One of the hundreds of letters we receive every week form unhappy Uber drivers

JacksonMSB · Feb 11, 2020

river view said: ↑

Hi,
I have driven 6 month full time, 3 months as Uber X and 3 months Uber X/XL. Purchased Mitsubishi Outlander 7 seat in June 2017 so I could drive Uber XL.

Uber is profitable for me if I work peak times and/or high demand areas.
I set the odometer at the start of each day and keep myself aware of:
1. Dollars earn't per hour (aim for $25 plus ph)
2. Dollars earn't for every Km driven. (aim for $1.5 plus per Km)

If you are doing a lot of Km's with no rider and 1. and/or 2. are low, then you know that it's not worth while devaluing your car and your time. Aim to take these periods/ days off next week. Try to anticipate surge and aim to be in and around known surge areas before they happen. Don't chase surges because they seem to disappear as you drive into them. Uber will determine shortest time cost for pickup which may include a toll. Avoid paying a toll to reach a rider on time. Either cancel or drive to pickup via untolled roads.

In Sydney Uber XL is proving very popular and I don't mind the 15-20 minute drives in for pickup since the 50% premium tends to compensate. Uber XL lends itself to many possible situations:
1. Takes up to 6 riders. (popular in evenings Friday and Saturday)
2. At the airport if you have X and XL enabled, you are actually in 2 queues, many times when in Uber X Queue, 10 to 30, I will be allocated an XL job. I estimate it can save me 10 to 20 minutes wait time when it happens.
3. It appears that riders who book XL , default to XL when they make their next booking. Hence the driver benefits from Uber XL mistake bookings.
4. Large people may want/need a larger vehicle.
5. Bulky goods pickups from Ikea and other furniture retailers. Ikea charge $85 bulky goods delivery fee so Uber XL represents great value.
6. I've lost count of people I have helped move appartments. No furniture but lots of stuff in boxes. Just lay the seats down and load up but make sure you start the trip before you start loading and stop after unloading.

If you are at a decision point for buying another vehicle then I recommend 7 seat vehicle to qualify for Uber XL. The Outlander is proving to be a good vehicle.

Regards, RV
Click to expand...

Just wondering what hours are "peak times" typically?

coolair · Feb 11, 2020

JacksonMSB said: ↑

Just wondering what hours are "peak times" typically?
Click to expand...

Rush hours.

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One of the hundreds of letters we receive every week form unhappy Uber drivers

JacksonMSB

coolair Member

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One of the hundreds of letters we receive every week form unhappy Uber drivers

JacksonMSB

coolair Member

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