[Schnozz]

I'm slightly new to this but mostly I get it. It's my technique that needs polishing I guess. I really only have time to drive on week days during the day. This is obviously not the busiest time of day but I know that there are trips to be had. With that said, I'm on a pretty rough streak this week.

My questions for you:

1. Should I drive around or stay put somewhere?

2. What are good locations for these times?

3. What are some tips for maximizing efficiency?

I'm not looking to take away from other drivers but I feel like I need to do something different. Any advice?
Thanks!

 

[UberFervor]

Join Lyft. I'm seeing a serious reduction in Uber lately and I drive for both.

 

[Schnozz]

This is frustrating. The last hour I drove yesterday, nothing. Today, 3 hours...nothing. Not 1 trip! I was downtown, DU, Cherry Creek, DTC, surrounding areas, etc. What the heck am I doing wrong here?? That's 4 straight hours online without a trip!

I am quite discouraged...

 

[DenverLadee]

I would recommend not driving around. Park somewhere. Dont waste your gas. Definitely do both lyft & uber to maximize your request potential. You don't say what time of day you drive, but 11-2 is usually the least busy time of the day. Business ppl start trying to go to the airport around 2ish.

 

[arrrghhh]

Yep, that is the one thing about this gig - you sure can work whatever hours you want, but there are definitely busier (and calmer) times of day.

Generally driving around looking for a ping is not a good idea - you're just wasting gas. Unless you are in the boonies or a bad spot for getting requests, I generally just find a place to park and wait for the next ping. Think about time of day - is it dinner time? Morning? Would people be going to bars at the time you are driving? Or is it more of a hotel time of day?

This gig has gotten much more difficult with driver saturation. I hardly ever get pings farther than 5 minutes away now... which I guess is good in that I don't have to drive far to pickup pax, but the pings are becoming less and less frequent for sure.

If you can signup for Lyft, do it. I signed up for Hovit as well, although I have mixed feelings about their app - it's a local company and I like some of the things they are doing.

 

[Fshdaspcl]

Or sign up as many people as you can and convince them you are killing it. $500 a pop goes a long ways towards breaking even. Whats another 30 drivers out there. Last night I was in the boost area at Downing and Evans I looked at the riders app there was 6 of us stuck at the light. 45 minutes driving around not one ping once I went outside the Boost area Ping within seconds. Sometimes I need to hit myself over the head with a baseball bat I know Boost = no money

 

[Uber Uber]

Simply a lot of drivers our there my friend. Way too many. It's changed so much over the years and even months.

 

[Jimmy Bernat]

Weekdays can be tough , especially if you're just UberX . Hang out around hotels for airport rides unfortunately you'll have to wait 1-2 hours for rides out of the airport . Other then that there's not a lot of strategy , I wouldn't just drive around but I also wouldn't park in areas where the odds of getting a ride outta there are good. My first of two rides today was an Uber Select from Downtown to Greenwood Village , horrible ride $29 for 50 minutes of driving in traffic . When I was done I hung out in that area around some hotels and business parks and even logged in as X/Select/XL I didn't get a ping in 40 minutes , luckily I was sending emails for my other job so it wasn't fully wasted but I then deadheaded back into the city , sat in my normal hotspot for 20 minutes without a ride request so I went home and after about an hour got an XL request for a 2.5 hour Real Estate Tour that ended up being pretty awesome

 

[105398]

When I was done I hung out in that area around some hotels and business parks

This is the best advice, as well as optimize use of your destination filter (DIA), and when using it ONLY accept pings that have a high probability of airport runs - such as the above locations.

I work in an office park and often when ready to leave in the afternoon I set my DF to DIA, but sometimes can wait 40+ plus minute for the "right" ping.

Aside from those most daytime runs are people doing errands, grocery stores, non-9 to 5ers going to work. Agree it's hard to reject crummy pings when they're few and far between. Went out during daytime a bit today and got a ping from Smith Road - let it pass thinking it was the county jail. Mapped the address and it was the Wal-Mart (even worse in my opinion).

I wouldn't drive around, waste of time, money, and risk of accident. If you have any other work you can do via laptop I'd multitask. Find a Starbucks near some good spots. I have a few hotels I'll hang at (one in Boulder if I'm up there using DF to get back). So long as it's not excessive/daily you won't be noticed if you dress nicely, hanging in the lobby of coffee shop of a hotel - looking like you belong.

Can you work super early? Would probably make as much between 4a-7a (DIA runs, no traffic in city maximizing time) then you would 10a-5p

 

[Rooster06]

Depends. I almost never sit in a single spot for more than 10 minutes. This morning, starting up north, did the hotel thing for 10, drove around for 20, set the DF for DIA then headed south. Getting into Denver, I heard I-25 was a mess, so I headed west on 136th. The hotels around Flat Irons are usually good pickins, also Boulder seems to surge in the morning with lots of DIA rides out of there. Sure enough, 2 min fare surge rides, then a DIA trip at 1.4x for almost $80. Basically, learn the areas and when they are busy. The burbs could be good with DIA rides; or they could be lousy with UberSchoolBus.

