Gridwise blog

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?

Download our app! 

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! 

Whose Safety Is It, Anyway?

We hear a lot about Uber and Lyft rider safety in the media, but what about driver safety? Background checks and intermittent verification of IDs improve the likelihood that passengers are safe... but what about drivers?

Thus far, neither Uber nor Lyft requires a background check for passengers. Depending on which expert you ask, it may or may not be legal to investigate customers, and it certainly isn’t very practical. 

Riders want to download the app and use it right away. There is no time for them to be checked to prove that they aren’t, say, a serial assault felon, a sexual predator, or… an axe murderer. Plus, the companies don’t want to pay for those millions of riders to have background checks.

The fact is, most passengers are perfectly nice, and are kind and decent people. They want a safe, comfortable, and uneventful ride to get them where they need to be, and that’s all. 

Most rideshare drivers are good human beings too—and safer than many people riders are likely to meet. They’ve been background-checked, and their cars and safety records must undergo rigorous inspections to qualify to work for the rideshare company.

Of course there are inevitably a few bad apples, such as the drivers who fly off the handle when placed under stress. And, from the driver’s point of view, there is always a chance that someone who is mentally unstable, or even criminal, will get in the car. 

Just as passengers have the right to know they are safe with their drivers, drivers have every right to ask just how safe working in rideshare is for them.

Some Facts About Driver Safety

If you only paid attention to media reports, you’d think the rideshare driver community was a collection of social deviants. You might also conclude that rideshare companies don’t care enough about safety, or protecting riders and drivers.

As it turns out, neither of these assumptions is true. In December 2019 Uber published its US Safety Report, which is an extensive research study covering driver and rider safety. The study examined data from 2017 and 2018—a timeframe when an average of 3.1 million trips took place each day in the United States. There were many interesting conclusions, with some that stand out more than others. Like this one:

“...our data shows that drivers report assaults at roughly the same rate as riders across the 5 most serious categories of sexual assault. Drivers are victims, too.”

If you need visual evidence of the bad things that can happen to drivers, you can watch the videos below to see a driver get attacked for not dodging traffic in Queens, New York. 

If you conduct your own online video search, you’re sure to find other instances of drivers getting threatened, injured, and worse.

But wait! Before you run off to cancel your driver account out of sheer terror, you should know about an essential finding of the Uber study, as the report states: “The vast majority (99.9%) of Uber trips end without any safety-related issue at all.” Of the more than 3 million trips studied for 2017 and 2018, for example:

• 1.4 percent of trips had a support request of any kind, most frequently for issues such as lost items, refunds, or route feedback;

• 0.1 percent of trips had a support request for a safety-related concern, the majority of which were about minor safety issues such as complaints of harsh braking or a verbal argument;

• 0.0003 percent of trips had a report of a critical safety incident, which are the incidents referenced in the report.

How Do Companies Protect Drivers?

All companies are concerned about the people who work for them, even if the employees are contractors. The main reason (despite their efforts to make us believe they “love” us) is their own legal liability.

Could Uber or Lyft be sued if you are attacked by a rider? Probably. Would you win the lawsuit? Assuming you have the financial means to even start a lawsuit, you might win, but it isn’t a done deal. Because drivers are contract employees, there surely won’t be any workers’ compensation, or the opportunity to organize and push for safer working conditions.

Protective Practices

In some cases, rideshare companies protect drivers with insurance policies. For example, if you were outside your car, helping a rider with luggage, and got struck by another vehicle, your medical costs would be covered by the company’s insurance.

However, when the harm done to a driver is not accidental (such as harm caused by a rider committing a crime), the resolution is not so crystal-clear. 

To protect themselves a bit better, rideshare companies have taken measures to increase the level of driver safety. Here are some of them.

In-app Assistance

Calling 911

Always call 911 for a true emergency. Along with making the call with your phone, another option is using your driver app.

Uber has an almost-instant way to contact emergency rideshare services. From any ride-related screen, the driver can tap on the blue shield icon in the lower left hand corner, and then call 911. A similar screen is available to both drivers and riders in the Lyft app.

