Yeah, what % of people tip now?

OP, did you see the thread that was started a few days ago about tipping Uber drivers?

OP here, back again to spill more beans!

For starters, uber has gone mad lately. Since Easter, in an attempt to encourage drivers to come out and work more consistently, uber has been guaranteeing promotions and incentives as high as $36/hr net. Full time drivers are netting $1,600-$2,000 weekly with just 50-60 hours of driving, which is do-able if you can catch most early mornings, weekday evenings and any time on the weekend. Uber is subsidizing all of these drivers' pay in order to keep wait times at a minimum for riders. And they are paying dearly for it...full-on hemhorragong money in an attempt to finally squeeze out taxicabs?, crush out lyft?, who knows? These incentives are the only reason your driver is giving you a 4-mile pool ride that takes a half-hour, costs only $4, and leaves you scratching your head thinking "how does this driver make any money?" A smart driver can generate around $600 in business for uber via passenger's payments in ~40 hours, but will collect $600-$900 more in additional guaranteed payouts. If the driver plays his/her cards right, they could maximize their pay by doing only the minimum required amount of rides (1 per hour). Some drivers were part of a "boost" incentive that was like a constant surge zone for all their rides given, which uber paid and not the rider. The best guarantees have vanished and all drivers are on "boost" starting Monday, August 1st.

August is the slowest month of the year in DC. Congress is out, no school, locals go on vacation, too hot for swarms of tourists, and the rideshare business is sloooow. So uber came up with this, https://newsroom.uber.com/us-dc/introducing-the-uberpool-monthly-ride-pass/:


If uber makes this worth it for the drivers, then it will succeed. But if not, good luck in getting picked up on a pool.

In other news, it's happening:
https://www.arlnow.com/2016/07/13/uber-and-lyft-are-killing-arlingtons-taxi-business/

Anonymous wrote:do you have a good tax guy to help you with your 1099 write-offs?? form a LLC or C corp?

I am the good tax guy. I paid ~11% last year in federal income taxes on a high 5-digit net income, helped greatly by maxing a 401k, traditional IRA, and an SEP-IRA. I only claim my mileage and cell phone usage at 40% (reality 90%) as write-offs. But the miles really add up as the mileage deduction for 2016 is 54¢/mile. I count my mileage from either from the time I leave the parking lot at work to give rides in the evening back to my house or I count it from driveway back to driveway on the weekends. On about $30,000 of uber income, write-offs could go as high as $12-15k. 54¢ is less than last year, but my operating costs are about 29¢/mile nowadays, so that's a "free" quarter of untaxed income on every mile I drive for uber. This is that sweet spot when your uber car is a little older, paid-off, and still in good shape and a smooth ride...it literally pays you to go out and give rides as much as possible. On the other hand, I have no clue how people driving huge $50k+ trucks and SUVs are making any money doing this. You have to be quick, safe, and efficient with the car to make the most of it. And I run everything as a sole proprietorship and file W-2 and 1099 income on the same return.

Anonymous wrote:cool, I need a bethesda to BWI ride with a car seat Wednesday at noon. Should I supply the car seat (& take to grandmas) or do you have one?

You can bring your own car seat, but getting a car with a car seat installed is also an option (you might have to wait a bit longer for this setup):

do you have a good tax guy to help you with your 1099 write-offs?? form a LLC or C corp?

cool, I need a bethesda to BWI ride with a car seat Wednesday at noon. Should I supply the car seat (& take to grandmas) or do you have one?

Anonymous wrote:Does Uber make you sign a company policy when you become a driver? What does that policy look like? As an independent contractor, do they make suggestion on dress codes and tardiness...

I'd say not really. I suppose I electronically signed and agreed to a TSA (Technology Services Agreement) where uber laid out their expectations to be able to use the service as a driver, but since either party is free to terminate at any time so I feel it doesn't hold much water. Uber has bigger issues on the horizon than focusing on individual drivers anyway. The document is 21 pages long and I read every word. Nothing really stands out as egregious, but it's definitely swayed in uber's favor, not a driver's.

Independent contractor means just that...independent. My car, my time, my rules. I drive most days in a plain white t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. Imposing things like a dress code and other standards turns your independent contractor workforce from being 1099-able into W-2 wage employees, which is exactly what uber doesn't want...and I'd prefer to always be a 1099 contractor too. And you can't be tardy to a job with no schedule.

Anonymous wrote:Driver OP: what do you think about the new flat rate $4 UberPool rate for nearly all central parts of DC? You can take an UberPool from Cleveland Park to Nats Stadium....that's insane.

Can you avoid getting fares like that? My girlfriend loves the promotion, but I feel like drivers are getting ripped off. Thoughts? Are Uber drivers pissed off?

I avoid these at all costs. Sometimes my hands get tied and I have to do one in order the fulfill the requirements of a bonus or guarantee. The idea is that there will be lots of separate Pool rides along that Cleveland Park to Nats Park stretch. But often there's nada and the driver just drove a half-hour trip for charity. Other good drivers feel the same way and abhor everything about Pool. I will take Pool requests at a surge of 2x+ because then it usually works out in my favor, especially if I can string multiple surging Pool rides together. New drivers pick up the slack and give $4 Pool rides all day long because they don't know any better.

Anonymous wrote:At what age is safe/appropriate to send kids on Uber? It is so against all the teaching of don't get on to cars of strangers!!

As a driver, I'm fine with 12+. If a parent meets me on either end, then I have zero problem with younger. Hopefully you know your own kid and how they carry themselves. I'd trust teenagers to handle themselves if something happened, but it'd be tougher to trust the judgment of an 8-year old.

Does Uber make you sign a company policy when you become a driver? What does that policy look like? As an independent contractor, do they make suggestion on dress codes and tardiness...

Driver OP: what do you think about the new flat rate $4 UberPool rate for nearly all central parts of DC? You can take an UberPool from Cleveland Park to Nats Stadium....that's insane.

Can you avoid getting fares like that? My girlfriend loves the promotion, but I feel like drivers are getting ripped off. Thoughts? Are Uber drivers pissed off?

At what age is safe/appropriate to send kids on Uber? It is so against all the teaching of don't get on to cars of strangers!!

Anonymous wrote:How long do you plan on doing this? Don't you want a family?

I plan on milking it for as long as it lasts and ease up as things progress along at my day job. I do find that the less I drive, the more enjoyable it is. Ideally, I'd like to be driving an easy 10 hours/week for $200 and be happy and done with it. Grinding out $$ for hours on end turns it into monotonous job that you grow to hate with a little like mixed in along the way. I do plan on making the most of uber over the next year with metro's track shutdowns and early closings in hopes of springing me into the next phase of life.

Yes, I do want a family, whether that be just a wife or a wife and kids.

Anonymous wrote:Hey uber guy, what do you think the tip controversy?

Don't care either way. I'd rather be paid appropriately for my time in providing a great service and leave tipping out of it altogether. But for the time being, dollar tips are still very much always appreciated.

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you are still out there - what will you do if Uber ends surge pricing?
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/05/03/476513775/uber-plans-to-kill-surge-pricing-though-drivers-say-it-makes-job-worth-it?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20160503

If surge pricing ends, rates will go up. It's one or the other. With the recent hot streak I've had, I'm convinced that the sweet spot rate-wise to make this a manageable gig nowadays would be right at $1.75/mile, and everyone involved should be pleased with the service and pay. If I consistently got that per mile, I'd be happy. That's a 75% increase over today's rates, but still about 40% less than the original rates back in 2013. People though uberX was the best thing since sliced bread no matter what the cost back then.