber. As a guy, I must admit that I enjoy talking to women on a friendly level all night long. (Yes, numbers do get exchanged.) I've also laughed out loud more giving Uber rides than I have doing anything else in my entire life. That is not an exaggeration....I tear up from laughing all the time, both when talking with or just listening to passengers. Oh yeah, the 25% who aren't talkative are still polite, they're just focused on their phones.
Uber does charge $10 per week for the iPhone that they send you. You can use your own smartphone for free if you want though.
The Uber pay is direct deposited into my checking every Thursday. Uber takes 20% plus $1 per ride and the rest goes to the driver. On a typical part-time week I'll give 50 rides in 4 nights, totaling $500 in fares. Deduct $50 for the $1/ride fee, that's $450. 80% of that is $360. Deduct $10 for the iPhone, and my pay is $350 (plus $50-$100 in tips, a few burgers, and a phone number or two).
Again, that's in Orlando. I give rides to vacationing Uber drivers from all over the country who make a lot more. I've had two guys show me a screen shot of their best weeks' pay and they were both over $2000. Another said he makes $700 per weekend in Dallas on top of his full-time job.
If anyone here is interested in driving for Uber, let me know here or by private message. I had a million questions before starting and wished I had someone I could have talked to.
I thought Uber did not allow their drivers to take tips? Also to make that $425 a week on average that you are saying how many hours are you working? How many miles are you putting on your car? How much are you spending on fuel and to keep the car clean?
As a guy who used to drive cabs on the weekend I can guess those numbers, and you are not making anywhere near $425 after required expenses. Off the top of my head you are spending at least $50 a week on gas if you have a good fuel efficient car, another $40 a month on additional oil changes due to the extra driving or $10 a week, even if you wash your car by hand you are spending about $10 a week minimum on car washes. So we are already down to $355 at best, not including the additional insurance that you should have on your car, which for car services in my area run about $3000 a year per car, or $250 a month, $62.50 a week. So let's be generous and say you are netting out about $300 a week, which is not all that great if you are working from 9pm through the bar rush, which runs until 3 am, so you are working 24 hours a week, or about $12.50 an hour. Not terrible money for a 2nd job, but far from a great income.
True, that was pre-fuel which does come to 100 miles/$10 per night. I have a 25 mile commute home every night any way so the way I see it, I'm getting paid to drive back toward my house those four nights. Before uber, those were guaranteed "dead miles". I also make sure to get my errands done while ubering to keep my overall miles down.
Your maintenance figures are way off. I get an oil change every 7000 miles (as recommended by manufacturer) for $25. I wash/vacuum my car once per week for $4. I hand wash the windows as needed and beat the floor mats in between. That's an extra $40 per year, not per month.
Most people don't have commercial insurance as Uber has an umbrella policy for all drivers. I have it for my other job already so that's a wash.
Tipping is absolutely allowed. Uber tells us to tell passengers it's not necessary first but then we can take it. Even if it wasn't allowed, I couldn't stop a server, bartender, or stripper from tipping me if I tried.
Having said all that, I have no problem with your net figure of $12.50/hr average for a part time job that can start/stop at my leisure. I've made $60 in an hour and called it a night and I've driven ten hours stright on a slow Monday when I really wanted an extra $100 that week.
Whatever job anyone in the world has, I guarantee they'd do it for 10-20% less pay if they could start/stop it whenever they wanted without having to tell anybody. That's a huge selling point for me with Uber. If they assigned shifts or made me commit to a certain amount of fares like a taxi then this wouldn't be a hood fit for me at all.
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