Following Your Ride

Uber’s Follow My Ride feature allows family members or other loved ones to monitor your movements, stops, and, of course, your location.

You can set up the app to contact anyone you designate to “watch over” you. When you activate Follow My Ride, this person will be able to monitor your trip, and know exactly where you are at all times. 

It’s always best to leave emergency situations to the professionals, but it can’t hurt to have someone who knows and loves you on call. This person can advocate for you, and make sure you get the right kind of help in a timely manner.

You control when Follow My Ride kicks in, so you won’t be under constant surveillance. There’s no need to let your loved ones know how many times you stopped for a milkshake—but you’ll be glad to know that when you tap the button, they can be alerted to watch your every move.

Built-In Monitoring Features

Thanks to GPS, and those clever coders who care enough to consider driver safety, there are ways for the rideshare company to detect when you might be in trouble. 

Uber already has the Ride Check feature up and running. You might get a ping from it when your rider is taking an extra-long time to buy lottery tickets on the way home, or if you have a collision. If you don’t answer the ping by indicating that you’re safe, Uber will offer tools to help get you out of a serious or threatening situation.

According to representatives from Lyft, the company will roll out a similar app feature in the near future.

General Safety Guidelines

Abiding by Community Standards

Uber and Lyft stress that the purpose of their “community standards” is to ensure driver safety, as well as the safety of riders. 

Physical contact, sexual assault or misconduct, discrimination, threatening language or actions, and unwanted contact after the ride, are all violations of community standards. They are also grounds for being deactivated from rideshare platforms. If you feel that you are the target of any of these acts, report it to your rideshare company.

If you are physically assaulted or threatened, you should immediately call 911. Once the authorities have processed the incident, you should also contact the rideshare company to report it. Get your side of the story on the record, right away, before the rider presents an account that is very different from yours.

Driver General Safety Practices: Do’s ... and Don’ts

There are many ways you can protect yourself as a driver, but carrying a weapon is NOT one of them. Unless you are an authorized person, such as working for the rideshare company as a security officer, you are not allowed to carry any firearm with you. 

This prohibition may extend to items such as stun guns, tasers, and knives. Check with Lyft or Uber before you bring anything that might be classified as a weapon into your car while you’re on duty. 

If a rider spots a weapon in your car, you could be reported, and you will be deactivated. This goes in both directions, of course. If you notice that a rider is carrying a weapon, you have every right to refuse the ride, and to report the person to the rideshare company. 

Uber does have one exception to its firearms policy. If a firearm is legal under state regulations, and it is unloaded, contained in a hard case, and in the trunk of the car, Uber will allow the firearm to be carried while a driver is online.

Now, here are some tips that can help keep you safe. Some are suggested by the rideshare companies, and all really come from a reasonable application of common sense.

• Wait for riders to identify you by name before you let them in your car. This way, you know they are the person authorized (and identified) on the account.

• Don’t accept riders who are not the person on the account. For example, if the account says you’re going to pick up Marvin, and the rider announces that she’s his girlfriend, you can, and probably should, refuse the ride.

• Keep the conversation casual and consensual. Learn how to monitor how much a rider wants to talk, and follow the person’s lead. Even if you wind up having a lovely chat, don’t give out any information about yourself that could lead to unwanted contact after the ride.

• Never allow a minor (a person under the age of 18) to ride in your car without an accompanying adult. This is in violation of company policy for both Uber and Lyft, and your insurance will not cover this rider in the event of an accident.

• Stand just outside your vehicle if the parent of a minor child should leave them there, even momentarily. This helps you avoid any appearance of being less than a safe and watchful adult.

• Don’t make stops unless they are put into the app by the rider. You want the app to continue tracking your position, and how long you stay in one spot.

• Don’t be scared. Your own fear can be your biggest enemy in an unsafe situation. If you don’t already have training, consider taking a self-defense course. While you hope you never have to engage in actual hand-to-hand combat, you’ll learn how to carry yourself and be aware of your surroundings. These are the things that make you feel safe and be safe, everywhere, especially when you’re driving for Uber or Lyft.

