I am a DC uberX driver since 2013 and have SEEN IT ALL...so please, AMA

[Anonymous]

Is it wrong that I'm sad mine is 4.83? I feel like I'm at least a 4.95

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you expect passengers to tip?

I do not, but every cash dollar is VERY appreciated. That uber bunk about it being include in the fare is b.s. Trust me, it's not, you are only paying for the pick-up fee + time & mileage. But those cash tips are 100% profit and buys my next coffee or sweet tea at McDonald's. Older folks are better about tipping than millenials. As always, drunks are the best cash tippers. I'd say I get tipped once in every 20 or so rides. As a rider, I drop a dollar or two on every ride, mostly in hopes of it catching on...total pipe dream. Tipping is the only pro of Lyft over uberX because it can be done in the rider app.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love this thread, thank you for doing it! (I'm the op of the other uber post about front/back.)

Did I miss it, or why is a puking in your car a money maker for you? Big tip, or does Uber pay for a cleaning?

It sounds like just a few more years of this and you'll be able to pay for a house outright. I wish you the best of luck!!!!

If a driver documents a puke incident with lots of pics and a recap then submits a report, uber will charge the passenger anywhere from $50-$250 depending on the severity. It's in the Terms of Service. I mostly joking about hoping for it. It is profitable, but a giant pain in the ass. Sometimes passengers will be pulling out bills so they won't get charged, but it's rarely enough. It's happened at most 5 times. Dozens of incidents just outside the car though. You get really good at reading drunks, along with learning to drive very smoothly with someone sloshed in the back. Thanks for the well wishes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many miles do you put on your per week/month? How often do you fill up?

I talked to an Uber driver who does it full time. He puts on 10k miles/month and fills his tank 2-3x/day. He keeps always at least hafl full unless he gets a fare to really far away like to Baltimore or something.

1,500-3,000 miles a month with a lot of variation, but that's with a little personal driving mixed in too. The only stat I worry about is dollar earned per mile...$1/mile is ok, $1.25/mile is good, $1.50 per mile is about as good as it gets. This is after uber's cut as well. I fill up every other day during the week, and always once on Sat and Sun.

The second question is getting into why uber sucks. This is a great side-gig if you know what you're doing, but I'd stab my eyes out if I had to do it full-time. Past around 30 hours a week and it becomes a real grind. There are many drivers doing this 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week who are driving for peanuts in the end. Those full-timers are earning at a rate of around $.50-$.70 net per mile, which is practically losing money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your car can't be older than what? Any restrictions on size or cleanliness of car? How is that monitored?

I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's still no older than 10 years, so a 2006 model. UberX requires 4-doors and 4-seats...that's about it. Cleanliness? ha! I've ridden in some total jalopies lately as the quality of the service has really went downhill lately. But that brings in the beauty of the rating system. Car's a mess? Terrible driver? He'll eventually get cut as his driver rating drops to the low 4s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you drive a lot of teenagers? I thought it wasn't allowed, but I know a lot of my DDs friends use it when their parents can't drive them (or maybe when they are drunk). Great thread, btw.

Yeah, all the time...totally don't care. Easy money in the burbs on weekends. There's very few people in DC they'd be safer with than me. Around 12 years-old riding solo would be my cut-off.

Also, I'd much rather have a parent running the ride on their phone, along with a quick call so I can get a heads-up. And make sure your kids know the deal too...if they don't like the look of the driver, they don't have to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you track your financials so that you know you "crush it" every week?

How do you decide who to pick up?

What's your average idle time or does it depend on where your last fare took you?

