Last week, Uber had a big push to get as many drivers in the great LA area as possible. The did this with a promotion to their drivers...do 75 trips within the area and you get an extra $500 on top of whatever you make.
One catch. EVERY Uber driver in Southern California got this. That means that EVERY driver who wanted a cut of this sweet pie was out in LA. I was one of them.
I was going to try and be smart about it. I found out late on Tuesday that it was going to happen. So I set Wednesday aside, ready to make some cash. I arrived in Downtown LA, near the Staples Center, and turned my app on. Got a ping almost at once, drove a lovely young graphic design student to her place. Then, got another ping. I thought I was sitting pretty.
Then, I got stuck. I was in LA, waiting and waiting for a fare. Drove around, for almost an hour with no pings, nothing. Stopped at a Barnes and Noble in Marina del Rey, just to do something different. Wondered around the sic-fi section and noticed another man, with his phone out. About two minutes into wondering if I could find a copy of Saga Volume 6, or maybe 7, (Awesome comic by the by, any self respecting comic book fan should be reading it) his phone goes off and he rushes out the door.
I look down at my cell, thinking I might be next. Any second now. Any second, I kept telling myself. Twenty minutes later, I'm outside, in my car reading a book I bought--can't remember what it is off hand, a steampunky story which I am sure I'll talk about later--and nothing.
I decide to end the day a bit early. It is 7 pm and I head home. Once I'm outside the area, I switch off my app and cruise home. I spend some time there, relax, watch some tv. Then, thanks to some friends, I decide to try and hit the road again for one more shot.
I get two more rides before I realize it is almost 2 and I need some sleep.
Grand total of rides that day= eight.
Needless to say, the next day, St. Patrick's Day, I decided against driving in LA--though I did get two long rides into LA during the day. Made a bit of cash, but didn't get anywhere close to the number I needed.
And now, this week started out with a similar promotion. $300 if they make 75 trips, $500 if you make one hundred trips. On top of whatever you make. Sounds great, yet I am not even going to attempt it. One reason, it is Wednesday. Two, I don't have the time to devote to spending twelve to twenty hours in my car driving people around. I like driving for Uber. But, I'm not going to do that.
Don't get me wrong, if things were different, I would try it. But, I don't see the point to it.
Thank you for reading, have a wonderful day and for all the other Uber drivers, keep chasing the red...
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Friday, February 5, 2016
Airport driving
About a week ago, Uber finally was allowed to go and pick up at LAX. Something I have been hoping to do for awhile. Yet, when it finally happened, I was left a little...confused.
See the way it is set up, the Uber driver heads to an area in Westchester, hits a location and has to wait around for a ping off their app. However, drivers will be waiting around, and can't get another fare until they either get a ping from the airport or leave the area and leave "the queue."
Not really a bad thing. But it seems a little to convoluted to me personally. I am sure there is a reason for it, but to me it is wonky. That doesn't mean I won't try it. Probably this weekend I will get out some tape and stick the placards up.
Which leads me to another quibble. Something I thought I would get is an Uber placard with some kind of holder that had some kind of adhesive. Nope. I just toss it onto my dashboard. I also use to throw it in front of me on the driver's side. Yet, I was told by a police officer at the airport about three months ago that it has to be in the passenger's side. (I had been driving for about eight months at that point, never really got any kind of info on where it was suppose to be. But it is possible I missed something in the landslide of emails.)
Now, this doesn't mean I have never been to LAX. Been there very often dropping people off. I have discovered a few things while doing this.
1) I dislike the airport. It is to crowded and the traffic is horrible.
2) I really hate people who use American Airlines. It is in one corner of the airport, the far corner next to Bradely International. There is no way to take a short cut, I have to drive the entire length of the airport to drop off and then get out. (But, this is the job I took, so a minor quibble.) See point 1.
3) Until recently, it was illegal for me to pick people up. I did it anyway, but still it was a hassle.
And the problem is it is still a hassle to pick people up at the airport. Not only do I have to go wait in Westchester waiting for the ping, the "fare" needs to head up to the arrival section of the airport and wait at one of five places. So, people who have been on a long flight, with who knows how much luggage, have to lug there way to one of five places throughout the airport. There are eight terminals, and a few places in LAX are pretty far from the pick up points.
Maybe they will add more later, yet I doubt it.
