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Delivering food or driving a cab is a grind.
Those of us who slog through every day know how hard it can be.
But there are upsides. The smartest drivers cash in on $4k+ per month.
Navigating the disputes, complaints and learning how to maximize your hourly pay is essential to unlocking $1,000 weeks.
That's why we created this Guide.
If you're driving for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, PostMates, or any other delivery service.
You will learn how to make more money with the same vehicle and within the same number of working hours.
You will also find out the most authentic ways to get on the winning side of disputes and conflicts. Let’s begin.
Common Uber Driver Disputes
Uber’s stint with scandals and scams started with its previous CEO and founder, Travis Kalanick, who was involved in a series of complaints, which eventually led to his dethroning.
The number of disputes arising from within Uber cabs and its services is rising, and not all of them are true. As an Uber driver, you might one day come across a rude customer who is too into himself and start blaming you for something trivial.
Most complaints arise during the holiday season. During the regular days, most customers file complaints at midnight. So, from corporate-level scandals to on-the-road complaints, Uber is surrounded by unsavory outcomes of its services.
Not talking about the corporate scams, we will only talk about the disputes an Uber driver has to go through.
Complaints by Drivers Against Riders
Uber Passengers
Passengers are the most important thing for an Uber driver. They are also the cause of complaints registered by the drivers. Out of these complaints, intoxicated passengers cause the most nuisance for the drivers.
Inebriated passengers pose a risk of safety for the driver and other passengers as well. Out of the complaints on Uberpeople.net, a forum for Uber drivers and other personnel to talk about their experiences, the word “passengers” or “pax.”
Passengers also form the bread and butter of an Uber driver. As a driver, you almost depend on their good ratings and reviews. Good ratings mean better scope of earning more money, and its reverse is not suitable for the Uber drivers.
A consistent period of bad ratings means that Uber can take down the driver’s profile from their platform.
Animals in Car
Uber drivers also complain about the animals in their cars. They can damage the seats, which can lead to a costly repair. Not repairing the car means the drivers are risking giving their passengers a good customer experience.
Service animals can be allowed inside the car, but it is the choice of the Uber driver. Saying no to a passenger is not good for the driver and his ratings. This raises a concern with the drivers and the passengers.
Cancellation Fees
Uber drivers have to pay a cancellation fee if they cancel a ride after accepting the request. The driver cannot see the destination unless they begin the trip. Once you cancel the ride, a penalty of $5 is charged on your account.
The passengers also cannot cancel as they also have to pay the fees for canceling the ride after booking. This raises an issue on both sides, and a tug of war situation arises, depicting “Who Will Cancel First?”
Complaints By Riders Against Drivers
The list of riders raising disputes against the Uber drivers is long enough to go out of the scope of our discussion. We will talk about a few of them, followed by the mechanism to resolve them amicably.
Late Arrival
Uber drivers can get late to arrive at the destination due to a number of reasons. Even if they have a good reason to arrive late, it can cause trouble, leading to a bad rating.
Unprofessional Behavior
Some Uber drivers get into trouble for unruly behavior with the passengers. Uber has set safety standards for drivers to follow. Passengers are entitled to a few services that make the Uber experience better.
Ignoring the safety standards, disrespecting a passenger’s request, or talking rudely can amount to big trouble for the drivers. Sometimes, the passengers can make a big deal out of a small thing and make it look big.
This is something an Uber driver cannot control, and they need remedial measures to solve such a dispute.
Both the riders and drivers have issues with the Uber experience. This becomes a cause of concern on the company’s end. If driver’s issues are not resolved, they lose service personnel, and if customers are not happy, they lose market share to the competition.
There are some predetermined mechanisms set forth to help passengers and drivers solve the most common disputes. These are as follows.
How to Resolve Uber Disputes?
Uber has mechanisms to solve disputes. Most of the time, the passengers get preferential treatment, and the disputes raised by them are compensated with a refund of the money charged for the ride.
