Gridwise blog

Both Uber and Lyft are threatening to leave California as a result of the latest developments in the fight over the employment status of rideshare drivers.

This is important for rideshare drivers everywhere, not just in California.

That’s because California is often a test bed for policy on the state level, and many other states are in the process of examining the relationship between rideshare and delivery companies and their drivers. What happens in California now will tell us a lot about the future of rideshare and delivery companies and how they classify drivers all across the country, and the globe.

In a previous post, we outlined the main differences between being an independent contractor and being an employee.

In this blog post, we’ll give you an update of what’s happening in California, and discuss whether Uber and Lyft could really leave California

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What exactly AB5 is
• What Uber and Lyft have done to fight back against AB5
• What the companies might do if they lose the fight over driver employment status
• What’s best for drivers?
• How drivers can best protect themselves

Oh, and you can also check out our YouTube video on the AB5 situation in California below.

Now let’s dig in!

What exactly is AB5

AB5 went into effect in January 2020. It decreed that Uber and Lyft, as well as all companies that hire drivers and other gig workers (independent contractors), must now treat these workers as employees. This happened, de facto, because under the terms of the legislation a worker is an employee of a company unless:

1. The worker is free to perform services without the control or direction of the company;
2. The worker is performing work tasks that are outside the usual course of the company’s business activities;
3. The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

Let’s look at how these three conditions of AB5 compare with the relationship of a driver to a company. 

As a driver, are you free to perform services without the control or direction of the company? What would you say to this? On the one hand, you do have control over the hours you work. But on the other… there are many terms you must abide by if you want to maintain your status as a driver in good standing. What happens when you are rude to a customer, refuse a ride, or otherwise operate outside of the company’s rules and standards? Most of us would say we aren’t completely “free,” given the nature of the job.

Is your driving outside the usual course of the company’s business activities? That depends on how you look at it. Uber and Lyft are rideshare companies—right? And Postmates, DoorDash, and Grubhub are delivery services? So would you be driving for any of these companies if you didn’t help them accomplish their business? So as a driver, it’s hard to see how rideshare or delivery work is outside the usual course of business.

Uber and Lyft, however, don’t see things that way. They claim to be platforms, or entities that merely connect drivers with riders, and deliveries with customers and their favorite eateries.

This is the biggest point of contention between the rideshare and delivery companies and state lawmakers.

Are drivers “customarily” engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business of the same nature? Uber, Lyft, and others have a good argument here as many drivers drive for multiple platforms. Some even drive taxis, limousines, or buses along with being rideshare and delivery drivers.

What Uber and Lyft have done to fight back

While they technically are competitors, Uber and Lyft didn’t hesitate to join forces in fighting back against AB5. 

At first, they did very little. They simply continued to operate as they always did, treating drivers as independent contractors. Then, they got their legal teams together to get proposed legislation on the ballot for November 3, 2020. Known as Proposition 22, this measure would reverse the provisions of AB5, allowing companies such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates, and the rest to continue to classify their drivers as independent contractors.

The companies have poured a lot of money into a campaign to persuade voters to vote “yes” on Proposition 22. 

So far, according to this August 11 Slate article, the campaign known as Yes on 22 has about $110 million in funding, with $90 million coming from Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, and $20 million from Postmates and Instacart. That’s definitely a substantial chunk of change—but it’s not nearly as much as the companies stand to lose if the measure doesn’t pass and they have to comply with AB5.

Proposition 22 would create a new definition called “app-based drivers.” Under that definition, drivers would be categorized as workers who provide on-demand services for delivery or transportation companies through an online-based app or platform. This would enable the companies to continue to classify their drivers as independent contractors.

Rather than waiting to see how Proposition 22 fared on the November 2020 ballot, the State of California sued Uber and Lyft in early 2020—and recently won. 

The injunction in their favor found the companies to be in violation of the law, and forced them to comply with it. Uber and Lyft appealed the ruling, and just a few days ago, on August 13, were struck down again. Now they must comply with AB5 by August 20.

It would be fair to say the companies should have obeyed the law from the beginning. Yet the reality is, in order to make drivers employees, there would have to be a lot of scrambling to radically change their modes of operation. The fleet of drivers would have many adjustments to make, too. Since the companies are forced into a corner now, no one should be too surprised that they’re playing hardball.

And maybe the companies (and drivers) should have been prepared for the possibility of losing the lawsuit that was filed, and in the meantime, put together a system for making drivers employees. 

They didn’t, though. 

From their standpoint, if they had made these provisions, it would have been easier for them to give up… and in the process, set a precedent that could literally destroy the rideshare and delivery business’s potential to make a profit.

What the companies might do if they lose it all

In this game of chicken between the State of California and the TNCs, the next step for the companies looks pretty drastic. Uber and Lyft have stated they will be forced into suspending operations in California if they have to comply by August 20. 

Gulp. That’s a big step—one that could be devastating to drivers. It also won’t be convenient for riders, or for transportation and delivery systems throughout California in general. People have come to depend on these services, more than ever in this tumultuous year. What will happen if these companies simply pull out of California?

Although that seems like an unlikely outcome, it isn’t impossible. Uber and Lyft claim that, while California represents a large amount of their business, it doesn’t return much of a profit. So if the companies DO leave, it might hurt California a lot more than it would hurt Uber, Lyft, and the other companies.

Moreover, this isn’t the first time Uber and Lyft have threatened to stop operating in a state or city—and when they tried it in the past, it worked. 

Uber fought against Chicago, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio over stricter background checks. Uber and Lyft both left Austin on a temporary basis, and Uber left San Antonio. The government jurisdictions revised their regulations or overturned them through legislation, which like Proposition 22, was supported by the companies.

What’s best for drivers?

At Gridwise, our chief concern is that drivers are treated fairly, and have opportunities to make as much money as possible. Because of that, we’re very concerned about what really is best for drivers, not only in the case of California, but everywhere drivers work to get people and things they need to all the right places.

We have found that while many drivers would like to be employees of the rideshare and delivery companies, many others would not. As employees, drivers would receive benefits and stability, but they’d lose the freedom and flexibility of being independent contractors. 

California’s approach, making drivers employees rather than independent contractors, is one way of giving drivers a more stable work situation. In Seattle, as this Gridwise article explains, city officials intend to establish a minimum hourly wage for drivers, and make the companies pay that to them.

Earlier this week, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi suggested another possibility for classifying drivers. He opined that companies who use gig workers should be required by law to create benefits funds to cover the things they want and need. This might include anything from health benefits to paid time off. 