See the way it is set up, the Uber driver heads to an area in Westchester, hits a location and has to wait around for a ping off their app. However, drivers will be waiting around, and can't get another fare until they either get a ping from the airport or leave the area and leave "the queue."
Not really a bad thing. But it seems a little to convoluted to me personally. I am sure there is a reason for it, but to me it is wonky. That doesn't mean I won't try it. Probably this weekend I will get out some tape and stick the placards up.
Which leads me to another quibble. Something I thought I would get is an Uber placard with some kind of holder that had some kind of adhesive. Nope. I just toss it onto my dashboard. I also use to throw it in front of me on the driver's side. Yet, I was told by a police officer at the airport about three months ago that it has to be in the passenger's side. (I had been driving for about eight months at that point, never really got any kind of info on where it was suppose to be. But it is possible I missed something in the landslide of emails.)
Now, this doesn't mean I have never been to LAX. Been there very often dropping people off. I have discovered a few things while doing this.
1) I dislike the airport. It is to crowded and the traffic is horrible.
2) I really hate people who use American Airlines. It is in one corner of the airport, the far corner next to Bradely International. There is no way to take a short cut, I have to drive the entire length of the airport to drop off and then get out. (But, this is the job I took, so a minor quibble.) See point 1.
3) Until recently, it was illegal for me to pick people up. I did it anyway, but still it was a hassle.
And the problem is it is still a hassle to pick people up at the airport. Not only do I have to go wait in Westchester waiting for the ping, the "fare" needs to head up to the arrival section of the airport and wait at one of five places. So, people who have been on a long flight, with who knows how much luggage, have to lug there way to one of five places throughout the airport. There are eight terminals, and a few places in LAX are pretty far from the pick up points.
Maybe they will add more later, yet I doubt it.
Monday, December 28, 2015
First blog post.
This is a blog of Uber driving.
I have been doing it for about nine months. I wanted to write down ideas, gripes, customer stories that I have come to find in my tenure as an Uber driver.
I have a few other blogs that have nothing to do with this. One is a gamer blog and the other a writing blog, which I really need to get back to. But,t hat is neither here nor there.
What made me want to write this? Why is it called Chasing the Red?
The first one, simple reason. I like Blogger and thought, why not try and use it to write about something I am doing and have some passing familiarity with. The second one is my own personal view of what many of my fellow Uber drivers do. We see the "surge" price on our devices and try to head towards those areas. Make more money. Greet new people. That kind of thing.
First off, you should know that I am not the kind of Uber driver who is going to complain about how short a drive is going to be. If I am picking someone up from down the block and they need to go two streets over, so be it. That is what I signed up for. That is what all of us Uber drivers did really. We signed up to drive a person or people from point A to point B. If that is down the block, great. If it is from Redondo Beach to Pacific Palisades, so be it. Yes, I live in the South Bay of California. Don't know where that is? Find LAX and go south. That is where I usually work.
I drive a burgundy 2013 Toyota Avalon hybrid. And it has paid for itself many times over in the amount of gas I save with that electric motor assist.
I think I have given a good intro. If you have any questions of comments, please put them down below in the comment section. Talk again soon.
Have a pleasant day.
I have been doing it for about nine months. I wanted to write down ideas, gripes, customer stories that I have come to find in my tenure as an Uber driver.
I have a few other blogs that have nothing to do with this. One is a gamer blog and the other a writing blog, which I really need to get back to. But,t hat is neither here nor there.
What made me want to write this? Why is it called Chasing the Red?
The first one, simple reason. I like Blogger and thought, why not try and use it to write about something I am doing and have some passing familiarity with. The second one is my own personal view of what many of my fellow Uber drivers do. We see the "surge" price on our devices and try to head towards those areas. Make more money. Greet new people. That kind of thing.
First off, you should know that I am not the kind of Uber driver who is going to complain about how short a drive is going to be. If I am picking someone up from down the block and they need to go two streets over, so be it. That is what I signed up for. That is what all of us Uber drivers did really. We signed up to drive a person or people from point A to point B. If that is down the block, great. If it is from Redondo Beach to Pacific Palisades, so be it. Yes, I live in the South Bay of California. Don't know where that is? Find LAX and go south. That is where I usually work.
I drive a burgundy 2013 Toyota Avalon hybrid. And it has paid for itself many times over in the amount of gas I save with that electric motor assist.
I think I have given a good intro. If you have any questions of comments, please put them down below in the comment section. Talk again soon.
Have a pleasant day.
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