[rbort]

As we all know Uber pool is not a good model for the drivers. Passengers get a lower cost trip while drivers earn less. If you open the passenger app and request a trip, Uber pool is usually a few dollars cheaper than Uber X. Uber recently told us that we will get paid at the lower Uber pool rates for the entire ride, but that just means we get locked into driving around for many minutes maybe even an hour and riders go in and out of the car. I once had an uber pool ride span 6 people for a total of 51 minutes driving and I got paid $13.xx for the trip.

I heard from the 2nd/3rd riders getting into my car that they pay $3 for the trip to join a ride with someone else going their way. I see $1.75 on my pay for them. We are losing money driving for pool, instead we should be making more money.

Here is my suggestion, and how do we get this to Uber for consideration?

Instead of letting 2nd and 3rd or 4th passengers pay $3 to get in, why not have every passenger pay their entire way they ride at a discount? This way if we have 3 passengers in the car, the section of the drive that all 3 passengers are going the driver should be paid 3 x for the same stretch of road. It would be 3x the discounted rate, so each passenger will pay less than Uber x trip, but for the driver he or she will make more than 1 rider in the car with Uber X. The only way for the driver to lose would be an Uber Pool with no 2nd passenger, then it would be cheaper as it is today.

So passenger #1 get on at stop A
Passenger #2 gets on at stop F
Passenger #2 gets off at stop J
Passenger #3 gets on at stop L
Passenger #1 gets off at stop P
And passenger #3 gets off at stop W.

We should get paid Uberpool discount rate for passenger #1 from stop A to stop P
Passenger #2 from stop F to stop J
Passenget #3 from stop L to stop W.

Between F and J, we are getting paid for both passengers #1 and #2.
Between L and P, we are getting paid for both passengers #1 and #3.

Uber driver gets paid at a lower rate from A to W inclusive, but gets double pay from F to J and L to P to make up for the lower rate paid for the entire trip. The total for 3 people hence should be more.

Hope this makes sense. It will be a win win for both the riders and the drivers, since the riders pay less to get to their destination by accepting to share the car with someone else, and the drivers hope for someone else to get in to make more money than single riders.

-=>Raja.

 

[nickd8775]

How about only discounting the ride if it is matched, and that too, the matched portion.

 

[rbort]

No when the rider picks uber pool, they are expecting a discount right away not only after they get matched with another rider. I see what you mean, pick uber pool and if another rider gets in you get a discount otherwise you pay uber x rates as many riders pick uber pool at night knowing for sure most likely no-one else is going to get in and they get a lower cost private ride.

In any case it needs to be changed so its more appealing to drivers. Right now only newbie uber drivers accept uber pool, or the desperate ones as its not a good way to make any money.

-=>Raja.

 

[Shangsta]

There is no good reason to take pool and that isnt going to change.

Uber uses pool to give one driver 2 or 3 pings while another driver sits idle waiting an hour for a ride, it's ridiculous.

 

[CrazyFemaleDriver]

I picked up a 2.1x Pool who meant to do Uber X. I had her text me "in app" that she wanted to upgrade to X & was willing to pay for it. After the ride, I messaged Uber to get the fare adjustment (I had done this successfully before) & they denied. They said to have the PAX cancel & re-request an X. Then they went on & on about how drivers make more $ with Pool & the benefits of Pool. I Replied to that I know what Pool is & to escalate & eventually got my X fare (thanx to my in-app text) but a stern "don't do it again".

My point is that drivers do NOT make more $ with Pool - that is the Kool-Aid Uber feeds you. *Uber* make more $ with Pool. ie: If you picked up 3 separate Pool riders at the exact same spot & dropped them at tge exact same spot, Uber will charge each of those Pax a full Pool fare (say $7 each for a short ride), but you the driver will be paid miles & minutes as if you were driving just *one* Pool pax! So with 3 Pool pax Uber is making $21 and paying driver $5 ($3.75 after Uber %) = profit $17.75. But if you Stop New Requests & take just 1 pax, Uber gets $7 & pays driver net $3.75 = $3.25 profit for Uber. Now if you are stuck in unexpected traffic & have to detour, with upfront pricing Uber could pay driver $18 net & had only charged rider $4.95. Uber lost $$. (Actually happened to me in DC once - & rider bailed halfway - imagine if I had gone all the way to their destination!)

That is why Uber wants drivers to do Pools! They make 3x the money and only pay out 1x. That is why Uber now automatically adds Pool riders (it used to be you would get pinged for add'l Pool riders & have to accept them).

I agree that the rates should be X, but pax can "opt in" for Pool & if they are matched they get a reduced rate.

 

[rbort]

Like I said, at the end of the day as drivers we need to earn full DISTANCE for each passenger, not just peanuts for passenger #2 and #3 because they get in a car "already going their way". If we earn from each one, then out of the $21 charged we can make $11.25 or more depending on what it is. As a driver being paid for "time and distance" for however many passengers at a lower rate than X doesn't work for me.

-=>Raja.

 

[joebo1963]

shangsta is correct....just don't take pool.........as a newbie I did to try it.....and it sucked .....time waster, pax that are cheap and rate poorly,,,and it pays 20% less to the driver...... I did accept one pool pax today because I knew I was on my way to get gas......and he eventually cancelled....lol....doing keep my acceptance around 77%...

 

[PepeLePiu]

I'm glad we don't have Pool in my city. It sounds like iron shackles being locked in.

 

[charmer37]

Driver saturation, Cars sitting idle and ubers say pool is great idea, Uber need to discontinue pool because not only it's a complete ripoff it takes rides from other drivers. Uber get there full fare from each passenger and only want to pay the driver peanuts for passenger #2 and #3 just because they're going to similar destinations, I hope new drivers wake up and start rejecting all uberpool requests.

I'm glad we don't have Pool in my city. It sounds like iron shackles being locked in.

Same here, My city is not the worst in crime but it's definitely not the safest. If pool was in my city it would be unsafe having complete strangers sharing a ride, I had passengers that know each other argue about where they want to sit, I let them argue and I cancel the ride...It's crazy.

 

[CrazyFemaleDriver]

Seriously, if you only go 1/4 more distance for pax #2 & wait 1 min for pick-up & the ride is 3 min longer (time to get pax # 2 & extra travel to drop, you will make about $1 extra (than pax #1 only) for all your troubles. And less after Uber %. But that same pax #2 getting a separate ride makes another driver $3.75. And you could be onto a new ride 4 min sooner that'll make you more than that $1.

 

[TheFixer1]

How about not accepting Uber fool trips, problem solved.

 

[Jesusdrivesuber]

There is no good reason to take pool and that isnt going to change.

Uber uses pool to give one driver 2 or 3 pings while another driver sits idle waiting an hour for a ride, it's ridiculous.

And you forgot to mention:

Charge each pax @ (insert city pool rates) while paying the driver virtually nothing more than 1 pax fare.

It sucks in many more ways.