8 ms·

I drive Uber from time to time. I've only gotten a tip once over ~50 rides. A lot of the time the traffic conditions mean that after costs (I assume $0.40 per

by iopq 10y ago

I drive Uber from time to time. I've only gotten a tip once over ~50 rides. A lot of the time the traffic conditions mean that after costs (I assume $0.40 per mile costs for mileage, gas, maintenance, etc.) my hourly is closer to $8 an hour (because after I drive for a while sometimes I need to drive a long way back as well on my own dime), which is below minimum wage. That's not including having to pick up plastic bottles after people or cleaning seats so they don't smell like sweat. It's basically never worth to pick up anyone who is going far away from your house, you end up actually driving for free since you have to drive there and EVENTUALLY drive home. Why do you think Uber drivers don't want to drive 40 minutes away just to get paid less than if they drove for 40 minutes inside their own city? I'll never accept a ride to San Francisco (40 minutes away) ever again, it's never worth the price unless there's surge pricing in effect. If I make $8-12 an hour, getting a $1 tip is like a 10% increase in my wage. I don't badger people for tips, but if I got like 10% of people to tip me, it would be super worth. The one tip I got was $20, btw. Even if we assume a 12% tip rate up from 2% if I ask for them explicitly, and the average tip size of $5 (median would be more like $2, but if I get a few more $20 tips the average would be higher than the median), I would make $0.50 more per hour which is a 5% increase in my earnings. Maybe it's something I should actually start doing.