Both rideshare companies provide a lot of features that ensure your safety as a driver. In addition to in-app safety resources, there is a lot of safety information that every driver should know before going out on the road.

• Click here for Uber Safety Tips
• Click here for Lyft Safety Tips

Do Rideshare Companies Do Enough?

Despite the in-app assistance and general education the rideshare companies offer to their drivers, being a rideshare driver can be risky. Friends, relatives, and even riders ask questions like, “Aren’t you afraid to let strangers ride with you in your car?”

Ideally, drivers would be more certain about the backgrounds of the people they pick up as passengers. A quick criminal background check could go a long way to prevent horrendous incidents. The rider might cover it as part of the agreement to use the service, or the rideshare company could share the cost.

One solution might be a classification system for riders, just as there are for drivers. Of course, the mutual rating system is already in place—although the stars don’t really offer a lot of assurance. In the flurry and potential rush of accepting a ride, a customer would rarely have a rating that was consistently low enough for a driver to notice.

If rideshare companies created a distinctive classification for riders who have undergone a background check, this would provide some level of protection. Yet even with a system like this, there would be no guarantee that someone who passed a background check last week won’t turn into a raging maniac after a bout of raucous partying this Saturday night.

The companies’ reliance on “community guidelines” is overly optimistic. People may not read the guidelines thoroughly, and even if they do, they will likely forget much of what they learned when faced with difficult situations. From the over-caffeinated office worker who needs to vent to an impaired passenger looking for the next bar, rideshare drivers are faced with some tough customers, and are often at risk because of it.

The best way to stay safe while driving for a rideshare company is to use your own common sense, and make safety your top priority. Use the tools the companies provide, and learn how to protect yourself. 

Bending the rules or going against your instincts can be far more costly than the few bucks you might make by taking rides that put you in uncomfortable or unsafe situations. While you want to please your customers and support your rideshare company, the most important thing to keep in mind is to always protect yourself.

Some drivers in California can now choose their own rates! Check out the Gridwise Podcast on your favorite podcasting platform and hear what this new development could mean for drivers!

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Every 3 or 4 Uber rides I take I find a driver with his car decked out like this:

I’ve seen a few that looked like this:

And this guy:

I get it. These drivers are just trying to make sure they have as high of a rating as possible and maybe even pull in some tips.

I understand their thought process, but for just a minute put yourselves in the shoes of a passenger and think about how much you would really care about these extra treats:

It’s Tuesday morning and you’ve already had one of those days. You woke up nearly 30-minutes late because your phone charger decided it wasn’t going to work that night and that your phone was better off dead.

So you end up rushing to get ready for an 8:00 am meeting that your boss sprung on you at the last minute, but your oh so reliable roommate forgot to pick up the dry cleaning like he promised.

Again.

So looks like you’ll be stuck trotting around the office all day in pants you haven’t washed in three wears and your dingiest white shirt.

Now, would you rather a have driver that:

1. Arrives in a car equipped with no extra phone chargers and somehow finds every traffic jam in the city making you even later, and putting the final nail in your career coffin… but they offer you water and a mint!

OR

1. Arrives in a clean car, offers you a charger for your phone and finds the best route to get you where you are going quickly… and no treats.

Which one are you tipping?

Still not convinced? Well, we asked 1,000 rideshare passengers if they ever take water or snacks from drivers when offered and almost 75% of them said no.

Tips and 5 Star ratings come from customer interactions

To be clear, we're not saying that rideshare drivers should never offer their passengers treats, but you shouldn't be paying for those treats out of your own pocket (more on that later) and you shouldn't expect treats to be the only driver behind your tips and 5-star ratings.

The thing to remember is that people give tips because of the driver and their vehicle, not just because of the treats that they give you.

This simply means that you need to be sure to have positive interactions with your passengers.

You can start with the first interaction. Instead of just asking them if they are the correct passenger, ask them if they are in a rush as well. If they are, see if you can find a safe route to get them to their destination more quickly.

But let's be real for a second. 95% of the time you're not going to be able to make a huge difference in how quickly you drop off a passenger, but passengers will appreciate that you put forth the effort.

