There is a popular notion out there that most Uber drivers still make a lot of money from ridesharing. This may have been true a couple of years ago, and many drivers today complaining that they are not making as much money as they should. This is especially true for new drivers; but it all boils down to the steep learning curve involved in the industry.
Unlike other jobs where you can make the same amount of cash from the very first day, being a rideshare drive is a tad bit more challenging – but not rocket science. However, a more experienced driver will certainly bring in more compared to a brand new driver because of all sorts of tricks and tips to implement that have an impact on the bottom line. As you drive more, you gain experience that will increase your income; for the meantime, here are a few things you should be doing to increase your income.
Be the Best Driver Out There
When you offer service beyond expectations, you are virtually guaranteed high ratings from passengers. Open doors and help passengers put and remove luggage from the trunk. Ensure you have phone chargers installed in convenient locations for your guests and remind passengers not to forget to give you a high rating – it’s the small things you do that will see you rank higher.
Follow the Booze
Friday and Saturday nights, and the holidays such as the July 4th are when you are likely to see an upsurge in demand and most surge pricing. This is not a foolproof moneymaking strategy, but it does give you a place to start if you are looking into ways to make more from your time on the streets. Sitting in traffic is never fun, but during these weekdays commute hours there are plenty of people using Uber to go to and from work.
Figuring out the busiest times in Uber is not hard because you receive weekly summaries as well as heat maps. However, this strategy is not pegged on the idea of going into areas where there are many passengers. As an Uber driver, your responsibility is maximizing your income, which you can do if you figure out the places and times when there aren’t many drivers out there.
Drive When There are Few Drivers
With more drivers today than ever, it is critical that you focus on the time when they are not so many. Friday and Saturday nights are wildly popular for Uber drivers, so you may not get past a bunch of requests during these times. However, there are places and times when fewer passengers request for rides and there aren’t many drivers around.
For example, not many drivers are around at 3 to 7 a.m. to make airport runs, even if there are few requests, but when there is a request, you are more likely to get it. In addition, no one is up at that time, so there is no traffic and people tend to travel longer distances. You do not have to worry about someone making a grocery run at 5 a.m. though!
It is a great strategy staying up late on Friday and Saturday nights chasing the weekend surge, but it also means that most drivers are too tired to pick the morning requests. Not many passengers demand for rides at 8 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday, and some people may have too much fun the night before and now require a ride home to the http://ownatlantic.com/, for example – instead of making the walk of shame home! Again, there is lesser traffic to contend with, no pick-up confusion and few Uber drivers to compete with, so you can come and make a large profit!
Tabitha Gits is an influencer marketing pro with brownboxbranding.com who is passionate about building authentic relationships and helping businesses connect with their ideal online audience. She keeps her finger on the pulse of the ever-evolving digital marketing world by writing on the latest marketing advancements and focuses on developing customized blogger outreach plans based on industry and competition.
Kostas says
Those are really great tips, another important thing that people should not forget when calculating their profits as a driver is the cost of actually buying the car and the depreciation cause of the heavy use, plus the extra car care. So people should be extra gentle to their car and in that way reduce maintance costs and depreciation