kbenson 10y ago
> because after I drive for a while sometimes I need to drive a long way back as well on my own dime It seems like this is something they could help with. Can't they mark your home territory and try to schedule you rides that take you the right direction? If not immediately, maybe after a few rides in that area that don't take you too much farther away? It seems like this should be one of the main points of using Uber or Lyft, smart driver scheduling in areas where there's enough demand..
- iopq 10y ago
  > Can't they mark your home territory and try to schedule you rides that take you the right direction? they had this feature unfortunately, NOBODY LEAVES SAN FRANCISCO so it's pointless, you'll be waiting for someone to want a ride south for a very long time they've since removed that feature because it hurts your bottom line to use it
  - kbenson 10y ago
    > you'll be waiting for someone to want a ride south for a very long time Why would you wait long? It's not like the system doesn't know where you are. Just start driving back, and if someone is around that needs a ride that direction, deliver it to someone already heading back to home territory in the same direction. Worst case you don't get anyone and drive back without any fares. All it should take is a slight bias towards those traveling back from long drives if it's going the same direction.
    - iopq 10y ago
      > Why would you wait long? It's not like the system doesn't know where you are. Because while there ARE people that are driving south, other Uber drivers are closer than me to them. > Just start driving back, and if someone is around that needs a ride that direction, deliver it to someone already heading back to home territory in the same direction. I tried that. Every single time I did it, I ended up home before Uber found anyone. The only time the feature was useful is getting closer to the freeway that I was going to take.
ryandvm 10y ago
I don't know. Maybe Uber should just pay you more and we can not encourage the antiquated custom of tipping.
- iopq 10y ago
  > Maybe Uber should just pay you more and we can not encourage the antiquated custom of tipping. they can't advertise higher rates than Lyft or they'll lose the price war
  - xyzzy_plugh 10y ago
    In cities where Lyft operates, which is not many, in my experience.
  - imgabe 10y ago
    But they can and do (or did) advertise the convenience of not having to tip.
- walru 10y ago
  Is good service and hospitably an antiquated notion? I'll happily give a bartender, server or a driver an extra buck or two when they make the experience pleasant/informative/friendly because, far too many people treat their jobs not as a privileged but a chore. Without tipping far too many would take your money for granted and the quality of service would decline across the board because there is zero incentive to provide anything better.
  - techsupporter 10y ago
    > Without tipping far too many would take your money for granted and the quality of service would decline across the board because there is zero incentive to provide anything better. I don't mean to sound flippant but, have you ever been to Europe? I've traveled to Germany, Ireland, Finland, and Iceland multiple times. None of those countries has a tipping culture and the service I receive, even at your basic fast food restaurant, is the same or better than in the States. I must ask, why do you believe your statement to be true?
mattnewton 10y ago
It sounds like the current rates aren't sustainable and uber needs to charge more.
- AtheistOfFail 10y ago
  But how are they going to get that 50b valuation if they don't squeeze their drivers?
  - bbcbasic 10y ago
    Self driving cars Homosapeanless Carrigages
paulddraper 10y ago
Then Uber should be charging more. Sorry about that.
- iopq 10y ago
  I'm not really going to keep driving until they do that. I drive during football games in Santa Clara, though, since the rates are much higher.
- cortesoft 10y ago
  Uber charges the amount that they need to get enough drivers to drive the number of customers they have. When there aren't enough drivers willing to drive at the given rate, they go into 'surge' pricing to intice more drivers to drive. You know what would happen if they raised the rates and paid more to the drivers? Two things - fewer riders would ride, and more drivers would drive. You would end up with a lot of drivers sitting around not getting any rides. They would most likely end up making LESS money per hour because they would not have enough riders to drive around.
  - paulddraper 10y ago
    Correct. Drivers should also be driving less for Uber. Or, alternatively, everyone is making the correct decision and there isn't an imbalance anyway.
    - cortesoft 10y ago
      You are probably right about there not being an 'imbalance', but I would like to add that just because there is an efficient market in place doesn't mean there can't also be structural problems in the society. The value of labor continues to fall as automation and machinery improves, which is why uber drivers are so cheap to entice to drive. For most people, the only thing they have to sell is their labor, and as we continue to find alternatives to labor through automation, that downward pressure on the cost of labor is only going to increase. We really, really, need to address this as a society soon.
  - 10y ago
taneq 10y ago
Maybe you can explain something that I've never understood. I see drivers saying "driving for Uber is terrible and a waste of money". I see them saying "after expenses I'm basically working for free." But they keep doing it. They keep driving for Uber even though they know that they're basically just working for free, in order to make money for Uber. If you take vehicle depreciation into account, you're probably not even breaking even. Why? Why do that? My guess is that it's easy work to get and it gives you some immediate cash, and so it's more appealing than spending the time hunting for a 'real' job, but I've never heard an Uber driver actually admit that.
- amyjess 10y ago
  I've had some drivers straight-up tell me that they enjoy driving for fun, and they drive for Uber/Lyft just because it gives them an excuse to do it. And I'm sure that even if they don't make a profit, driving for Uber/Lyft is less expensive than just driving around and not getting paid at all.
- iopq 10y ago
  It's because I can drive for like an hour at 9 PM when the traffic isn't bad anymore and I can make $10 an hour and I can decide when to clock out.
  - cortesoft 10y ago
    So you are saying it is worth it for you? So that is good?
    - iopq 10y ago
      I haven't done it in months now, I just don't feel like it anymore considering how little I make.
      - jachee 10y ago
        So you're saying it's not worth it for you? So that is bad?
bigjimmyk3 10y ago
That's interesting, because one of the Uber drivers I spoke to recently said that he had the ability to "request" a pickup/destination twire per shift; the intent was to allow him to monetize his "commute" time into the metro area where he normally drives. I don't know how you get this feature turned on, but it can't hurt to ask.
- iopq 10y ago
  They removed that already.
ziikutv 10y ago
To me it sounds like they should consider adding a feature where a driver can pick an area they want to give rides in.
- jschwartzi 10y ago
  The only problem here is that this would limit the usefulness of the service. The most likely end game for this feature is that most downtown areas have a bunch of drivers fenced in, and nobody can find a ride to or from those areas. There are a ton of people in suburbs that would like to not drive into or out of the downtown in my area, and we use services like Uber/Lyft to avoid this. If the drivers in our area confined themselves to just near the downtown, we would have to drive there either way, and so the service becomes useless to us. If the service instead allowed drivers to designate a "home zone" where the base price is payed, and then trips to successive neighboring zones have a multiplier applied, this would probably work better.
  - ziikutv 10y ago
    I can see some abuse here. If I live in a suburb, set it as my home zone, then just work downtown. Perhaps limit the "home area" designation at the end of the day. So before someone is "ending" their day, they can click a button and service only in their home area. That way, the usefulness of the service is not compromised as much.
    - dpiers 10y ago
      Lyft and Uber both have this functionality (enter a destination and get matched with someone on the way), and I believe it is capped at 2x per day.
- mst 10y ago
  There couldn't possibly be any PR consequences if they did that. I mean, it's not like redlining at all.
  - iopq 10y ago
matz1 10y ago
You should if you think it can benefit you. I personally don't like tipping but If I'm a driver I would ask for tip too.
- kelnos 10y ago
  I'm fine with a driver having an (unobtrusive, tasteful) tip jar in their car, but if a driver ever actively asked me for a tip, I'd give them a lower rating (commensurate with how hard they pushed for the tip) and report them to Uber for making me feel uncomfortable while captive in their car. I use payment-in-app services in part because I don't like carrying much or any cash around, and when I do, it's usually just a few $20 bills, which aren't very useful for tipping in this scenario. And yes, I do tip in-app when I use Lyft, in part because their social contract includes tipping, and I can do it without the on-the-spot pressure of needing to do so in the car. Uber explicitly states that tips are not expected or required, and does not provide an in-app way of tipping, so I wouldn't tolerate tip solicitation from a driver. (Hell, I wouldn't tolerate tip solicitation from a Lyft driver, either. Asking me for a tip when the app does it for you counts as "worse service" to me.)
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