Remember that your passenger's first, second, and third goal is to get where they’re going safely and quickly (in that order).

A driver that is familiar with traffic patterns and alternative routes that can help passengers arrive at their destination faster is much more valuable than a bottle of water.

Depending on who’s in your car, let your passengers know about interesting concerts, festivals, parties, or other events that are happening in your city. For tourists, simply letting them know where the must-go places in the city are is invaluable information and creates another positive interaction.

Oh, but do you know how to guarantee a positive interaction with your passengers?

Offer them a phone charger.

People are serious about not letting their phones die.

Nothing is worse than being caught with your battery at 2% when you need a ride or need to call someone, so take advantage of this opportunity to create a positive interaction.

Use Cargo To Give Away Treats (For Free!)

Again, we're not saying that giving away treats to passengers is horrible, you just shouldn't spend YOUR hard-earned money on those treats. Instead, consider using Cargo, which is essentially an in-car vending machine that drivers can use 100% for free.

Drivers can use this link to simply apply to be a driver with Cargo and receive your free Cargo box. In no time you'll receive your free Cargo box that you can install in your vehicle and passengers can purchase items or receive free items through your box.

Best of all, you NEVER have to worry about inventory. Cargo will handle refilling inventory at absolutely no charge to you.

By focusing on positive interactions while letting Cargo take care of the candy and treats, you'll be better positioned to maximize your tip income and ratings!

We are PUMPED to announce that Gridwise has just launched a new weekly podcast where Gridwise J and myself (Brandon Sellers) will be talking about all things rideshare from news to data insights to driving strategy.

We're going to try and keep each episode around 20 - 25 minutes and you'll get a new episode every Thursday.

The first two episodes are ready below for drivers to listen to:

Gridwise's rideshare weekly #2: THE podcast for Uber & Lyft drivers

Gridwise's rideshare weekly #1: THE podcast for Uber & Lyft drivers

If you like the podcast, please help us!

If you enjoy these candid conversations, support us to keep this going:

• Share the podcast with your friends
• Let us know what topics we should cover next
• Let us know WHO we should interview next
• Subscribe on YouTube

Give our podcast a listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Who is Veyo?

Veyo is revolutionizing the non-emergency transportation industry with a technology-first approach to patient transportation that leverages rideshare drivers alongside traditional medical transportation options. Built for the healthcare industry and designed for the broad needs of health plan memberships, their end-to-end solution offers unmatched service quality, transparency, and efficiencies for all regions and all modes.

Their platform presents a unique opportunity for rideshare drivers in the Phoenix and Orange County markets to maximize their earnings during otherwise slow daytime hours.

Problem

It’s pretty simple, we needed an efficient way to help scale driver acquisition. - Sarah Kuntsal, Director of Marketing at Veyo

Veyo’s tech-driven approach to medical transportation has caught on quickly and growth has skyrocketed, so the driver growth team at Veyo is constantly searching for efficient driver acquisition channels. “Driver acquisition isn’t cheap or easy,” says Sarah Kuntsal. “And since we’re completing more than 8,000 trips a day in just a single market, we need driver acquisition more than ever.”

So when Sarah started talking to the team at Gridwise, a platform tailor-made for driver acquisition, she was excited about the possibilities.

Strategy

When you work with Gridwise, you’re not just given access to 60,000 drivers. You’re hiring a team of marketers and designers that are the world’s leading experts in engaging rideshare drivers who are dedicated to ensuring the success of your campaign.

So before beginning to work with Gridwise, Sarah and the team at Veyo worked with the Gridwise Account Management team to develop a multi-channel marketing campaign designed to engage and nurture active rideshare drivers around Veyo’s unique value proposition.

The Gridwise and Veyo teams agreed that a campaign which included in-app banner and card ads, a custom blog post, a custom email to all Gridwise drivers, and static email ads would give Veyo the highest volume and lowest acquisition cost for their campaigns.

Gridwise’s marketing and design experts then helped Veyo create, implement, and rapidly A/B test several ad designs that produced results almost immediately.

