An Uber driver can easily earn money with the help of his vehicle and right documentation. Howbeit, it becomes groundless if you earn less than $14 per hour on average, through driving.
It has been many years since we have established our feet in the insurance industry. With years of working with and for Uber drivers, we have learned certain ins and outs of driving for Uber. Let’s discuss in detail, shall we?
HOW TO EARN MORE MONEY WHILE BEING AN UBER DRIVER?
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Earning money is a challenging task, but, we’re here to help you out with these easy follow-up-ways.
Avoid the suburbs:
Opportunities to pick up riders continue to decrease as you get away from the city. Therefore, it’s principal to avoid the suburbs and spend more time within city limits. It’s because suburbs are filled with housings and cultivated farms and therefore, you’ll have to drive more in order to pick up riders.
We know that it’s a little difficult to uphold since there’s a lot of traffic in the city area. However, with the passage of time, you’ll start to recognize the streets and gain a proper and definitive knowledge of congested free areas. Familiarity of the roads will help to increase the no of passengers.
Dealing with difficult passengers:
The satisfaction level of the customers can never be surpassed. You might find riders who may be experiencing a bad day or have a bad personality. Also, there’re some riders may try to take out their frustrations on you.
As you know, prevention is better than cure, therefore, it’s prudent to be prepared for such events. Also, keeping a cool and clear head will help you to deal with the riders at a more better level and a calm mind will help you to block all the negative things that you can otherwise take personally. It’s very important for you to act professionally and composedly in order to earn good ratings.
Nevertheless, here are few wisdom tips for you in case something similar to the above occurs:
- Make mental notes on how to behave with those types of passengers you’re likely to face every day.
- Your first priority should be to make them feel comfortable and try to maintain a peaceful environment in the car.
- Always act professionally and don’t meddle in situations where your presence isn’t required.
In many parts of US, Lyft is more in demand and favored than Uber. Therefore, in order to get more ride requests, you should use Lyft referral code. This code comes with a signup bonus and increases your income as a driver.
Encourage others to ride:
Uber operators receive a rider invite code which the drivers can distribute on their business cards, online forums or blogs to earn money. Use of this invite code will help the owner of that code receive a standard bonus. Codes are generally created to increase the number of customers and thus, drivers will find themselves with an easy and fantastic flow of riders which will further help them to earn more money.
Get the iPhone hookup:
Providing memorable experience to the passengers by offering them with a way to play their favorite tunes during the drive can be very profitable. Therefore, investing in a car radio that plugs in a smart phone can be very advantageous. Passengers who have the leisure of playing their favorite songs on your car speakers while travelling are cheerful and contented. Thus, you’ll have the opportunity to earn better tip and driver rating.
Give the cargo box a try:
What is cargo box?
The most primary way to earn more money while Uber driving is to take advantage of the cargo box. Cargo box is a container that Uber drivers should keep in their car that holds consumable items like snacks and other cool items.
Use:
It’s very normal that while travelling, passengers at times tend to become very thirsty and hungry. During such times, the cargo box will help you ease the situation by offering them the opportunity to purchase these consumable items from you.
Advantage of cargo box:
This technique will help you attain a certain amount of extra money. The best part of the scheme is that the cargo box is completely free for Uber drivers like you. Through the cargo box, now, you can offer extra goodies to your riders and earn good driver ratings as well.
Cost bearing of cargo box:
The best part which we talked above, is the cost bearing of the cargo box. The cost of cargo box is endured by somebody else. That is, Uber drivers get to earn money without putting any initial amount. This also means that you can earn $1 for every order. In total, Uber drivers can also earn 25% of every retail item and even more, if they get sales bonuses and in-app tipping. To conclude, Uber driver’s income increases by $100 per month.
Improve tip odds:
Uber prohibited passengers to tip drivers until July 2017. However, now, there’s a change in the attitude of Uber on this particular issue which clearly states that passengers are free to tip drivers if they find their work professional and on-point.
But, the demeaning aspect is that many Uber riders are unaware of it. Nevertheless, there’re many ways through which you can inform your rider about the same. They are:
- Adjoin a symbol to your car which point to the above topic.
- Print out a free Uber tip sign to let your riders know that they’re free to tip.
An important note: Never directly ask your riders for tips as it can make them feel uncomfortable and leave you with a negative rating.
Invest in water:
Offering a complimentary bottle of water is a sweet gesture that an Uber driver could show towards his riders. Provision of this essential item will not only give an Uber driver better ratings but also, he may be tipped well by his passengers.
On an average, the initial amount put by the Uber driver will be $5 for 24 passengers. A tiny investment in a 24-pack of bottled water can easily increase his profits to a new level. All the more, it’s tax deductible.
Invite your friends:
You must have heard the phrase – “Sharing is caring.” Share your unique Uber driver invite code with your friends so that you both can earn an extra penny.
Also, you get to earn a referral bonus each time your Uber driver friend uses the invite code. This signifies that even when you aren’t driving, you can still earn money by helping others earn a little. Though, The thing to be remembered is that the referral bonus for Uber varies from state-to-state.
Keep your stats up:
Your driver rating is regularly monitored by Uber in a strict manner. As a result, it’s the primitive job of the drivers to keep their stats up. The best ways to improve the ratings are:
- Being professional,
- Dressing similarly to your passengers and
- Providing an excellent rideshare experience.
This also signifies that a less-than-flawless ride experience can result in a low star rating. There’re many reasons such as:
- Reckless driving,
- Strong car odors,
- A dirty vehicle.
Trick: Drive around your friends and relatives and subsequently, get a productive feedback from them. They might help you with the things that your work requires or lacks.