The difficulty of getting benefits and other employee entitlements is real—but so is the possibility of bankrupting the companies in the process. 

What do you think is the best way to get benefits for drivers, while keeping the companies in business?  Do you want to be an employee, or a contractor? Would it be enough if companies established benefits funds, like Uber’s CEO suggested? 

Leave us your comments below. We want to know what you think. 

And… what can you do if they do stop operating in California, or in your state?

How drivers can best protect themselves

If you’re driving for just one platform right now, you could be making a big mistake. 

It would be wise to sign up with at least two different companies, and probably more. Why? Because even if you don’t drive for them all on a regular basis, you’ll be covered in case you need to shift over in a pinch. 

Companies can go out of business, or like Uber and Lyft in the case of California, they could stop doing business altogether.

You’ve probably seen the “Sign up with all the apps” driver mantra on your favorite Reddit thread or Facebook group, and we’re repeating it here. Different companies will have different reactions to situations like the one in California, or wherever you are.

In the event you can no longer drive for your regular company, have a backup plan in place. Don’t let changes in the political landscape disrupt your driving, and earning, rhythm. It can take a week or more to get a background check, and in many cases the companies will wait-list you before it’s even possible to apply.

How do you track your earnings on all those different apps? Download Gridwise, if you haven’t already. On top of being able to see your stats and record your important tax deductions, you’ll get easy access to our blog and the Gridwise YouTube channel. Plus, there are driver discounts and offers, all on the Perks tab.

Don’t forget, also, to sign up for our gas card giveaways, through the app and on our Facebook page. We like you, so we’re hoping you’ll head over there and like us too. If you do … there could be real gas card-type gold in your future.

For the last few weeks, we’ve been watching and hoping that the federal government would find a way to extend the $600 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) subsidy that expired July 31, 2020. 

But, sadly, a week after the expiration date it became apparent that White House representatives and congressional representatives from both parties couldn’t come to an agreement about extending it.

Both sides were resolute in holding their ground on many of the points in their respective versions of proposed legislation to cover pandemic relief. The Democrats, who introduced their legislation in May 2020, held fast to the $600 weekly unemployment subsidy. Republicans, who didn’t introduce their bill until July 2020, proposed reducing the subsidy to $200 per week. 

Neither side would budge, and as of Friday afternoon, August 7, negotiations had stalled. President Trump responded to this impasse by signing four executive orders, one of which authorized the continuation of PUA supplemental payments at a reduced amount.

In this post, we’ll take a look at what’s been done to break the logjam created by stalled negotiations among the usual political players, and what drivers can expect, including:

• The executive order and what it offers
• What we didn’t get… yet
• When we can expect money to begin flowing again
• What might happen if Congress (or someone else) objects to these orders
• How drivers can do their part

The executive order and what it offers

The executive order, says the American Bar Association, is “a signed, written, and published directive from the President of the United States that manages operations of the federal government.” Ideally, decisions about spending for programs like the PUA are made by Congress, which is the only branch authorized to create laws.

This was a unique situation, however. Since Congress and the White House were unable to agree on what to do about extending certain provisions in the CARES Act, which addressed acute problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive order came into play. President Trump signed four executive orders related to extending provisions in the CARES Act on Saturday afternoon, August 8, 2020.

Now, the federal government is under order by the president to execute the provisions set out in the executive orders, as of the time they were signed. The order pertaining to the extended unemployment subsidy is officially titled the “Memorandum on Authorizing the Other Needs Assistance Program for Major Disaster Declarations Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019.” 

When the $600 unemployment subsidy expired on July 31, we all wondered what would happen next, and now we know. Per the executive order, the supplement will continue through December 27, 2020, but it will be $400 per week rather than $600.

The president and a number of Republican legislators are convinced that an extra $600 per week is too much. They’ve often said publicly that it was more than many people earned while working—and by earning more money for staying home, they had little incentive to return to work. 

Those of us who need that money, and still find it hard or impossible to go out and drive and deliver, see things quite differently. But even though the $400 is less than we had before, it’s still $200 more per week than the Republican legislators wanted us to have.

The other provision in the order is that the federal government will only pay 75 percent of the $400. The rest, the president says, will be covered by “unspent” money that was already allocated to the states through previous legislation.

With a reduced rate and questions about whether states are going to be content (or financially able) to pay 25 percent of the supplemental pay for their unemployed workers, there could be controversy, maybe even lawsuits, that ultimately alter the effects of this executive order. For now, though, it’s what we have.

The president signed three other orders on the same day, which covered:

• A deferral on payroll taxes
• A moratorium on evictions
• Student loan payment deferments and interest rate change to 0 percent through December 2020

What we didn’t get... yet

Those of us who still haven’t been able to return to driving, as well as those who have, might be wondering… did the President also authorize a second round of those nice, useful stimulus checks? The answer is no. There was no mention of the stimulus check outside of the political discussion that preceded the signing.

From what he has said, it seems like the president would support a second round of stimulus checks, but there was no executive order issued. “Why?” you might ask.

Because executive orders, despite their reputation for being powerful and broad in scope, do have limits. Congress, in particular the House of Representatives, holds the “power of the purse,” meaning that only Congress has the ability to tax and spend public money on behalf of the federal government. 

Stimulus checks, therefore, must be authorized by Congress. So… in regard to the stimulus issue, it’s back to the drawing board with the stormy negotiations.

When will money begin flowing again?

When President Trump was asked this question in an interview, his only answer was that he wants the money “to get there quickly and in a non complicated fashion.”

As vague as that answer may sound, no one, even the president, can say for sure how long it’s going to take for money to begin flowing again. It’s reasonable to expect some delays, which will probably vary from state to state. The fact that the PUA subsidy was allowed to expire before the executive order was signed will likely cause a delay in processing the extra unemployment payments.

Now that states will have to pay $100 of the $400 weekly supplement, some accounting and adjustments to computer systems will invariably be necessary. Millions of drivers who had to wait for states to get up to speed with the PUA, and to set up systems to process payments, are painfully familiar with this particular drill.

Hopefully, we’ll find out soon when money will be available. And when we at Gridwise hear the latest news, we’ll pass it along to you without delay. 

What could happen if Congress (or someone else) objects to these orders?

The political climate around executive orders is rarely cool and breezy. But during an election year, and in an era when politicians are worlds apart on so many levels, the sky will be on fire. No one can say whether Congress will go along with the principle of the unemployment subsidy executive order, and work out some compromise on other elements of COVID-19 pandemic aid. 

Those who remain opposed to the executive orders could take their objections to court or pass legislation that strikes them down. We can speculate about that, but it would be useless. It’s impossible to know what could happen in the current political environment. 

