He Refused To Risk Parking Tickets—Then Turned The Problem Into Extra Income
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Imagine being a ride share driver. What would you do if you arrived at the destination and there was no legal place to park. Would you illegally park and wait for the person who ordered the ride, or would you keep driving?
In this story, one ride share driver shares why it’s a bad idea to illegally park even for a few minutes and the clever way he got around this problem. The best part is that it ended up working out for everyone in the end, everyone that is except Uber.
Let’s read all about it.
But what if I get a parking ticket?
I drove for Uber and Lyft for years.
One of the most annoying things is when customers aren’t ready when I show up. I mean, you can see me on the map on your phone as I’m driving towards you, right?
Anyways, Uber has made it very clear that they won’t pay for tickets – parking, or any other kind.
Sometimes it’s hard to avoid getting a ticket.
When a driver arrives at a busy place (like downtown, or at a bar at 2am on a metered street) they will often hit the hazard lights and block traffic.
As you can imagine, cops swing by and tell them to move it or else. Sometimes they don’t even give warnings. Meter maids don’t warn either, they sneak up in your blind spot and snap a picture of your plate, then either hand you the ticket or mail it to you if you drive away.
When asking Uber about it, they state that the driver must follow all applicable laws at all times with no exceptions.
OP knew just how to handle it.
No problem!
I would arrive at the spot and hit ‘Arrived’. If no place to park and no people waiting there I would keep on driving.
Maybe there would be a place to park around the corner. Maybe I would have to drive around the block (and if people weren’t standing on the curb, I would circle again).
It worked out for everyone.
Eventually the timer would count down and I would cancel the ride as a no-show.
I would get paid a few bucks and the customer would get charged. But if the customer called Uber their charge would be reversed.
I can’t tell you how much money I made from Ubers stupidity.
And the customer? They would instantly order a new ride, and guess what – I’m right around the corner!
That was an interesting and effective way to avoid getting tickets and make a few extra bucks.
Let’s see what Reddit has to say about OP’s parking strategy.
A customer says the app and the GPS are the real problems.
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Another person thinks the app is to blame.
One driver shares how it works where they live.
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This person thinks he needs to tell other Uber drivers this hack.
While he blames the customers, it very well may be that the app is to blame. The GPS could be glitchy, which is a problem for everyone.
But it sounds like he found a way to get around this problem. That’s all that matters from his perspective. He gets paid. He doesn’t get parking tickets. The customers still get a ride. It’s a win win for everyone except Uber.
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