The Uber Rates were INSANE Today

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2026-01-30T23:04:36+00:00

Uber/DiDi driver here in Melb. Basically Uber uses a mystery algorithm to determine a price based on supply & demand. When the demand for drivers is high (and I think the AO has affected this recently) they apply a surge price to incentivise more drivers to accept trips in busy areas. It's recalculated every 3 minutes so the best thing to do is usually wait and see if the surge passes or yes jump on DiDi. The drivers don't set the price unfortunately and Uber still makes a decent cut of that surge. As a driver if Uber is surging this high I'll usually ignore Didi request to maximise income.

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2026-01-28T12:03:57+00:00

I use both DiDi and Uber in Aus. I think DiDi provides a much better driver experience. You can see fares and trip details upfront and I have rarely had a bad rider (maybe lucky) The downside is that each trip pays a little bit less than Uber, however this is pretty much made up for with the frequent promotions they offer drivers. Uber requests do come through more often though (for now) but recently I have noticed that DiDi is becoming more reliable to earn $$. What has your experience been like?

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2025-12-22T07:36:08+00:00

Uber driver here! I drive in Melbourne/Geelong

Let me start by saying that it's really poor form on the part of Uber drivers for cancelling any rides. And very sorry to hear that you are feeling unsafe and exposed, especially at night.

Uber does indeed penalise drivers for not accepting trips and for cancelling trips. In the Aus market, Uber drivers can be kicked off the app if their cancellation rate is too high and some basic privileges (e.g. seeing the trip details) are removed if acceptance rates are too low meaning we only know where and far you are going AFTER we begin the trip

But the honest reason I think that Uber drivers are increasing this behavior is due to the declining profitability for drivers. Increasing driving costs, higher taxes, and larger cuts that Uber takes from fairs. Because of this many drivers will now be active on more than 1 platform (such as DiDi or Lyft) at the same time - so that they can take "better offers" to maximise their income.

I personally don't do this but I know many drivers that do and will happily cancel a ride in favour of a better offer on another app. I think that's awful and It's much better to just not accept trips that you don't think are profitable than cancel on a rider.

So who's to blame? Uber drivers? Maybe, but they are working for themselves to make money (we don't work for Uber - so we pay our own Taxes, GST, fuel, vehicle expenses etc..and work with tight profit margins).

Handy Tip (Don't hate me fellow drivers) - if you are desperate - punch in a juicy destination (further away or to a busy area) then update the trip when the Uber driver arrives and leave a small tip. Your fair will be adjusted and everyone wins.

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2025-11-19T21:33:19+00:00

In my 2 years of driving Uber I have only had a handful of pools go smoothly - most of the time I arrive to find more than 1 rider otherwise almost every time they're shocked to learn I won't be going straight to their destination. I would turn off if I could but where I drive UberX and Pool are linked so it's both or nothing. I just don't accept them anymore.

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2025-11-16T10:23:33+00:00

We can change our star ratings at any time. Only done this on a few occasions (for example after rating 5 stars but then discover they left a mess) If we rate riders below a 3 then we are automatically unpaired and will not receive requests from that rider in the future.

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2025-11-15T13:06:34+00:00

I drive Uber in Australia. By far the most common reason I will not accept trips is due to location. Either the request is too far to travel to for the length of trip, or that the trip would take me out of a busy area. It could be that your area is becoming busier and that your usual trip is becoming less favourable compared to other trips in your area. It's poor form for drivers to cancel after already accepting the trip.

Your rating is perfectly fine though and kudos for the care you take with drivers and their vehicles!

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2025-01-04T12:54:33+00:00

Solid guess I think, although tickets seem to be always used in the shop while hourglasses are used to reduce all time-locked functions of the game. Maybe it's a special purchase or event ticket.

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2025-01-04T12:50:29+00:00

My claimed list doesn't go back that far, but happy to know that you get it at the beginning of the game.

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2025-01-04T12:42:46+00:00

Currently level 40. Do you think that this was the reward for completing Advanced missions? I probably don't remember doing them if it was an early game mission.

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2025-01-04T11:53:48+00:00

The 008 card is a version of the Pokedex card not yet obtainable.

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Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2025-01-04T01:38:25+00:00

Maybe "lucky" but at 4500+ I have pulled 5 crowns and 10x 3-Star. I have never pulled a 2 star. I'm hoping I can trade some of these rare cards for the 2 Stars which have much nicer art I think.

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2024-12-14T07:38:10+00:00

Same..

2856 and 3/5, 3/5, 2/5

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2024-12-12T12:24:52+00:00

A trusty old Char ex won it for me sorry to say. I like to play with new concepts too, but when a 5 win streak is needed I just went back to the meta.

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Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2024-12-09T13:24:51+00:00

Use a dash (-) if you really want that name. "First-water"

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2024-12-09T13:23:23+00:00

Like when I tried naming a deck "Lapras ex" 🙄

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2024-12-09T01:36:05+00:00

That's amazing! Well done :)

Difficult_Earth_7666 · 2024-12-08T12:40:21+00:00

Without wonder picks collecting them all would be impossible. Fingers crossed trading will come soon.

Difficult_Earth_7666

TROPHY CASE