Locate nearby restrooms:
Nobody knows when one wants to pee! It’s rather common for everyone to want to go to bathroom when they’re travelling. However, In the case of an Uber driver, this involuntary task can become rather expensive.
For an Uber driver, time is money. That means, every time if an Uber driver ends up driving around in an area that is heavily crowded then, he’ll be at a huge loss because for him, every penny counts.
In order to prevent such, it’s better to learn the routes of nearby bathrooms in your driving area. You can not only save your precious time but also your gas which you might have wasted while waiting in long lines for the bathroom.
Lower your insurance costs:
One thing that every driver should have before getting their vehicle on the road is the rideshare insurance. Though the policies are expensive but rideshare insurance is very important for security purposes.
As the policies are expensive, we can understand that the purchase of one may cost you your savings. Therefore, one creative way to acquire rideshare insurance is to re-evaluate your personal insurance policy.
There’s no necessity of paying huge amount of money to providers like Geico, Allstate or Progressive. You can opt for subtle providers like Metromile also. With the help of Metromile, drivers have the opportunity to pay at a low base rate and afterwards, just few pennies for every square they drive. Thus, it helps you to save money and simultaneously, enjoy benefits like:
- low deductibles,
- rental reimbursement and
- emergency roadside assistance and many more.
Also, even after reading all this, you still don’t feel like having the rideshare insurance then we must suggest you to at least have a quote because it will help you to save money. To know more such providers, click here.
Manage snack attacks:
Hunger is a natural phenomenon that will eventually come up during your shifts. The best way to satisfy your growling tummy would be by bringing pre-made snacks from home which are healthy, indelible and cheap.You should always avoid stuffing your stomach with the overpriced foods from the gas station.
Master the basics:
If you’re able to learn and become proficient in the knowledge of the city routes and the time period where you’ll be able to catch more riders then, you’ll be able to increase your earnings to a fare amount. In order to improve your earnings and efficiency, you should also take these things into account:
- driver ratings,
- tips by passengers and
- acceptance rates.
Prepare a backup:
You never know when problems might come knocking at your door. For an Uber driver, the biggest problem he could ever face is the non-functioning of his vehicle. It could be due to:
- the occasional flat tire,
- dead battery or
- other mechanical failures.
Such a problem could leave you with no money in the pocket for days. Therefore, it’s very important to have a back-up option. The best possibility for a back-up option is to borrow a car from your friend/relative. In turn, do offer them a certain amount in exchange for their car so that you don’t find yourself being called selfish.
However, your back-up option should be approved by Uber and registered to your account before it’s actually necessary to use it.
Prepare for taxes:
As the tax filing process is complex and complicated, there’s a lot of pressure on both Uber drivers and independent contractors. Adding more to this heap, contractors have to pay the taxes from their own pocket.
Fortunately, Uber drivers can take advantage of tax deductions due to their employment status. Tax deductions help Uber drivers by covering any business expense that they’ve to under-go while working. There are different types of tax deductions such as:
Standard mileage deduction:
Standard mileage deduction offers Uber drivers a rate that is per mile and covers most of their expenses. However, in order to use this deduction, drivers have to keep a record of the miles they’ve driven in an entire year.
Actual expense deduction:
In Actual expense deduction, an Uber driver have to maintain a proper list of all his expenses. Expenses incurred due to vehicle or rideshare insurance, will be listed. Items that can be deducted are:
- Car payments,
- Gas,
- Insurance,
- License, registration and title expenses,
- Mobile phone and charger,
- Vehicle financing,
- Vehicle operating expenses.
- Things which are purchased in order to help in improving the quality of the rideshare experience can also be deducted from your taxes. For example: 24-pack of bottled water which you’ve purchased in order to provide customers with complimentary water is considered a work expense and therefore, it’s tax deductible.
Any car accident might become fatal to your wallet if you don’t have an Uber insurance. This signifies that till the time your car doesn’t get repaired, you’ll be temporarily out of work.
If you think that you’ve to pay some amount as premium after you’ve purchased rideshare insurance then, let us assure you that the money spent is worth it. It’s because in case of an accident, everything will be properly covered by the insurance company. Also, rideshare insurance can save you from devastating lawsuits/bankruptcy even.
Your personal car insurance plan will protect you off-hours. But, while you’re driving for Uber, you might have to pay additional fees that is charged by your insurance providers.
SURGE periods provide Uber drivers a chance to earn more money. It helps you to increase your Uber earnings by driving during peak hours, especially in times of high demand. The reason behind such is that Uber riders are willing to pay more money when traffic is heavy.
An Uber driver should know how to balance between getting riders and dealing with the streets full of traffic. It could be very profitable. Also, make sure to be attentive at all times to know when and where the price hike occurs, so that he could take full advantage of surge.
Map up your route to increase the likelihood of catching a surge peak. But, you should keep this in mind that surge maps aren’t always updated immediately. There’s always a slight delay of few minutes that may disrupt your plan.
Reduce your driving:
You should always keep this in mind that driving without a rider leads to loss of time, money and fuel. Thus, you should always make up a plan before you start driving. That is, analyse your key locations where you can easily park and wait for riders while the engine is shut off.
Furthermore, draw an updated Excel sheet to keep a track of your earnings and the number of ride requests you’ve received. Make columns based on times of the day that is, morning, afternoon, early evening and late night. This will help you to identify your profits. Review this list every 2-3 months to diagnose your top earning locations.
Take online courses:
It’s advised to sign up for online courses as they could provide you tips and tricks that will help you improve your rideshare service. Everything will be explained in detail and in great manner.
An Uber driver is able to maximize his profits in a variety of different ways. Identifying the best ways to improve your rideshare business will take time and dedication. For more information, contact us.