Results

120+ driver registrations at an industry-leading $15 per driver in less than 2 months

In a world where the giant transportation network companies pay as much as $300-$400 to acquire a new driver, Veyo immediately saw acquisition costs at a fraction of that. 

In less than two months, Veyo was registering high-quality drivers for just $15 per driver.

Their campaign included:

• Inline card ads
• Banner Ads
• In-App Promos
• Earnings report promos
• Blog Post

“We love to see the low acquisition costs, but it was also awesome to work with Clay and the Gridwise team,” says Sarah Kuntsal, Director of Marketing at Veyo. “They really understand the rideshare industry, so they were able to help us create designs and messaging that resonated and drove results!”

These days, rideshare drivers have options.

We no longer need to choose between just Uber and Lyft as there are companies like Veyo that give drivers the option to maximize their day time earnings by driving Medicaid and Medicare patients.

In today’s blog post, we’re going to take a deeper dive into Veyo to understand the benefits of this TNC and how it differs from the rideshare giants.

Let’s dig in.

What is Veyo all about and how are they different?

Veyo partners with rideshare drivers to provide Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) for Medicaid and Medicare members in the Phoenix, Tucson, Orange County, and Connecticut markets.

They’ve been helping people get to and from their health appointments for the last three and a half years and their rideshare drivers, which they call Independent Driver-Providers or IDPs, have completed over seven million trips in those three and a half years.

Who would you be driving and where?

Veyo passengers are Medicaid and Medicare members who are going to a variety of appointments, from dialysis to annual check-ups. Your passengers may have a wheelchair or special piece of equipment like an oxygen tank, but they’ll be able to walk and enter your vehicle, they just might need a bit of help from you to get in and out of the vehicle. 

What are the Requirements to Drive for Veyo?

Because Veyo drivers are transporting Medicaid and Medicare members, they have a few more requirements for onboarding, including a drug screen and a background check and also require Veyo drivers to be CPR and First Aid certified - which is offered for free in the Veyo offices. 

Where is Veyo available?

Currently, Veyo is looking for drivers in Orange County, California; Connecticut; and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, and they’reis expanding rapidly. So if you’re not in one of those markets, it would be a good idea to sign up so you are on the waiting list.

How much commission does Veyo take?

While it takes a little longer to become a Veyo driver, they do offer a higher pay rate than most of theirour competitors AND they don’t take any fees out of the rates, which means you keep everything you make. 

Veyo also offers quarterly driver events with free food, giveaways, and a chance to share your feedback with the team. 

What are drivers saying about Veyo?

The Veyo team recently sat down with a few of their drivers in Phoenix to learn a little bit more about their experiences driving with Veyo.

Most of the drivers had previously worked for other ridesharing companies, and several still worked for them when they weren’t driving with Veyo. 

Out of the ten drivers, they’d been driving with Veyo for an average of eight months, and they drive with Veyo around 30 hours a week. 

What’s your favorite thing about driving with Veyo? 

“Better pay than the other options and I believe we really help the people who need it. It’s always nice to feel like you’ve really helped someone at the end of the day. I love to talk to people, so I enjoy hearing all the stories from the people I drive. They’re usually really happy to be getting a ride and they make you feel great.”

What hours do you usually drive with Veyo? 

“I like to wake up early so I drive in the mornings starting at 5:30. It’s a good job to do as your own boss because I can start and stop whenever I want. I’ve already recommended six people to work with Veyo and they’re all driving too. I got a referral reward from all of them, which is great!” 

What about the CPR training? It sounds difficult? 

“I was a little worried about having to do the CPR training, but it was actually great. I didn’t have to pay for the training and it was pretty easy to do. I haven’t had to use it yet, but I also have three grandkids, so I’m glad I have it!”

How is it different than your other rideshare options?

“When I take Veyo trips, I’m taking people to their doctor appointments or a hospital. It is a different type of passenger that I get on other apps, but I’ve found most of them to be really friendly. The passengers I transport add value to my life and it’s nice to know I’m helping them.”

Would you recommend driving with Veyo? 

“Definitely! I enjoy helping people and I feel like this service is very important to these people. I’ve told several friends about Veyo and they’re going to start driving too.”

