r/uberdrivers

This was on the 4th of July.

So I was having a really good Fourth of July when a women and her son who was maybe 4/5 years old got in my car. It was a normal ride but then suddenly I smelt something really out of the ordinary. It had turned out that her son pooped in his pullup. I didn’t really realize what happened at first but then I heard her say something about it. She didn’t really apologize but more so laughed it off and acted like it was funny. She asked if I could pull over which annoyed me more because now I’m just losing out on potential money. She said she has to deal with it and I said “this better be quick” which really upset her. She was saying he didn’t mean to do this and everything and I pointed out that it’s clear he shouldn’t have even earned pull-ups if this is what he was doing in them and that he should still be in diapers. I also want to say the kid wasn’t autistic or had anything wrong with him and got upset when I mentioned he should be back in diapers.
That entire thing took 5 minutes or so and then when I dropped her off and drove away I looked back and she LEFT THE PULLUP IN MY CAR. Just a bright blue loaded bomb sitting in my back seat. I was beyond furious and called uber and submitted every report I could.
The entire thing took 30 minutes or so and looking back I probably missed out on some good money because of my reaction. It just crossed the line numerous times in my book and he should have never done that and she should have been really apologetic and waited to change the brat. I understand I could have handled it better but was I the asshole here?

I’m not talking about passengers talking to the driver.. I mean people carrying on loud conversations in the back seat. I feel like people acknowledge that distractions affect drivers, but no one ever talks about how noisy passengers can affect concentration. Curious if other drivers notice it or if you’ve learned to tune it out.

Today, I was left enamored by the kindness of this man.

I had an interview. I woke up at 6 a.m. I had to take two buses to reach at the desired college at 9 a.m. I was running late.

After reaching the city, I booked a cab. I forgot to print my CV. Yes, I made a foolish mistake. I thought I'll ask him to drop me by at a xerox shop. But to my surprise as I gazed out the window, the city was barely awake. Most of the shops were yet to be opened. I got really tense, my mind was racing through the options, if there were any left. He gazed at my blank face through the inside rear view mirror. We reached the college, I asked him if there are any xerox shops he knows of, I will walk by myself. He said, don't worry, I can help you find one. I offered to re-book the cab but he volunteered to take me to the shop without booking as booking may connect with some other cab.

And so, I trusted him. We were now finding a market nearby, and we found one, but again the shops were closed. The place was filled with a few vagrant men smoking cigarettes and doing, I don't even know what. He pulled the cab and asked them on my behalf if there was any photostat shop nearby. They pointed to the end of the road. The scene to the end of the road was like a horror movie, thunderous  sky, dark alleyway, cigarettes fumes. He walked with me to the end. The only opened shop in the whole vast city, he asked the old man if he could photostat. The shopkeeper said yes.

In the meanwhile, the old man was doing copies of my CV. I thought I'll pay the cab driver his due, maybe he has to take another fare, why waste his time for me and my stupid mistake. I'll have to book another cab at this point back to college. He refused the money and asked me to get my CV together first. We stayed silent then. I walked with him, back to the other end of the road, and he asked me to sit in the cab and offered me a ride back to college. I was enamored at this point.

As we reached college, I again offered to pay, thinking, ofcourse it was the right time to pay now. But, he refused to take any money and wished me luck for the interview. I was stunned by his kindness. I was soo grateful that people like him exist.

TLDR: Helped by a kind cab driver in a vacant city, and he took no money!

I’ve seen a few Uber/Lyft trucks around on weekdays. They aren’t smaller trucks either like Ford Mavericks hybrid. They’re full-sized trucks like F-150. I can’t imagine they’re making profits since each ride pays like $4-6 without surge on a slow day.

Long story short, riders girl got her phone back after leaving it in my car. He reported it to uber I told uber I was returning the phone. Like I said she got her phone back but he refuses to report it to uber as returned. I went out of my way (1/2 hour) to return it - on principle I want the $20. In hindsight I wished I smashed the phone to pieces and bonus points if I did it in front of him.

The last week uber has been emailing reminders to put the sticker on my car, that is already on my car. Are they just going to spam this crap everyday?

New article in Fast Company: Uber’s STATED strategy is to replace more human-driven rides with robotaxis.

Dara is investing billions in autonomous vehicle partnerships instead of its drivers (driver pay continues to insult you all)

The company plans to deploy robotaxis in more than 15 markets by the end of 2026.

Drivers be warned: this is NOT speculation — resist while you can because you’re the taxi drivers of tomorrow.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91548707/uber-robotaxi-strategy-dara-khosrowshahi

When a passenger asks if Uber is your full-time job, what do you usually tell them?

I actually drive full-time, but I usually tell passengers it’s part-time. I’m not trying to hide it.. I just find that when I say it’s full-time, some people immediately start giving unsolicited career advice or making comments like, “You should get a real job,” or “This is fine as a side hustle.”

I’d rather avoid that conversation altogether and just keep the ride positive.

Do you tell passengers it’s your full-time job, say it’s part-time, or just avoid the topic entirely? Has your answer ever affected tips, ratings, or the overall conversation?

Male driver, middle aged. The temps are 105° here today and 100° most of last week. What’s a reasonable form of dress as a driver?

Does it even matter as long as your car is clean and you get to the destination safely/timely?

Is shorts and a Polo pullover alright in these temps, or is that too casual?

How do you guys dress day to day? Does how you dress impact tips, or is the condition of the car more important?

Uber paying at 5 am $16 to go to airport charging $50 to client on comfort. Or $30 as premier when client paying $85

Drivers keep accepting trash, so they offer trash. If no one took them, I can guarantee you they be forced to pay more. I’ve seen it on countless rides.

No one to blame but the drivers. They take trash with a smile on their face and then bitch about the bad pay. SO STOP ACCEPTING THEM.

Uber continues to rip off drivers and customers with ever changing insurance fees