On good old pen & paper, and I keep it to the penny. Uber routes the requests to the closest driver. I typically rarely ever refuse a request because that defeats the point of the service. Wheels moving = money being made. I only drive when it's busy & surging, and there is basically zero downtime. If there's 10-15 minutes between ride requests, I'm not out there working. If I get slung way outside the Beltway, I'll double-dip on both apps while driving slow back towards DC. I know about every hotspot inbetween Fredericksburg, Dulles, and Baltimore so I can usually help the odds on catching a paid ride back to somewhere inside the Beltway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it wrong that I'm sad mine is 4.83? I feel like I'm at least a 4.95

Yikes, I am a 4.62. Does this mean they all think I am a jerk?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry you think you are ugly. Does your mom think you are ugly?

I'm a different poster, but one who is also ugly. I noticed only a few years ago that my mother has always said "You're beautiful TO ME." Her implication has been that that should be enough for me - that as long as my mommy thinks I'm beautiful I shouldn't need to hear it from anyone else. But we all know everyone wants to feel desired and admired.

I don't just THINK I'm ugly. I get TOLD I'm ugly. Not too often, but about once a year, usually from strangers. Once from a coworker (that was super awkward). So, I mean, it's nice that it breaks your heart, but ... that doesn't make me desired or admired by anyone. You know? If there were no losers, the winners wouldn't feel like they were winning, right? So I serve a purpose.

That is awful. No one should be told that. I'm sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard parents have started sending their kids to college with an Uber account, since it's cheaper to Uber than to maintain/park a car. I would think college kids would have short little trips, though, rather than longer rides. Are college kids your best source of income? If not, who are?

First sentence...I'd totally do it for my theoretical kids. $200/mo could easily cover 30-35 college town rides. Uber is Blacksburg of all places, so I'm sure they're in every other decent sized college town. Colleges are hotspots...GW, Georgetown, AU, Howard, but yes, they are short, dinky rides. If it's surging, I don't care. I would say that 20-somethings are 70% of the income, and that includes all the college kids. 10% 30-somethings, 10% 40+ and 10% tourists to round it out. You'd think college kids leaving in the summer would hurt business a lot, but all those dorms fill back up in the summertime as cheap housing for interns.

[Anonymous]

OP I really like the cut of your jib- best of luck getting that house!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any full on sex acts take place in your car?

I'm pretty sure a lady or two has been fingered in the back, but I don't think any junk has been whipped out yet. More often than not, when a guy gets frisky, his lady will shut him down, mainly because she's totally aware that I'm sitting two feet away. This is going to be a recurring theme of this AMA...men are dogs. I don't really care if people just make out...I've been there too.

Anonymous wrote:Ever been concerned with your personal safety? Is your car equipped with audio and/or video surveillance?

Not really. I'm big enough and can handle myself. On the rare times I get the heebie-jeebies, I'll go with my gut and roll out. I've thought a lot about getting a dash cam that I can flip to the interior if it was ever necessary, but just don't care enough to do it. I've driven over a half-million miles and haven't had even the first bump...knock on wood. I'm a VERY defensive driver. I can maintain control within control if someone decides to get unruly. The rides I've given that were truly awful are less than ten, and only a couple still stick out to me.

Anonymous wrote:Every pick up anyone famous?

Kris Humphries, Ben Stein, Drew Carey, a Caps player I couldn't pin, one of the pretty weathergirls on Channel 4 or 7 (I wanna say Amelia Siegel, but it definitely wasn't her)...why they were using uberX, I'll never know. And judging from phone conversations, quite a few congressional and senate staffers who think they're important.

[Anonymous]

Do you see when the riders input their destination and choose or reject based on that? My DH is convinced drivers will reject me if I'm trying to get a ride from arlington to another friends house in the suburbs and I should wait to put the address in until I'm in the car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry you think you are ugly. Does your mom think you are ugly?

My mom thinks I'm the most handsome guy around. But I'm sure every other ugly person's parents think the exact same thing.

And I'm joking on the ugly statement. I've dated in DC and I know the score, but I'm comfortable in my own skin. I get along with better with female 4s anyways...true beauty is truly on the inside and shown thru one's actions.

[Anonymous]

I just put my hand up and a taxi is there. I've never used Uber. Tell me why I should?