Dear Uber driver*, (* or Lyft driver or Curb driver or yellow taxi/black car/pedicab driver… I’ve been in dozens of your cars in 2015 already and the lines are blurring so this is really for all of you) How’s it going? Listen, I know its tough out there with the lowered fares (or bogus bonuses, unfair…
It looks like the Lyft bonus promotion has turned into a major wreck, leaving drivers (and potential drivers) ensnarled in the pileup. For those playing catch up, here’s the short version: 1. Last Thursday, Lyft offered an amazing driver sign up offer – $1,000 for new drivers who are approved and drive ONE ride in…
Editorial note – this story was extensively fact-checked to be sure the pay reported was accurately conveyed, including how Uber calculates guarantees for their drivers. Ten days ago, I reported that the latest round of rate cuts for UberX, while great for consumers, might spell the end of equitable Uber driver earnings, even with promised…
Uber has announced another round of UberX rate cuts in select markets including Dallas/Fort Worth. Uber X drivers received this surprise news yesterday when logging onto the driver app to accept passengers. The notification required drivers to acknowledge UberX rate cuts of up to 25% before being allowed to continue accepting new passenger rides. In related news, several drivers…
Editors note: Jetsetter’s Homestead does not encourage or endorse Uber hacking techniques. Attempt to cheat Uber at your own risk! The number of “hacks” for passengers to cheat Uber seems to be growing, prompting discussion among drivers about Uber’s fare adjustment practices. On several Uber driver message boards and private groups in the past week,…
I’ve certainly had some interesting adventures as an UberX driver… but I knew New Years Eve was going to be the night to end all nights. If I bought into the hype (and believe me, I did), it was going to be the busiest night of the year – and the highest earning for an…
New Years Eve is almost here and many of you will be enjoying a night on the town to ring in 2015. And as ridesharing spreads in availability to more cities, many of you will be using Uber to get to and from your celebrations safely. Your Uber drivers will have one of their busiest…
Uber surges seem to be a regular hot topic on the news – whether it’s crowdfunding a high fare, the 4x fare that was charged in Sydney after the hostage situation began last week, or ways to circumvent the surge – the variability in pricing tends to rile passengers. But it’s possible that the surge you…
I read about a new Uber workaround app today called SurgeProtector on the Will Run for Miles blog. The idea behind the app is to help users deceive the Uber app during surge pricing by dropping the location pin (that requests a car) in a wrong location conveniently located outside the surge zone. Presumably riders would…
UberX drivers come from all slices of life. You might be surprised who drives for UberX and what they do when they are not driving. Yesterday ESPN featured a story about Matt Stainbrook, a starter for the Xavier men’s basketball team and also a Cleveland UberX driver. Matt’s story is pretty cool – he is…
Uber is kicking off a week of special events to support not-for-profit organization No Kid Hungry – and as part of that, will offer an UberLUNCH pop-up on Thursday in nine select markets. The cities and restaurants? Atlanta – Alon’s Bakery & Market Austin – Easy Tiger Dallas – SMOKE Restaurant Denver – Rosenberg’s Los Angeles –…
Taking taxis in foreign countries can sometimes be an adventure. Throw jet lag in the mix and it can be comical too. I’ve taken taxis frequently on previous business and pleasure trips to Singapore, but decided to try UberTAXI as well this time with mixed results. Here are six things I learned from our five…