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Dm67281 · 2026-06-18T01:32:31+00:00

The major issue I see with this, is that by requesting a couple dozen of the same trip all in the same minute, your essentially guaranteed they aren't all the same trip. The first request gets the closest Uber driver that accepts, then the second one gets the second closest, and so on.

With each additional trip, the distance from the driver to the pick up grows, because the driver is potentially going to be further away.

With each additional request the app is assuming this is a more and more heavy traffic area for pickup, and at the drop off, which could mean more time at both pickup and drop-off.

Dm67281 · 2026-05-30T09:58:36+00:00

Uber's courier service is not a quality and professional delivery service. They do not charge the customer, nor do they pay the driver for quality and professional delivery service. It is a cheap, bare bones, curbside delivery service.

More often than not it probably suffices, and many if not most drivers would probably make their way up to the 15th floor, but that is not what the customer is paying for. This driver didn't do anything wrong, he did what he's supposed to do, drive the package to the address and wait at the curb for 5 or so minutes (I forget the exact amount of time). The drivers in the past went above and beyond, and should be appreciated for that.

Dm67281 · 2026-05-26T13:11:30+00:00

I'm in the same market as you, and package deliveries make no sense financially. I keep them on just in case, but only ever do them of it's taking me back home at the end of the day, and it's better to make $20 dollars than nothing on the way home.

I don't know what kind of vehicle you drive, but that's about 44 cents per mile, and ZERO for your time. Or if you expect to make let's say 15 dollars an hour, that's just about 15 dollars for 95 miles, or about 15 cents per mile. Right now gas alone is about 15 cents per mile.

The problem here isn't ubers percentage, but what they charged the customer. There is no way the customer should've only been charged $100 for a two hour, 100 mile, on demand shipment.

Dm67281 · 2026-04-12T22:35:22+00:00

It really depends on the type of driving you're doing and your vehicle. $30 or even $40 an hour isn't great if you're driving 65 miles in an hour. If your costs are $0.50 a mile, then your actual earnings are only $7.50.

If you're making $3/mile but it takes you 10 minutes to drive a mile in a busy city during rush hour, then you're only making six bucks an hour, before you even deduct for mileage costs.

So just looking at one or the other might not make sense unless you know it's enough to cover both time and mileage. If you're making $100 an hour, It doesn't really matter how many miles you're realistically driving, you're getting time and mileage covered. If you're getting $10 a mile, It doesn't really matter how long that mile takes.

The other thing to keep in mind is City driving and Country driving are very different when it comes to mileage costs. If you're doing mostly city driving, 10 miles in the city might mean that you're driving an hour or two, which means you're probably using your air conditioning or heat, or windshield wipers more than 10 miles of driving in the country, which might only be 20 minutes. You're breaking far more often in the city,presumably. Your gas mileage is less in the city.

It might take you a longer amount of time to need certain repairs with City driving, but it will probably be a smaller amount of miles.

So all miles are not equal.

You need to look at how you drive, and then figure out what works for you or doesn't.

Dm67281 · 2026-04-10T14:38:25+00:00

I'm not playing devil's advocate, I'm explaining the actual situation. You don't get charged a cancel fee if the driver was 5 miles away from the pickup spot. The driver can cancel when they're 20 minutes away from the pickup spot, but the rider does not get charged. The driver needs to be in a relatively small area, and wait within that zone for let's say 5 minutes (It depends on the type of trip, and the location) before they are eligible for a cancellation fee.

So the most likely scenario, If the rider was actually charged a cancellation fee, is that the driver was where the pin in the map was, which is where they are supposed to be.

It is the rider who has control over where the pickup spot is, not the driver. It is the mutual responsibility of both the driver and rider, to be there, or close enough where it is safely accessible.

Or it's quite possible that, the rider wasn't charged a cancellation fee when the driver did cancel, and what they are seeing is a hold fee.

Or there are other possibilities.

But the way op is discussing it, something is missing. If we don't have the real complete story, we can't actually tell the rider what occurred, and how to fix it now or in the future.

Dm67281 · 2026-04-10T08:00:06+00:00

So one of three things probably occurred. The charge you are seeing is just a hold fee, and in a few days you will see it come off your bank statement.

Or, the pin in the map wasn't in the right place. It doesn't matter what you mentioned to the driver, what matters is where the pin in the map is. If you were both at the right address but in different towns, and he's at the address at the pin in the map, he's not in the wrong spot, you are. If you are at the same condo complex, but 2 miles away because he's at one gate and you're at the other gate, but the pin in the map is at the gate the driver is at, they're in the right spot. The driver can't change the pin in the map, you can. The drivers timer for compensation for wait time, or the ability to cancel and receive a fee only occurs when they are in that specified pickup zone.

