If you’ve been driving for rideshare services for a while, you probably know that Uber and Lyft are trying to incentivize you at every turn. Sign up bonuses, Quests, Boosts, Surges – these can be beneficial, or just plain distracting.
The trick is to know exactly how to use the promotions on all these apps to your advantage, and to weave them into the strategies you’ve already cultivated. And as you know, we’ve combined multiple studies and reviews to find out exactly which are the top promotions and top rideshare driving services.
So, if you don’t already know, here’s a quick intro to Uber’s Boost and Quest promotions.
How Boost works
The idea behind Boost is to guarantee drivers higher fares in certain locations at certain times. Essentially, it’s a way for Uber to get drivers where they’re most needed, and to “boost” your fare to make it worth it.
Unlike Surge, Boost isn’t dependent on an unexpected increase in rider demand. Instead, it’s a more predictable uptick, which means you can factor Boosts into your day in advance if you look in the promotions tab of your Uber app.
The app will tell you exactly when and where the Boost is going to happen, and exactly how much of increase you’ll see in fare price. But generally, the Boosts happen in expected areas and windows of time: Commuter hours in your city’s downtown district, for instance.
These higher fares increase in multiples, so 2x, 1.3x, etc. That means if you’d normally make $10 for a trip, and your Boost is 2x, you’d make $20. At 1.3x, you’d get $13.
The Boost applies to your fares as long as the rider requests within the Boost zone, and it applies to UberX and UberPOOL rides.
Also, Boost doesn’t cancel out Surge fares – if Surge pricing is ever higher than the Boost multiple, you’ll make the Surge amount.
How Quest works
Quest’s are Uber’s goal-setting promotions, which incentivize you to take a certain number of trips in a certain time period by dangling a bonus at the end of the stick.
An example might be, take 10 trips between 9pm and midnight on Friday and get an extra $20. Some are bigger, some are smaller. It all depends on the demand in your city, and likely your previous behaviors in the app – how many trips you’ve completed, when you’ve completed them, etc.
Unlike Boost, getting these bonuses is completely dependent upon completing the required number of trips within the designated time period. But there are some other requirements to factor in, too. The Rideshare Guy lists the following requirements:
- Completion rates: To get your bonus, you have to complete 25 percent of your accepted rides. This should be an easy one for a regular driver.
- Acceptance rates: You also have to accept at least 80 percent of the rides offered to you. This is where it can get tricky. If it’s busy and you’re getting pings from distant locations that you don’t want to accept, you could lose your Quest by denying them. On the other hand, you could up your driving time and cut down the total number of rides, jeopardizing the Quest from the other side.
- Types of trips: Quest generally applies to most types of trips, including UberX, UberPOOL, UberEATS and other location-specific trips.
- Excluded trips: Quest doesn’t apply to destination trips, rider cancellations or driver cancellations. So you can’t accept a trip then cancel it just to meet your quest.
Keep in mind that Quests are mostly offered in larger Uber markets, where the demand for rides is strong and rideshare companies are constantly competing for drivers’ services. If you’re in a smaller city, you might not get these offers.
Building your Quest strategy
When building your strategy, the first thing you want to ask yourself is, “Is this worth it?”
If you’re being offered $20 for 20 rides, is that amount of money really worth the extra effort? If it’s not, it never hurts to accept the quest anyway, but don’t overextend yourself or throw away your strategy to try and beat a quest.
If it is worth it, there are some tactics you can use to make sure you reach that goal.
- Know where and when to drive.
The key to unlocking those bonuses is knowing where and when to find shorter rides and frequent requests. Depending on the city, this is most likely in the downtown area, near universities, and near the bar and restaurant hotspots. Here are a few handy guides to the best places to drive in D.C. and Pittsburgh: - It goes without saying, too, that you have to hit these spots at the right time. If you’re going downtown, do it during commuter or lunch hours. Go to the university later at night and on the weekends when the students are going out to drink.Late night is always good if you’re in the right spot. If you’re looking for something other than the usual bar scene, check your Gridwise app to see where some events might be letting out soon.
- Consider airport rides with caution.
To reach a Quest goal, you probably want to avoid the airport. While those can be meaty fares, you don’t have that kind of time when you’re pushing up against a quest deadline.However, some cities – like D.C. – have centrally located airports (DCA). If you can do airport rides without losing out on the distance, it’s always a safe bet. Just remember to check the airport queue with Gridwise to maximize your time.
- Don’t forget about UberPOOL and UberEATS.
Using UberPOOL and EATS is a great way to up your ride count. You know as well as we do that POOL can be a headache, but because you can get up to three rides in as little as 10 minutes, it can really help nudge you towards a Quest goal.UberEATS can factor into your strategy, too. For one, EATS rides are generally pretty short, so when you accept one, you can be pretty sure you’re not getting way off track. Also, you can easily sandwich EATS between your commuter and late-night hours, so you minimize your downtime.
Building your Boost strategy
Taking advantage of Boost seems pretty straightforward. You see the zone with the highest fare increase, go to it, and wait for the requests to pour in.
Of course, it’s not so simple. As you know, there’s going to be more competition in a Boost zone, and that means all the rides could be snapped up before any of them reach you. So here’s how you can try to get around that.
- Get a head start.
Uber will alert you ahead of time to let you know the Boost zones and times for the entire week and weekend. Typically you’ll get an email Sunday night letting you know the Boosts for Monday through Thursday, and another email on Thursday detailing the Friday through Sunday Boosts.Also, they are typically pretty predictable: The boosts will be where the most people are going.So get there early. If you’re going for a morning rush hour Boost that starts at 7am, get there a few minute early to catch the first rides. - Check your positioning.
You’ve probably had it happen before where you’re sitting in a Boost or Surge zone and you’re not getting any rides. What’s the deal?Turn on your rider app and check out the activity around you. On the map, you can see if you’re in a swarm of drivers. If there are more than two other cars around you, it’s going to take longer to get a ride.Even worse, if you’re in the middle of the swarm, the cars on the edges will get the requests first because they will likely be closer to the passenger. So remember to check your position and repark to optimize your location. - Know when it isn’t worth it.
Permanent Boost zones can be more of a headache than a help sometimes. If you’re not having luck getting frequent rides in the zone, it can be best to go outside the limits and focus on ride quantity instead of fare – especially if you’re trying to complete a quest.
Use Boost and Quest together
Of course, the best way to optimize any promotion is to combine it with another. While Quest is a good way to consistently get bonuses, and Boost is harder to predict, pursuing both simultaneously can really help you pull in extra cash for doing the same amount of work.
However, there are risks with this method. Because Boost zones are so competitive and it’s harder to predict the distance you’re going to travel, you can lose out on the frequency required to get a Quest goal.
Additionally, if you are chasing a Quest and a Boost ride comes in that you don’t want to take because of the distance (i.e. to the airport), not accepting the ride can hurt your chances of getting your Quest bonus.
Clearly, it’s all a delicate balance. The key, then, is to stick to your strategy. If you’re going to go for a few Boost rides, make up that potential time lost by running a few UberEATS rides, or going for a POOL.
No matter your action plan, stick to what works for you, weave in the promotions and don’t be wooed by incentives that don’t fit your style.
