Reducing Your Payout to Uber
This article is written as a howto based on interviews with drivers and customers. This is what Uber drivers are actually doing in Nashville TN.
First off, you need to treat this like a business. If you haven't already, go to squareup.com and start taking credit cards directly.
Don't limit yourself to just Lyft or Uber - use both apps at the same time. Remember to logout of one when you get a trip in the other.
Create your own brand. Print business cards. Hand them out to the riders that you like. Don't hand them to people that don't travel very far, no matter how much you like them. Short trips are not profitable, they waste your time and gas - don't make regulars out of them, you will regret it. You should decide on a cut off like $10 or $20. My cutoff is $20. Let Uber keep the short trips.
Once you get 75 - 150 regulars calling you directly - your payout to Uber will be near zero. It will take some time to build up this much business but, it will be worth it. Your regulars will keep you busy. You can always log in when your personal business is slow. And remember to logout of the apps when you get a personal call.
Surge pricing. This is the time when you want to be logged in. These customers are the ones who will be the easiest to convert to regular customers. Hand out those cards. Tell them they will save hugely during surge times if they call you directly.
First off, you need to treat this like a business. If you haven't already, go to squareup.com and start taking credit cards directly.
Don't limit yourself to just Lyft or Uber - use both apps at the same time. Remember to logout of one when you get a trip in the other.
Create your own brand. Print business cards. Hand them out to the riders that you like. Don't hand them to people that don't travel very far, no matter how much you like them. Short trips are not profitable, they waste your time and gas - don't make regulars out of them, you will regret it. You should decide on a cut off like $10 or $20. My cutoff is $20. Let Uber keep the short trips.
Once you get 75 - 150 regulars calling you directly - your payout to Uber will be near zero. It will take some time to build up this much business but, it will be worth it. Your regulars will keep you busy. You can always log in when your personal business is slow. And remember to logout of the apps when you get a personal call.
Surge pricing. This is the time when you want to be logged in. These customers are the ones who will be the easiest to convert to regular customers. Hand out those cards. Tell them they will save hugely during surge times if they call you directly.
Work nights - especially Friday and Saturday. Thursday nights are also busy. Find the areas where the Taxis hangout - near bars and restaurants. Watch for people flagging a taxi. Pull in front of the taxis, roll down the window, and tell the customer that they will save money riding with you instead of a taxi. Give out cards.
In the daytime, hangout near the airport with the Uber app on. These customers can be hugely profitable. There are many people that travel frequently and would love to have a driver that they can call directly and depend on to get them back and forth between home and airport. Hand out those cards.
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