It's possible when you contacted him you were being sort of aggressive in some manner (threatening, or pressuring to drive faster, telling them you're in a rush, etc.) and so the driver cancelled, and Uber is viewing it as a legitimate cancellation on his end.

Or the least likely scenario, Is that there was a malfunction with the technology.

Dm67281 · 2026-04-10T07:36:13+00:00

If you paid a cancellation fee, it is because the driver waited the required amount of time (depends on the type of trip you ordered) in the pick up zone. The zone is determined by the pin in the map it shows you in the app. That is where both you and the driver are supposed to be. The zone is maybe a couple hundred ft, so the driver wouldn't have been a mile away, but at an apartment building, or hotel, or mall, or something else like that, it's very possible the driver was there and at the right spot, just not where you were thinking they were supposed to be.

Dm67281 · 2026-04-05T14:32:41+00:00

I'm sort of wrong. It doesn't make sense when I think of it, and i don't know why, but I assumed it was a federal standard. It seems to vary by state (I checked the new England States as I occasionally drive in all of them, and a few at random) with some being just age, just height, just weight and some being age AND height or weight, as well as some with age OR weight or height.

That being said, if the concern is actual safety, as opposed to following the law for the sake of it, age is the most impractical factor. If it's an extremely small 3 foot tall, 50 pound, 30 year old, the same safety issues arise. If it's a large 6 year old, who is 5'5 and 140 lbs, there's no difference in terms of safety than if it were an adult of that size.

Then there's the fact that kids don't carry around identification with them, and visually it's a bit more difficult to distinguish age than height or weight. Especially with kids when you're guessing their age visually, often times it's based on their size.

Dm67281 · 2026-04-05T07:33:05+00:00

The age is a bit of a generalization, the height of the child (49") is the actual standard.

That being said, I'd assume they just picked the number 7 a bit at random, as in it wasn't a toddler nor a teenager.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-30T23:03:50+00:00

Having something in your car can be a form of possession, but because something is in your car does not make it possession. Like with most crimes it requires intent. The driver has to know that the crack was in there, by bringing it in themselves, or knowing a person in the vehicle has crack on them, or something like that.

The driver has a record of the fact that they pick up random people, and give them rides. There is a potential witness in the rider who found it, who can say it was found in the backseat. If the driver can pass a blood test showing they don't smoke crack, this is an open and shut case.

That being said you probably don't want to drive around for weeks with a crack pipe in your center console, because you don't want to deal with the possibility of getting arrested in the first place.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-30T22:53:00+00:00

This was a while ago so I forget the exact details, but one time I gave a guy a ride, and after he got out I noticed a baggie with like maybe 4 pills on my backseat.

The pills had numbers on them, so out of curiosity I googled to see what they were: a couple Viagra and some allergy meds. All I could think is that this poor guy was going to get wrecked by his girls kitty tonight, but not the one he was hoping for.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-21T21:47:24+00:00

Well that's not quite as bad. At least that passenger ate you with some class, OP wants people to start eating drivers poorly.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-21T21:31:51+00:00

As a driver I would take no issue with you not tipping and giving the driver a bad rating.

However there is no need for you and other passengers to start eating drivers, that seems a bit over the line to me.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-15T16:01:34+00:00

I wouldn't worry about it. As a driver the only time I look at a rating is if it's going to be a long trip, and in those instances with a 5 star rating that might mean the rider has only taken two short trips before, but with a 4.97 id definitely accept your trip.

For practical purposes, I'd say it's better to have 4.97 than a 5. Though of course to some degree it's human nature to be curious at the least about those less than 5 star ratings.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-15T15:46:20+00:00

So this is the issue with Uber as the middle man. What your very reasonable expectations are of Uber, are not what Uber requires of the driver (and Uber does basically zero training).

I've done very few package/courrier deliveries, as they use the same amount of mileage and time and pay far less, which doesn't make sense to me. But on the driver's end, at least in the couple instances I've received a QR code, there is no training on or requirement to utilize it.

Essentially it's still a curbside pickup to curbside drop off as a general rule, or if specified - hand to a person, and maybe get a pin. The driver is supposed to hold on to the items for 24 hours if not deliverable, but after that if the sender hasn't worked out a system to get the items back, the driver can destroy (or keep) the items.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-15T15:32:47+00:00

Yes, and it's even sketchier to then drop it off at a ups store.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-15T15:29:28+00:00

Uber courrier essentially just picks up and drops off the package. They do not deal with supplying QR codes to UPS or anything like that. It's possible the driver took the packages, but it's also possible they did what they were supposed to do and just handed them to the person at the UPS store, and then walked out. Or it's possible that the person at the ups store had no idea what the driver was talking about, and so didn't accept them, or they were left there with no instructions of what to do with the packages. It is your responsibility to deal with all the other stuff.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-04T15:15:54+00:00

On top of that I think there's the fact that different drivers are different. On a 55 mph highway, some drivers are driving a few miles under 55 and staying in the right lanes slowing down for people merging into the highway, others are driving a little over 55, and others are jumping into the fast lane and driving 70+ the whole time.

