quick tips for uber drivers – driving smart & maximizing revenue

Quick Tips for Uber Drivers: Driving Smart and Maximizing Revenue

Copyright of uberkit.net

Purchased by Malik Akande, [email protected] #5540851



Contents 1. Disclaimer & Confidentiality Notice ...................................................................................................... 3

1.1 General Disclaimer & Confidentiality Notice ................................................................................ 3

1.2 URL Disclosure............................................................................................................................... 4

2. Document Overview ............................................................................................................................. 4

2.1 Know your Staging Points ............................................................................................................. 4

2.2 Know Uber Rates ........................................................................................................................... 4

2.3 Ask Questions ................................................................................................................................ 5

2.4 Weather Forecasting ..................................................................................................................... 5

2.5 Restaurant Week .......................................................................................................................... 6

2.6 Eventbrite is your friend ............................................................................................................... 6

2.7 Transit Points ................................................................................................................................ 6

2.8 Know your consultants ................................................................................................................. 7

2.9 Anticipate Surge Patterns ............................................................................................................. 7

2.10 Downtown ..................................................................................................................................... 8

2.11 Nightlife ......................................................................................................................................... 8

2.12 College Students ........................................................................................................................... 8

2.13 Lyft & Others ................................................................................................................................. 8

2.14 Where is your Competition? ......................................................................................................... 8

2.15 Fare Review ................................................................................................................................... 9

2.16 Uber Weekly Summary ................................................................................................................. 9

2.17 Be nice (tips).................................................................................................................................. 9

2.18 Tax Planning ................................................................................................................................ 10

3. How to get free Uber Rides ................................................................................................................. 11

4. Let us refer you (new Uber Drivers) .................................................................................................... 11

5. Message to our Readers ..................................................................................................................... 12

6. Our Products: ...................................................................................................................................... 12

5.1 The Handbook of Uber Drivers Kit” ............................................................................................ 12

5.2 “How to Own an Uber Black Fleet Kit” ....................................................................................... 12




1. Disclaimer & Confidentiality Notice

1.1 General Disclaimer & Confidentiality Notice

GENERAL Disclosure

• The information provided in this report is confidential information of and

proprietary to Honcho LLC and is being furnished with the mutual agreement that

you shall keep such information confidential. No part of this document can be

reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior consent of the author.

• This document and the information contained in it CAN BE DISCLOSED/ SHARED

WITH OTHERS AS LOG AS IT IS KEPT IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM and not modified.

• This document IS NOT FOR RE-SALE

• In preparing this assessment, Honcho LLC has not sought to independently confirm

the completeness or accuracy of the information and will not be responsible for any

omission or misrepresentation in its Assessment arising out of reliance on such

information.

• This assessment was based on the Dallas, TX Market. Honcho LLC identifies what we

believe are the key assumptions for this assessment and believes they can be

extended to other markets accordingly. It is your responsibility to ensure that you

adjust the key assumptions that are relevant to your own market

• Honcho LLC does not warrant or make representations in respect of the accuracy or

completeness of this Assessment.

• You shall be responsible for determining whether to use or refrain from using any

suggestions or recommendations made by Honcho LLC

URL Disclosure

• The information provided in this document has some urls/links and codes which are

affiliate in nature. You may get a free ride or other forms of compensation if you use

them.

Published:




• February 20th 2015 by Honcho LLC; Copyright © 2015 by Honcho LLC

• Published by Uberkit.net: A Division of Honcho, LLC. Uberkit.netTM is a Trademark

of Honcho, LLC.

• For more information contact us at www.uberkit.net

1.2 URL Disclosure The information provided in this document has some urls/links and codes which are affiliate in

nature. You may get a free ride or other forms of compensation if you use them.

2. Document Overview In this short document, I will quickly give you (the Uber Driver) a couple of Tips that will come in

handy in driving smart, rather than hard, and ultimately help in maximizing your revenue!

2.1 Know your Staging Points A staging point is essentially a stopping place or assembly point en route to a destination. It is

the place you wait for your Uber customers/ riders. Knowing where to wait for fares will make

the difference between picking up 1 customer per hour to maybe 5 per hour.

Some common staging points are at hotels, restaurants and airports. In selecting staging points,

it is important to observe customer behavior and keep a detailed log of rides picked up and at

what points in the day. Also important is talking to other rideshare drivers. Over time it will be

obvious when and where you need to respond to requests for Uber cars by customers.

