[backcountryrez]

Uber's "upfront pricing" model has been a boon to riders, but did you know it can be a boon for drivers as well?

As much as we can claim that Uber takes their egregious 35%+ cut of the rider's payment, we know that at the end of the day it's a business and they need to make money.

Sure, Uber can take their massive cut from the min fares, but those long trips must be profitable for us.

In these two examples, I asked the rider whether or not they preferred to take the "fastest" route or "shortest" route, disclaiming that the "shortest" route cuts through downtown and therefore we must deal with traffic and that it doesn't affect the price of the ride.

9/10 times they want the "fastest" route. Luckily for me this adds miles to the ride by going around the downtown area as opposed to going directly into it.

The end result is that by ignoring Uber's GPS route, you end up maximizing income for yourself. Try it and see!

 

[emdeplam]

 

[Robkaaa]

I'm pretty sure Uber keeps eyes on those trips. As soon as percentage of trips like you've provided will reach certain point, your account will be deactivated without any warnings. Sometimes I riders ask me to take longer route, but I don't abuse the system.
I personally known a driver that was deactivated for that. Support told him that riders were complaining about taking longer routes, but they didn't provide any details.
So watch out

 

[Fauxknight]

I stopped taking the shorter routes. I don't necessarily longhaul, but I don't take shortcuts for Uber trips anymore.

 

[Mole]

Uber long distance pick up kills the surge first they cheat the driver out of the first 3 miles and time then they charge the pax 1.8 surge or more and the driver gets about .3x maybe here is the proof.

 

[nickd8775]

Every day. I don't even ask the rider for the route, I go my way. I figured out the point where Uber throws out the upfront fare and charges straight mileage

 

[Robkaaa]

Every day. I don't even ask the rider for the route, I go my way. I figured out the point where Uber throws out the upfront fare and charges straight mileage

What's that point?

 

[Leelyft]

Faster to me is shorter even if it’s longer distance. Faster = shorter. I always try to take the longest route if it is worth it by adding more miles but not a significant amount of time to where it is not worth it. I find myself clicking google maps in long rides several times throughout the ride when new options pop up that add miles and same time or a minute or to plus.

 

[nickd8775]

What's that point?

Can't go more than 3 minutes longer time than the app estimates. The time estimate is usually padded. I've learned where I can go a longer distance without increasing the fare, and where and when I can expect long trips that I could milk. I get about $11 extra per milked trip and 2-3 of those a day

 

[Scott.Sul]

If it's a longer trip and Uber navigation displays the route I want to take, I don't hit the navigation button (Waze) and just begin driving.

If I don't like the route Uber chose, I check out the Waze route... which is usually a bit longer but faster. If I liked the Uber route better, I close Waze, otherwise, I just leave Waze on and follow their voice navigation. Pax just thinks I'm following my GPS.

Never had Uber question any of my routes. In reality, a few extra miles on a long trip isn't going to set off any flags. To cover my butt, I screenshot everything so I can always prove the fastest route was with Waze and that is what the pax requested.

 

[RideshareGentrification]

Faster to me is shorter even if it's longer distance. Faster = shorter. I always try to take the longest route if it is worth it by adding more miles but not a significant amount of time to where it is not worth it. I find myself clicking google maps in long rides several times throughout the ride when new options pop up that add miles and same time or a minute or to plus.

You sir are doing it right

 

[1.5xorbust]

Using freeways that are moving at 65 mph as much as possible (long hauling) and giving private pool rides at surge rates are the best ways to maximize upfront pricing imo.

 

[RideshareGentrification]

Using freeways that are moving at 65 mph as much as possible (long hauling) and giving private pool rides at surge rates are the best ways to maximize upfront pricing imo.

I avoid surface streets as much as possible for the following reaons

-Better MPG on highways
-Less wea and tear especially to suspension & brakes
-Maximize Per hour earnings (even at Black and Lux time pay outs it's not worth it to waste time)
-Less stressful and almost always faster

I usually check waze and look at the 3 reccomend routes and take the longest one as long as it doesn't add more than 2 or 3 minutes to the trip . Usually the longer route gets over estimated anyway so it ends up being a wash

Not to mention 90% of the time uber is charging for the longer route anyway or at least an average between the shorter and longer route so it all works out . When upfront pricing launched I noticed I got Uber to make close to nothing or sometimes lose money on rides but it's becoming less common .. I think they're over estimating most trips , I've noticed on trips to the Denver Airport Uber navigation (which I don't use) always shows this crazy way through the parking garages which would add 2 or 3 miles to it and a good 10 minutes to the ride so they're always pocketing a little extra on those rides .

Also I've confirmed now 2 separate times as a Pax heading to the airport that if I get charged a rate closer to the short route and have the driver take the long way the driver made more money and neither time did my upfront price change . Although other drivers have said they've seen the upfront price change for pax by taking the longer route . I don't worry about it much since 90% of my pax are business people and are expensing the ride anyway and doing this strategy I've maintained as high as a 4.96-4.99 rating on Uber and usually see between 10-20% weekly tip avg (based off my pay after subtracting tolls)

 

[Matty760]

although this tactic isn't new im surprised it really hasn't been mention much on this forum. Been doing this for almost 10 months now. It works most of the time but sometime some rides and routes you just cant avoid and Uber makes bank. Im getting paid the same no matter what its just the amount that uber gets that changes so I think the pax is gonna be over charged for a ride then Ill change the destination on the app which then converts the ride from a upfront price to a variable rate and then charges the pax less, but if I know I can take a longer route and uber will take the hit for the price then I do it. I did this once on Lyft as well and it worked however Lyft tracks these rides a lot more closely, a ride a gave once and went out of the way was flagged but eventually i was paid and lyft took the hit but they did let me know that dont like having people abuse the system like that. I know the pax didnt complain about the route at all cuz the pax was my friend with a free lyft code. Lyft doesnt like losing money so they take it a lot more seriously.

 

[touberornottouber]

People keep saying stuff like this but given most trips are below 2 miles I don't see how you are going to make things much better by taking a slightly longer way. So maybe you earn an extra 35 cents on the trip. That really doesn't solve the problem or make things significantly any better.

Long trips, sure, it would help. But long trips aren't usually a problem. It is the short trips where we mostly tend to get screwed.

 

[Iann]

This is why Google Maps wins. It gives you 3 options to a route once you start the ride.
It even gives you more routes on the way that can go longer or shorter.
I ALWAYS longhaul from the airport any chance I get.
The way I word things after greeting them I ask if they are flying in visiting or if this is home?
If visiting I ask if they have been here before?
If they're visiting it's game on.
From those 2 questions I now know if they know where the hell they're going.
I also keep them busy by pointing things out and making up bs stories to keep them from staring at their phone.
I usually turn a $18 Airport ride to downtown into $25 by taking a different route.