by iopq 10y ago

kbenson 10y ago

> because after I drive for a while sometimes I need to drive a long way back as well on my own dime It seems like this is something they could help with. Can't they mark your home territory and try to schedule you rides that take you the right direction? If not immediately, maybe after a few rides in that area that don't take you too much farther away? It seems like this should be one of the main points of using Uber or Lyft, smart driver scheduling in areas where there's enough demand..

iopq 10y ago
> Can't they mark your home territory and try to schedule you rides that take you the right direction? they had this feature unfortunately, NOBODY LEAVES SAN FRANCISCO so it's pointless, you'll be waiting for someone to want a ride south for a very long time they've since removed that feature because it hurts your bottom line to use it
- kbenson 10y ago
  > you'll be waiting for someone to want a ride south for a very long time Why would you wait long? It's not like the system doesn't know where you are. Just start driving back, and if someone is around that needs a ride that direction, deliver it to someone already heading back to home territory in the same direction. Worst case you don't get anyone and drive back without any fares. All it should take is a slight bias towards those traveling back from long drives if it's going the same direction.
  - iopq 10y ago
    > Why would you wait long? It's not like the system doesn't know where you are. Because while there ARE people that are driving south, other Uber drivers are closer than me to them. > Just start driving back, and if someone is around that needs a ride that direction, deliver it to someone already heading back to home territory in the same direction. I tried that. Every single time I did it, I ended up home before Uber found anyone. The only time the feature was useful is getting closer to the freeway that I was going to take.

ryandvm 10y ago

I don't know. Maybe Uber should just pay you more and we can not encourage the antiquated custom of tipping.

iopq 10y ago
> Maybe Uber should just pay you more and we can not encourage the antiquated custom of tipping. they can't advertise higher rates than Lyft or they'll lose the price war
- xyzzy_plugh 10y ago
  In cities where Lyft operates, which is not many, in my experience.
- imgabe 10y ago
  But they can and do (or did) advertise the convenience of not having to tip.
walru 10y ago
Is good service and hospitably an antiquated notion? I'll happily give a bartender, server or a driver an extra buck or two when they make the experience pleasant/informative/friendly because, far too many people treat their jobs not as a privileged but a chore. Without tipping far too many would take your money for granted and the quality of service would decline across the board because there is zero incentive to provide anything better.
- techsupporter 10y ago
  > Without tipping far too many would take your money for granted and the quality of service would decline across the board because there is zero incentive to provide anything better. I don't mean to sound flippant but, have you ever been to Europe? I've traveled to Germany, Ireland, Finland, and Iceland multiple times. None of those countries has a tipping culture and the service I receive, even at your basic fast food restaurant, is the same or better than in the States. I must ask, why do you believe your statement to be true?

mattnewton 10y ago

It sounds like the current rates aren't sustainable and uber needs to charge more.

AtheistOfFail 10y ago
But how are they going to get that 50b valuation if they don't squeeze their drivers?
- bbcbasic 10y ago
  Self driving cars Homosapeanless Carrigages

paulddraper 10y ago

Then Uber should be charging more. Sorry about that.

