Category: Drivers

Drivers gig economy Ride Hailing Apps Tech Uber

To improve Uber’s driver app, he hits the road as an Uber driver

sudshr47 March 27, 2019

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Uber’s head of driver product is proud of his 96 rides (and no tickets … so far). 

Daniel Danker knows they’re nothing compared to the thousands of rides some drivers have under their belts. But every rider he drops off helps him understand the Uber service — and provides more insight than anything he’d get from a feedback survey or second-hand notes. 

So a few times a month, he opens the separate Uber driver app and cruises around San Francisco for a few hours, picking up passengers, earning tips, and making chitchat with riders in the backseat of his Mazda station wagon. (He lets them know he’s an Uber employee and not a regular driver.) Read more…

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Drivers End Of Year 2018 Lyft Ride Hailing Apps Uber

Ride-sharing drivers had it better in some ways this year

sudshr47 December 28, 2018

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Uber changed its logo and Lyft launched pink and purple e-scooters. It’s been a big year for the two big ride-hailing apps.

For the drivers who supply rides ordered via smartphones, Uber and Lyft might say things were pretty good in 2018. Both companies made a big push to improve the driver experience, from Uber’s new app to both Lyft and Uber’s reward programs. But pay has stagnated and driver rights haven’t improved much — issues that the companies don’t want to examine too closely.

In some cities like New York, London, and throughout Australia, the fight is on with local policymakers to reach the demands of the driver community. Drivers are looking to keep more of each fare and get recognized for their work.  Read more…

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Uber and Lyft IPOs will make a lot of people rich. But what about the drivers?

sudshr47 December 20, 2018

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If ride-hailing app Uber goes public next year its valuation could hit $120 billion. Its smaller rival Lyft: $30 billion. But will drivers benefit?

Flush with cash despite years of never earning a profit, the companies will be able to do things like finally pay out employees and acquire other businesses. As the hot new IPOs, they’ll also get good publicity, which can raise the visibility of Lyft and help Uber — with new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi at the helm — gloss over past reports of harassment in the workplace, gender discrimination, and cut-throat tactics.

Outside of Uber and Lyft, would-be investors are champing at the bit. “There’s so much pent-up demand to invest in the ride-sharing businesses,” financial consultant Christopher Clapp at MorganFranklin said. They’ll be the first major companies in the sharing economy to go public, and what happens could affect the industry’s next round of IPOs, which will most likely include Airbnb. Read more…

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Lyft lets riders give mid-route feedback on shared rides

sudshr47 October 1, 2018

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Finally, you can let Lyft know you’re angry when it sends your shared ride in the opposite direction of your destination. 

Lyft’s adding a mid-ride feedback option in the app — and don’t worry, the driver won’t be affected. While in the middle of a ride, if you open Lyft, you’ll see a prompt asking, “How’s your route?” during the ride as it’s happening. 

The feature will be familiar to passengers who also use Uber. Back in May, Lyft’s competitor added mid-ride tipping and driver feedback.

Lyft’s feature has the same rationale behind Uber’s: you provide more detailed, vivid feedback while something is happening. Once you reach your destination, even if your trip was delayed or harrowing, you’ve probably gotten over it. But Lyft wants to know those details. Read more…

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People are losing faith in self-driving cars following recent fatal crashes

sudshr47 May 22, 2018

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For a while, people were really excited about the potential of self-driving cars, which promised to make our future commutes easier, more productive, and safer. Then came some high-profile autonomous vehicle accidents — including two fatal crashes — and let’s just say the excitement has waned a bit.

A new survey released Tuesday by the American Automobile Association found that 73 percent of American drivers are scared to ride in an autonomous vehicle. That figure is up 10 percent from the end of last year. Read more…

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Lyft riders tipped 8% more on average in 2017

sudshr47 April 16, 2018

Lyft drivers have earned more than $500 million in tips to date, Lyft announced today. Since fleshing out tip functionality last June to encourage higher tip amounts, tip averages increased by nearly 8 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. While it took four years for Lyft to reach $100 million in tips for its drivers, […]

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Lyft reaches $500 million in driver tips

sudshr47 April 16, 2018

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Ride-hailing service Lyft has always offered passengers the option to tip their drivers and all those tips have added up — to half a billion dollars.

The San Francisco company announced Monday its riders have tipped a total exceeding $500 million. More than half of those extra earnings came in 2017. It took tipping a while to catch on — the first $100 million came in over a four-year period. Then last year $260 million was tipped in one year, with $100 million coming in in the past four months.

After new tipping options came online last year the average tip amount increased almost 10 percent. Lyft says higher tips come in on Friday and Saturday nights, during weekend brunch hours, and afternoon work day commutes.  Read more…

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Uber’s new driver app has real-time earnings, surge zones, and more

sudshr47 April 10, 2018

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Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi took the stage at a livestreamed event for Uber drivers Tuesday to announce his first big product launch as head of the ride-hailing app.

He was upfront that the company made mistakes with how it treated its drivers over the years. “You’re the heart of the Uber experience,” he said, “but somewhere along the line as we grew as a company we lost sight of that.”

With that in mind, Khosrowshahi said the company worked with drivers to create a beta version of a revamped driver app, putting in features drivers wanted. At the unveiling event, the CEO said he thinks the new app “will be a huge, huge improvement over what we have now.” After months of working with drivers around the world and 100,000 trips, the company used all the feedback to build the app. Read more…

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Uber is offering a new debit card with perks geared toward drivers

sudshr47 April 3, 2018

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Uber drivers and deliverers may want in on a debit card that Uber has designed with drivers in mind — if they think the discounts and perks are worth it.

The new Uber Visa Debit Card from GoBank is geared toward drivers (including Uber Eats and other delivery service drivers) and offers cash back rewards for gas fill-ups and car maintenance as well as other expenses associated with ride-hailing apps.

The card offers 3 percent cash back at Exxon and Mobil gas stations, and 1.5 percent at other gas stations. Discounts at Jiffy Lube and Advance Auto Parts also make sense for a driver putting a lot of wear and tear on their vehicle. Read more…

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