Interested in driving for Veyo?

Interested in driving for Veyo? Learn more and sign up for Veyo with this link!

Last week, we published a blog post that outlined how Uber and Lyft’s latest IPO will affect rideshare drivers going forward. Well early last month, Uber announced its first financial results as a public company for its first quarter (ending March 31, 2019).

We know we’re a bit late on this one, but we wanted to take a deep dive into the report and understand what this means for drivers.

First, let’s take a look at the Financial and Operational Highlights provided by Uber:

Now let’s look at a few stats that stand out:

17 million trips per day

$59 billion in gross bookings (up 41% year over year when adjusted for currency rate fluctuations)

$3,099,000,000 in revenue (up 20% year over year)

$2,376,000,000 in revenue from Ridesharing

539,000,000 in revenue from Uber Eats

18% Take Rate

There are lots of big numbers here, but let’s take a deeper look at what these numbers mean and how they affect rideshare drivers.

The number to watch: 18% Take Rate

As a rideshare driver, the first number that you should look at every time you read about Uber’s earnings should be the take rate, because that is the amount of money that Uber makes from bookings (AKA takes from drivers). Uber defines take rate as follows:

We define Take Rate as Adjusted Net Revenue as a percentage of Gross Bookings. For purposes of Take Rate, Gross Bookings include the impact of our 2018 Divested Operations.

When Uber files it’s quarterly earnings report, the company doesn’t always explicitly state the take rate, but you can calculate it by simply dividing Adjusted Net Revenue by Gross Bookings.

So if we take a look at the financial results above, we can see that Uber’s Adjusted Net Revenue was 2.616 billion while gross bookings where 14.649 billion in Q1 2019.

So some quick math here looks as follows:

2018 Q1 Take Rate: 2.423/10.893 = 22.24%

2019 Q1 Take Rate: 2.761/14.649= 18.85%

So we have a decrease in take rate of about 4%, which means drivers made more money, right!? 

Not so fast friends. Let’s take a deeper look at the numbers in Uber’s income statement by Offering and Segment.

We can see that Uber Eats grew pretty significantly year over year and that platform has a significantly lower take rate, which brought down the company's overall take rate.

So seeing a 4% take rate may appear at first like Uber is taking less from drivers, but in reality that’s not the case.

So What Does This Mean for Drivers?

As a driver, don’t think for a second that Uber’s lower take rate this quarter is a result of them actually taking less from drivers. In reality, I would be surprised to ever see a lower take rate, so what we really want to do is watch how quickly the take rate increases and listen to what Uber tells investors about take rates.

1.55 billion rides given

Despite another quarter of huge bottom line losses, Uber reported that bookings and the number of users active on its platform increased by more than 30%. Both of these factors are signs of growth.

On its quarterly earnings call, executives explained that 2019 would be a year of investment, while not directly addressing the financial losses the company experienced. Instead, the focus was set on all of the ways Uber plans to expand its footprint in the rideshare, food delivery, and freight industries, fresh off the heels of its IPO. 

“Our story is simple: We’re the global player,” CEO Khosrowshahi said on the call. “We’re the largest player in personal mobility…Our job is to grow fast at scale and more efficiently for a long, long time.”

In short, Uber is spending money to continue to increase growth across its platforms, while also trying to prove their worth to investors.

So What Does This Mean for Drivers?

The growth across bookings and users are nothing to scoff at, and basically means more passengers and rides for you at the current moment. More rides given means more money in your pocket, but of course it's not that simple.

$1 billion loss

This is certainly the most cringe-worthy part of the report. Uber has certainly suffered an embarrassing debut since going public, after what was meant to be one of the largest initial public offerings in United States history. Uber’s stock plummeted, and then they reported a loss of over $1 billion.

The poor performance of the stock raises questions on whether gig-economy companies that lose this staggering amount of money per year are sustainable - and whether the intense pressure over profits puts a larger squeeze on the drivers themselves. 

While this is definitely possible, Uber might first look to cut new driver bonuses/incentives in order to make the company more profitable. However, analysts indicated concern that if the company focuses on turning a profit, fares may go up and consumer incentives to attract riders could go down.