Uber passengers can raise a dispute from the Uber Rider application. They are provided with a list of reasons for raising an issue. Upon investigation, if the rider’s claim is justified, the passengers are provided with a resolution.
Resolution for Unprofessional Behavior
To help the passengers get the best service, Uber has set safety guidelines and standards. All the Uber drivers are supposed to follow them. A simple rule is that any Uber driver cannot make a personal stop while they are on a ride. The passengers can file a complaint for the same.
On the driver’s part, installing a dash cam can help bring the real story to the table in case of a dispute. As the dash cams are always live, they record every movement and incident inside the vehicle.
The claims arising due to unprofessional behavior from the driver or speaking rudely can be resolved after seeing the dashcam footage. Every Uber driver should install one in their vehicle.
Resolution for Over-charged Ride
Uber has a few policies in place that can lead to an increase in the final price. The riders may not always like this, but the overcharging is not in the hands of the drivers, not in every case.
The surge pricing rules are set by the company itself. The Uber drivers taking passengers during surge pricing hours can earn extra money. The passengers cannot raise an issue in this matter as they agree to being charged more than normal rates.
Other charges include cancellation charges, which is a bone of contention for the riders. Riders claim that their Uber drivers drive around the destination deliberately, forcing the rider to cancel and pay charges.
Drivers can get in trouble for this if they are deliberately doing so. Uber has access to the driver’s GPS location, and they can also track its history to substantiate the rider’s claim.
This is required in case the rider asks for a refund for the cancellation fees. In the driver’s defense, Uber's navigation application can also lead them in the wrong direction. Drivers can seek help from Uber to state their concerns about the in-app navigation and save themselves from wrongful ratings.
Messy and Unprofessional Riders
Uber gives the driver’s a mechanism to charge a cleaning fee, which is charged in case the riders for spilling drinks, food or creating a mess in the car.
The riders can seek a refund on the cleaning fees, which raises a dispute. To resolve this issue, the drivers need to click pictures of the mess created by the riders, with timestamps, etc. The driver also needs to keep the receipt of the cost for getting the car cleaned afterward.
Uber has systems in place to amicably solve the disputes raised by the drivers and riders. The good thing is that the resolution mechanism is not biased towards the passengers and customers. The complaints lodged by the riders are authenticated before taking any action.
As a driver, it is up to you to keep all the records of the incident, if there is any, involving the riders. You need to install dashcam and voice recorders to keep an account of the ride and the passengers’ safety.
Uber Driver Pay Statements - What to Know?
Uber’s pay statement is a monthly record or an overview of the driver’s earnings in a week. The company introduced a new system, in which they offer information about how much the customer is paying and what the drivers are getting from each trip.
About the Uber pay statements, a driver’s rides are counted from 4:00 AM on Monday to 3:59 AM till following Monday. All earnings are accumulated, calculated, and paid to the drivers.
To bring transparency into the system, Uber drivers can see their pay statements every week from the application or website. The pay statements also act as an official record for all the rides an Uber driver has completed in the past week.
Every driver gets this statement without fail. Other ways to view the trip records are via the application. You can click on the Earnings tab within the application and view all the trips. Another way is to log in on the Uber Partners dashboard and check the statement from here.
Uber Payment System
Every Monday, the drivers are sent details of their trips, but the payments are received in the driver’s account every Thursday or Friday. The exact day of payment arrival depends on the driver’s bank.
Note that Uber does not hold any tax from the payment transferred to the driver’s account. The Uber drivers are independent contractors. As a driver, you are responsible for paying your taxes.
For taxation purposes, Uber drivers come under the self-employed category. They fall under the 1099 tax rules; specifically, the 1099-K rules, meant for driver services.
Any sort of earnings besides coming from driving comes under 1099-MISC rules. The other earnings include referrals and bonuses arriving from the company. Uber drivers earning more than $400 per year must report their income to the authorities. This is done by filing Form 1040.
