Apps are a part of life for most everyone, but for rideshare drivers they’re essential. In fact, it’s hard to imagine how we’d stay in business without them.
First and foremost, we have our rideshare apps. Uber and Lyft are both pretty sophisticated. When you think about it, the whole process of how drivers and riders find one another is miraculous and awe-inspiring.
With that said, we do a bunch of other things in our cars, from listening to music that we and our customers can live with, to knowing where and when the next thunderstorm or snow shower might blow in and totally change our driving game. Also, there are those pesky realities like the need for road service and car maintenance, and fun diversions we can deploy while we’re waiting for rides in the airport queues.
We’ve listed some of our favorite apps here, which will hopefully give you some tips that make your driving experience as profitable and enjoyable as possible.
Gas Discount apps for Uber and Lyft Drivers
There are tons of fuel payment apps, and most gas brands have their own. Some help us save a few pennies on the gallon, in addition to offering the option to pay from your phone rather than in-store or through the pad on the pump.
Here are a few others that help us find the fueling stations of our choice, save some cash, and pick up other fun freebies.
GasBuddy: Helps you find cheap gas prices near you and maps the fastest route to the station of your choice. Rewards and a “Pay with GasBuddy” card are among the perks. You can shop other brands off-road and rack up points, which you can use for more gas savings.
GetUpside: Along with locating nearby gas stations, this app gives discounts at the stations, as well as at restaurants and grocery stores. You’ll only find stations that offer cash back for gas, though, so if you’re already on empty you might want to seek out other options.
Gas Guru: If you just want to find the nearest gas station, this app is what you need. You can sort your lists by price as well as distance.
Fuelly: Assuming your car’s onboard computer doesn’t already have this capability, Fuelly will help you calculate your gas mileage.
iExit Interstate Exit Guide: Perfect for those trips that take you out on a highway you don’t know so well, iExit gives you info on what options you have for gas, food, lodging, ATMs, and other items that will comfort you on the return trip.
EVgo (network for EV): As more electric vehicles hit the road, demand for this app is sure to grow. It maps out EV charging stations and assists in the payment process.
PlugShare: Also for electric vehicle drivers, PlugShare maps out charging stations and lets you connect to a community of other EV drivers.
Music apps for Uber and Lyft Drivers
Most people know about Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Google Play, and Amazon Music. There’s also iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and others.
Here are a few you might not know about, plus tips on other apps that can work seamlessly with your faves.
Waze: Wait—isn’t Waze a nav app and driver community? Yes, but … it also lets you interface directly to the music app of your choice. When you connect it through your Waze settings, it will launch automatically. Just tap on the little music note on your map. Works especially well if you link to Waze through your rideshare app.
Steereo Driver: This one is, potentially, music to a driver’s ears. You play new tunes (pre-loaded by the app) for your passengers, and Steereo pays you for playing the music. There are a few caveats, but for a driver who puts in serious hours, it could make a rather rockin’ “ka-ching” sound.
Crazy Taxi City Rush: Sick of playing dorky games while you’re waiting for pax in the airport queue? Now you can play this resurrected Sega classic, and fantasize what it would be like if you could be an Uber driver and a crazy taxi pilot too.
Weather apps for Uber and Lyft Drivers
It’s virtually impossible to avoid having a weather app on your device, but not all of them are good for rideshare driving. Videos, for example, are not the optimal way to get the basic information about the weather while you’re tooling around town or driving down the highway.
Here are a few apps you can use for weather and some other conditions that might also affect your driving performance.
Dark Sky: This weather app’s specialty is alerting you to precipitation, but it’s also pretty good at giving straightforward summaries of existing conditions and forecasts. It’s simple, but extremely useful.
Weather Underground: Don’t let the subversive-sounding name fool you. This is a legitimate, legal weather app powered by IBM. This app gives more detail on its main page, offering everything from winds and air quality to moon phases and hours of sunlight.
Allergy Pollen Count: This information is nothing to sneeze at! Allergies can make us miserable, not to mention that itchy eyes and runny noses are not attractive traits for drivers. This app lets you know what’s in the air on any given day in your local area, so you can bring along the remedies you need to breathe freely.
Roadside assistance apps for Uber and Lyft Drivers
Honk: When the worst happens, and you need a tow, tire change, a jump, fuel, or lock-out service, Honk can help. Prices for service start at $49, and there are no membership fees.
AAA: Old, yes. Reliable, that too. Not bad traits. At times the waits can be long, but depending on where you live, AAA can offer great service and other benefits to members. Their app offers discounts, travel services, and mapping. TripTiks—but digital. Sweet!
Urgent.ly: Like AAA, you’ll have to join the club to benefit from its services. This provider claims to be faster, more streamlined, and less expensive.
The Swiss Army Knife of rideshare tools
GRIDWISE: So full transparency here, I’m going to plug Gridwise. That’s because the best app that a rideshare driver can have to maximize their earnings and minimize their tax deduction is Gridwise.
Gridwise users can use our airport passengers graphs and queues to know exactly when they should wait at the airport for a juicy airport ride.
And Find popular events full of potential passengers with our event listings and reminders.
While effortlessly tracking ALL rideshare miles to maximize their tax deduction
Drivers can even compare their earnings per hour, mile, and trip across multiple platforms so you know what services are best for you
What? You don’t have Gridwise yet?
Now that we’ve shared our favorite apps for drivers, what are some of yours? If you know of one or two that make your lives easier, it’s only fair to share!
