I have had menacing rides, but never anything that turned violent. I had a drunk passenger (3 separate times, unfortunately), that creeped me the hell out. He told me multiple times how he was from Little Italy (an old neighborhood in Omaha that formerly had mafia ties 100 years ago), and that his family used to run everything, and how much trouble he would get into. The guy just gave off a very, very aggressive vibe and made a few requests that did not make me comfortable, so I eventually ditched him at his grandma's house despite his request for me to take him to his own house. He was very drunk and did not remember that situation, so the second time I picked him up, he said, "you look kind of familiar" and I said, "hmm, well I have given thousands of rides, so maybe you've seen me before." Fortunately, the first time he was a rider, it was on another rider's account. The third time was on Uber instead of Lyft (I already 1-starred him on Lyft to not get matched up), and then promptly did so on Uber, too Haven't seen him in 2 years now.
99.9% of riders : 5 stars
aforementioned smelly, inconsiderate of my time, or racist .1% = 2 or 1 star, depending on severity. No need to rate 3 or 4 stars.
I have heard other drivers say that unless they actually see a tip during the ride (cash in hand, or witness the person leaving the tip on the app) they automatically rate someone low, but I am not that petty. Most fares pay okay enough without a tip to make it worthwhile, but the absolutely most frustrating thing is nice, seemingly decent people who I have a great conversation with who tell me, "You're the best Uber driver I've ever had" and then tell me when the ride is over, "I'll leave you a tip in the app" and then never do. I am sure many (most?) have good intentions of doing so, and then end up forgetting, but it sucks. Don't tell me you will tip me if you really aren't.
VW Passat TDI w 140,000 miles on it. I averae 36 or 37 MPG usually, although on particularly crazy nights on opposite ends of the spectrum, I have gotten only 32 or as much as 41.
Smoking is basically the dumbest thing a person can do on the reg, so no I do not smoke, nor let them smoke in my car. I let people vape, but that trend seems to have finally subsided amongst our future leaders of America, thank goodness.
I don't offer snacks, since that never resulted in a marked increase in tips or ratings. At one point, I was the highest rated driver in Omaha: a perfect 5.00 rating on Lyft, and a 5.00 on Uber. On hot days, I carry bottles of water in my car, but that is moreso in case I see someone who looks like they are struggling outside and need a drink.
My car probably smells different than it would without Uber passengers, but I tend to keep it clean, vacuumed, and as odor-free as possible. I do pick up frequently from cigar bars (blechh!), restaurants (could have some inherent "fry-grease smell", and laborers (Sweat/B.O.), but the worst is absolutely cigarette smokers in winter who seem like they are exhaling piss-smoke into their clothes and coats before getting into my car, which then brings that stale piss-smoke smell into my car and it lingers. I bought an ozone generator though and it always does the trick, 100%. I run it on Sunday nights for about a half hour, air out the car and voila, good to go for another week.
When you are a regular-ass driver, they are both deliberately obtuse, feature staff who barely speak english, and who try to do as little for you as possible. Lyft is far worse in the fact that I have had, on multiple occasions, staffers tell me, "you're right, that isn't a fair policy and I agree with you." and then, in the same breath, "but I can't help you."
When you are Uber platinum (or Diamond?) level like I am or have been, you call 24/7 and they pick up and are typically very attentive. It's not perfect, but they typically are able to help.
LOL! When you have 4 kids, please come back and tell me how much fun you have with them on a nightly basis.
On a serious note, I typically drive after they go to sleep.
I understand that mentality, but when I sit at home, I play a few rounds of Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, maybe watch a movie or a show I've seen a few times, and then waste time on my phone or something. Or...I have engaging conversations while netting about $25/hr out of the house. When I am feeling creative (I am writing a screenplay and a few children's books), then I take nights off to work on my passions, but my hobbies are basically worthless time wasters otherwise.
I have always slept about 4 or 5 hours per night, even when I was a child. In this way, I always felt like I get to live about 15% more per day than most people, who spend that time in bed asleep.
I have never mentioned ResetEra directly to a passenger. lol
Over the years, I have narrowed my "net" after taxes, gas, and decreased value on my car to $25/hr. My gross is somewhere in the $37 to $40 range, depending on which nights I work or if I take a weekend off.
Here's my last 3 weeks of work, for example:
I do my own brakes and sometimes oil, I fill my tank usually once or twice a week. My car is very fuel efficient and has a an 18.5 gallon tank. One time, I got 767 miles on a single fillup, although I usually get closer to 620 or 630.
When I bought my car, it came with an unlimited mile warranty for a set amount of time, which has thankfully covered one transmission, two heater cores, something wrong with the engine valves, and something else I cannot remember, presumably at least 13 or 14k in maintenance work over the past 2 years. If you do drive Uber as much as I do without a warranty, you are a fool, full stop. This is coming from a guy who takes very good care of his car, and who drives carefully.
32 riders in my last 100 on Uber tipped on the app, and if I had to ballpark it, another 15 to 20 tipped in cash, so anywhere between 45 and 55% of riders tip me. Some times, 5 or 6 in a row
will tip, and 5 or 6 in a row
won't tip. If your buddy is only getting tipped by 10%, he is either not a very charismatic or friendly guy, doesnt drive well, or has a crappy car. Maybe a combination of all three?
Definitely a lot of diesel fuel! and yeah, wear, too. It's noticeable to me in the way the car rides, but riders swear it rides smooth, so I guess I can't complain.
see above wrt warranty service. I also bought a car that is fairly well regarded (even post-Dieselgate), so I think I will still get a decent amount for it when I sell it soon. I rarely drive outside of driving for Uber. My wife has a Honda Odyssey, so we typically take that whenever we leave, except for date nights, etc.
3 of them. All decent. Girls who had too much to drink and were flashing or just being a little over-the-top. Thought it improper, given their inebriated state to take more than a passing, surprised look lol
In my market, depending on when you drive, you can make very good money doing GrubHub and DoorDash, but food doesn't talk back and I enjoy the conversation. There are several advantages to doing deliveries though, if you'd like I can expertly expound upon, just ask.
It happens regularly. I don't mind since, at first I got Covid anyway and wasn't afraid of re-infection, and now I am vaccinated so they can't really give it to me again. I didn't drive during the pandemic prior to getting COVID, so I didn't have to worry about it early on, and 95%+ of riders comply very easily. Even the conspiracy nutters. A lot of drunk people don't wear them right, but I would get nothing out of being a mask nazi except bad vibes and the likeliehood of getting stiffed on a tip.
The dead giveaway to me is when people don't respond after a couple of tries with more than a one or two word answer, or if they bury themselves in their phones. Just make sure you are doing something else if you aren't interested in talking. If someone is just quietly staring at the back of my head, I am going to feel the urge to talk just to break up the monotony/awkwardness.
If I had to guess, about 50% of my rides feature conversation from start to finish, another 20% start off with niceties and a couple of other comments before drifting into the ether, 15% are people who are talking to each other or are on the phone, and don't want me to join in (or it isn't obvious) and another 15% are almost completely silent from start to finish.
Omaha is a very friendly town. It's a place where people get to know you in the line at the grocery store, so it is almost strange when people don't want to talk. I am sure it would be different in place more noted for it's rudeness or curt speaking style.
