[Stephen Hooton]

Hey guys, no I'm not really asking about where everyone's hotspot is to pick up riders in Chattanooga, but I was wondering, do you all drive around aimlessly or do you pick a spot and stay there until you get pinged? I just got back after a few hours with no riders, and I didn't know if maybe I was in the wrong locations or just because it was a rainy, dreary night. I thought there would be at least more bar/club hoppers out needing rides but I suppose I was wrong.
Got one ping around the Tremont Tavern area, but my cell doesn't pick up out there so I hope that doesn't count as a rejection or whatever on my end. Do you all find that you get more riders in Chattanooga during the day or night? Thanks for any tips.

 

[pbracing33b]

Yes I drive around all night

 

[Casuale Haberdasher]

Hey guys, no I'm not really asking about where everyone's hotspot is to pick up riders in Chattanooga, but I was wondering, do you all drive around aimlessly or do you pick a spot and stay there until you get pinged? I just got back after a few hours with no riders, and I didn't know if maybe I was in the wrong locations or just because it was a rainy, dreary night. I thought there would be at least more bar/club hoppers out needing rides but I suppose I was wrong.
Got one ping around the Tremont Tavern area, but my cell doesn't pick up out there so I hope that doesn't count as a rejection or whatever on my end. Do you all find that you get more riders in Chattanooga during the day or night? Thanks for any tips.

POST #"1/Stephen Hooten: Our Fellow
Member pbracing33b
is being Sarcastic...sigh. Try and find out
if there us a Zello Network to Convo w/
other Drivers, in Real Time.

"OoberNooga": gotta love it!

 

[geekdrvr]

I'm a new driver so I know virtually nothing about how it all goes. I plan to get out Friday and see what happens. I would hate to ride around for hours without any riders. Also, it appears that the Chattanooga drivers are big on communicating in the forum because most of the threads are old.

 

[DieselkW]

I turn the app on when I'm ready to roll, but stay home. Uber/Lyft running on your phone from a cell signal (4G, LTE) is almost like streaming a movie from Netflix, it will eat up your gigabytes before you know it, then your carrier will bill you for the overage.

First ping - give it a minute... don't roll yet. Make sure it's going to stick and not get you halfway out the driveway before the pax cancels. A lot of new users playing with the app will go: "what happens if I click this?" and then not know how to cancel....

Send a text: "Hi, this is XXX, your driver. I'm on my way" (I copy it and just paste it in as I get behind the wheel). If you get a response, 99% they won't cancel.

After you pickup/drop off you have a decision to make. Go back home, or find some free WiFi somewhere. Do NOT aimlessly cruise around burning fuel at $2.50/20 miles. Stay put somewhere comfortable, but temporary. The Starbucks parking lot is my choice, free WiFi, and a hot sober adult beverage. Read your book, play a stupid iPhone game, watch people burn their lips drinking coffee. No ping for a while, just slowly cruise back home, take back streets. If you get pinged on a highway, you have to double back from the next exit. The system pings the closest driver, and tells the passenger you're two miles away. It could be 10 miles and a half hour for you to get off the highway and double back... meanwhile pax gets fed up and cancels, orders someone closer. Usually as you enter their neighborhood.

There's not a lot of profit doing this - keep your costs to a minimum. Don't waste fuel or monthly phone data. You have to control your costs.

 

[UberVictor]

I'm new as well. Friday and Saturday night was busy in EB and Downtown.

 

[geekdrvr]

I turn the app on when I'm ready to roll, but stay home. Uber/Lyft running on your phone from a cell signal (4G, LTE) is almost like streaming a movie from Netflix, it will eat up your gigabytes before you know it, then your carrier will bill you for the overage.

First ping - give it a minute... don't roll yet. Make sure it's going to stick and not get you halfway out the driveway before the pax cancels. A lot of new users playing with the app will go: "what happens if I click this?" and then not know how to cancel....

Send a text: "Hi, this is XXX, your driver. I'm on my way" (I copy it and just paste it in as I get behind the wheel). If you get a response, 99% they won't cancel.

After you pickup/drop off you have a decision to make. Go back home, or find some free WiFi somewhere. Do NOT aimlessly cruise around burning fuel at $2.50/20 miles. Stay put somewhere comfortable, but temporary. The Starbucks parking lot is my choice, free WiFi, and a hot sober adult beverage. Read your book, play a stupid iPhone game, watch people burn their lips drinking coffee. No ping for a while, just slowly cruise back home, take back streets. If you get pinged on a highway, you have to double back from the next exit. The system pings the closest driver, and tells the passenger you're two miles away. It could be 10 miles and a half hour for you to get off the highway and double back... meanwhile pax gets fed up and cancels, orders someone closer. Usually as you enter their neighborhood.

There's not a lot of profit doing this - keep your costs to a minimum. Don't waste fuel or monthly phone data. You have to control your costs.

Thank you Diesel, that is a lot of great advice. You rock!

 

[clayton]

I have been driving for about 3 months now. Diesel is correct. You don't want to cruise around all night wasting your own gas. I find a spot I think will be profitable and wait. If I haven't gotten a bite in about 30-45 mins. or I see too many other uber drivers close by, I move on to the next spot. It helps to be familiar with the night scene, know what places are hopping and popular and know where the late night bars are located. (Downtown Chatt isn't that big) The best comparison I tell people is that its a lot like fishing. If you go to a spot and they aren't biting or there are 5 or 6 other people fishing in that spot, then best to move on to the next fishin' hole. I prefer to increase my chances by having the "least amount of hooks in the water" to compete with.