I had something happen last Sunday that I hadn't come across before. I don't think I handled it properly and wondered what others think. Please leave your opinion in the Comments section below.

First of all, I live in a holiday destination (Noosa) and so weekends are usually busy.

There's a roundabout into Hastings Street, the Noosa Heads main drag. Traffic moves slowly but constantly around it and into Hastings Street. There's nowhere to stop, but as long as your rider is visible and clearly signals you, you can switch your hazards on and pick them up. The drivers behind will wait patiently. And yes, it's different in Sydney and Melbourne.

There's a taxi zone with space for around 5 cabs just before the roundabout.

Now let me say up front I totally sympathise with taxi drivers' objections to Uber drivers using taxi zones. Taxi licences are expensive and have indirectly paid for the construction of that infrastructure. They own it and no one else, but particularly a competitor, has the right to use it.

This is really part of the general question of how is the Uber fare calculated. Is it based on the time and distance from the pickup point to the destination entered by the rider or on the actual time taken and distance travelled?

First up, be aware that the rider has been given a fare estimate based on the details entered.

But it's just that - an estimate.

The actual fare will be calculated on the distance actually travelled and the actual time taken.

We've all had the passenger who asks "Can we pick up a friend on the way?" It doesn't matter whether it's on the way, or out of the way, you'll still get paid for it.

In fact, I use it as an opportunity to be Mr Nice Guy and increase the likelihood of a 5 star rating. I always say something like "Absolutely. No problem at all" adding the passenger's name to the end, if I remember it. Which I usually do, because I've memorised the rider's name when I accepted the ride and greeted them by name when I picked them up.

The other thing that can happen is that you reach the destination, perhaps a liquor outlet or a supermarket, and your rider asks you to wait and then take them back home again.

What should you do?

This is the first post in a series about how to use the Uber Rider app. That's right, not the Uber Driver app. We've already covered a lot about the Uber Partner/Driver app, because it's the one you use all the time.

But we find Uber riders frequently ask questions about using the Rider app and it enhances your reputation (which may translate into a 5 star rating) if you can answer accurately and confidently.

There are many things to like about Uber's navigation app.

• It kicks in automatically as soon as you accept the ride, tells you where the pickup point is in both text and voice and starts directing you to it.
• Similarly, as soon as you start the trip it tells you where the destination is and starts directing you to it.
• Directions are clear. "Continue straight through the roundabout", rather than "Enter the roundabout and take the second exit", for example. This is very useful in Noosa, which has 100 roundabouts and just 1 set of traffic lights!
• The voice is an Aussie female and the volume is governed by your phone's volume control. This means I can set it so that it doesn't interrupt my playlist music and it's like she's talking to me, rather than everyone in the car.

I'll have a separate post on what I consider to be the ideal setup for music and navigation.