iopq 10y ago
I'm not really going to keep driving until they do that. I drive during football games in Santa Clara, though, since the rates are much higher.
cortesoft 10y ago
Uber charges the amount that they need to get enough drivers to drive the number of customers they have. When there aren't enough drivers willing to drive at the given rate, they go into 'surge' pricing to intice more drivers to drive. You know what would happen if they raised the rates and paid more to the drivers? Two things - fewer riders would ride, and more drivers would drive. You would end up with a lot of drivers sitting around not getting any rides. They would most likely end up making LESS money per hour because they would not have enough riders to drive around.
- paulddraper 10y ago
  Correct. Drivers should also be driving less for Uber. Or, alternatively, everyone is making the correct decision and there isn't an imbalance anyway.
  - cortesoft 10y ago
    You are probably right about there not being an 'imbalance', but I would like to add that just because there is an efficient market in place doesn't mean there can't also be structural problems in the society. The value of labor continues to fall as automation and machinery improves, which is why uber drivers are so cheap to entice to drive. For most people, the only thing they have to sell is their labor, and as we continue to find alternatives to labor through automation, that downward pressure on the cost of labor is only going to increase. We really, really, need to address this as a society soon.
- 10y ago

taneq 10y ago

Maybe you can explain something that I've never understood. I see drivers saying "driving for Uber is terrible and a waste of money". I see them saying "after expenses I'm basically working for free." But they keep doing it. They keep driving for Uber even though they know that they're basically just working for free, in order to make money for Uber. If you take vehicle depreciation into account, you're probably not even breaking even. Why? Why do that? My guess is that it's easy work to get and it gives you some immediate cash, and so it's more appealing than spending the time hunting for a 'real' job, but I've never heard an Uber driver actually admit that.

amyjess 10y ago
I've had some drivers straight-up tell me that they enjoy driving for fun, and they drive for Uber/Lyft just because it gives them an excuse to do it. And I'm sure that even if they don't make a profit, driving for Uber/Lyft is less expensive than just driving around and not getting paid at all.
iopq 10y ago
It's because I can drive for like an hour at 9 PM when the traffic isn't bad anymore and I can make $10 an hour and I can decide when to clock out.
- cortesoft 10y ago
  So you are saying it is worth it for you? So that is good?
  - iopq 10y ago
    I haven't done it in months now, I just don't feel like it anymore considering how little I make.
    - jachee 10y ago
      So you're saying it's not worth it for you? So that is bad?

bigjimmyk3 10y ago

That's interesting, because one of the Uber drivers I spoke to recently said that he had the ability to "request" a pickup/destination twire per shift; the intent was to allow him to monetize his "commute" time into the metro area where he normally drives. I don't know how you get this feature turned on, but it can't hurt to ask.

iopq 10y ago
They removed that already.

ziikutv 10y ago

To me it sounds like they should consider adding a feature where a driver can pick an area they want to give rides in.

jschwartzi 10y ago
The only problem here is that this would limit the usefulness of the service. The most likely end game for this feature is that most downtown areas have a bunch of drivers fenced in, and nobody can find a ride to or from those areas. There are a ton of people in suburbs that would like to not drive into or out of the downtown in my area, and we use services like Uber/Lyft to avoid this. If the drivers in our area confined themselves to just near the downtown, we would have to drive there either way, and so the service becomes useless to us. If the service instead allowed drivers to designate a "home zone" where the base price is payed, and then trips to successive neighboring zones have a multiplier applied, this would probably work better.
- ziikutv 10y ago
  I can see some abuse here. If I live in a suburb, set it as my home zone, then just work downtown. Perhaps limit the "home area" designation at the end of the day. So before someone is "ending" their day, they can click a button and service only in their home area. That way, the usefulness of the service is not compromised as much.
  - dpiers 10y ago
    Lyft and Uber both have this functionality (enter a destination and get matched with someone on the way), and I believe it is capped at 2x per day.
mst 10y ago
There couldn't possibly be any PR consequences if they did that. I mean, it's not like redlining at all.
- iopq 10y ago

matz1 10y ago

You should if you think it can benefit you. I personally don't like tipping but If I'm a driver I would ask for tip too.

kelnos 10y ago
I'm fine with a driver having an (unobtrusive, tasteful) tip jar in their car, but if a driver ever actively asked me for a tip, I'd give them a lower rating (commensurate with how hard they pushed for the tip) and report them to Uber for making me feel uncomfortable while captive in their car. I use payment-in-app services in part because I don't like carrying much or any cash around, and when I do, it's usually just a few $20 bills, which aren't very useful for tipping in this scenario. And yes, I do tip in-app when I use Lyft, in part because their social contract includes tipping, and I can do it without the on-the-spot pressure of needing to do so in the car. Uber explicitly states that tips are not expected or required, and does not provide an in-app way of tipping, so I wouldn't tolerate tip solicitation from a driver. (Hell, I wouldn't tolerate tip solicitation from a Lyft driver, either. Asking me for a tip when the app does it for you counts as "worse service" to me.)

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]