If a lawsuit is filed, a judge could put a stay on the order, making it impossible for the money to be sent through until the case was decided. If a law is passed to knock down the order, it would be wise for the authors of such legislation to have even more money allocated for enhanced unemployment payments. People are not going to be happy if the supplemental payments are offered… and then rescinded, over political infighting.

How drivers can do their part

It’s hard to avoid becoming frustrated over this situation. While it’s good that drivers who need the money will get some payment, knowing that it’s still not a sure thing is unsettling. Also, the reduction from $600 to $400 stings.

As good citizens, we all know we’re supposed to do our part to ensure that our government puts us first when it comes to why, when, and how they enact the laws we must live by.

If you want to do your part, the best thing you can do is participate in the process of government. That means attending local meetings when an issue that affects you is being discussed, voting (of course), and letting your representatives in Congress and the Executive Branch know what you think, and what you want them to do.

Here is where you can find contact information for your congressional representatives (House and Senate).

Here is how you can contact the President and White House staff members.

You might be surprised to find that, especially in an election year, hearing loud (yet courteous) voices has a way of getting politicians to move in the desired direction. 

Remember to check in with Gridwise

We’re on top of all the news that affects rideshare and delivery drivers, so visit our blog often, and tune into the Gridwise YouTube channel for the latest. And, if you’re already back out there working at your driving and delivery gig, you know how crucial Gridwise’s powerful features are when you want to  maximize your income.

Track mileage, calculate earnings, use multiple apps, get airport event info, and simplify your driving life.  Say what? You don’t have the Gridwise app?? Well, download it now!

We knew this was going to happen. 

When the CARES Act passed Congress in late March, drivers and other independent contractors were given the ability to collect Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) from their individual states. 

On top of that, the federal government added an extra $600 per week to the compensation. This was a huge relief for many drivers.

At that time, it seemed like having the extra $600 per week through July 31 would be long enough to see us through. A look at the situation now tells us that this benefit has run out before we stopped needing it. 

So what will our government do?

As of August 5th, 2020, there are high-level discussions among White House representatives, the Speaker of the House, and the Senate Majority Leader. It would be great if we could report that a deal has been struck, and it calls for an extension of PUA provisions and the federal subsidy. However, as of this writing, the negotiations are at an impasse.

The one thing all major players agree on is the need for another round of stimulus checks. The amount should be around $1,200, but like all topics related to coronavirus relief, the final number is still under negotiation... a very long, complicated, and contentious negotiation.

In this blog post, we’ll examine what drivers need, what’s happening in the negotiations, and what options remain if an agreement doesn’t get reached soon. We’ll include:

• What drivers need
• What the White House wants
• What the Democrat legislators want
• What the Republican legislators want
• What’s likely to happen
• Options if no agreement is reached

What drivers need

Many drivers have been able to go back to work, but others still need support from the PUA program and the federal subsidy. Those of us who were rescued by this safety net are very aware of how necessary this income was, and in some cases still is.

Quite a few politicians make the point that the $600 per week subsidy is often more than workers, including drivers, earn when they’re on the job. Their concern is that the extra money provides an incentive for people to stay home, rather than returning to work. Although this might be the case for some drivers, for others it certainly isn’t because they are unable to return to work.

Those who have been infected with COVID-19, are in quarantine, are part of a high risk group, or live with someone who is at elevated risk, absolutely cannot expose themselves to people who may be carrying the virus—which they certainly are while in the close quarters of their vehicles.

Delivery drivers are also exposed to risk, since they come into contact with restaurant workers and other individuals they encounter when doing pickups and deliveries.

Another consideration is the economies that are still shut down in many localities. While some states and cities are trying to open up and resume an economic rhythm that’s as close to normal as possible, most have not been able to do that.

It can be very difficult for rideshare and delivery drivers to earn money at the same levels they did before the pandemic began. It can also be challenging to come close enough to those levels to make ends meet.

So, even though fewer drivers may need unemployment compensation, the fact is that many still do. Therefore, drivers and all people who find themselves out of a job or unable to earn at acceptable levels need the executive and legislative branches to come up with a solution that will provide continued relief… soon.

What the White House wants

The White House originally proposed that PUA and federal subsidies be continued through September 30, 2020, but that the weekly supplement be reduced to $200. After September 30, the amount of PUA would drop to 70% of an individual worker’s employment income.

When negotiations actually began, the White House proposed a one-week extension of the $600 subsidy, and the Democrats (Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer) soundly rejected it.

After that, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows put what he called a “skinny proposal” on the table. This would have included four months of federal subsidies at $400 per week, plus $105 billion for schools, liability protections, and some amount (not specified) for the Paycheck Protection Program.

We don’t know what the final numbers will be, but we do have some idea of what the White House wants:

• Continuation of PUA with limits on the weekly subsidy and duration of payments
• Money that’s earmarked for helping schools open safely 
• Provisions to utilize previously allocated funds and/or additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program 
• Extension of the eviction suspension provisions
• Funds for additional costs incurred by the US Postal Service 
• Liability protection for businesses,hospitals, and other institutions, to protect them from lawsuits by workers and consumers (the White House has indicated a willingness to strike a deal without this)

What the Democrat legislators want

Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer have articulated a broader plan for virus relief. The House of Representatives passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act in May 2020. 

Known as the HEROES Act, it would allocate some $3 trillion to the cause of supporting continued unemployment benefits, hazard pay for essential workers, suspension of student loan payments, and aid to states that face fiscal problems due to the impact of COVID-19.

Some more specific elements of the HEROES Act include:

• Continuation of PUA with the $600 weekly subsidy through January 2021
• Suspension of student loan payments, plus the excusal of up to $10,000 in student and private loans
• Rental assistance
• A ban on evictions
• Mortgage assistance
• $900 billion+ in direct aid to states and municipalities, to be allocated as needed
• Healthcare-related spending
• Small business assistance
• Reduction of tax deduction caps for individuals
• Money for the US Postal Service 
• Agriculture aid
• Limits reimposed on business loss deductibility 

This legislation was passed by the House of Representatives on May 15, 2020, but it is not likely to make it through the Senate without major modifications. In fact, the Republican-majority Senate found so much wrong with the HEROES Act that they introduced a plan of their own.

What the Republican legislators want

Republican legislators maintain that the HEROES Act is excessive, and that many of the allocations it includes have little or nothing to do with COVID-19 relief. In response to the House bill, the Senate passed the Health Care Economic Assistance Liability Protection and Schools, or HEALS Act.

