I do food deliveries for a small company that handles 19 restaurants I can usually get about 6 deliveries a day (between 4:30 and 9:00 P.M.)with an average of 10 bucks a pop. That combined with the apps keeps me busy most of the times. I also keep a nice book by my side, but I still have to finish the first one since I started. The longest I even been without a ride or delivery is half an hour, just enough time to clean my windows and windshield and smoke a half a cig.

 

Damn half an hour and only half a cig. I would have gone through half a pack out of boredom.

 

Listen to the satellite radio, read, go to the casino, etc

I also play Words With Friends. If its a slow day and you are bored, challenge me: Rob135i

 

PepeLePiu: What food delivery company do you work for? I'm curious because I know Postmates was like that but we don't have that in Fargo :/. (Also, have you considered vaping? I'd vape in my car but half the time I forget to bring my stuff with me xD)

Brick656: I'll consider that too! I guess I still need to figure out a decent system for staying logged in and all that.

 

When its slow most people will go further for trips than they normally will. When you have been sitting an hour that 20 minute ping looks better?

In a taxi i have taken this to the extreme to the point where i'm driving MORE miles than normal while generating less in revenue. This is very bad for your bottom line.

Honestly this is one of those times where it really pays to LIVE in the area you work. Going home and staying online can work wonders. I know a few people who who pop in a few times a day to change loads in the laundry machine, so over the course of 10-12 hours they might get a couple loads finished.

I have netflix and hulu on my phone and personal tablet and when i'm sitting bored waiting for something i'll log on.

 

Honestly this is one of those times where it really pays to LIVE in the area you work. Going home and staying online can work wonders. I know a few people who who pop in a few times a day to change loads in the laundry machine, so over the course of 10-12 hours they might get a couple loads finished.

I have netflix and hulu on my phone and personal tablet and when i'm sitting bored waiting for something i'll log on.

I go online while still at home and try to get something local going toward the city.

 

I drive in Fargo, ND for anyone that cares and weekends here are generally insane with the number of bars we have located downtown. Other than that Sunday-Thursday are a major hit and miss for me personally.

How was it during the school year, with NDSU, Concordia and MSUM in session? I lived in Fargo for 30 years, until about a year ago, seems you'll be seeing things pick up a lot in a few weeks. I know Tempe gets crazy here when ASU students return. Summer has been slow here, but it comes and goes.

Today was slow... I parked in the shade at Target after having a bit of lunch, and fell asleep for about 15 min, got woke up by Uber, damn I was disoriented at first, must have really crashed. When I park and wait, I usually recline and read up on here, check emails, or rest my eyes a bit. Gotta be patient.

 

Mears Troll #4: Yeah, I usually go for most rides that I get pinged for. I haven't had any 20 minute pings unless it's from North Fargo out to West Fargo or deep in Moorhead. Most of them are within 5-15 minutes. And does the staying home/driving when pinged work for a lot of people? I've considered doing that but constantly getting dressed/changed from sweats to pants and getting all my crap ready vs just staying in the car waiting seems like more work xD.

68350: During the school year was... honestly about the same? I started driving around the end of the school year so I suspect a lot of kids were on vacation or something though I *did* have a few school students to pick up/drop off. Weekends I didn't drive so often though. Patience is a virtue I guess, huh? I need to learn that pretty soon.

 

I never sit in one spot and wait forever for a ping. I'm always on the move trying to find a better spot.

 

Coachman: Doesn't always being on the move waste gas though? I tried doing that for a while but never found a good way to do that either.

 

Coachman: Doesn't always being on the move waste gas though?

Yes. But sitting still in one place for an hour wastes time. And my time is much more valuable than my gas.

 

I actually think your first instinct is right. If it's slow, go home. Put in extra hours when it's busy. Align your hours with demand.

 

Coachman: Yeah, I suppose you're right on that too. I'm tight for money on gas so I suppose my gas is almost more valuable than my time. Either way, waiting till an opportune moment to go drive again and binge Netflix till then seems almost an equal waste as does driving around wasting my gas hoping a ping will pop up.

PrestonT: I think that's pretty much been my best bet. I don't make as much as I would driving around and picking/choosing spots to stay at until a ride but I'll try out both for an extended period to see which works best for me. A bit of both might not hurt either. The issue is knowing exactly when the demand is highest for Uber here during the week outside of weekends. I'm hoping someone else from Fargo might chime in.

 

Tax deduction... I get 53 cents a mile deduction and my expenses are only 20 cents... it's actually worth it to keep driving until I find a ride.

 

Not really. It doesn't reduce the tax you owe by 53 cents... it reduces the taxable income by 53 cents, of which you only pay tax on a small portion.... maybe 20%... so you have 20 cents of expenses and now you saved 10 cents on taxes. You're still losing 10 cents a mile, and that's assuming you *HAVE* a taxable income to deduct it from. If you're already in the black you're basically getting a 20 cent loss still.

 

Offerup ,letgo,craigslist / buy sell look for free beeZ

 

I get out my laptop and work on my regular job

 

Honestly, the Fargo market may not generate a lot of rides in general. I lived there 30 years...

