When you think about rideshare, you might think about the mobile apps that you use to hail a ride. But what really makes rideshare work is a community of drivers and users who come together to make one of the most interesting and exciting new phenomenons of this technological age. Part of that community is made up of websites like my own, or other sites in the community like Ride.Guru.
What is RideGuru? A rideshare search engine and a community forum
Ride.Guru has a few big features worth checking out. One of the main tools on the site is a powerful search engine that compares rideshare, taxi, and limousine prices for any type of trip. All you have to do is enter your pickup and drop-off locations to see a massive array of options, ranging from Uber, Lyft, and taxis, to rideshare services you may not have heard of before like HopSkipDrive or Blacklane.
RideGuru also has a forum with an active community of rideshare drivers, rideshare passengers, taxi drivers, and industry experts who use the forum to talk about all things rideshare. Topics range from the practical and useful, to fun, interesting, and scandalous.
I personally like to visit the forum to answer common questions people have about rideshare because all too often some of the most fundamental questions go unanswered, which is a big barrier to entering the community as either a driver or a passenger.
Click here to join the RideGuru forum!
Some of my favorite forum threads at RideGuru
Now that I’ve been a contributor over at the RideGuru forums for awhile, I’ve picked out a few of the best threads that show why it’s worth checking out and throwing in your own 2 cents.
Drivers share practical advice
Most people see cars with Uber and Lyft stickers driving around and hear crazy stories on the news about rides gone wrong, but most people don’t really know what is it’s like to be a driver. The RideGuru forum is a great way to find out what the reality is for drivers and passengers. Passengers can ask drivers questions directly on the Hey Drivers forum.
Topic: What do you do if you’re in an accident as a Uber/Lyft driver?
“Sometimes it seems obvious what to do if you’re in an accident, but when it happens you may be stunned, confused, and even injured. It’s important to know ahead of time the best practices so you come out on top. We put together a step by step list to make it easy.
- Call the Police. It’s one of the first questions we ask drivers when they call us after an accident: “Did you file a police report?”. This is very important because if it wasn’t your fault, now you have written proof.
- Be Polite but don’t admit fault. If it turns out it wasn’t your fault, the other drivers involved in the accident can use that against you.
- Don’t move your vehicle unless told to do so.
See the rest of the tips here.
—
Drivers share their best stories
You might imagine that a driver working with the public day in and day out, sometimes at all hours of the days, will have some interesting stories. Not surprisingly, RideGuru has a ton of threads with great stories in them.
Topic: Have you had any #whatsmyname passengers?
“I’ve had them ask my name. I give it to them, but then immediately ask them their name. If they answer incorrectly, I then ask them the name on the account that ordered the ride. If they weren’t able to answer that I would tell them – sorry, this is not your Uber. Fortunately that situation hasn’t occurred recently.
But I have had several instances while sitting at a drinking establishment at closing time where ladies would walk up and get in my car “thinking” it was their Uber or in 2 cases, they thought it was their friend and after looking at my face (after getting in and sitting down) usually followed by an “Oh sh**, this is the wrong car”.. LOL”
—
How much do drivers earn, and why drive if earnings aren’t great?
Income can be unpredictable when you’re a rideshare driver, and even figuring out your true income is a much bigger challenge as a driver. Drivers on the forum share lots of info about their earnings, how to figure out your own earnings, and how to improve.
Topic: If drivers are really losing money, why do they drive?
“Ahhhhhh I always love this question! It’s kind of like Scrooge McDuck asking “Why don’t you just stop being so poor!?”
For starters, most of us don’t lose money. On average, we probably make about minimum wage. This changes city-by-city, by car, by driver, etc.
Perhaps most importantly though, is that some people need cash TODAY. They need it for rent, for medicine, food, or perhaps a suit for a job interview. Most of the money “lost” while driving for Uber comes in the form of depreciation on our cars. So even though a driver may know they’re losing money in the long run, they also know they can prevent a calamity TODAY by driving some more and extracting the equity from their car.
Secondly, most people actually do quit driving. In fact, according to page 10 of this Uber-partnered study, 68.1% of brand new drivers will quit in just 6 months!
But again, many of us drivers are just stuck for n…”
—
Join the RideGuru forum!
Become a member at the RideGuru forum and check out the discussion!
matt says
My advice, please join!
Well, after a 1.5 hour drive to the L.A. airport in rush hour traffic, bags and NO TIP, I got an idea. ALL DRIVERS TAKE HEED: For any pax who does not tip, just give them a three star… Eventually, they will not get any driver to pick them up! Problem solved, no?
Brad says
I drive a Nissan Sentra that allows me a nice mileage per gallon. It s an X car for Uber and lyft but I still make my money because I work only the busy times instead of working all the time and focus on customer service to get tips. I m pretty sure an XL car will make you more money in your market, but you need to think about the loss of money due to depreciation of the value of the car that I believe will be more expensive, and the effort to deal with multiple drunk customers in your car at the same time instead of one or two.
Good luck in your ride share job, I’m sure you will make money, don’t let anyone discourage you.
Arthur says
I am a Lyft driver who got the car ready for a night of making some much-needed money. I go switch to go online and the switch flips back. Then a message pops up saying a background check is in progress and I can’t drive until it clears and “There is nothing you need to do.” (Meaning more like “There is nothing you CAN do!”)
Now, I have had two annual checks, and the last one was done at the end of August. Why were they doing one again and holding me back from earning? I was p*ssed, so I called their help line. After waiting 15 minutes on hold, I got my answer. Seems that Lyft changed the third party that runs the background check, so they had to do it again. That’s bs because it’s like saying the check they did just 40 days ago is somehow not valid. No heads up in advance either. This is wrong. If I knew they were shutting me down for a routine check in three days, I would be out there every available hour to “gather my nuts before winter” as it were.
Anyone else run into this? Curious.
DougH says
Sorry to hear this happened to you! Both Uber and Lyft have had an incredibly rocky year when it comes to background checks. Tons of drivers have reported similar stories. I was checked twice this year even though it’s typically only a yearly process
MichaelS says
I’ve been driving for Uber Eats for 2 weeks. Obviously the onboarding 2 weeks ago included sending my documents and getting an approval. I’m ready to start my Monday morning drive, turn on the app and find I need to send an updated 5 year driving history abstract. You mean the same abstract I sent and you approved 2 weeks ago, when I signed up? So I send it in.
To make a long story short after contacting support 5 times and being told that this will be taken care of in 30 minutes, it took 1 week for the “updated” abstract to be approved.
WTF?
Louis Anderson says
Give me requirements and pay for Uber X
Uber XL and Uber Black
Thank you
DougH says
Check out my article Uber driver requirements and How much do Uber drivers make