San Francisco: A 70-year-old part-time Uber driver from the US has revealed that he earned more than $28,000 (over Rs 23 lakh) last year by only accepting less than 10 per cent of ride requests and cancelling over 30 per cent of its rides.
Bill, who started driving Uber for extra income after his retirement six years ago, mentioned that he only wanted to accept requests that he felt were worth his time.
He earned over $28,000 after cancelling more than 1,500 Uber trips, reports Insider.
“I spend a lot of time saying no. I don’t work unless we have a surge,” Bill was quoted as saying.
The strategy that Bill adopted to earn this hefty amount was that he used to hang around the airport and bars during busy times to get higher-paying rides.
“When a plane lands and people request Uber, the price jumps drastically. A 20-minute ride goes from $10 to $20 to $40 and sometimes $50. The driver gets just short of 50 per cent so a 35-minute ride can get you $30 to $60,” Bill said.
According to him, the most common surge periods are between 10 p.m. and 2.30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Another strategy Bill used is to avoid “one-way rides”.
He recalled an incident in which he drove a customer for nearly two hours from his city and got paid $27 (Rs 2,246).
These strategies, however, are risky because Uber does not encourage drivers to refuse or cancel trips based on destination.
Despite this, the man stated that he was willing to trust his ideas and drive only when the ride benefited him financially.
“I drive to get out and don’t need the money. I love it,” he stated.
–IANS