Category Archives for "Sunshine Coast"
We received this email from a new driver recently and thought others might benefit from the questions and answers.
G’day Phil and Sam,
Thanks for all the helpful hints.
Being a relatively new Uber boy on the block, around 6 weeks on the Sunshine Coast – south end – I have some questions that I am hoping you can answer for me:
Guys, I hope you can help.
Many thanks and much appreciated.
Hi,
Answering in order.
Regards
Phil
Phil,
Many thanks.
In respect to Point 2, I should have been a little clearer. When you get a job or a ping, are you the only one the signal goes to? Or does it go to 2 or 3 drivers and the first one to responds gets the job?
Also, in terms of getting a return trip to Noosa from the Sunshine Coast Airport, do you simply wait for the next arrival to see if you get a job – and what are the percentages of getting a job?
Many thanks,
Hi,
You’re the only one getting the ping. If you decline it (or fail to accept it) then it goes to the next closest driver.
I check the airport website for arrivals and factor in the 20-30 minutes between a plane arriving and the passengers collecting their luggage. I really dislike waiting, so I’ll only do so if the plane has already landed. That said, your chances of getting a job are fairly high. From my experience, around 80%. Of course, you don’t know whether they’re heading North or South until you start the ride, so it won’t necessarily be in the direction of home!
And unfortunately you can't use the option to get trips towards a destination (such as home) while you're in the airport queue.
Cheers
Phil
We've published plenty of feedback here from drivers who've suffered from unsatisfactory Uber driver support.
So it's good to be able to report a positive experience.
My own, in this case.
This morning, I picked up one of my favourite fares, from Noosa to the Sunshine Coast airport.
It takes about half an hour. The first half on the very scenic coast road and the second half on a 100 km/hr motorway.
It normally pays around $42. Not bad for an easy half hour drive and I usually pick up a couple of extra rides on the way back.
Except that this time the fare came up as $24.32! In other words, a reduction of 43%. Not acceptable, Uber.
I acknowledged the great service I'd received from two local businesses in a previous post Local Businesses Rock! I recently went back to both of them and again received such excellent service that it's worth highlighting.
Again, I recommend Bridgestone Tyres at 132 Eumundi Road, Noosaville and Sunshine Wheel & Mechanical Repairs at 3 Kelly Court, Buderim.
It was a rainy Saturday evening and I was taking my last Uber passengers for the day from Hastings St in Noosa Heads to the Tewantin caravan park. I was looking forward to getting home to dinner and a nice bottle of red. The riders were three young ladies whom coincidentally I'd picked up earlier in the day from Tewantin.
About halfway through the trip, we heard a nasty sound coming from the front of the car. I stopped and discovered an almost flat front driver's side tyre.
Fortunately, there was a service station near by so I stopped to pump the tyre, but no luck. The air was leaving at the same rate it was entering.
In a move welcomed by Uber drivers in Australia, Uber has increased its fare structure.
I believe that this will have no impact whatsoever on the number of riders using Uber. Price is about fifth on the list of reasons passengers give me for choosing Uber over other alternatives.
This post documents the new fare structure for other parts of Australia, as advised to us by Uber.
In a move welcomed by Uber drivers in Australia, Uber has increased its fare structure.
I believe that this will have no impact whatsoever on the number of riders using Uber. Price is about fifth on the list of reasons passengers give me for choosing Uber over other alternatives.
This post documents the new fare structure for the Sunshine Coast in Queensland where I work, but I'll cover other areas in Australia in subsequent posts over the next few days.
Yesterday, I picked up a Canadian couple from where they were staying in Noosaville.
The app used one of its nifty new features to tell me it was a long ride (30 min +).
But it wasn't until I got there and started the trip that I found out how long.
They were headed for Eagle Farm, a northern suburb of Brisbane, near the airport. That meant a trip of around 140 km. They were picking up a rental to continue the next leg of their Australian adventure.
The trip to Eagle Farm was mostly on 100 km/hr and 110 km/hr motorways, so that was fine by me.
After I dropped them off and helped them unload their luggage, I completed the trip.
The fare came up at around $155. Even if I got nothing on the trip back, it was still worthwhile.
So I set the "Find trips toward a destination" option and headed back. (I did in fact pick up 3 shorter trips on the way back, so that was good too).
But I soon noticed that the $155 had disappeared!
This post is to acknowledge two local businesses that went above and beyond. In Uber terms, 5 stars!
But first, the back story...
Statistically, it would seem probable.
It was certainly the case for me last Friday.
There are many things to like about Uber's navigation app.
I'll have a separate post on what I consider to be the ideal setup for music and navigation.
When I first saw this post from our sister site in the U.S., I thought it would be about someone bending your fender or scratching your door in a car park, but it's not. It's about the passenger who gives you a low Uber rating after you've dropped them off.
Now I don't personally relate to any of the stories in this post. I currently have a 4.96 star rating and defend it jealously. While I like to think my rating is because I'm a really nice guy, I also understand it's partly because I drive in a really nice area. The Queensland Sunshine Coast is populated by really nice people.
But I thought the "Who Dinged Me?" post from therideshareguy.com was pretty funny but nonetheless contained some valuable insights.
Legislation passed by the "we must be seen to be doing something about Uber" Queensland Government means that Uber drivers must upgrade their CTP insurance cover to Class 26 (Booked Hire).
Every driver in Queensland must have CTP insurance. You will have paid the CTP premium with your car registration renewal, but can choose your own insurer from a limited selection.
For example, I'm with RACQ insurance, and the yearly premium of around $350 is added to my registration fee.
You may hear a date of 1 January 2018 being bandied about. Don't be misled.