2.2 Know Uber Rates In order to maximize your income, it is also important to know the rates for different cities. For

example the rates for Springfield IL and Saint Louis Missouri (which are about an hour away by

car) are widely different (as at 01/30/2015). If you live in a border town, you might be able to

take advantage of the more lucrative routes in the nearby city. For example –

City Base Rates Safe Rides Fee Min. Fare Cancellation Fee

Springfield, IL $2 Base Fare +$0.20 per minute +$1.65 per mile

$1 $5 $5

Saint Louis, MO $7 Base Fare +$0.45 per minute +$3.55 per mile

N/A $15 $10

See the current rates for the cities mentioned above here:

https://www.Uber.com/cities/springfield-il (Springfield, IL)


https://www.uber.com/cities/springfield-il



https://www.Uber.com/cities/st-louis (Saint Louis, MO)

2.3 Ask Questions As previously mentioned it is important to ask a lot of questions. Talk to other Uber Drivers and

also your clients (Uber customers) if they are willing to chat with you. (FYI – don’t push a

discussion though if they are not particularly chatty or you might get dinged by the user when it

comes time to get rated). The answers to these questions can help you refine and get the most

optimal staging points for your Uber driving schedule.

Some questions you can ask other drivers (and also yourself) are:

a) Can you tell me where your good staging points are?

b) Can you tell me what times to be at these staging points (follow up to the first question

above)?

c) Are there certain events I should pay attention to in the coming weeks?

d) What events calendar do you use?

e) Where is the nightlife?

Some questions you can ask your passengers (if they are chatty) are:

a) So where are you going to today?

b) Are you a regular Uber passenger?

c) What type of events do you typically call Uber cars for?

d) Do you use Uber at specific times?

The aggregate answers to the afore-mentioned questions from different passengers can help

you with selecting staging locations and planning your driving schedule. You can also come up

with other interesting questions too. Just remember to make sure the conversation is relaxed,

and does not feel like a job interview. Just let the conversation flow!

2.4 Weather Forecasting The Uber pricing regimen includes a concept called “surge pricing”. According to Uber “… rates

increase to get more cars on the road and ensure reliability during the busiest times (i.e. lots of

passengers, but not enough Uber drivers). When enough cars are on the road, prices go back

down to normal levels…”

As an Uber driver you should be aware of patterns in weather that can cause this price spike

(sometimes up to 5 times the normal rate). Keeping a detailed driving log can help you with a

high level data analysis, and make you the “surge price” soothsayer.

As a rule of thumb, if you don’t feel like driving because the weather is bad, so do other drivers.

The scarcity of drivers will cause an imbalance in the Uber ecosystem: This is good for you!!!

$$$$ You can take advantage of this, and make up to 5 times as much money when others don’t


https://www.uber.com/cities/st-louis



and take a break later. (Note – be wise and use discretion, ultimately you cannot make money if

your car is totaled, or worse you are in the morgue).

2.5 Restaurant Week Have you ever read an ad similar to this in a newspaper or website:

“San Diego, CA – San Diego Restaurant Week is ecstatic to celebrate 11 years of culinary

excellence by offering an entire week of delicious discounted dining at some of San Diego

County’s finest restaurants! For ONE WEEK ONLY, Sunday, January 18th through Saturday,

January 24th, foodies will be able to eat their hearts out at over 200 participating restaurants

that will offer three-course prix-fixe dinner menus for just $20, $30, $40 or $50 per person and/or

two-course prix-fixe lunch menus for only $10, $15 or $20 per person”

- http://www.sandiegorestaurantweek.com/press

If you love food and have a little bit of cash, then you probably got excited like me. Restaurant

weeks across the country are typically cash cows for restaurants, and now they are cash cows

for you - the Uber driver. Wherever there are lots of people, especially young, hip, and trendy

people then there is an opportunity for you to make money driving with Uber.

2.6 Eventbrite is your friend By now, I would assume that you are starting to see a pattern! Wherever there is demand for

transportation by young people, trendy people, or professionals, there is probably a demand for

Uber. This means sporting events, music events, concerts, and conventions are prime venues to

pick those Uber passengers.

Once you have gone through the event websites, and determined the events which lots of people

will be at, plan to be there 10 to 15 minutes before the scheduled end of the event to pick up

customers.

I have a personal bias for eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.com); however, there are other

sites I recommend which you can monitor for events. You should probably do this on a weekly

basis as you plan your driving schedule.

Some other popular event sites:

www.ticketmaster.com

www.meetup.com

2.7 Transit Points Where there are lots of people, especially in the cities, there is probably a demand for Uber. Even

better is where there are lots of people trying to go from point A to point B. Airports, train

stations, and some bus stations are excellent staging points for some people. At airports

specifically, the rates for picking up people might be a lot higher than normal rates. Now be

careful to follow the rules in these areas (or you might get fined).


https://www.eventbrite.com/

http://www.ticketmaster.com/

http://www.meetup.com/



2.8 Know your consultants Now as a career consultant myself, I know that there are lots of opportunities for Uber drivers to

make money from consultants. Here are a couple of things that make consultants the perfect

customers for Uber drivers:

a) They travel every week to their client site: Typically they fly out Sunday night or Monday

morning to their place of work (client site) and they do this every week. As an Uber driver, if

you know where there is a concentration of consultants, you can make more money by having

a staging area when and where these consultants are known to want transportation to the

airport (early in the morning on Mondays -4am to 6am, or Sundays after 4pm).

