I did DF on Friday night to try and get paid to drive home. It worked.....sort of.

I live about 30 minutes outside of the major suburban area where all the rides are. Finding a ride out towards my house is few and far between. I started about 45min on the OTHER side of town, thinking I might get one from downtown out. It took Uber 5 rides to get me home, but I stayed busy the entire time (despite backtracking a few times), and eventually got paired with a ride that was less than 2 miles from me house. Quite the rarity, and it actually worked out really well to keep me earning while headed towards the house.

Anytime I've tried to DF on a more "direct path" it's been frustrating for me. Things like commuting into the office in the morning, where I have a deadline to be somewhere hasn't worked out great. Times when I'm just ready to head in for the night, and want to "work my way there" have been fine though.

I think the idea that you will only get rides along your route is a false expectation. The statistical probability of someone else going the EXACT same direction as you are pretty low......However 22mi PAST your final destination seems wrong as well.

 

Make sure to set the arrive by. It defaults to like 8 hours, so any ride would fall within that limit.

 

Yeah I learned the hard way DF on Uber isn’t the most reliable. Even when I set the time it has given me rides that made me late. I have better luck with Lyft using that feature.

 

My nightmare from Friday: I was dropping off in downtown Hartford, and I could've easily just gotten on the highway and gone right home. But I wanted to get a ride headed towards my town, so I set the destination filter. I get a ride very close to where I am dropping off - 15 minute trip, so it sound great. The girls get in my car and I start the trip, and it turns out to be a short 3 mile trip through rush hour traffic IN THE EXACT OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM MY HOME. I grit my teeth and did the trip, and I got another ride request at the same location as I was dropping off. Perfect! The destination filter is still active. But I've just been burned, so as soon as I see the passengers, I start the trip, and it's ANOTHER rush hour trip going in the wrong direction. I drove off and cancelled. Of course, Uber sends me the exact same trip right away. Then I get another short ride request that wouldn't have gotten me anywhere, which I ignored. Finally I got a 15 minute trip, but this time I messaged the guy and asked where he was going. Luckily this time the trip was headed in the right direction.

Seems like the DF is just a suggestion to Uber, and that they will keep giving you regular trips that can go anywhere, even when you want to go in a certain direction.

 

My nightmare from Friday: ....

Good riddance. They need to add the angry emoji as a choice of reactions ?
Last night I was set DF from Princeton to Home which is 40 min north. I got a ride that was supposedly on the way, but it took me to Trenton. After I completed the ride, the time it took get home was still 40 min. I don't mind the extra money but come on.

 

You need to cancel these, only way to teach dog Uber.

 

yours and other drivers expectation of the Uber destination, is flat-out outrageous, Uber destination gradually move you in the direction that you wish to go, it does not mean because your destination is North every passenger is going north, you may go south east or west for a few trips and then the next few trip start moving North again, sorry but Uber is a business and like any business the customer comes first, do you really expect Uber to ignore all passengers not going in your general direction, do you think it's acceptable for Uber to let passengers be late so you can be on time ( I am a passenger as well as a driver ), if you need to definitely be somewhere by A Pacific time you need to turn off the app and drive to where you need to be, that way you know you will arrive on time...


Teach the passenger what, How the hell would the passenger know you have destination set,

you need to uninstall your app the only way to teach dog drivers.

 

I just realized Trenton is Southwest of Princeton when I have my DF set to a town 40 min Northeast. Ugh.

 

Uber will continue giving you regular trips until it finds you a trip going in your direction that's the way it works..

 

It is by design. The same thing happened here in Cleveland a couple weeks ago. I put on the filter like usual at the end of the day and it took me a couple miles out of my way but then the destination was in the opposite direction!! Since I accepted it, and Uber knows it, I took the ride due to my cancel rate. Well it happened a second time. That is two more times than in three years of driving. So now I put it on just to collect the miles for taxes and never accept a ride when it is in filter mode. Just another lie, yes that is what it is, that reminds me of the lying third-world cultural values Uber is based on.

 

I really wish they would improve this part of the app in Uber and Lyft >>>> I just discovered the search button for Uber destination filter thanks to this forum >>>> It has saved me a few miles of transporting passengers empty >>>> Could be better >>>> I'm only getting two uses per day on Uber >>>> It will definitely take you around town on the way to your destination >>>> Past the destination sounds absurd >>>> I'd be pissed too >>>> The lyft one will time-out after awhile and then I lose that use >>>> Makes no sense

Empty miles kill my earnings >>>> I question the concept of flexibility in this job. I need to get back home without driving 30 miles and 40 minutes with nobody in the car, which usually means waiting until I land back in the vicinity >>>> My shifts end when the app takes me close enough to home or I eat the miles.

 

Yes, something has changed over the past few weeks. I have had several rides go well past my set destination. Last Friday, I cancelled about 4 trips in a row, because each pickup was about 5 miles in the opposite direction that I was travelling. It always worked pretty well in the past but not anymore. I don't know why Uber does this, because there must be others like myself, that won't even turn the app on anymore because of this.

 

The filter works exactly as stated. It gets you closer to your destination that is convenient for only Uber/Lyft. They also must have changed the parameter in the last few weeks and made the filter much more liberal in what constitutes a ride in the direction you want to go.

Realize you are an independent contractor. If you have somewhere to be, kid to pickup, job interview, or anything that doesn't work with your schedule contact the passenger via text or phone and make sure their drop off location works with what you need to do. Since this is a flex gig with no employee status you need to act accordingly. Usually, people are pretty understanding when you explain to them you have to be somewhere else for some other function. Don't feel bad about cancellations or letting the community down. If you have to drive empty two hours back to your home base, Uber/Lyft are not paying you for that. Don't take unprofitable trips or trips that aren't in the direction you want to go. Lyft/Uber have designed a system that incentives you to answer every trip and keep a high acceptance rate for their benefit only. The day I started literally using the decline and cancel button is the day my profit per trip went up.