As an ex taxi driver, ex Medical Transport driver, ex limo driver, I am used to sitting and waiting for an assignment, so my mindset with Uber and Lyft is the same I sit and wait for a profitable trip, I don't care if I sit in the car for 50 hours and my active time is only 20 for 30 hours, I don't see the point of continuing to work and put wear and tear and mileage on my car just to make maybe a few extra hundred per week, I intend to keep my car in good condition so when I sell it in a few years it's still a decent Transportation car I don't intend to run the wheels off of it like is said on this site,
In my mindset my car is what’s earning the money I am guess it's driver, my job is to make sure my car earns the most amount of money per active hour/per active mile,
Depending on how busy are non-busy it is and the traffic conditions, I use one of two mindsets when I am working,
1. Pay per hour earnings, this rule is mostly used for longer trips,
I don't care what the mileage of the trip as long as my car is earning 40 plus per hour and I am dropping off in a busy City
2. Pay per mile earnings, this rule is mostly used for shorter trips,
short trips those ones that come in for under $10 especially the ones that are like $5 to $7, short trips need to be able to be completed within 10 minutes 15 minutes max if it's a slow day or slow hour of the day, if the trip is closer to the $10 range I will allow it a few more minutes, the total mileage to complete the trip can't be greater than the fare,
So think of it like a sliding scale, one end of the scale is pay per mileage based, the other end of the scale is pay for time based, so I adjust that scale as needed.
The $40 plus obviously will not work in every market and will not work at all times of day, I will be honest and sometimes I have to adjust it down to as little as 25 per hour but most mornings in the Inland Empire weekday mornings, $40 plus per hour is doable