You might be asking “how do I find where these consultants congregate?” Well it is by asking

questions. Remember that section we went over?

b) They typically go to work every day in their client’s city: Sometimes there are constraints that

prevent consultants from renting cars. i.e. – Client restrictions, cost restrictions, or sometimes

parking in the city they are in is a hassle (for example - Washington DC).

If you know where the consultants lodge (you can find scores of them at some hotels, from

different consulting firms) you can make these particular hotels your staging area. On

Mondays through Wednesdays, these consultants will typically leave to work from their

hotel between 6am and 9am. You might be able to make multiple round trips in that time!

c) They typically go back to their hotel every day in their client’s city: Many consultants will

leave work between 5pm to 8pm, from Monday through Wednesday, to go back to their

hotel. Setting up your staging area around their work place(client office) at this time might

also be a good idea, and you might be able to make multiple round trips again! Remember

ask lots of questions if you are trying to find these work locations. (Hint - Fortune 100

companies and Government clients tend to be these clients).

d) Consultants need to fly home too: Consultants will also typically leave for their home city

once a week. Typically on Thursdays or Fridays. They will leave anytime from 3pm to 7pm

from their clients’ office to the Airport directly. Yes you guessed it! This is another great time

and place to make your staging area.

2.9 Anticipate Surge Patterns This section has an overlap with a lot of the other tips previously mentioned. As a general rule

of thumb whenever a lot of people want to leave to/from a particular place at the same time the

Surge pricing will probably kick in (See this article here http://blog.Uber.com/2012/01/03/surge-

pricing-followup). In general try to stage yourself 5 to 15 minutes earlier than the closing time so




you can catch this spike in demand for Uber rides (dearth of supply). Some examples of times and

places where surge pricing will probably kick in:

a) When a very large dance club closes on Thursday/ Friday/ Saturday night:

b) New Years Eve celebration at New York Times Square (or your own version of that in

your city)

c) Large Job Fairs

d) Large Professional Conventions

e) Large Technology Conventions (Techies love Uber)

f) During bad weather, or right before it ends

g) 5pm (closing time for a lot of work places), where there are large fortune 100

companies.

Some of the above are only examples, but try to be creative and anticipate “THE SURGE”.

2.10 Downtown Conversations I have had with multiple Uber drivers suggest that in most big cities (with

surrounding suburbs), there is more demand for Uber service downtown during the day (8am to

5pm). In the evening (6pm to 11pm), the demand is more in the residential areas (suburbs). Know

the specific patterns for your city!!

2.11 Nightlife Knowing where the hot clubs and bars are in your city is also important, especially if you are

comfortable with driving at night. From about 10pm to 3am in most major cities, there would

probably be lots of people leaving to/from a club. Know the specific patterns for your city!

2.12 College Students Most college students do not have cars. College students present a very lucrative demographic for

the Uber driver if their demand patterns are known. Know their travel patterns. Their

demographic also ties in very closely with the demographic of the nightlife crowd. Know when

your college campuses in your community are on holiday and when they are back in school and

plan around their schedules.

2.13 Lyft & Others Another way to supplement your income is to stack your rides, as they say. Use Uber as well as

other ridesharing services at the same time that way when Uber doesn’t have a potential

passenger for you Lyft (or one of the other services) does! You increase your income potential

odds by doing this.

2.14 Where is your Competition? Like with most things, the ride sharing industry is competitive. In particular with Uber you are in

competition for passengers with fellow Uber drivers. You should make sure you know where the

other drivers are for two reasons.




To Identify good staging zones and times

To Identify areas where you have minimal competition for rides.

You can gain an upper hand on the competition by downloading the passenger Uber app, and

regularly checking what your competition is doing. Ultimately the more rides you get the more

money you make.

2.15 Fare Review Uber Fare Reviews can be initiated by an Uber driver under two circumstances:

An overcharge was made to the passenger

A passenger was undercharged for a trip.

In some circumstances, an overcharge might be made to a passenger when for instance you

made a brief detour during a trip to get gas. In this instance you would need to initiate a fare

review with Uber via the app, and explain to them why the specific passenger was overcharged.

If by chance you forgot to start the fare (via the Uber app) half way into the journey, you can

initiate a fare review once the trip is completed. You would have to explain via email why the

specific Uber passenger was undercharged and the pickup and drop-off location for the

passenger. In this particular instance, you reduce the amount of lost revenue by doing this.