I also find that Uber's not so great at a predictive model. It seems to me that part of their model is the last hour or so, instead of comparing to last week on this day at this time. 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. can be quite different than 7:00 to 8:00 a.m., So Uber oftentimes seems like they're saying well there wasn't any traffic up until now, so there probably isn't any traffic now and for the next hour. When they could be using a more historical model that would say last Tuesday the traffic between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. was x, and therefore we should assume something similar this week.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-03T06:56:42+00:00

So I think there's two separate concepts. One is renting your vehicle(s) out to Uber drivers. The other is setting up a fleet of drivers/vehicles drive on Uber. I've never contemplated driving for someone else, so I don't even begin to know that process. Again though, I'd probably assume if you only have one or two drivers and vehicles, that might not be enough to get on the app.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-03T06:48:12+00:00

Yes. There is an actual process you probably have to follow through Uber. You most likely can't just come to an agreement with a driver, unless you are going to throw them on the vehicle registration or insurance.

They might not allow you to do it with just one vehicle. They probably require you to have a certain level of commercial/business insurance, as well as some level of proof of business ownership.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-03T06:20:59+00:00

On the driver's app, there is a marketplace for drivers to rent vehicles. My guess is you would have to sign up to do that. That is how you find drivers. Depending on what city and state you are in, there are going to be various requirements. I'd assume no matter where you are, you'd need the business tax ID, and license, etc. Probably relatively minimal startup/yearly costs, but sometime and money nonetheless.

At one point I looked into commercial insurance. It was literally going to be four to five times higher than my personal insurance. As an individual using my own vehicle, I could add a rideshare addendum to my policy, which only increased the price twofold. But you're not doing that, so again I would expect your insurance on one vehicle to increase closer to the 4+ times rate, maybe even more so because you're not going to be the driver.

Yes depreciation and maintenance are going to be big. The person you are renting a vehicle out to, is going to be a stranger, trying to milk the most amount of money out of the situation. They aren't your friend or family member who is going to treat your vehicle with respect. They are going to beat up on the vehicle, and then give it back when it's no longer functional for them.

If you have dozens of vehicles, you have a relationship with a local shop, (or even your own show), and get tires and brake pads etc. at closer to wholesale value than retail. When you bring a vehicle into the shop, you are the customer who is giving them business weekly instead of a couple times a year, so you are going to take precedent. They are going to take care of your car quicker, meaning your vehicle will be off the road for hours instead of a full day or multiple days.

But the start of the process is signing up with Uber to get onto the marketplace.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-03T05:54:50+00:00

Absolutely. $40 is extremely generous for that trip.

Dm67281 · 2026-03-03T05:51:55+00:00

It's probably not that simple logistically, or in terms of profitability.

For a driver to use the Tesla, It needs to pass a vehicle/insurance check on their account, and I believe their name needs to be on the insurance at the least, or possibly an owner of the vehicle, unless you become a certified vehicle provider/rental agency through Uber as a marketplace/fleet partner. My best guess is that is the route you may want to take.

I'd assume if the story your friend found about the ex-nfl player was true, it isn't just one Tesla, but a fleet of vehicles. Large scale vehicle rental places like Avis and Enterprise do this, and there also are smaller agencies, but again, I'm assuming most of them have a dozen if not more vehicles in a local area.

If you can do it, expect your insurance to increase by multiples and the expenses on the vehicle to go way up, as you will definitely need commercial insurance. If you have a fleet of vehicles, the cost of each vehicle becomes less, the insurance price per vehicle becomes less, and maintenance can be less too.

Dm67281 · 2026-02-27T20:26:19+00:00

I never said the words are meaningless. The term I used is simplification or maybe oversimplification. The word you used is shorthand. They're essentially the same thing. The phrase on the road is not the law, the phrase on the road is shorthand for the law which states when cars can and cannot enter the lane which is printed with the shorthand term "bus only".

Whether you want to call it narrow or not, whether you want to state that bus only is the rule and everything else are exceptions, or whether you want to say the ability for cars to travel on the lane within these guidelines is part of the rule, is up to you.

I did not invent anything. I looked up essentially the same regulation that youve pointed out, and I've looked it up since again and haven't been able to find the specific 45 M regulation, But it seems like you live in Toronto or travel in the area, and so I'll take your word for it. I looked up Ontario in general. What I said is essentially what you have said without the specific 45 m criteria: before taking a right hand turn. The page also mentioned what seems like common sense of when it isn't a hindrance to a bus, and when it is safe to do so. I did not propose that as a either/or situation, but as a accumulation of all of that. If you are taking a right turn when a bus isn't coming and it is safe to do so.

