Are City to City Rides a Good Idea?

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Join RSG contributor Tyler as he shares about Uber's City to City rides option.

One day when I didn’t expect to get any ride requests I got not just a request, but a long ride request.?

At this time, you weren’t given information on where or even how much you’d make off the rides, but it did tell you that it would be a long ride.

I’d never done one and had all day, so I wasn’t worried about that at all.

When I got to the passenger, I found out that we were leaving not just the city but the county so he could go pick up his friend.

He was a nice enough guy, and he ended up changing the drop-off location. And I brought them both back to the city we came from at the end, making a good amount of money and not having to worry about finding a ride back.

Some drivers really like long drives, others feel they can make more doing shorter rides, and then there are City to City rides that seem to be debated and debated.

Uber seems to be testing out a solution for this through a program called City to City.

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What Is City To City?

City to City is another service that Uber offers, and you can sign up for it if it’s in your area. Similar to how you can go into your app and turn on or off services like deliveries, connect, Uber Green, UberX, etc.

This service is much as the name says; you’ll get requests from those who are traveling from one area to another.

According to the information we’ve seen, Uber says that you’ll receive 10% of each fare.

How Much Money Will Drivers Make With City To City Rides?

Uber, as always, makes it sound like this service will make drivers more money. They are now eligible for higher fares and longer trips. But is that true?

Without having taken any of these rides, we have to base the numbers on what Uber is telling us.

10% of the fare.

Checking a fare from where I live in the Tampa Bay area to Orlando, a nearly 2-hour drive and 100 miles, comes out to $88 this morning. If a driver got 10% of that, then they are getting $8.80 and whatever I would tip.

I reached out to Uber to confirm this information, and one of the representatives told me that the driver would get the usual fare based on miles plus an additional 10% for taking the long ride, almost like the 10% is the incentive for taking the ride.

Even if that is correct, which the representative did not have a lot of confidence in, a driver would still make less than $60 for 2 hours, 4 hours if you count the drive back, and are in a city hours away from home, and are very unlikely to get a ride back.

Why It May Be A Good Idea

Some drivers have been trying to get long-distance rides like this when they themselves are traveling.

Using my example again:?

Say I needed to go to Orlando for something personal or for work. If I set my destination to Orlando, and wait till I get a request of someone who is going to Orlando, then I can make gas money for my trip, essentially getting my travel covered by someone else.

If the City to City program allowed for passengers and drivers to sign up for such things it would allow people to make a little bit of money to and from visiting family, taking a day trip, or just getting away for a bit.

The hope would also be that you could do the same thing going back, making money both days you travel.

My concern with this would be if you have a smaller car because you would have to store your luggage and whoever the passenger is that comes as well.

City To City Is A Horrible Deal Mostly

For the vast majority of drivers, the City to City program sounds like a horrible service for them to sign up for.

Getting 10% of the fare, even if it's an extra 10%, just isn’t worth it when you are driving that far away and have to get back home, making nothing.

One major concern I would have is what if you can’t stand the person and you have them in the car for hours??

What if they are a jerk, smell, or make you uncomfortable??

If it’s a short ride, it will be over in a few minutes, but if it’s a long drive, it becomes a longer one.

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Is It Worth It?

There will be drivers that say the City to City program is amazing, they love it, and only take those kinds of rides. Other drivers will not even sign up for it or will sign up for it, get one ride for it, and then turn it off.

That’s good.

What works for me as a driver to make money may not work for everyone. I may be ok with those long drives, I may need to be in that city, or just want an excuse to visit. Some drivers have to be home at a certain time to pick up their kids or go to their regular 9 to 5.

Driving for the City to City program, like everything else, needs to fit into how you drive and make sense for you.

Run your business how you need to in order to make the money you need.

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