[headshot]

What happened to uber? I remember that just a couple of weeks ago I could go out in the morning and expect to see surge the entire time, almost always scooping up a rider for at least 1.8x. Now, I'm lucky if I even get a rider and make $50!

It has been days since there has been any surge at all and the "incentives" they offer are ridiculous. 55 rides for $60!? Even if I could get rides how is $60 any incentive to drive? And the boost? Really? Thanks for the pennies and then they take a cut of that too! Every time I turn on my rider app I am surrounded by 6-10 cars. There are way too many new drivers out now and they think that they are making money. But the reality is that there used to be money to be made before this recent surge of drivers. I'm seeing all kinds of people driving to the city just to uber now.

How long will it be until the balance is restored? How long before enough drivers realize it's not worth their time and stop driving? Is it just a summer thing because college kids and teachers decided to drive to make extra cash? Something has to change because this is ridiculous. I'm sitting in lakeview at 7:30am writing this and haven't received a ping yet. All morning. Ridiculous...

 

[Syed raza]

You should die if Uber is your only job no consistency with pay and no benefits. Not worth doing for these rates.

 

[Kaleb379]

Don't drive Uber full-time. Part of Uber's 180 days of change means trying to show that the business can be eventually profitable. When Uber doesn't offer discounts for riders usually the amount of riders is down about 25 to 30% . My observation is that Uber is not giving discounts on rides and not surging areas to keep the cost for riders down a little bit. They know they have enough drivers who will work without surge that they don't care how much each driver makes. My advice is get out of driving full time while you can & 7:30am? Work morning rush and get another job

 

[tohunt4me]

What happened to uber? I remember that just a couple of weeks ago I could go out in the morning and expect to see surge the entire time, almost always scooping up a rider for at least 1.8x. Now, I'm lucky if I even get a rider and make $50!

It has been days since there has been any surge at all and the "incentives" they offer are ridiculous. 55 rides for $60!? Even if I could get rides how is $60 any incentive to drive? And the boost? Really? Thanks for the pennies and then they take a cut of that too! Every time I turn on my rider app I am surrounded by 6-10 cars. There are way too many new drivers out now and they think that they are making money. But the reality is that there used to be money to be made before this recent surge of drivers. I'm seeing all kinds of people driving to the city just to uber now.

How long will it be until the balance is restored? How long before enough drivers realize it's not worth their time and stop driving? Is it just a summer thing because college kids and teachers decided to drive to make extra cash? Something has to change because this is ridiculous. I'm sitting in lakeview at 7:30am writing this and haven't received a ping yet. All morning. Ridiculous...

Does the prospect of Cannibalism bother you ?
Does your neighbor have dogs ?

 

[WestBurbsMac]

Every time I turn on my rider app I am surrounded by 6-10 cars.

I didn't know anyone still thought that was real. Uber admitted long ago that it's just a graphic.

 

[kdyrpr]

The 6-10 cars around you is the problem. Too much supply, too little demand.

 

[ChicagoPartTimer]

I didn't know anyone still thought that was real. Uber admitted long ago that it's just a graphic.

If you drive in the suburbs, you know that is not just a graphic. I can see myself and others around me with it. In fact, it annoys the pi$$ out of me when drivers don't use it. This morning I went to my usual suburb starting spot where next driver is usually not around for a few miles and TWICE some dude pulls up right next to me and parks, staring at his phone with both hands on the wheel like he's waiting to get a fix.

This is getting unbearable for those of us who would only drive morning rush. Unless it's a Monday, there is basically no point. Too many drivers.

 

[WestBurbsMac]

If you believe it's real, then go with that.

 

[LoveTheBlues]

This is part of the normal cycle. There is a bump in the spring / early summer as people climb out of winter hibernation. Then the bottom falls out as schools let out and a lot of our customers leave for the summer and a lot of teachers sign on as drivers for their summer gig. It picks up some around the festivals but then you have the traffic cluster-f__k. Fall will pick up again.