Like all the proposals, the HEALS Act provides for a second round of stimulus checks. There’s also money for the PPP program, and a change in unemployment benefits. It is the same as the original Republican proposal: $200 per week through September 30, and then 70% of the worker’s income after that, up to the individual state cap. Here are some more specific details:

• Additional PPP loans to businesses that are still making 50% or less of previous income
• Continuation of PUA but at $200 per week, and only through September 30, then to 70% of income
• Liability protection for businesses, hospitals, and other institutions to protect them from lawsuits filed by workers and/or consumers
• Healthcare aid aimed at COVID-19 testing, treatments, and vaccines
• Protection from premium spikes for Medicare recipients
• Incentives to manufacture PPE made in the United States
• Tax breaks, including 100% deduction for meals and entertainment
• Money to help schools open safely

What’s likely to happen

At this writing, the negotiations are moving along so slowly they appear to be at a standstill—but they are moving. White House representatives went to the Republican Senate leaders to complain that they cannot get the Democrats to move. The Democrats remind Republicans that their proposed HEROES Act was available for review in mid-May and was basically ignored. So here we are. 

Of course, Democrats and Republicans always see things differently, but why is this particular negotiation so difficult?

For one thing, the two parties are pretty much divided as decisively as the Hatfields and the McCoys. There isn’t much reaching across the aisle these days. The more pressing reason for the stubborn contention, though, most likely stems from the fact that this is an election year.

Each side is always jockeying for position, but now they’re pressing harder than usual to make the other side seem uncooperative, unreasonable, and of course, not worth voting for in November. 

All this is getting a bit unsettling, as Congress is scheduled for its yearly August recess. But according to an August 3 CBS News report, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the recess will not happen “until such time as we adopt COVID-9 legislation.”

Certainly the idea of missing August recess might motivate most of Congress… but if that doesn’t, the White House just added new incentive at the August 5 Presidential press briefing. 

President Trump hinted that, if no agreement is reached, he could use executive orders to extend PUA and eviction suspension, as well as other provisions designed to help individuals who continue to be directly impacted by COVID-19.

It’s our guess that (at the eleventh hour) there will be an agreement, an unimaginable amount of tax dollars will be spent, and there will be some form of PUA for drivers in need that should extend into the foreseeable future. 

The details are yet to be divulged, but as soon as they are, we’ll get them to you—just keep watching for our next post.

Keep current with Gridwise!

Not only do you get easy access to our blog and the Gridwise YouTube channel when you download Gridwise, you get the ultimate assistant for rideshare and delivery drivers at your fingertips.

Track your mileage and earnings for all the apps you work with, and get updates on airport traffic and events in your town. We’re rolling out some features that will make Gridwise even better, so if you want to get the latest updates, be sure to download Gridwise now.

Want to Make More Money?

Who doesn’t, right? Well as a rideshare driver, you have more opportunities than you might realize to generate income just by driving your vehicle around … because your vehicle is valuable to advertisers. 

There are several reasons why advertisers covet your vehicle, and the fact that everybody sees it tops the list. You drive through busy city streets, across bridges and through tunnels, past big events, schools, and hospitals. Plus, you take people with you, or you deliver food and other items to their doors. 

Companies would love to have the chance to get their logos, graphics, and taglines in the public eye for even half the time your ride is visible on any given day. So, these companies have come up with what they view as a win-win situation. They get exposure by using your vehicle to carry their ads, and you get a sweet deal because they’ll pay you for the privilege.

In this article, we've rounded up the best ad-carrying options out there for drivers. Check them out and see just how much money you can make with little effort on your part.

Inside the Car

Play Octopus

Very few things catch the eyes of riders faster than video games, except maybe the chance to win cash prizes—and Play Octopus has both. You apply to get a free tablet, your customers get their games on, and you can earn up to $100 per month. 

Play Octopus pays you to make their games (and the occasional ads appearing on the tablet screen) available to your passengers. The more you encourage your pax to play, the more Play Octopus pays you. There’s also a referral program that allows you to earn bonus cash by referring other drivers.

On the Outside and On Top

Mobilads

Mobilads calls itself “America's leading rideshare car-wrap advertiser,” and they pay generously. You can get up to $500 per month for carrying their creative cargo with a full wrap on your car, and $250 for letting them cover your doors.

The company’s clients are some of the gigantic advertisers, so there are plenty of dollars coming their way. There’s one condition for drivers, though: You must be on the road for at least 40 hours per week, so you'll need to be a pretty big deal driver.

Wrapify

Sounds like ads that get wrapped around your vehicle! Wait—these are ads that get wrapped around your vehicle. Don’t worry, though, Wrapify, Inc. has figured out ways to protect the paint.

You don’t have to be a rideshare driver to sport their wraparound ads on your vehicle, but if you are, you’ll do very well. Wrapify pays by the miles you log in your car. It also monitors your location to gauge local foot traffic, adjusting payment according to how many people are likely to lay eyes on your vehicle.

You can earn up to $300 a month with Wrapify. You download the app, the company comes and puts the wrap on your car, and you’re in business. Just don’t drive it into an Uber or Lyft hub while it’s wrapped, since it could violate their policies.

Nickelytics

This ad-wrap company offers you options that allow you to limit how much of your car you’ll devote to ad space. Your choices include covering just the back windshield, partial wrap, or full wrap. Hey, just like tattoos! The company claims to have cleared its wraps with both Uber and Lyft for compliance.

As long as your vehicle is a 2010 model or newer, and you drive 30 or more miles a day, you can benefit from Nickelytics. They’re in eight markets now, and are expanding in 2020. If you’re up for that full wrap option, you can rake in up to $300 per month.

Wrapping It Up and Topping It Off

We said at the beginning of this article that you have more opportunities to make money than you might realize—and now you do realize

We also want you to remember there’s another tool that can help you make more money, and drive to where the biggest crowds will see your flashy ads and play with your video games and rock out to your music players. And that tool is ...

Gridwise!

Our app keeps you on top of local events and weather, and also tracks your mileage, so you’ll always know if you’re cutting it with your mileage quota. What’s that? You don’t have Gridwise yet? Well you can remedy that right now by downloading the Gridwise app.

You read that right. 

If an airport official cites an Uber driver for a traffic infraction, Uber pays the fine and then deducts the fine from the driver’s pay.

Most drivers don’t have a chance to defend themselves, and some have no recollection of the incidents in question. In many cases, the incidents may never have happened at all.

We certainly don’t think that’s right, and we’re pretty sure you won’t either. In this post, we’ll explain what we know about this puzzling situation by covering the issues it raises.

