The Effects of Ridesharing on your Mental Health

In light of the shootings in Michigan, there was a lot of uproar about whether Uber contractors should go through additional background checks, including but not limited to mental health checks. Uber already employs mental health checks in Mexico and more recently in Malaysia—should they do the same in the United States? What effect would these checks have, and what are some of the root causes of this perceived mental health issue?

Uber and Lyft drivers respond to Michigan shootings on SherpaShare Pulse

In light of the recent events in Michigan, we asked our Pulse community – “Will the recent shooting in Michigan by an Uber driver reflect poorly on Uber’s screening process? What do you think?”

Annoying passenger requests and how to deal with them

One of the most commonly asked questions on Pulse is, what happens when I have to wait between, during, or after a job? There is no correct answer and the situation varies greatly from circumstance to circumstance. This is not like filing your taxes – where there is more granularity. SherpaShare takes a look at the pros and cons that can arise from these situations. 

Our most helpful Uber and Lyft drivers in the country – and how you can see what they had to say

Did you know that there will soon be close to 500,000 active Uber and Lyft drivers in the US? Four years ago that number was ZERO. Amazing, isn’t it? This post is all about how to stay connected to the most helpful driver network in the country and let it help you make better decisions. We hope that you gain enough from the Pulse network to want to become a top contributor yourself in the near future!

Plus, we’re showing off our inaugural list of top 10 drivers in the country that you definitely should be following. You can see their past posts too!

“What do you think of Uber basically becoming a minimum wage job?” and other trending posts on chat

Yesterday, a driver posted on SherpaShare chat, “What do you think of Uber basically becoming a minumum wage job? Do you think professional drivers are entitled to more?” What do you think? There have been over 100 replies to this thread….you can chime in on the Pulse app (iOS only) or the Driver app.

A few of the driver responses include:

“Considering most of my clientele on Uber are wealthy and could afford to pay their drivers much more, yes I think we are entitled to higher than minimum wage-but if that doesn’t suite your fancy you could consider these points too…” + 10 more points

“But what Uber and Lyft fail to realize is that their product is already priced beliw what the consumer is willing to pay and that consumers have little price sensitivity to the product.”

“Drivers also seems to purchase newer, more expensive vehicles, which to me does not make sense. I purchased a $7,000 Prius specifically for UberX and Lyft that averages 48mpg. This car costs pennies per mile to operate.” + 100 more replies

Some of the other recently featured posts in our community include:

Chat Users of the Week

A group of drivers that crowdsources wait times at Chicago area airports, a driver who shares positivity, and another who consistently asks the tough questions – with emojis: These are our chat users of the week for the past 3 weeks!

 

 

That’s right – due to the holidays, this week we’re recognizing two chat users and one chat ‘alliance’. Shout-out to the entire community for continuing to help grow the largest driver support service in the world.

Driving tips for New Year’s Eve and other trending discussions

New Year’s Eve has been a hot topic over the last few days on SherpaShare Chat. Some of the trending posts include:

• “Can anyone recommend a good new years eve radio station?”
• “Happy New Years Sherpas… remember to get some gallon freezer ziploc bags for NYE and stay safe and alert…”
• “Most entitled pax 2015? Stop. Some stories shouldn’t be told…”
• “Anyone in LA area work Rose Bowl last year? Tips or suggestions?”

 

More Uber and Lyft driver heatmaps from across the US

A week ago, we shared 8 maps from cross the US that showed just how busy it was on the road this holiday season – and that as an Uber or Lyft driver you’re not alone. The maps were a hit!  We decided to share more in our second installment in this visual journey:

Chicago has been one of the busiest rideshare cities outside of the coasts since Uber and Lyft launched there, and has had a few recent pro-rideshare developments:

Chat User of the Week

Shout-out to @ridesharedriver, this weeks Chat User of the Week! @Ridesharedriver has been doing his thing on Chat for a while now in California, by not only asking great questions but telling stories and giving tips.

These 8 maps prove that you’re not alone on the road this holiday season

 

It’s the holidays! It’s a busy time of year for many, but it can be a particularly tough time of year for drivers. In part because you’ve got end of year financial goals, and also because, if you’re out driving, you may be missing your family and friends.

We’re starting to see drivers comment about “holiday blues” on the road. When you find yourself taking people to and from holiday parties, you might be thinking that you too would like some of that time with family and friends.

We wanted you to know: You’re not alone on the road! If you are driving over the next few weeks, don’t worry, there will be tens of thousands of other folks like you providing safe rides home for hundreds of thousands of people across the country. And we put together these maps to prove it to you.

Warning: This is a visual journey; don’t look for hard-hitting driver insights in this piece!