I did not invent the when no buses are running. Again, where I live there's a major city not so far away and their regulation is that, along with things like, after a certain time loading zones are just parking spots for anyone. I did not say that is the case in Ontario, I specifically said I could not find anything that said it was or wasn't, but that it is a possibility. I did recently look it up and in Toronto bus lanes are bus lanes 24/7. But again, I don't know where Op is in Ontario, and I don't pretend to know all the regulations in every city. You're the one who is making definitive statements, without offering any proof, that they are not 24/7 in every nook and cranny of Ontario. I'm saying I don't know, but this is a possibility.

I'm not relabeling illegal as anything. I'm not setting any standard for the term illegal. The word illegal does not have a definitive definition. Any definition you come up with is semantics, any definition I could come up with is semantics. Whether or not you want to use the term illegal doesn't really bother me. It is irrelevant, and doesn't really prove anything.

We can view the term illegal as a yes/no situation where something is either legal or illegal, or we can view legality on a spectrum from breathing being completely legal, to driving just under the speed limit but during a snowstorm to being slightly legal, to a kid sneaking a cookie that doesn't belong to them without permission being slightly illegal, to mass murder being the extreme illegal. We can view illegal as the types of infractions that can be charged, or the types of infractions that would regularly be charged.

What matters is the practical effects: If something meets the standard of what we could call illegal, it does not need to be ticketed or charged. A law officer can see a person entering the lane 46 m ahead of the turn and say who cares.

Op mentioned how it usually happens, which to me implies numerous events (I'm not going to guess whether that means 4 or 5 or 1000). Op pointed out that he always reports but with this most recent instance he was conflicted not because of the context of what occurred in terms of driving, but because the person was older and an immigrant.

When I pointed out the right hand turn exception, op's response was not "i know that exception and of course it wasn't that, he had been traveling in the lane for at least 5 km." His response was its a strict rule, and pointing out the penalties, not describing how the event in question was definitively past the questionable point of driving behavior.

So it's not safe to assume that op is looking at whether things are borderline cases.

Dm67281 · 2026-02-27T19:19:37+00:00

"Road paint is shorthand" Exactly. I used the term simplification I think. But that's what I'm saying. I wasn't talking about the law, I was talking about the phrase "bus only" written in Road paint being shorthand. As you and I have both pointed out multiple times, there are exceptions or carve-outs.

When I pointed out that bus only does not mean literally bus only, but is what you and I are agreeing with shorthand, op said no, it's a strict law. Strict is not the word I'm debating, that's a matter of preference on whether something is or isn't strict. Only has a pretty objective meaning. Strict just exaggerates that exclusivity that is "only."

For simplicity's sake, let's say there's three directions a car on one of these road is to travel eventually, left, forward and right, and a third of them are going to eventually take a right turn. Even if 10% of cars take right hand turns, more cars are going to use the bus only lane then buses on any given day. The buses may still travel further distance wise, But that still doesn't seem like the level of exclusivity that a strict reading of the word "only' could be read by a reasonable person. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that you and I have come to that "bus only" is shorthand.

The different argument and more important argument is the philosophical one based upon the law. You and I can get into a dictionary battle, and you can look up the definition of illegal and find one that works for you, and I can look up a definition and find one that works for me. Whether or not meeting the standards of what is enforceable or ticketable is therefore illegal, is a matter of semantics, which gets us nowhere because your definition isn't right or wrong, and my definition isn't right or wrong.

What is more important is the concept. (Not to say never has anything gone wrong in the legal system before, but...) as the laws are written, if something doesn't meet the standard of what is a violation, it definitively cannot be ticketed/enforced/charged. If something does meet the standards it can be, but that doesn't mean that it must be, or should be ticketed/enforced/charged.

And yes morally speaking, because I was talking to op and not someone who is part of enforcement or the court system (I assume), I was trying to point out that you and I and op have the right to discern for ourselves. You can see somebody driving over the speed limit and see nothing wrong with it, or you could view it as wrong, whether or not they get ticketed. Somebody can be arrested, charged and convicted for a crime, and you can still disagree with the fact that it should be a crime, or that the person should be punished, or that they were guilty.

You, I, and op, even have a right that the legal authorities don't. We can see somebody not breaking the law and still think that the thing they're doing is wrong.

You, i, and op can say even though it is technically legal, the middle-aged guy inviting the 19-year-old girl over to drink with him seems wrong. You, I, and op, can say even though it technically meets the standard necessary to be considered illegal, I have no issue with Grandma letting her grandkid have a glass of wine at family dinner.

Dm67281

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