Uber Instant Pay
Uber Instant Pay allows the drivers to cash out their earnings up to 5 times in one day. This means that as soon as you complete a ride, you can withdraw the money without waiting for the weekly statement.
The Instant Pay withdrawals are credited to the individual’s checking account. There is no limit on how much money you can withdraw instantly; it can be as less as $5.
Sign up for Instant Pay and add your debit card details. If you are withdrawing the money on your personal debit card, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc., a small ($0.50) is charged on the amount withdrawn.
No cash-out charges apply if you withdraw it to the Uber Visa Debit Card provided by GoBank.
Do Uber Bonuses and Referrals Reflect in Weekly Statements?
Uber provides bonuses and referral rewards to the drivers. The remuneration from these are also reflected in the weekly statement as miscellaneous payments. For every new passenger referred by a driver they must complete one ride within 30 days of creating an account.
The payment for referring drivers comes after the new driver completes a minimum number of rides within the specified time. The amount changes for bonuses, including the sign-up bonus, but they are also reflected in the weekly statement and sent into the account with the regular payment.
Tolls Payments
The riders are supposed to pay for the tolls in case they are traveling via a toll-qualified road. Uber charges the toll amount on the rider’s account, but at the moment of crossing the toll, the Uber driver has to pay for them. The toll amount will be reimbursed into the driver’s account with the weekly payments.
Uber has facilitated different payment schedules to accommodate all types of drivers associated with them. Regular drivers earn their bread and butter only by driving a car around the city.
But Uber also has occasional and seasonal drivers who are in it to earn some extra money. The instant payment system is targeted towards these dispersed drivers who have a flexible driving schedule.
This was all about the payment part. One of the reasons for a flexible work schedule with Uber is that many drivers are not sticking to one service. They are also working with other on-demand delivery and ride-sharing services.
Every Uber driver can increase his/her earning potential, protect themselves from disputes, and track every on-demand delivery or ride-sharing service to get the best deal. To help you achieve these goals, we have a list of five applications serving a different purpose but collaborating to enhance your overall experience.
Best Apps For Uber Drivers
1. Gridwise
Drivers use Gridwise to collate their earnings from different platforms. The purpose is to maximize their earrings, get complete visibility of the work, and save money on taxes.
Gridwise emerged to help drivers make the most out of their time behind the wheels. Uber and Lyft drivers often make less than the average national income. Some third-party companies are coming forward to help drivers enhance their earnings; Gridwise is one of them.
Gridwise uses data to help drivers earn up to 39% more income than average. It collects data from different third-party applications dealing with;
- Traffic
- Social media
- Weather and climate
- Events and functions
- Local news
- Sourcing data from their application installed on the driver's phone.
Drivers who have this application get alerts and recommendations about the best time of the day to take rides. It helps them with information on traffic congestion, rain, and where the best pickup locations are according to concerts or events happening in the city.
You can opt for the free plan, including all the basic information, including rush hours, best places to take rides from, information on events, weather reports, etc.
The premium plan adds 24-hour airport graphs, flight statuses in real-time, and some other perks. For a regular driver, the free plan is enough to leverage the benefits of Gridwise and data-oriented insights.
At present, Gridwise supports PostMates, DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats, GrubHub, Amazon, Curb, Arro, Via, Safr, and a few more.
Features of Gridwise:
- Mileage Tracking: Track every mile while delivering packages or ridesharing separated for every day. Tracking your mileage helps with tax deductions.
- Earning Analysis: Depending on the number of services you are working with, analyze your earnings for every application.
- Tax Reports: Generate tax reports with detailed information on tax deductions and other liabilities.
- Track your Expenses: Record and save every expenditure done while riding and delivering packages. This is essential to help identify your net income.
Gridwise is a one-stop solution for drivers and delivery agents, helping them make the most out of their work.
Gridwise Plus: The free version of Gridwise has limited and standard functionalities. Gridwise Plus offers a better and more informative experience to the drivers.