So What Does This Mean for Drivers?

Higher fares, higher turnover, and driver dissatisfaction could negatively affect passenger’s experiences, which will lead to a lower quality of service overall. A negative consumer experience means unhappy riders that look to other apps to meet their transportation needs.

Stronghold on market share

Uber’s hold on the market is strong, sure - but is it in decline? 

In the Earnings Report, Uber touted that they had a 69% market share as a positive. However, New data suggests that Lyft has eaten into Uber’s U.S. market share, and continues to do so, so the strength of that statement should be in question. 

Studies show that while Uber controls that majority of U.S. ride-hailing, Lyft is growing twice as fast. According to Second Measure, while both Uber and Lyft reported increased revenue as of last year, Lyft’s grew 32 percent, which is twice as fast as Uber did during the timeframe of October 2017 to October 2018. Going along with this, according to a report from The Information, Lyft’s U.S.  and Canada revenue more than doubled in the first sixth months of 2018 to $909 million. Data from Second Measure reported Lyft’s U.S.-only revenue increased 71 percent in that period.

So What Does This Mean for Drivers?

The market share question is interesting for drivers because a more fragmented market means less influence from Uber and more competition for drivers. 

Theoretically, drivers should be getting paid more in a competitive market, and drivers should be taking advantage of driving for other apps that are out there. Notable companies that are fragmenting the market include Veyo, which focuses on patient transportation to healthcare appointments. Juno and Safr redefine safer ridesharing for women, and Via aims to be eco-friendly with shared rides.

Is UberEats expected to continue to grow quickly?

The report showed that Uber Eats grew at a healthy pace - more than doubling from 2018. The food delivery service is even being expanded to Latin America and Japan. On the earnings call, the CEO said that they expected to remain the largest food delivery service (outside of China), achieved by either holding its position through competition or by the acquisition of a competitor. Uber seems to be confident in its ability to make Uber Eats into a truly successful branch of business.

Despite its inability to make a profit from the Uber Eats platform, Uber wants its drivers to deliver food as well. Uber drivers are often invited to deliver food after they’ve been active on the rideshare platform for a while. If you participate, requests for food delivery will be sent to you in between passenger trips. You are free to ignore these requests while driving or opt out. 

So What Does This Mean for Drivers?

Uber desparately wants Uber Eats to be the worlds #1 food delivery service, and will be investing heavily in order to do that. That means they’ll be doing their best to make sure drivers are out there on the roads at peak hours driving for Uber Eats. So keep a look out for more driver bonuses for Uber Eats.

Expansion of drivers reward system

Uber has been long criticized for how it treats its drivers and the expansion of its driver's reward system should be a step toward boosting incentives. 

The reward system is called Uber Pro, and the company recently expanded the program to 20 more U.S. cities. Both drivers and UberEats couriers can participate, and the loyalty program rewards low cancellation rates and high ratings with incentives like higher take-home pay and free college tuition.

The expansion of UberPro seems to be timed perfectly with the IPO announcement, as Uber is looking for more ways to hook drivers, despite all of the recent complaints and strikes. Since Uber drivers lack many of the benefits and protections of salaried employees, the company is seemingly looking for every workaround possible to seem like they are making an effort to make drivers happy.

So What Does This Mean for Drivers?

While the incentives sound good on paper, critics claim that this is just another ploy from Uber to keep drivers working longer hours at the mercy of the algorithm and discouraging them from working for other apps.

In the coming weeks we’ll be writing a full breakdown on the benefits of Uber Pro, so keep a look out for that!

Let’s Summarize

Uber’s IPO stands to make a lot of people extremely rich, but its drivers aren’t among them. Let’s review what drivers should be aware of after Uber’s latest financial release. 

• Take-rates will continue to increase and transparency will continue to decrease, which means less money in your pocket overall. 
• Uber’s new Uber Pro incentives look nice on paper, but it remains to be seen how much they will actually help drivers.
• As the rideshare market fragments and competition increases, drivers should look to use other apps to earn more money. 

So now that we've laid out all of the facts, what do you think? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!