• The perils of airport pickups and drops
• How Uber’s deals with airports skip over due process 
• Who profits? Who pays?
• What can drivers do to stop this?

The downside of airport pickups and drops

Back before COVID consumed us (when things were normal), the average driver would say that airport runs constituted a large part of their revenues. Yet long, lucrative rides to and from the terminals don’t come without risks. 

There aren’t many drivers around who don’t have a story about getting cited, scolded, and/or yelled at by surly airport cops and dispatchers.

With no-go zones, commercial curbs, no parking areas, pedestrian-only sections, Uber decals that come unstuck, and speed limits that can be exceeded even while you ride your brakes, it is hard NOT to break some kind of rule at most airports.

So what happens when you get on the wrong side of airport protocol? In most cases, you receive a citation. If you decide to admit to the infraction, you’ll pay a fine and be done with it. If you’re absolutely sure you didn’t do anything wrong, then you go to court, tell your side of the story, and hope to get the case dismissed and the fine refunded. 

At least, that's what you’d think. But for drivers working at several airports, something different is going on… something that’s not quite on the up and up.

How Uber’s agreements with airports skip over due process

Specifically, this has happened to drivers working at LAX, San Francisco, and San Diego airports. Here’s the scenario …

Drivers mysteriously received notifications from Uber informing them that they had committed an infraction at the airport. The notification made it clear that there was no need for the driver to do anything, including mount a defense. Uber was simply letting the driver know that the citation was taken care of… and the amount of the fine would be taken from their wages.

How would you react if you got that message from Uber? At first you might think, “Oh good, Uber’s paying my fine for me.” But when you got to the part about money being taken from your pay? Your reaction would likely be anything but positive. 

Even worse, suppose you were never told about the alleged infraction in the first place? Maybe the ticket-writing official said you did something wrong, but you’re absolutely positive you didn’t… and now, the $100 you were counting on for gas money was used to pay a bogus citation.

This happened to a driver named Tedros—not just once, but multiple times. According to a July 22, 2020 article on the website VICE, he got in touch with Uber to ask why it happened. He received a response saying that per his agreement with Uber, he was responsible for all traffic citations. Since the airport sent the citation to Uber with his license number attached to it, the cost of the fine was coming out of his wages. “There was no way for me to contest the citation,” says Tedros.

After you’re done getting fired up about that, you might start to wonder what right an airport official has to issue a citation without talking to the driver, stating what the infraction was, and giving the driver a chance to appear before an impartial party in order to dispute the charge. Yeah. We wonder that too.

Who profits, who pays?

This all comes down to contractual agreements that Uber makes with airports. Airport officials are allowed to cite drivers and then send Uber the bills—and according to the VICE article, the fees collected are quite substantial. The article cites data collected by the Mobile Workers Alliance, a SoCal advocacy group that represents gig workers. The data show that at LAX alone, the Los Angeles World Airports Authority issued 11,117 citations to drivers, and collected $3.8 million dollars from drivers between 2016 and 2018. Uber, complying with their agreement with the authority, deducted the fees from drivers’ payments.

This isn’t the only way airport authorities siphon money from the rideshare business. In Los Angeles, the airport authority charges Uber drivers $4 per ride, whether the ride is a pickup or drop-off. These fees are normally paid by the passengers.

In 2018 alone, there were 8.9 million rideshare trips involving LA airports, resulting in almost $36,000,000 in fees landing back in the authority’s coffers. San Francisco charges $5 per ride, and had more than 10 million rideshare trips involving their airport facility in 2018, making their take around $50 million.

That’s a lot of dough.

Uber also profits from the airport rides. The longer distance and extended time these airport trips normally involve add up, and so do the company’s profits. And yes, drivers benefit from the airport rides they provide. However, when they receive citations, we don’t think they should be presumed guilty and have their pay docked for the fines.

To be fair, Uber and other rideshare companies pay airport authorities for the privilege of doing business. But we can easily make the case that these costs are, at least partially, passed on. 

When we examine the airport ride (and citation) dynamic closely, and answer the question we posed at the start of this section, here’s what we find:

• The airports profit
• Uber profits
• Drivers profit—and drivers pay
• Passengers pay

Where, in this dynamic, do Uber and the airports pay? We can’t seem to figure out under what circumstances that might occur.

Please understand, we’re not saying that drivers shouldn’t have to pay fines when they commit infractions. We are saying that drivers deserve the chance to defend themselves if and when they do get cited and fined. In the case of these “phantom citations,” where drivers are totally unaware of the situation, it’s even more important that they at least hear what they supposedly did wrong.

By Uber striking this deal with airports, whereby they can just admit to an infraction on a driver’s behalf and then dock the driver’s pay for the fine, they’re doing more than just being unfair. They’re actually trampling on the drivers’ rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. “I think it’s a due process issue; the government is taking away their money without them understanding why,” says Veena Dubal, a law professor at UC Hastings and gig economy expert.

Fortunately, this isn’t happening everywhere. VICE reporters spoke with drivers in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, and Sacramento, who said they are able to seek legal recourse, and that Uber doesn’t automatically deduct the fine from their wages. 

What’s the situation in your city? Comment below and tell us what you know.

Can drivers stop this?

Unfortunately, there isn’t much individual drivers can do to stop Uber from taking money from your pay for fines, even if you were never informed you committed an infraction.

When you sign up to be a driver with Uber, you agree to the company’s Terms and Conditions. Yes, there is a ton of verbiage in that agreement, and we all skipped over at least some part of it. But now, read this tiny section closely. It tells you what Uber’s “rights” are with regard to tickets, citations, and other such unpleasantries. It doesn’t say much about your rights.

Deductions; Set-off​. You also agree that Fares, incentives, and any gratuities may be used to satisfy a court order of garnishment against you; to reimburse us for citations, tickets, or other administrative penalties or fines assessed by governmental entities arising from your conduct; or to reimburse us for any erroneous overpayment to you.

Yet the situation isn’t completely hopeless. There are steps drivers can take to circumvent the maddening process of Uber taking your money without your consent.