It has all the features of the standard application version and a few additional premium features. These include;
- Flight Details: Get access to all the flight information from the start till the end so that you can adjust your time and resources accordingly. Gridwise gives access to flight size, arrival time, delays, and the number of flights every day, etc.
- Customized Airport Alerts: Gridwise sends notifications about the number of passengers and flights in the next hour on your phone. It also shares the number of cars waiting in the queue. The list includes cars of Uber, Lyft, and other similar services.
- Passenger Data: You will get real-time passenger data for the past hours for studying and predicting the flow of demand for the next 24 hours. Gridwise shows graphs and columns showing the number of passengers landing within every hour.
- Set Reminders: You can also set reminders about the upcoming events and never forget reaching the right place at the right time.
Gridwise Gas: Gridwise has tied up with GasBuddy to help drivers get discounts on gas refills. For every gallon filled, the drivers will get 25¢ via the Gridwise application.
You must link your bank account with the application and wait for your Gridwise Gas payment card. Activate the card from the GasBuddy application and use this card to pay for gas.
2. Driver
The Driver Dash Cam Application helps turn your phone into a mobile dashboard camera for recording the road and inside the car. Drivers can use this application to document every second of their driving experience on the road.
This helps in providing evidence about any untoward incident or accident, protecting the driver from frivolous lawsuits. Drivers use this application to advocate their perspective in another driver or the riders lodges a complaint.
Recently, there was an incident where a woman was seen coughing and belittling an Uber driver. Even though the woman’s behavior was allegedly motivated with racism, she was seen attacking the driver with some harsh words.
Fortunately for the driver, he had a dashcam in his car that recorded every second of the incident, letting Uber see the truth behind everything. The girl’s Uber account was permanently deleted, and the driver got sympathy from the internet community.
Imagine if the driver did not have a dashcam installed. Not many people, let alone Uber, would have believed his story.
The Driver dashcam application records the inside and outside of the car and sends collision warnings with its AI-enabled capabilities. So, it helps avoid accidents by warning you in terms of proximity with other vehicles on the road.
Driver dashcam application rewards drivers for great driving. The drivers collect points with their driving skills, which are rewarded with maximizing insurance discounts.
3. Uber Guidebook
Uber provides free access to several resources and guides helping drivers understanding the ins and outs of working with Uber. Navigating your way to earning a sustainable income with Uber depends on how well you can use the service for your benefit.
Drivers must go through the Uber-provided guide to understand how every aspect of service works. It includes information on things like;
- Preparing the car
- Safety instructions
- Getting driver support
- Taking and accepting trips
- Back to back trips
- Pool trips
- Airport trips
- Tracking earnings
- Payments system
- Referrals
- Ratings and reviews
- How to get 5-star trips
- Community guidelines
Understanding all these aspects is beneficial for the driver. Uber has many regulations set forth to provide the best customer experience. To achieve that, they have set the best practices that every driver must follow.
4. LegalRideshare LLC
Chicago-based LegalRideshare LLC provides legal aid for specifically Uber, Lyft, and other application-based accident or injury claims. The legal firm works to demand and secure full compensation for the drivers, gig workers, and delivery agents working with Uber and Lyft.
Their lawyers help drivers, passengers, and victims get claims for personal injury. You can ask them for help regarding property damage and insurance claims. Lastly, LegalRideshare also helps drivers get wage loss income after they have been into a crash and cannot work and earn.
Recently, they have initiated a Driver Safety Fund to offer better protection to rideshare drivers. Rideshare drivers are exposed to a dangerous environment almost every day, and this fund will help secure the tools and hardware the drivers need to ensure their safety.
LegalRideshare LLC says that they are here to help the rideshare drivers as the companies they are working for fail to protect their workers. The legal firm started from Chicago; now, it has pan-US operations.
5. Driver’s Seat
Another one of its kind service facilitated by and for the gig workers in the ridesharing business. Driver’s Seat is a cooperative owned and operated by gig workers launched to help drivers understand their bills in terms of mileage and gas.
