I’ve Been Online For Hours And Haven’t Gotten An Uber Passenger Request!

Recently, I got an email from a driver who driver told me, “Hey, I’ve been online for hours and I haven’t got an Uber passenger request!”

I get comments all the time from drivers asking what to do when business is totally dead. There’s are so many new drivers signing up everyday, and Uber doesn’t do a great job of disseminating information on local markets, so you end up seeing a lot of drivers with down time. If you guys are out there and you’re brand new I definitely recommend taking a ride as a passenger so you can kind of figure things out.

Check out the video below that deals with this issue, then read the transcript below.

First, make sure you’re in the right area and your Uber account is in good standing

I get the “What should I do when it’s dead?” question somewhat frequently from brand new drivers. It’s a little tough for me to figure out at first but once I started working with a few drivers you discover that there’s a common theme. Sometimes the area will seem dead if you’re in an area where Uber isn’t yet approved or if you’re outside a covered zone. Or maybe your account lets you go online but there’s something wrong with your account and you’re still not quite active. Sometimes Uber sends text messages that, “Hey, you’re ready to drive.” When you’re a new driver but you aren’t and then vice versa. There’s basically a lot of different things that could be wrong with your account.

How to see if your Uber account is able to accept requests

To check to see if your account is able to receive requests or if there’s just no passengers,  open up the Uber passenger app. If your account is up and active and you’re logged in to your driver account, you should see your car right there on the screen. If you’re Uber X, you should see it on Uber X and that way if you go and request yourself since you’re the closest driver to your passenger account you should be able to get yourself and then you can cancel without being charged. That’s probably the best way to check to see if your account is active.

Now, just a couple quick tips. I know that sometimes Uber mis-categorizes your car as Uber X or Uber Select, so if you don’t see your car in the passenger app, scroll through all the different levels see if it’s active in a different level of service. If everything’s working and you’re able to request yourself but you’re still not getting any request it probably means you’re not in a very good area. Or maybe Uber is brand new or you’re in the quiet part of the suburbs. If it’s not a good area, start so move around. Test out new times, test out new places, or even start promoting Uber while you’re sitting there by handing out promo codes.

Make money during downtime by handing out promo code cards

If you’re sitting without any requests and you think that you’re in a high-demand area, you can find some restaurants and local businesses. Print out 500 Uber cards from Vista print — it costs around $10 or $15 — and start going to people where people are eating lunch, malls, whatever. You can also try my recommended business card resource. Walk around with your Uber iPhone waiting for a request but at the same time passing out passenger referral cards. If you get a request, run back to your car. If not, otherwise, really try to think of good ways you can make use of that time and promote the Uber app because you will get $5 for every passenger you sign up or if you’re using your passenger account promo code, you’ll get $20 free rides.

Try Mystro – Drive for more than one app at the same time

If business on one app is slow, you can sign into another app and drive for both services at the same time. It can be a bit tricky to manage: When you get a request in one app, you have to manually sign out of the other. Luckily there’s an app called Mystro that’s available on Android that automates the whole process. You can set filters on what type of ride requests you want to accept, and the app will auto-accept requests and automatically sign out of the other app for you. Check out the article below for more detail about using Mystro:

• Mystro in action: How to use Mystro for Uber and Lyft

Try delivery apps – Postmates and DoorDash may be busy when Uber and Lyft aren’t

Another tactic you can use when business is slow is to drive for delivery apps. In a lot of cities, rideshare is busy during morning rush, evening rush, and on weekends. During those slow mid-week midday hours, delivery apps like Postmates and DoorDash could be busy in your area. So when Uber or Lyft is slow, sign into Postmates or DoorDash and see if you can get some delivery work. Here’s our best content on delivery apps:

• How to use the Postmates driver app
• DoorDash tips for success

The reality is that extended downtime does happen from time to time. If this has ever happened to you, let me know how you solved it or what else you guys have found. Hopefully you guys found this short video interesting and informative. If you have any questions, definitely leave a comment. Feel free to like the video, subscribe to the channel and look forward to hearing from you soon. Take Care.