• Know the ropes. Each airport has certain rules that all drivers must follow. Don’t know yours? You’re in luck, because Gridwise has them for every major US city. Visit the Gridwise blog’s airport section for current information about the rules, boundaries and obligations that apply in your town. When you know the rules, you’re far less likely to unknowingly break them.
• Petition Uber. You can always contact Uber Support. Placing a phone call will normally initiate a written exchange that you can use as documentation. There’s a chance that they’ll listen to your side of the story, and maybe even put the money back into your account. Who knows, if enough drivers do this, maybe it will motivate Uber to change their agreements with airports. 
•  
• Get a dashcam. No matter what you say was the case at the time of an alleged infraction, it’s still a “He said, she said” situation—and without proof, it can be impossible to prove your case. Having video and audio of the exchange between you and the officer involved will add weight to your argument, and possibly settle the dispute, if you get the opportunity to contest the ticket.
• Consider legal action. While it’s probably going to cost more to secure a lawyer than it will to simply pay the fine, there are principles here worth fighting for. If you can get several drivers to create a class action, you might have some success. You may not be able to reverse fines or erase infractions, but you might get Uber to change its policy about taking money directly out of driver accounts.
• Get active with drivers’ rights groups. As situations like this arise, as well as the contractor vs. employee controversy and COVID-19 safety issues, it’s more important than ever for drivers to work together. Groups all over the world are dedicated to getting fair treatment for drivers. Join one near you, and ask what you can do, together, to stop the unfair airport fine practice.

Of all these actions, “know the ropes” is probably most important. 

Remember to consult the airport section of the Gridwise blog to discover what you need to know about driving at your airport. Also, the Uber app has information about your airport rules and regulations. You probably had to sign off on those at some point, but if you didn’t scrutinize them then, do it now.Information for rideshare and delivery drivers is what Gridwise is all about. Make sure you download the app to track your earnings, get airport arrival and departure information, weather conditions, events, and links to driver discounts and special offers. Also, make sure you catch the rest of the articles on the Gridwise blog, and super-informative videos on our YouTube channel!

COVID-19 is still here … so why is unemployment for gig workers going away?

A cursory look around your town will tell you how little things have changed since the end of March, when the COVID-19 world got geared up for its first round. 

The legislation passed at that point, the CARES Act, awarded unemployment compensation to independent contractors. The base amount was supplied by states, and supplemented by an extra payment of $600 per week from the feds.

That safety net felt rather secure for many of us … but now that July is ending in just a few days, and the supplemental payment is scheduled to end with it, what’s going to happen? We don’t know what’s in the final version of the plan, but we do know there will be changes in the unemployment picture for most drivers.

On Monday July 27 the Republicans released their ideas, and now the “sausage making” will begin. In this post we’ll tell you what we know and what we don’t know. You can rest assured that as news develops, we’ll keep you up to date on what’s going on.

Let’s look at …

• 3 things we know

#1 It will be a battle

#2 There will be pressure to cut unemployment compensation

#3 There will almost certainly be another stimulus check

• 3 things we don’t know

#1 Whether the final legislation will include federal supplements to state unemployment

#2 If drivers and other independent contractors will still be able to receive unemployment compensation

#3 Whether the two sides will come to terms in time for unemployment compensation to keep flowing

3 Things We Know

#1: It will be a battle

Before it even begins, the legislative battle looks something like a prize fight, with a contingent from each of the two major political parties in each corner. The bell indicating the start of the first round rang on July 27, when the Republican side brought out their vision of the potential legislation, The first punch, thrown by the Democrats, was a left hook to the ribs, accusing the Repubs of being manipulative by holding out for so long before releasing their ideas to the public. 

It does seem odd that they waited so long, since the provisions in the CARES Act are due to expire so soon. The Democrats have plenty of ideas about how they want the money to be spent, and they’re eager to begin the discussions.

The Republicans, because this is a Senate bill and they hold the majority, put the package together. This time it’s not totally focused on unemployment compensation or business success. To give you an idea of where they’re going, it’s called the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools (HEALS) Act.

That title, and certainly the acronym, has a positive ring to it. It sounds like it will focus on money for the healthcare sector (testing and tracing), liability limitations that make it easier to do business (less risk of “that ride with your driver gave me COVID!” lawsuits), money for schools, and yes, some money for those of us who find cash hard to come by during this pandemic.

To be fair to Senate Republicans, there were probably other reasons for their delay aside from trying to secure a position of advantage. There were battles raging behind the scenes, and those were pretty rough. For instance, not everybody on that side of the aisle is happy about spending another trillion dollars on anything.

#2 There will be calls for less unemployment compensation

One of the most heated points of dispute was the extra $600 in unemployment benefits; specifically, that it served as a disincentive for people to go back to work. Although one could easily get defensive over such a remark, if we drivers are being honest, it would be hard to say that the benefits we collected were not more than we expected. 

Under ordinary conditions, when a person is an actual employee, only a certain percentage of the working salary is awarded in the weekly unemployment check. It was a gift for independent contractors to get unemployment benefits at all, and the $600 extra every week was really sweet.

In fact, with that additional $600 per week supplement, many of us were making more than we would have earned while working. Sure, much of what we got from those payments will probably go back to the government as taxes, but that’s another topic.

What’s important to know is this: Since the Republicans noticed that amply subsidized workers don’t get overly excited about getting back to work, they will not be including the $600 subsidy as part of the new package. 

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any supplemental payment, but it will likely be substantially less. The current Republican proposal is a $200 subsidy per week through September 30.

#3 There will probably be another stimulus check

The Republicans came out of the gate with an offer for another $1,200 stimulus check. It wound up being this amount because senators viewed it (believe it or not) as a way of keeping costs down. The President was pushing hard for a payroll tax cut and a stimulus check. The less freewheeling among the group probably figured the stimulus check would be enough for now, and easier to pass through both houses of Congress.

Remember, House Democrats passed their own bill earlier this summer, with a price tag of $3 trillion, but it was DOA in the Senate. Still, there’s a wish list left over from that bill, and the Dems will fight for it and probably win some of what they want. But not before the Battle Royale over the ultimate contents of the HEALS Act is done raging. 

Get an ample supply of popcorn, and hope they decide to “stimulate” us more … but do rest assured there will likely be a check in the picture.

3 Things We Don’t Know

There are good reasons why the process of creating legislation is likened to the art of sausage making. We probably don’t want to know everything that’s in it, and there’s a lot of “filler” that isn’t really necessary. 

It’s not our place to get into political debates about government spending, but we do want to make the point that this is a messy process. With that in mind, don’t expect the final bill to look exactly like the Republican or Democrat proposals. Rather, it will be a hybrid with components of both.

Here are a few unknown factors that have yet to be hammered out.

#1 Will the final legislation include federal supplements to state unemployment?

The House Democrats’ Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which was the $3 trillion bill mentioned earlier, called for aid to state and local governments. It’s true that many of these governmental jurisdictions are in fiscal troubles too deep to fathom—but there will be a big fight (“debate” is too mild for the current political climate) over whether they should be bailed out with federal taxpayer dollars.

