It’s been a few weeks since my <a href="https://steemit.com/uber/@robmolecule/uberlyfting-routines-entry-1">first entry</a>. I’m still driving but have been doing it a bit less, while still making a similar amount of money. Here are a few more tips and observations on driving for rideshare companies. Keep in mind that these probably apply best to smaller markets. I drive in a city (Buffalo) with a metropolitan regional population of around a million people, and that includes Niagara Falls.

![DSC01168.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPyjx6kLC8E4XNZcHKG86aHVqpkPSf4LHTcHEto4wvRfA/DSC01168.JPG)


<h3><b>Don’t make this a full time job</b></h3>
This is not to say it could not be your main job. It’s just that if you think you are doing well driving part time 20 hours a week, you aren’t going to double your pay by working 40 hours a week. Drivers should really get out of this mindset. Despite any push to be treated as an employee, you are still an independent contractor as far as the pay goes. You can pick when you work, so find a balance between what is most profitable and what is the least stressful. Few jobs allow you to pick either of these on your own so use this to your advantage.



<h3><b>Sunday mornings can be the best time to drive</b></h3>
Friday and Saturday nights are huge money nights. Many drivers work all night Saturday and then sleep in Sunday morning. If you made a bunch of money that night, that makes sense. But if you just went out, worked another job or just didn’t want to deal with late night drunks, Sunday morning is the best opportunity to make easy money without much hassle. Most drivers are sleeping so there is little competition. These are your typical Sunday morning passengers:
<ul>
<li>People going to church</li>
<li>People finding their way back to their cars in the morning - They may be hungover, but that is much better than transporting them when they are drunk the night before.</li>
<li>People going to work - They are mostly going to be people going to low-paying jobs, so this is not going to be the people who tip, but they are usually easy to connect with. We are both working Sunday morning. In my city, the buses run less often and don’t go to as many suburban locations. Sunday becomes a big day to rely on ridesharing to get from the city to these suburban workplaces This can mean some fairly decent distances, so it’s fine not getting a tip.</li>
<li>People going to brunch - They probably won’t be drunk on the way there, just hungover. You may get a few inebriated brunchers later in the afternoon. But they’re not nearly as bad to deal with as the late night drunks.</li>
</ul>

I can easily make $20-$25 an hour working anytime between 9am-3pm on Sundays. For a small city like Buffalo, that is worth the time.



<h3><b>This is the modern digital age version of hitchhiking</b></h3>
This isn’t a tip so much as my thoughts on the fun of ridesharing. I watch a lot of old movies, especially ones from the 60s and 70s. Despite films like <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitch-Hiker”>The Hitch-Hiker (1953)</a>, hitchhiking seems to have just been a normal thing for that generation. It wasn’t until sometime later that people seemed to think every hitchhiker was a potential serial killer. In reality, the hitchhiker had more to fear, since nobody would notice a missing hitchhiker.

Most people today have probably never hitchhiked. I have only hitched a couple short rides in my lifetime. I’ve only once picked up a hitchhiker, and that was only because she happened to be going to the same music festival that I was already heading toward. But now ridesharing comes along. Although it costs money, no cash changes hands. For many, this is the closest one comes to the hitchhiking experience of getting in a car with a complete stranger. It’s similar for the driver. I don’t know who this stranger is, getting into my car.



<h3><b>Learn how to start conversation (and learn when someone doesn’t want to talk)</b></h3>
I really enjoy the conversations, when they happen at least. Not everybody wants to talk. I get that. And there plenty of people I might rather not talk to. I begin every ride with 3 basic questions:
<ol>
<li>Confirming the name</li>
<li>Confirming the destination</li>
<li>How is your day/night going?</li>
</ol>

The answer to the last question can usually give me a good read on whether they want to pursue a conversation. They will usually ask how my day is going. I keep it brief, maybe telling them I just finished working my day job, if that’s the case. If they want to talk they will either divulge more about themselves or ask more about me. If they only give brief answers, I assume they do not want to talk. I’ll leave them be. If they put headphones on, this pretty much confirms they want silence. It also helps to offer the radio or headphone jack so they can play their own music over the car radio. I usually play a playlist of old 40s and 50s R&B. I have only once had someone ask to put something else on. There’s also a balance between being courteous and overextending yourself. I don’t need to offer free drinks and snacks to get tips. Good conversations will result in tips. At the least, it can make the job more enjoyable.

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