As for college students, that'll be nights and weekend activity. And events. Bison football starts soon, you know that means like 15,000 fans at the dome. With 3 local colleges within 10-15 min of each other, seems that might generate traffic, but you have to drive the right hours. GL.

 

First I always check the passenger app to make sure it isn't slow because I'm sitting amidst a sea of other drivers. My biggest time passers are reading, playing on my phone, and napping. When I need a break from sitting in my car or driving, I go to one of my cleaning jobs and put a couple of hours in.

 

GoDuckies: I never considered that but I suppose that'd work as well.
Brick 656: I'll have to do that x.x
68350: Yeah, Fargo's been an oddball for ride sharing. Apparently there have been people who've made some *really* good money here but I have no freakin' idea how they do it when days get so damn silent. The college thing though... I'll have to remember that near the end of August through May.
Bluebird: I've gotten into the habit of doing that too. There are almost never more than eight drivers at a time when I'm on the application before switching back to the driver app.

 

Unless you live in a different city than where you drive, why not sit at home and wait for pings?

...There are almost never more than eight drivers at a time when I'm on the application before switching back to the driver app.

Since the rider app only shows the six nearest cars, I'd guess not.

 

No matter where you are in the FM area, you are only 5-15 minutes away from most any ping. Not a real need to move around frequently, unless you are buried in the middle of a cluster of drivers. For NDSU football game days, I'd suggest staying in south Fargo the hours before game time, you maybe can catch some rides to campus that at least have a few miles to them. Fargo and GF will be tough to get decent paying trips, since the miles to travel are generally somewhat short. What are the mileage and time rates for you there?

Since the rider app only shows the six nearest cars, I'd guess not.

I see 8 on my rider app right now. And none of them are me.

 

Come to uberpeople for the stories. Watch movies. Nap

 

Allgold: Wait, really? I had no idea xD. *feels stupid for thinking that* Oops.
Empresstabitha: I've got my plate full now, it seems! I might have to bring a book with me to read. Least it'll get me to do *something* productive.

 

Depends on tax bracket, plus self employed tax alone is 15%...

 

Traffic at is right folks.

If you want to make more money at this job, learn and pay attention to the detail. It makes a big difference!

 

RicinsBlueBox. Hi. I am a fargo driver. 68350 is correct about the fall being a lot busier because of college students back in town and more importantly Bison football. Generally every weekend that there is a football game will be busier. Not just during and after the game but Friday nights and Sunday mornings as well. Because there are a lot of extra people coming to town and staying at hotels for the weekend. Remember, this is the fan base that the 1st year we went down to frisco tx for the ncaa D1 football championship the 1st year in 2012 caused the party to run out of beer. Yeah frisco put in a big party for ndsu, called the pep fest and all the bison fans caused the place to run out of beer. Google search "frisco tx runs out of beer".

Even on weekends where the Bison are away uber is busier. Because a lot of fans go to the bars or a party to drink and watch the game.

And soon it will get colder. Uber is definitely busier here In winter months too. During summer a lot of people are gone to the lakes every weekend. Once that is over it helps it pick up even more on weekends.

Watch for concerts out at bluestem. There is usually one every week and it surges when convert ends. Last Sunday 90s rock band Bush played there. Did yiu drive fri night before and after the Bruno Mars concert? That was super busy. Any concert at the Fargodome will be super busy before and after. Tim McGraw and faith hill coming up on Aug 24th . That will be huge. During winter before and after Fargo Force hockey games. Not cause the force draws a huge drinking crowd but I have given rides to people going to the game and they take uber just so they don't have to walk out to a cold car at end of game. and there are a couple of "men's nights" at the Force games where guys can drink all the beer they want for $10 during the game. Look on the force website for those dates. Thursday nights look for a lot of activity going to the windbreak at around 9pm and leaving there from midnight to 2am. It is ladies night and pop spot for thurs. This picks up for the school year cause all the college kids go there too.. uber is fairly busy mornings around 530 am during the week and stays busy I think til around 8 or 9. Sign up for Lyft too. It is not as popular here cause its only been here 5 months but there are way less drivers. There are people that fly in from out of town and Lyft is their go to choice so yiu have a good chance of getting some lyft rides. Halloween and the night before thanksgiving are both very busy. And here is a very busy night: Christmas night drive in Moorhead. Why? Because all the fargo bars are closed and everyone that wants to drink will be at one of the 5 moorhead bars going between the bars and then home afterwards. And there will only be about 5 other drivers including myself out that night. The entire weekend of the fargo marathon in april was huge too. A lot of rides can be short but you also get a lot of downtown to eagle run or osgood or south moorhead and those are decent. And every once in awhile you luck out and catch a surge ride to horace or Mapleton or glyndon. Hope this helps. I've been driving part time since uber started here a little over 2 yrs ago.

 

you quit. Hopefully you have something else to do than uber

 

I go home but leave the app on.

 

leave it one why?

 

Sit at home with app on. Have car keys next me, and do something I can drop straight away if I get a ping.

Where I drive, some times are busier than others. At times I get stacked pings or at most a few minutes of wait time in between. Other times can have longer waits, at those times I do what I said above.

 

why quit to go home and go out. thats not quitting. Why not just stay out? its not gonna be that long before a ping. but if i'm waiting 40 mins i'm cutting my losses not making it worse