It is a smart mobile phone application that records every inch of your driving and time spent in choosing and taking the passengers from one place to another. The application precisely monitors the car’s mileage with the aim of helping drivers save money on tax.
Assisting a driver in these aspects, Driver’s Seat helps answer drivers with several aspects. These include;
- What is the best time to be productive in your service?
- Which are the best platforms to work for?
- Analysis of the driving strategy and helping to understand whether it works or not?
Driver’s Seat monitors the driver’s performance in several aspects and uses the information to suggest changes. The drivers get recommendations like what’s the best time to take out the car. It also keeps track of the goals and helps drivers achieve them.
Every record is kept safe in the application, and the users can access it from their mobile phones. Driver’s Seat also provides a holistic view of how the gig economy has fostered a change in the city and its key commercial sector.
It helps others realize the importance and the value of a gig worker and how everyone is contributing to a new way of doing the work. It presents an accurate and precise ground report of everything that is happening around a rideshare driver.
The purpose of sharing all this information to help the drivers make better decisions. They share the facts, which become the food for thought for every gig worker.
6. UberCheats
UberCheats helps drivers and delivery agents know whether Uber is underpaying them for the services provided. The application became an overnight success with the delivery agents, which forced Uber to claim a trademark infringement on the UberCheats application.
The users of this application could compare the amount UberEats paid to the agents and what they should get. Armin Samii created the application to help drivers and agents see a simple calculation. He also claimed that UberEats and other companies use a straight line distance against the actual distance traveled by the drivers.
This led to less amounts being paid to the drivers; in reality, they should have been paid more. The application is now unavailable on Google Play Store, but it is available as a Google Chrome extension.
These and many other third-party applications are helping gig workers optimize their service experience. From suggesting better driving times to recommending the best areas to drive the cab to track the mileage, they provide a better path of earning.
Best Dash Cam Apps
Dashcams have become a necessary addition to every ride-sharing vehicle. They help record everything inside and outside of the car. The footage recorded by the dashcams is helpful in a lot of ways. It can save the driver from wrongful conviction in an accident and report passenger-related issues to the company, etc.
Buying a dashcam can also be expensive. Highly functional dash cams come at a cost, which is a luxury for beginner Uber drivers. Dashcam applications provide a cost-effective alternative to buying dash cams.
These applications let you convert your old phone into a makeshift video and audio recorder. Here are a few recommendations of the best dash cam applications that you can use.
Nexar AI - Best Overall
Nexar AI lets you choose between using your phone or buying a Nexar camera and then connect it with your phone. The Nexar camera is a costly expense that you can easily avoid right now and use their zero-cost phone application.
Nexar AI application lets you record the outside footage from the car and also enhances the surrounding visibility. Based on the information it takes in, the application sends warning signs that help you in driving.
You will receive real-time warnings from the community (drivers who have installed the same application). These warning signals can help you avoid any potential incident while driving. Plus, the application automatically detects and feeds in the events in its surroundings and sends the same to Nexar’s account.
CamOnRoad
CamOnRoad cannot match the services and features of Nexar AI, but it can help you get by with getting the benefits of using a dashcam. You can install the application on a spare phone and set it in the right place inside the car.
CamOnRoad gives free access to 2GB cloud storage for storing the recordings. CamOnRoad is a simple application. Its sole purpose is to help you drive safely and record every movement.
The application connects to the phone’s GPS and provides recommendations regarding the road conditions. At present, CamOnRoad is only available for iOS phones, which is a big drawback of this application.
AutoBoy BlackBox
Named after the standard black box found in airplanes, this application will become your vehicle’s black box in the sense that it records everything. The recording is not the only ability of this application.
AutoBoy BlaclBox has a myriad of other features and functions. It offers a continuous background recorder and three recording settings. The camera operable via the application can be tweaked to fit your requirements, and its recording features are also worth a try.