Also, area hot times change rapidly. Know when to pull chocks and move elsewhere. Boulder, Highlands Ranch, and Centennial/DTC are good for DIA until about 8 or 830, then tend to dry up. I always seem to get DIA from Cherry Creek/Glendale between 11 and 2, and rarely get a ride to DIA after 4 from anywhere. You just got to drive, experiment, and find your go to spots.

 

[Archie Nelson]

Weekdays can be tough , especially if you're just UberX . Hang out around hotels for airport rides unfortunately you'll have to wait 1-2 hours for rides out of the airport . Other then that there's not a lot of strategy , I wouldn't just drive around but I also wouldn't park in areas where the odds of getting a ride outta there are good. My first of two rides today was an Uber Select from Downtown to Greenwood Village , horrible ride $29 for 50 minutes of driving in traffic . When I was done I hung out in that area around some hotels and business parks and even logged in as X/Select/XL I didn't get a ping in 40 minutes , luckily I was sending emails for my other job so it wasn't fully wasted but I then deadheaded back into the city , sat in my normal hotspot for 20 minutes without a ride request so I went home and after about an hour got an XL request for a 2.5 hour Real Estate Tour that ended up being pretty awesome

Wow you got long for a 2.5 hour tour. How much a man gift pay for that one tip

This is the best advice, as well as optimize use of your destination filter (DIA), and when using it ONLY accept pings that have a high probability of airport runs - such as the above locations.

I work in an office park and often when ready to leave in the afternoon I set my DF to DIA, but sometimes can wait 40+ plus minute for the "right" ping.

Aside from those most daytime runs are people doing errands, grocery stores, non-9 to 5ers going to work. Agree it's hard to reject crummy pings when they're few and far between. Went out during daytime a bit today and got a ping from Smith Road - let it pass thinking it was the county jail. Mapped the address and it was the Wal-Mart (even worse in my opinion).

I wouldn't drive around, waste of time, money, and risk of accident. If you have any other work you can do via laptop I'd multitask. Find a Starbucks near some good spots. I have a few hotels I'll hang at (one in Boulder if I'm up there using DF to get back). So long as it's not excessive/daily you won't be noticed if you dress nicely, hanging in the lobby of coffee shop of a hotel - looking like you belong.

Can you work super early? Would probably make as much between 4a-7a (DIA runs, no traffic in city maximizing time) then you would 10a-5p

When your using D.f to the airport to you get an error that you may not get a ride or something like that?

 

[105398]

When your using D.f to the airport to you get an error that you may not get a ride or something like that?

No - DIA works like any other DF selection. I participated in the thread attempting to quantify reasons it's functional for some and not for others. I use DF as a tool combined with working certain times of day in certain areas, and being very selective about what addresses I accept from.

I also don't find the lack of continuity between drivers fair.

 

[Rooster06]

Wow you got long for a 2.5 hour tour. How much a man gift pay for that one tip

When your using D.f to the airport to you get an error that you may not get a ride or something like that?

DF to DIA works for me in most places except for Denver. I can do it from FoCo, Longmont, Boulder, Golden, HR, Parker, and sometimes Broomfield. In Denver it says that DIA is not a valid destination and the rest of that warning

 

[UberVB]

Park it and do something else. Its a frustrating crapshoot and the math doesn't add up at these rates. One major vehicle repair and you're done. Its a shitshow get out while your vehicle still has some value.

 

[Archie Nelson]

DF to DIA works for me in most places except for Denver. I can do it from FoCo, Longmont, Boulder, Golden, HR, Parker, and sometimes Broomfield. In Denver it says that DIA is not a valid destination and the rest of that warning

Now that's a new one.

 

[chopstick]

Take one look at the Rider side of the Uber app while you are downtown. Chances are there are 100+ drivers active within your immediate vicinity.

Uber wants to guarantee everyone a fast, cheap ride in the shortest time possible. This means flooding the streets with drivers. TOO MANY drivers to the point where most aren't even making minimum wage.

This is why I quit. Got too many bills to pay to deal with making less than 10 bucks an hour. Friday or Saturday nights are the only times I'll even think about going out anymore.

 

[Toddorado]

This is frustrating. The last hour I drove yesterday, nothing. Today, 3 hours...nothing. Not 1 trip! I was downtown, DU, Cherry Creek, DTC, surrounding areas, etc. What the heck am I doing wrong here?? That's 4 straight hours online without a trip!

I am quite discouraged...

Three hours, or even one hour without a ping in Denver seems implausible. I wonder if something else is going on, problem with the app or location or something.

 

[Daisey77]

Three hours, or even one hour without a ping in Denver seems implausible. I wonder if something else is going on, problem with the app or location or something.

I've sat for an hour + with no requests before. Plenty of times. Hell I've sat in the surges, at bar closing time in Fri or Sat night and got nothing.

 

[Midimacman]

But your only running on the select platform....

 

[NinjaBlack]

Going to drive tomorrow for the first time in 60 days! Lyft has offered me a bonus to dive my premier car 10 times in a week for a $50 bonus. I am guessing that they are about to roll out Premier and will be offering it for free for riders this week. I won't get the Premier rate -- just the bonus. I may actually come back to this gig part time as a Premier and Select only driver assuming I get enough rides (ha ha) to make it worth it.