This could play into how much money is available for unemployment compensation, especially for independent contractors. Remember that our companies, Uber, Lyft, Postmates, DoorDash, Grubhub, Instacart, and the rest are not paying into the state tax coffers—which means the states are fully subsidizing the cost of their portion of gig workers’ unemployment compensation.

If the states don’t receive additional subsidies to cover this and other costs, will they be able to keep paying us unemployment benefits? Then … if they can’t pay those bills, will the feds have to pitch in to make sure the money keeps flowing to drivers and other independent contractors, potentially with that supplemental payment?  We don’t know the answer, but it’s a question we certainly have a big interest in.

#2 Will drivers and other independent contractors still be able to receive any unemployment compensation?

This takes question #1 a bit further, considering whether states will be willing to continue compensating unemployed gig workers at all. Remember, because of COVID-19, states temporarily extended unemployment benefits to independent contractors. If they don’t get any aid from the feds, and Congress doesn’t include a supplemental payment in the HEALS Act, it will be up to the states to pay gig workers.

Right now, what’s being proposed by Republicans is that all recipients of unemployment be paid no more than 75% of their regular earnings. Will the states be able to manage that without federal assistance? 

It’s totally possible that the states will turn to our companies, pockets turned inside-out and empty, telling them they’re no longer able to foot the bill for their contractors’ lost wages. This could expedite the process of the companies considering drivers as employees, or … it could leave drivers without a source of income unless they’re willing to go back to work and risk getting COVID while earning far less money than they used to make.

#3 Will the two sides come to terms in time to keep unemployment compensation flowing?

No one can be certain about the answer to this one, but our guess is “probably.” Despite the mud-slinging and name-calling that stands in for civil discourse these days, there will most likely be some solution. 

As we mentioned, the Republicans want to extend the extra unemployment payment through September 30th, but reduce it to $200 per week. After that, there would be a payment of up to $500 that, when added to the state unemployment benefit, would be limited to 70% of lost wages. In the Democrats’ CARES bill, the amount would have stayed at $600 per week, and most likely would have continued quite a while past September 30th. 

There are other items the two sides must compromise on, including whether states, hard pressed by COVID-19 expenses and a lack of tax revenue, will get direct aid. There’s also a proposal to grant student loan relief, plus how much will be allocated for additional health care and education costs. 

Despite all the differences, both sides are motivated to do something to keep their constituents afloat despite the continued decimation of the economy and the looming uncertainty of the future. And, as it’s an election year, we can realistically look forward to a solution, signed and delivered by the time Congress disbands for (yet another!) vacation on August 4.

If they don’t, we’ll need to come up with a Plan B.

What can drivers do if unemployment compensation dries up?

Truth is, unemployment has already been drying up in certain places over the last few months. In Pennsylvania, for example, a message popped up on the weekly claim screen. It said the regulations had changed, and independent contractors would no longer be eligible for the CARES Act compensation unless they met certain conditions. 

The new requirements included: having the coronavirus, living with someone who has the virus, being in quarantine because of the virus, or having health conditions that create a high risk of catching the virus. Doctor-signed verification was necessary. This knocked many drivers back out into the streets, or wherever else they could make some money. There’s a possibility that new regulations along these lines might be more strictly enforced after the new legislation passes.

What, then, can a driver do?

Unless you’re truly at risk for getting COVID-19, you’ll have to find ways to work. If you stick with driving, and you don’t want to do rideshare, you might want to go to a pure delivery model. That would restrict the number of people with whom you’d need to interact.

If you haven’t been out to drive rideshare since March, rest assured there are protective measures in place to help drivers be somewhat safer. Drivers and passengers must wear masks; drivers have to sanitize their cars daily; and before they can even get the app to open for rides, they must verify they aren’t carrying or suffering symptoms of COVID-19.

In a recent Gridwise article, we discussed how companies are making PPE available to their drivers. They are also making some effort to ease the burden of enforcing rules on passengers. Uber recently sent this card for drivers to hang on their seats to display to their passengers.

This notice reminds riders of their responsibilities, and helps drivers who struggle to enforce these common sense practices with their passengers. Now, there’s no doubt about what the “rules” are. And we LOVE the part that says “Tip your driver”!

Following safety measures, and possibly either switching to delivery or making yours a hybrid gig, will go a long way toward getting you back in action and restoring your income.

At Gridwise, we want you to stay safe. Do what is healthiest and best for you, but we hope you’ll accept the reality that unemployment compensation isn’t going to last forever.

When you do get back into action, remember that if you download the Gridwise app, you’ll have the ultimate assistant for rideshare and delivery drivers right there with you. Get airport and event information, track your earnings and mileage, and take advantage of great perks for drivers. Also, you can click right into our amazing blog articles, and find the fast track to the always informative and entertaining Gridwise YouTube channel!

What do you plan to do if unemployment compensation can’t cut it for you anymore? Leave us your comments and pass your great ideas on to the rest of us in the Gridwise community.

“The human element was key to us. We’re not experts when it comes to advertising to gig-drivers, but Clay and the Gridwise team were!” - Gridwise Client, stealth startup

Overview

Launching a new product in the hyper-competitive insurance industry can be a daunting task, especially when your target audience is a highly specialized demographic like rideshare drivers. That’s why this insurance startup decided to work with the Gridwise team. Not only were they able to engage our network of 100k rideshare drivers, but they also benefited from our expertise to build a multi-channel campaign designed to drive long-term, bottom of the funnel success. Not just clicks.

Problem

This client had enjoyed some success working with Google and Facebook ads, but as time went on, it became harder to reach their target demographic of rideshare drivers. More and more of their ads on these networks were falling on deaf ears.

Being a startup, it was essential to maximize every advertising dollar in the targeted effort to reach rideshare drivers.

The clients were looking for solutions that would allow them to work directly with rideshare drivers, and through a Techstars listing, they learned about Gridwise. Knowing they could call and get answers to their many questions was a load off their minds.

“It was difficult for us to understand all the advertising terms we came across, so we spent about two weeks trying, on our own, to decipher what was being offered. Once we talked to the Gridwise team, the whole process got way easier than dealing with Google or Facebook.” - Gridwise Client

Strategy

It’s great that Gridwise put this client in direct contact with our targeted audience, but what’s even better is how we did it. We shared our expertise as digital marketers to help the client engage rideshare drivers and create a successful campaign. Our work together is ongoing, but even in the early stages, the results are positive.