2.16 Uber Weekly Summary Review the Uber weekly Summary email which details the busiest hours of the previous week

(Sunday at 4am to Sunday 3.59am is defined as a week by Uber). Uber also aggregates what times

you worked compared to the busiest hours for Uber Drivers in your locale. Study this email, and

compare it to your schedule for the next week, and adjust your staging area and staging times

accordingly. Doing this can make a very big difference in your bottom line on your revenue per

hour of driving.

2.17 Be nice (tips) Be nice to your passengers. Some passengers do tip, even though Uber doesn’t necessarily allow

tipping for most of their services (through their app). Some of the things you can do to encourage

tipping are:

a) Present a professional appearance. People appreciate this!




b) Present passengers with a choice of music or news, go for the generic ones, nothing too

ostracizing. For example I love hip hop music, but that might not be a good choice for the

average rider, unless they ask for it.

c) Ensure your car is always clean: Consider having barf bags in your car in case you carry a

rider who wants to throw up.

d) Consider keeping bottles of water in your car for those thirsty riders.

e) Be kind and courteous to your riders at all times.

f) Have conversations with your riders, if they encourage it – sometimes people want to be

left alone and being able to read your passengers will help keep them happy and

generous.

g) Be on time when picking up your passengers.

2.18 Tax Planning If you notice in this write up, I have frequently said “work with Uber”, not “work for Uber”. That is

because as an Uber driver you are not their employee, you are an independent consultant and

essentially self employed. Uber will issue you a 1099 document for each year you work with

them. As an independent consultant the difference between a big refund and a negligible

refund is keeping track of your expenses. (You should probably talk to your Accountant about

other things you should keep track of). Some of the items you should keep track of are:

Your Mileage (Keep a mileage log handy and document your trips each day)

Meal Costs

Personal Food Expenses

Food Expenses for Riders (for example if you give them free water)

Car Maintenance

Auto Repair Expenses

Auto Maintenance Expenses

Gas Costs

Phone Costs (Document calls made to passengers and minutes used)

Health Care Costs

Insurance Costs

Professional Service Fees (Accountants, Lawyers etc)

Retirement Savings Account related fees

Note also-




Tax Liability: Independent consultants make payments to the IRS quarterly if their tax

liability is more than $1000 each year. The IRS has a form 1040-ES which helps you

calculate your estimated tax payments.

Self Employment Tax: As a self employed independent consultant you are also

responsible for paying your Social Security and Medicare taxes; however this is usually

done at the point you file your taxes in April of each year. Note –a portion of these

taxes are also deductible from your previous year’s revenue in the tax form 1040.

Note – to get more information on Tax planning , other ways of maximizing revenue

and other useful topics that concern Uber Drivers not covered in this report -take a look

at the “Our Other Products” section at the end of this document.

3. How to get free Uber Rides To get your first free ride with Uber:

a) Use the following URL to get your free ride with Uber.

https://get.uber.com/r/share/me/MM2472/3yphk

b) Download the Uber mobile app on your phone

c) Request a ride with Uber!

4. Let us refer you (new Uber Drivers) As at February 7th 2015, in order to get referral credit from Uber when you sign up you

need to have custom referral links provided to you or an invite code. We have provided ours

below. If you have never driven for a rideshare company, use this link (Up to $100 credit) :

https://get.uber.com/drive/?invite_code=M3OKV

If you have driven for Lyft or another rideshare company in the past, use this link(Up to $1000

credit) -: https://get.uber.com/cl/rideshare500/?invite_code=M3OKV

Use our links and once the referral credit has been paid to us, we will give you in addition to what

Uber pays you, $49* (Essentially, you would have received the kit ,which this handbook is a part

of) for little to no cost. Email us at [email protected] if you have any questions about this.


https://get.uber.com/r/share/me/MM2472/3yphk

https://get.uber.com/drive/?invite_code=M3OKV

https://get.uber.com/cl/rideshare500/?invite_code=M3OKV



5. Message to our Readers Dear Reader,

Thank you for taking the time out to read this short document. I enjoyed assembling and

analyzing this information for you and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you would like to see the

full version of this document and other helpful materials send us an email at

[email protected]. Also, we appreciate any testimonial you might have for us!

Thanks in advance!

Malik Akande.

6. Our Products:

5.1 The Handbook of Uber Drivers Kit” Are you interested in maximizing your revenue as an Uber Driver? Do you want to learn everything you need to know as an Uber Driver? Do you want to learn how to drive smart and learn those essential tips needed for Uber Drivers? Then you should check out the “The Handbook of Uber Drivers Kit” (coming soon)

5.2 “How to Own an Uber Black Fleet Kit” Are you interested in growing your fleet of cars, and making passive income from uber? Do you want to turn this into a business, instead of another job? Then you should check out the “How to Own an Uber Black Fleet Kit” at www.uberkit.net


mailto:[email protected]

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