[uber87j]

Luck along with being a good little ant that takes all rides seems to be the only strategy.l that works anymore.
Being a veteran driver with five years experience full-time in the city, I feel like a moron every day that I come up short which is almost every day. With what I know I should be clearing $400 to $500 a day. But I half to work over 12 hours just to get $400 a $350.
Surges are almost always unattainable now. You see them constantly in the outer sunset and Richmond but it’s always when your across town and they never pop up when your there.
I have tried almost every strategy and try to use my knowledge and experience to enhance my earnings, works.
The “algorithm” wins every time.

 

[LastinLine]

I always aim for and consistently hit $200 in 6 hours, so $400 in 12 is pretty good imo. I agree that sometimes you get lucky, but you have the knowledge and experience to recognize an undesirable ride. And, know where to set yourself up for a higher chance at the ride you want. It's kind of like Poker, where luck is involved, but overtime, experienced players come out on top (earnings-wise). Five years driving with Uber in SF, and it's always been pretty consistent for me.

 

[pompeii]

Luck along with being a good little ant that takes all rides seems to be the only strategy.l that works anymore.
Being a veteran driver with five years experience full-time in the city, I feel like a moron every day that I come up short which is almost every day. With what I know I should be clearing $400 to $500 a day. But I half to work over 12 hours just to get $400 a $350.
Surges are almost always unattainable now. You see them constantly in the outer sunset and Richmond but it's always when your across town and they never pop up when your there.
I have tried almost every strategy and try to use my knowledge and experience to enhance my earnings, works.
The "algorithm" wins every time.

Bro, luck is in the nature of this business but don't forget "you create your own luck"

 

[Tenderloin]

Luck along with being a good little ant that takes all rides seems to be the only strategy.l that works anymore.
Being a veteran driver with five years experience full-time in the city, I feel like a moron every day that I come up short which is almost every day. With what I know I should be clearing $400 to $500 a day. But I half to work over 12 hours just to get $400 a $350.
Surges are almost always unattainable now. You see them constantly in the outer sunset and Richmond but it's always when your across town and they never pop up when your there.
I have tried almost every strategy and try to use my knowledge and experience to enhance my earnings, works.
The "algorithm" wins every time.

I second this. Thats exactly what I think

 

[nurburgringsf]

No such thing as luck in this gig anymore. The algorithm is king, all knowing, and the network flowing smoothly is uber's top priority. When drivers reject/cancel rides, that makes the system go haywire, overload with computation, and operate slower. Thus resulting in longer wait times for passengers and frustrates them into seeking other options which is a money loss for uber.

If it were busy it wouldn't be a problem and you would still be getting pings regardless but now it is very slow and uber is really punishing those that miss a request or reject twice or more in a row. They really want to make a statement to you by punishing you this time. Drivers thought that seeing the destination would help their earnings. False. Because on uber's end they see that its not working out business wise for themselves. But letting driver's see the destination was a necessary first step to their way of making a case against AB5. Uber is trying to have it both ways while the real losers here are the vet drivers. Its a partnership but uber has massive leverage over you.

With your veteran knowledge you know you could be making a lot more because of positioning and timing. You have the mindset of a taxi driver but the algorithm is not giving you priority pings no matter how near you stage yourself in a busy area. And you frequently see drivers picking up passengers while you stage at busy areas which is extremely frustrating. The algorithm rewards you later down the line if you accept a bunch of short non profitable rides for a couple of hours or vice versa. You get rewarded with a bunch of short trips when you get one good ride.

 

[eazycc]

Here’s advantages I have as a taxi
1) I can talk directly to my fares, convince them to take a ride
2) I don’t have to wait for a 3rd party to give me a ping. I could park outside a busy venue and 9/10 times I’ll get a ride.
3) I don’t have to share a % of every fare earnings, and you get more per mile.
4) I don’t have an algorithm dictating how much business I get.

Still, Uber has reduced driving to near minimum wage work unless you own a TCP and a shiny black car, and even then it’s a struggle.

 

[Misunderstood Pirate]

Here's advantages I have as a taxi
1) I can talk directly to my fares, convince them to take a ride
2) I don't have to wait for a 3rd party to give me a ping. I could park outside a busy venue and 9/10 times I'll get a ride.
3) I don't have to share a % of every fare earnings, and you get more per mile.
4) I don't have an algorithm dictating how much business I get.

Still, Uber has reduced driving to near minimum wage work unless you own a TCP and a shiny black car, and even then it's a struggle.

10/10 get a ride

 

[seymour]

Here's advantages I have as a taxi
1) I can talk directly to my fares, convince them to take a ride
2) I don't have to wait for a 3rd party to give me a ping. I could park outside a busy venue and 9/10 times I'll get a ride.
3) I don't have to share a % of every fare earnings, and you get more per mile.
4) I don't have an algorithm dictating how much business I get.

Still, Uber has reduced driving to near minimum wage work unless you own a TCP and a shiny black car, and even then it's a struggle.

1, 2 & 4 could also be disadvantages.

 

[Zebonkey]

unless you own a TCP and a shiny black car, and even then it's a struggle.

Well, it's not all rainbows and unicorns, but it's not bad, not bad.
You don't see me complaining here often. Occasional shitty day here and there, even a week, sometimes, but I do alright. And at the moment I don't even have any drivers.