towerchaser

Almost none. I've only accepted cash as a tip twice, and that was because both times the passenger literally put the money on the dash as he was exiting the car.

People ask about tipping from time (I like to think I'm a pretty decent driver, and people enjoy the car a lot too) and I just tell them that with Uber there is no need to tip. The entire fare is already calculated based on the time and mileage. If they ask how they can tip me, I just tell them there's no need.

There is an important distinction here. Many people will say "the tip is included." This is not technically true. There is no equation where the fare is plussed up by any percentage to form a tip. Still, as a driver, I'm fine with it. I signed on to earn a certain rate, and I never had expectation of any tips.

If I could have it my way, I'd like to see an option where someone could tip a driver through the app, after the ride. I assume I know why Uber doesn't do this - to both keep things as simple as possible for passengers and also to prevent drivers from asking for a tip (I can't stand it when drivers ask me to rate them five stars). Even with those considerations though, I've had more than a few passengers express a small amount of dissatisfaction that they don't have a mechanism to tip me for the ride.

NOTE: Uber does technically allow their drivers to accept tips, I just don't bother with it. The protocol established by Uber is to tell the passenger initially that a tip is not required, then a second time that they don't need to tip you, and then if they insist, you can accept the tip. I just see a lot of room for misinterpretation there, so I avoid it entirely. Plus, really, I just like knowing they wanted to tip me.

Not too bad, but I think the best way to be a good driver is to enjoy the job and have the cash as a secondary factor. The driver gets 80% of the fare, Uber takes the other 20. Most of the info regarding that is here.

But a few things you have to remember about your bottom line. First, you should be withholding a portion of your weekly pay for taxes - you're going to pay them on your own, out of pocket, each year. Second, there's your car payment and whatever you spend on gas. Then add in the less frequent but still costly things: new tires whenever you hit a nasty pothole, getting the car washed and the interior cleaned, and just overall wear and tear on your car.

On a good night my "gross" will be around $30 an hour, but after all the costs are factored in, I'd say it's $15 to $20 an hour net. Still good money, especially when you consider you're really just driving around, meeting fun people, and getting better acquainted with whatever city you live in. I've lived in DC for six out of the last 14 years, and I'm still finding new places to hang out just from talking to people about wherever they're headed to or coming from.

Honestly, I almost never even look at the customer rating - mostly because I accept the fare as soon as my phone starts beeping. The software is set up to match a person with the nearest driver by default, so it's rare to get a fare that's more than 10 minutes away. I think distance is probably the #1 reason why a driver cancels a fare, but I personally don't think that's smart. A fare is a guaranteed fare, whereas canceling just means more waiting.

The only times I've ever canceled a request would be when I didn't get to log off of the app fast enough. On a busy Saturday night for example, as soon as I close out one fare I might get another before I had a chance to close the app. Once your phone is beeping with a fare, pressing anywhere on the screen will accept it. Every now and then I'll press the log off button, but at the same time a fare will come in. If I need to get home or go meet my friends somewhere, I'll just cancel the fare right away so it can get passed to another driver.

Of course, canceling when someone doesn't show up for their ride is another thing. It doesn't happen to me often, maybe once or twice a week, but it's still disappointing. Most often it's because (I think) the person is just too drunk to find the car - this is usually confirmed when you try calling the person and they have trouble forming coherent sentences on the phone. I like to try and look around for them and send a text describing my car, but sometimes it just doesn't work out.

Easiest one first:

I've only had one person vomit during a ride and it was my first night. She was pretty trashed, but not obnoxious or anything. She rolled down the window and lost it out the side of the car. I asked her if she needed me to stop, and she just asked me to keep going. Really, I didn't mind. I think we've all been there at one point or another. I just drove to the nearest gas station afterward, got some windex and paper towel, and cleaned up the outside of the car. If someone blows chunks inside of the car though, Uber does have a request system built in so you can ask the person to be charged for a "clean up." I've never had to use it, so I don't know any detains about the follow up.

Passengers usually get in the back, but maybe one in every ten gets in the front. They always ask if it's ok first, and I'm always fine with it. Plus, my car has heated front seats, which are pretty popular in the winter time! I'm cool with it either way. Some people want to talk, others just want to have a quiet ride and chill or text or talk on their phone. As a passenger, I've experienced both sides. I always keep the whole car clean and clear, so there's room for people to sit up front if they want. Also, whenever there is a large group, someone usually has to sit up front.

I've never feared for my safety. A personal note on this - I was in the Army (infantry) for a few years, so that always helps. But in more general terms, I think it's important to think of who you're clients are. This is a group of people who have been self-selected a few times - self-selected as a group of people who have purchased smart phones, then downloaded the Uber app, then added their credit card into to the app. Sure, someone who wanted to cause someone else harm could (and probably will always) find a way, but I consider it way safer than the pure randomness a cab driver has to deal with. Also, assuming there's not identity fraud involved, Uber has the name and billing address of each person I pick up, as well as the location I picked them up, so there's some decent evidence if police ever need to be involved.

The surge pricing just increases the total fare, so both Uber and the driver get the extra cash. If you have a $10 ride, and the surge is 2x, then the tab goes up to $20 and the driver gets $16 instead of $8, with Uber taking the remainder. The concept behind the surge pricing is to motivate more drivers to move to high demand areas, or in extreme scenarios motivating them to sign on in the first place (Uber will sometimes send a text to your personal phone), so it makes sense for the driver to benefit from the surge multiplier.

Unfounded paranoia mostly. Just last night I had a problem picking someone up in the Adams Morgan area, which for those of you not from DC can get insanely congested around 2am when everyone wants to go home. I stopped the car for literally 45 seconds to let a passenger see me and then get in. Then a cop came over, after the fact as I was about to pull away, and asked me if I wanted him to give me a few hundred dollars in tickets for clogging up his street. I was already on the way out, so I politely asked if I could just move on and stop clogging up his street. I get it, he has his job to do, I have mine. It's gotta be insanely difficult to keep traffic moving in areas like that, so I feel for him. At the same time, if no one picks up those people and moves them out of the area, the problem is never solved. Anyway, I don't like to give a police officer who is already having a bad night an extra reason to be concerned that I'm trying to actively solicit fares on the spot.

As for being identifiable to cabs - again unfounded paranoia. I'm aware of a lot of the controversy surrounding Uber and the taxi industry's response. I like my car, I'd like to avoid any unnecessary dents or scratches, and I want my passengers to have the safest ride possible. You never know if a cab driver out there is just having a bad night, or maybe there's some road rage building up.

I thought about the advantage of having the Uber light for my passengers to spot me, and then I thought about the possible downsides of people knowing I'm picking up fares. I just like my anonymity I guess, for both myself and my passengers.