“We noticed a huge wave of traffic coming through Gridwise after the email was sent out.” - Gridwise Client

A multi-channel advertising campaign worked well for this startup, and the custom-written email was particularly effective. The startup didn’t have the in-house resources to produce the kind of creative content that grabs eyeballs and gets to hearts and minds.

Gridwise stepped up and put together the valuable creative needed to get the clients the attention they were looking for. Right away, the conversion rate surpassed what they were getting through Google, and broke even with their results from Facebook.

The clients are looking at a blog post as one of their next steps. This would, naturally, be a potent way to get even more exposure. Using the right words in a blog post boosts SEO, giving any company a greater chance of expanding its audience at almost no cost.

“We are able to crush it from SEO through blog posts. Using these as part of your multichannel approach is going to pump up your chances for success.” - Clay Moore, Growth Lead, Gridwise

It’s this kind of advice, from a real human expert, that makes the experience of working with Gridwise superior to dealing with Google, Facebook, and other large companies that don’t give clients direct answers to their questions.

Clay has spent a great deal of time speaking with the clients regarding overall marketing strategy, often using Gridwise and its efforts to expand as an example. He shared many of the insights he had gained from his digital marketing experience.

Chief among these is to put a bigger emphasis on the creative. Gridwise helped the client to design ads and come up with taglines, crafting a more out-of-the-box approach, but there’s so much more that can be done. 

When the client noticed that response to ads was gradually dwindling over days and weeks, Clay expressed the need to switch up the creative from time to time. There’s a lot of “ad fatigue” that happens with rideshare drivers, as with all audiences. It’s important to keep sending messages that look and sound fresh and on-point.

This company would also benefit from using Gridwise app ads. The Gridwise app caters to rideshare drivers, and the client could be assured their ads would be seen by people in their target audience.

Results

“Clay and the team were able to help us with CPC, which is great.” - Gridwise Client

While this company is still in the early stages of working with Gridwise, the results are already apparent—and impressive. Conversion rates from the email Gridwise created for the client competed with Facebook and surpassed the Google ads they had placed in the past. In addition, the CPC came down to reasonable levels as a result of the work of Clay and his team.

By continuing to work directly with the experts at Gridwise, the startup will likely continue to see its numbers grow and its influence expand. The experience of working with experts who actually responded to calls for help was a new and very soothing experience for this client. 

“The Gridwise Team was amazingly responsive to our questions.” - Gridwise Client

The world of online marketing can be complex, unwieldy, and expensive. A startup like this one has to impress investors with its ability to be effective and economical. Gridwise can definitely assist in meeting these goals.

Investors also like to see numbers—good ones. Gridwise is able to assist this client and all others in tabulating results from ads through the Gridwise Dashboard. 

“The Dashboard was very straightforward. We learned more and more about it as we worked with it, too.” - Gridwise Client

Ease of use and the ability to get questions answered by a real human expert who will sit down long enough to understand your business makes working with Gridwise as easy as it is beneficial. Gridwise marketing experts know their business, and can help you drive yours.

The real power of carrying the message doesn’t always rest with the biggest brand. It can be easier and more fruitful to work with a specialized, market-specific team whose hands-on experts can help guide a company through a successful and lucrative ad campaign.

Are you ready to boost your results and get a grip on a solid population of rideshare drivers? Contact Gridwise. We’re here to help you.

“Gridwise knew exactly what options would best help us achieve our goals. Their responsiveness, transparency, and results made them one of our top two favorite partners to work with throughout Q4.”

- Senior Media Buyer

Gridwise recently worked with one of the largest providers of credit cards for retail outlets and other brands. Its history reaches back to the Great Depression, when a major retail bank was created to offer customers the ability to purchase GE appliances on a line of credit.

In 2014 the credit card provider was spun off from that bank. Now, the provider seeks to serve a variety of communities with credit cards that allow consumers to acquire the goods and services they need on a line of credit.

The credit card provider works alongside a full-service digital advertising agency that blends strategy, technology, media, and creative together to motivate audiences to action and achieve amazing results. With offices in California, Toronto, and Liverpool, England—and over fifteen years under its belt—the agency has handpicked the boldest, brightest minds in marketing, design, strategy, and analytics.

So when the credit card provider needed to execute a forward-thinking digital marketing campaign, it went to the agency. And the agency turned to Gridwise.

The Challenge

The credit card provider recently developed a product that’s perfect for individuals with high vehicle utilization (read: Uber drivers). Naturally, the provider wanted to reach as many rideshare drivers as possible. 

The agency’s Senior Media Buyer, had previously tested various paid acquisition platforms in an effort to reach drivers. All too often, the message missed the mark because the agency was unable to isolate rideshare drivers.

That changed when the Senior Media Buyer connected with Clay from Gridwise and they started discussing a potential partnership.

Our Approach

Although Gridwise is a relatively new and rapidly growing company, we understand the rideshare driver market inside and out, and are familiar with the best ways to reach this population. For the credit card campaign, the Senior Media Buyer and Clay decided a multifaceted approach would be the best way to go. 

“[We’re] especially excited to work with Gridwise because it’s a new and vibrant company. Extra enticement got tossed into the mix because Gridwise has the perfect device to reach [our] target market: an app that will be consistently accessed by people who must work with apps to conduct their business.”

- Senior Media Buyer

Strategy

The first push was an email sent to 35,000 Gridwise users. This is a tactic that rideshare drivers were already comfortable with which the Gridwise folks knew from previous campaigns. The email was partially effective, but the rest of the campaign was what made the Gridwise approach so powerful.

Gridwise knew that a blog post was the perfect placement for the credit card provider’s ad, especially a blog that informed rideshare drivers about the essentials of car maintenance.

The Senior Media Buyer was extremely impressed with how Gridwise paid attention to the client’s brand guidelines and made sure the look and feel of all the ads and banners were in sync with those guidelines.

Since Gridwise notifications are delivered via an app that drivers open multiple times on any given day, it made sense to use banner ads and in-app offers to get the right message to the right people. This was probably the most effective part of the campaign strategy, resulting in CTRs in the double digits.

Results

The Senior Media Buyer and her team produced impressive results for their client by working with Gridwise. Capturing the attention of rideshare drivers in-app provided new avenues to deliver the credit card provider’s message and showcase its brand. 

Featured promos and the promo listing were helpful. But they were not as productive as the features that only Gridwise could offer because its app serves as a nationwide delivery platform.

“Gridwise not only delivered the numbers we wanted for our client, the people were super-easy to deal with and the process was seamless. Their flexibility in working with various iterations and revisions in ad copy and blog content was amazing, gracious, and highly professional.”

- Senior Media Buyer