u/Impossible_Shape_766

A passenger last night offered me private driver work — 2 hours pay beats what Uber pays me in a full day. He says he regularlu uses Uber Black and Comfort Cars (through private driver rentals.. not Uber website). We exchanged contacts and he gave me a huge cash tip.

Last night I transported a young man who asked me why wasn't I building my own customer base. He said I shouldn't rely on uber and should cut them out the picture entirely. He explained he's a manager of local artists and groups and he regularly uses Uber Black cars and comfort cars for his groups and his family. He doesnt like the uncertainty of random drivers. He already has several uber rideshare drivers, who drive Uber black cars and Uber comfort cars, that work for him off app. He told me I can make $150 for a two hour block and sometimes more working for him and he books in two hour segments.

I can work all day long for Uber.. from 6 am to 10 pm.. as I did yesterday - and barely see $200.00 of which $50 goes back into the car as charge. 4 to 5 mile trips that pay as low as $3.46. Or that 24 mile trip i took the other day from the airport that uber only paid me $12.00. While they made almost $30.00.

We exchanged contacts and he said he would be calling me. He then gave me a huge cash tip.

Incredible! I will certainly drive for him when he calls. I will also look into building my own customer base. I hear more drivers are doing this.

reddit.com
u/Impossible_Shape_766 — 2 days ago

UPDATE: I Told You So — Uber Didn't Just Invert the Trips. They Locked the Exits. (SCREENSHOTS PROVE IT)

I recently posted about Uber suddenly sending inverted trips — 8 to 10 mile pickups for drop-offs under a mile. I said they were deliberately pushing deadhead miles onto drivers to cover suburban coverage gaps. Some of you agreed. Some said I was reaching.

Today I have screenshots.

I finished a drop-off in a low-coverage suburban area and tried to use Destination Mode to filter rides heading back toward the city.

First screen: "Destinations Unavailable — Destinations can sometimes disrupt the reliability of the service.

"

My ability to choose my direction was removed. Because it disrupted their service.

Second screen: Same area, different attempt — "Too many drivers are currently using this feature."

Uber saw drivers trying to leave in large numbers and shut the feature off.

I was not getting any trrips yo remain in my area..99% of the trips were taking me far outside to another city. A suburb of my metro area with fewer drivers.

Once i was out in this area i noticed Uber started stacking offers to pull me even further out. To other surburbs in the opposite direction of the main city I live and usually work in.

When I tried to route myself home using a platform feature — they disabled it

This is algorithmic manipulation of independent contractors through selective feature suppression. They altered how the app functions in real time to prevent drivers from leaving an area that serves Uber's coverage needs.

Why this matters legally:

We are independent contractors. Our entire classification depends on us making our own business decisions — including where we drive. When Uber selectively disables platform features to override those decisions, that is:

Deceptive trade practice — the app doesn't function the same for all drivers equally

Unfair business conduct — using hidden algorithmic controls to coerce contractor behavior

A misclassification argument — you cannot control where an independent contractor goes and still call them independent

The FTC covers unfair and deceptive acts. State attorneys general have consumer protection authority over exactly this. And plaintiff's attorneys building misclassification cases should be very interested in screenshots showing Uber suppressing driver autonomy features to serve their own operational needs.

Save your screenshots. Crop your locations. Document everything.

u/Impossible_Shape_766 — 5 days ago

The algorithm just changed to force drivers to eat the cost of suburban dead zones. Looks like Uber's having a problem fulfilling the ride guarantees in the suburbs. Uber overpromised. It lacks coverage.

Has anyone else noticed a massive shift in the algorithm over the last two weeks? It feels like Uber is deliberately pushing deadhead miles onto drivers to cover their map gaps. I'm suddenly getting bombarded with requests to drive 8 to 10 miles out just to take a passenger less than a mile down the street — all for six or seven bucks.

And this is now 90% of my trips.

Uber's ride guarantee sounds great for riders but drivers are the ones paying for it. When suburbs don't have enough drivers the app doesn't wait — it just pulls city drivers further and further out. We lose our profitable position. Uber gets their coverage. Yet we get nothing extra because the app only compensates after pickup. Every mile to get there is on us.

They quietly flipped the algorithm and made drivers the subsidy for their suburban expansion. No announcement. No added compensation. Just more of our time and gas covering their coverage problem.

reddit.com
u/Impossible_Shape_766 — 8 days ago
▲ 0 r/HertzRentals+1 crossposts

And Oh by the way...

Its for maintenance.

This email came to me LAST NIGHT.

NO WARNING.

AT ALL.

All of Hertz emails are so hostile worded.

Some other poster on reddit on another thread said renting from Hertz is like walking on egg shells.

And I am living in a hotel. I use the vehicle to make my daily room fee.

Just wow!

Of course today is Sunday. There's no one to speak to.

u/Impossible_Shape_766 — 20 days ago