The new year is always an opportune time to start making better financial decisions, starting with finding ways to increase our income. If you are looking to earn more money and have excellent driving skills, why not try driving for Lyft, Uber, and other similar apps?
Uber’s chief economist said that their drivers earn about $16.53 or $13.04 per hour after expenses. If this is not enough as a primary source of income, it might be sufficient as a secondary source. If one of your new year’s resolutions is to earn and save more money for 2022, it might be a good idea to start driving on the side. Here are some tips and pointers to find success as a ride-hailing driver.
Be tech-savvy
If you have never been one to understand how apps and new tech tools and software work, now is the best time to start learning more. Technology is at the forefront of these ride-hailing apps, so you need to know how to optimize the apps and tools to ensure that you always have passengers on your shifts.
You need to know how to accept the requests, especially when passengers are scarce (sometimes it’s a race for drivers to get passengers). You also need to ensure that you are getting properly paid, especially at a time when most customers opt for digital payments instead of cash. While you do not need to be a tech genius or a coder, you need to learn the app or tool backward and forward so that you can maximize it for profit.
Be diligent with your car maintenance
These ride-hailing companies often have a minimum requirement for the kind of vehicles they will allow under their roster, so you want to ensure that your car meets those requirements and that it’s always in tip-top shape. The last thing you want is to encounter an issue while driving a passenger. Here are some tips to ensure that your vehicle is always in tip-top shape:
- Ensure that nothing is blocking your view. Make sure both your windshields are clear and have no cracks. Some companies offer mobile services for windshield replacement or repair, so have their specialists check if your windshields allow for perfect vision every time you drive.
- Do your weekly, monthly, and even yearly checkups to ensure that every moving part in your vehicle is working as it should.
- Follow the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) health and safety guidelines for ride-sharing, limos, passenger drivers-for-hire, taxis, and others.
Be friendly and respectful, but read the room
As a ride-hailing app driver, you will encounter all sorts of customers—you might encounter ones that are rude, not in the best mood, drunk ones, and ones that are in an OK condition. No matter what type of passenger you drive, make sure that you remain friendly, polite, and optimistic, no matter how you may be feeling on that day. Here are some tips for creating an amicable atmosphere in the car as soon as the passenger gets in:
- Always greet them with a good morning, good afternoon, or good evening.
- If they start small talk, don’t hesitate to engage. Just keep it casual and avoid sharing too much information about yourself for your privacy. Even in this case, boundaries are good. If they, however, don’t start small talk, then don’t feel pressured to create one. Some customers like to keep to themselves, and that’s a good thing.
- Consider having some essentials hanging at the back of the car seats. Add some sanitizers or alcohol spray, and maybe some pieces of gum or mint candy. Your passenger will appreciate them—especially those who get motion sickness. When you’re a driver for one of these companies, being excellent means going above and beyond what’s expected. You must provide for these small essentials doesn’t take that much effort.
Be a safe driver
The topmost priority for a professional driver—any driver—is to avoid accidents. The stakes are so much higher now because you are not only responsible for your own safety; you need to protect your passengers, too. Obey all the traffic laws and regulations, avoid overspeeding, be careful when changing lanes, don’t drive when you’re tired, and report to authorities whatever accident you encounter on the road.
Let 2022 be the year you monetize your skills as a driver. Consider driving for one of these ride-hailing apps and see if it can help you increase your income with limited effort and small capital. Good luck!