 

[ChicagoPartTimer]

If you believe it's real, then go with that.

When you are driving in the burbs, pull up the rider app, then drive by where you see the stationary cars. You will see the emblems in the windows. Ignoring the rider app when choosing suburb location is dumb.

 

[LoveTheBlues]

If you believe it's real, then go with that.

There was a lot of buzz on this topic a couple years ago and then the talk of using ghost cars and alternate maps to frustrate code enforcement brought the issue to the forefront again. I don't know if the vehicles we see on the rider app are "ghosts" or not but here are some good posts on the issue (if you can sit through Uber man's half asleep YouTube presentation, it is interesting).

https://rideshareguides.com/vlog-2/uber-the-rider-passenger-app-phantom-ghost-cars-fake-proof/

http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/29/technology/uber-phantom-drivers/index.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/uber-ghost-app/518610/

 

[DrinkSoda]

Suburbs could be busy this holiday weekend with the festivals. Pay particular attention to Lisle and Naperville, with Eyes to the Skies (Lisle) and Ribfest (Naperville). Both run concurrently.

You should die if Uber is your only job no consistency with pay and no benefits. Not worth doing for these rates.

Also, do not quit a full time job that has benefits, no matter how much you hate it just to drive full time.

 

[Pooooobear]

What happened to uber? I remember that just a couple of weeks ago I could go out in the morning and expect to see surge the entire time, almost always scooping up a rider for at least 1.8x. Now, I'm lucky if I even get a rider and make $50!

It has been days since there has been any surge at all and the "incentives" they offer are ridiculous. 55 rides for $60!? Even if I could get rides how is $60 any incentive to drive? And the boost? Really? Thanks for the pennies and then they take a cut of that too! Every time I turn on my rider app I am surrounded by 6-10 cars. There are way too many new drivers out now and they think that they are making money. But the reality is that there used to be money to be made before this recent surge of drivers. I'm seeing all kinds of people driving to the city just to uber now.

How long will it be until the balance is restored? How long before enough drivers realize it's not worth their time and stop driving? Is it just a summer thing because college kids and teachers decided to drive to make extra cash? Something has to change because this is ridiculous. I'm sitting in lakeview at 7:30am writing this and haven't received a ping yet. All morning. Ridiculous...

What happened? I'll tell you what happened; it's the year of the drivers and 180 days of change. That's what happened!

 

[kdyrpr]

If you drive in the suburbs, you know that is not just a graphic. I can see myself and others around me with it. In fact, it annoys the pi$$ out of me when drivers don't use it. This morning I went to my usual suburb starting spot where next driver is usually not around for a few miles and TWICE some dude pulls up right next to me and parks, staring at his phone with both hands on the wheel like he's waiting to get a fix.

This is getting unbearable for those of us who would only drive morning rush. Unless it's a Monday, there is basically no point. Too many drivers.

The sad thing is that the new drivers are pushing the old ones out. We know it isn't worth it anymore. Too much supply. NO surges. But since there is a constant supply of new drivers.....the situation will never change.

I essentially only drive between 3:30 - 7:00 AM. That is when there is the least amount of drivers out. At least in this market.

 

[lakersfan1]

The sad thing is that the new drivers are pushing the old ones out. We know it isn't worth it anymore. Too much supply. NO surges. But since there is a constant supply of new drivers.....the situation will never change.

I essentially only drive between 3:30 - 7:00 AM. That is when there is the least amount of drivers out. At least in this market.

Agreed. Drive when the supply of drivers is low, and traffic is low. If there is a special event, don't drive those times. Drive after THOSE drivers are tired and are sleeping, and the roads are wide open. People in general are lazy, and don't want to work at 3:30am. If you can be disciplined and work last call, and walk of shame, and then work-out fanatic, then early risers .... you'll do OK with EMPTY roads. But too many "independant contractors" do it because they are too lazy to wake up in the morning.