With AutoBoy BlackBox, you can take snapshots, archive files excluding them from automated delete sequence, set up the custom video quality, and use advanced camera settings to adjust the recording aspects.
The application also offers GPS sensors and smart crash sensor functions. It will automatically turn on and off when you enter and exit the car.
Best Digital Law Firms for Drivers
We have already discussed one law firm in Chicago, RideShare LLC, which has dedicated its services to help Uber and Lyft drivers and provide legal assistance. LegalRideShare has an offline and online presence.
Car accidents often lead to damages to property and to the people involved in the accident. Drivers may have personal injury coverage, but an insurance policy is not enough to get you out of trouble in these matters.
Different states have different legal requirements for drives and ridesharing companies to follow. The potential to cause and take damage while driving on the road is bigger than you think.
Even if you are doing everything right, other drivers may not be as vigilant and aware as you. Getting into an accident is a cause for big trouble. So, you need the assistance of good legal professionals to help you get out of trouble quickly and without causing damage.
Check out a few legal firms that specialize in helping Uber and Lyft drivers get out of trouble.
Uber Car Accident Law
Uber Car Accident Law represents Uber and Lyft drivers and protects the driver’s rights. This law firm also helps drivers access the deserved compensation due to accident-related injuries.
Other than this, they help get wage loss compensations and money for the pain and suffering. Uber Car Accident Law houses a team of lawyers who will help you understand the impact and requirements of the laws directed at Uber and other ridesharing drivers.
West Coast Trial Lawyers
West Coast Trial Lawyers help both riders and drivers to come out unscathed from an unwanted incident. The lawyers here have experience and expertise in solving major issues.
Their area of practice is spread in eight cities of California, where the drivers and riders can ask for assistance related to personal injury accidents.
Mahany Law
They specialize in fraud recovery cases and have filed a case against Uber for stealing the driver’s tips and blocking their legal rights. Mahany Law practices in the US (all federal courts) helping Uber drivers get their deserved compensation from the ride-hailing giant.
Mahany Law fights for the cause of Uber drivers inside and outside the courtrooms. They have a long list of cases filed by an individual to a large group of Uber drivers. You can get in touch with one of their lawyers and share your grievance to get the right recommendation to partake in a case.
There are not many legal organizations specifically fighting for the cause of a delivery agent or a driver. The giant companies get a waiver in most matters because they recognize the drivers and delivery agents as independent contractors. This removes them from the benefits enlisted in the Fair Labor Standards Act.
These legal firms are fighting giants like Uber and Lyft to help independent contractor, gig workers, and other personnel realize their rights.
Best Facebook Group for Drivers
The Uber, Lyft, UberEats, DoorDash, or drivers Facebook groups represent the right place for drivers to connect, share, and learn. These online groups are also good for securing support from the community and give voice to your concerns.
You should become a part of a few of these groups to become a part of the community. These groups can take many forms and segregate on the basis of city, company, type of driver, gender, etc., or they can be a general group for everyone.
Being a part of the Facebook groups is essential. You will get access to real-time information about the industry, city, etc. The drivers share updates about the city and its specific locations. Here are a few recommendations for the best Facebook groups for drivers.
Private
28,000
Public
15,900
Private
7,300
Uber | Lyft | Sidecar Drivers Worldwide
Private
2,600
Uber and Lyft Drivers Community
Private
2,300
Conclusion
During the pandemic and in its aftermath, the world has observed the benefits and value of gig workers in this domain. They have worked at par with the frontline workers to deliver goods and ferry people across the city safely.
When these drivers and delivery agents have to face hardships even after working for 50 to 60 hours a week, it indicates that we need to change some things around us.
From securing the best pay for the work done to helping Uber and Lyft drivers get the best rate paid into their account for the services provided, there are systems in place for everything.
As an Uber driver, you need to find the right solution that will work for you and help you earn more as you work more. Use this guide to find the best resources, lawyers, and applications to optimize your way of doing business.
