I've done Uber on and off for about a year. It doesn't pay very well, and usually you basically end up with minimum wage after expenses. If you only drive in certain places at certain times you can make 2-3x that, HOWEVER it can be quite stressful and the risk for problems (like drunk passengers) is much higher. I do like driving (except in San Francisco where I end up about 1/3 of the times I do Uber) and usually the customers are OK... I say usually because it's like any other business... the customers are people, and some are better than others.
If you do Uber, some tips:
1. Don't buy a car just for Uber. If it's one aspect of a decision to buy a newer/more fuel efficient car, that is fine, but it's best to use a depreciated vehicle you already have. It depends on the area, but around here their requirements aren't very strict... Cars can be up to 15 years old in "good cosmetic condition" but that's negotiable... just take it to your friendly neighborhood mechanic you use frequently and have them fill out the Uber inspection form. It doesn't ask about anything cosmetic on the form. My current Uber car (the Escape in my signature) looks OK but my previous Uber car had well over 200K miles and a mismatched door that was a wrong color and it wasn't a problem. Remember they pay the same whether you have a brand new Camry with all the options or a 2005 base model Corolla with half a million miles. You are more likely to get better ratings and more tips with a newer, nicer car - but the difference is not significant. Just keep it clean! A vacuum is your friend. I should have just kept my old Escape, put a little money into it, and kept racking up the miles.
2. Keep track of every mile you drive. From the moment you leave your house to the moment you get back, you've got the app open, those miles are tax deductible. Whether or not you have a passenger, you're driving for the sole reason of Ubering and so use your trip odometer and put it in an Excel spreadsheet or something every night. This will help you a lot later.
3. Don't do UberPool. It's usually more trouble than it's worth and pays less. The only exception is if you're bored and desparate or trying to meet a Quest and are almost there and just need a few more to get to it (Quests are basically you get $X extra if you do Y number of rides in Z time).
4. Don't pick up passengers with a rating less than 4.7. This isn't bulletproof but generally there are reasons they have such a rating. Perfect 5.00 star profiles are rare - either very good passengers or a newer profile (sometimes because they had a bad rating previous and deleted their account and made another one).
5. They just adjusted the rates so that you get quite a bit less than before per mile, but slightly higher per minute. Sucks for me because I generally drive when there is no much traffic.
6. It's a customer service job. Be friendly with your passengers, and yes, that means small talk with everyone who wants it. Since I've started being more friendly and chatty I'm getting like double the tips. Before I would just sorta drive the car and now I'm trying to have pleasant conversations with the passengers. Of course, you can easily tell with body language if they want to chat or not, but at least 50% of people do.
7. Don't worry about your rating. I'm not saying don't take pride in what you do, but five stars is easy if you don't smell like a sewer, have a reasonably clean car, don't drive like a maniac, etc. Once in a while, you'll get a bad rating - don't stress about it. I have a 4.92 and I'm not a pushover. Oh, by the way, don't be a pushover.
