Welcome to Uber Cebu Tips

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

This Week Only: Get 20% off your next 3 trips!

The holidays are over -- time to get back to the grind. As a post-holiday promo, for all of this week only (March 30 - April 3, 2016), get your next 3 trips on Uber at 20% off!

Simply enter the promo code below on your Uber app to enable the discount:

CEBUMARCHRUSH

To enter a promo code:

Launch your Uber app
Open the in-app drawer and select PROMOTIONS
Enter the promo code

*Valid only for trips taken in Cebu*

Uber Cebu Driver Incentive from March 28 to April 3, 2016

Cebu Uber Driver Promotional IncentivePhoto credit: www.sgvbusiness.com

Here's the official promotional incentive for drivers for the week of March 28 to April 3, 2016:

CASH PAYMENT: Everything You as an Uber Driver Need to Know

Uber just activated today, March 23, 2016, its Cash Payment option in Cebu. As a driver, this means more riders, more trips, and more earnings!

In this post, I will describe to you how to know if your rider opted to pay in cash, and the steps to take supported with screenshots from the latest iOS app. Before I proceed, let me remind all drivers to accomplish the Uber Cebu Training form (link here) before March 31, 11:59PM, to avoid possible account suspension.

How will I know that the rider opted to pay in cash?

BEFORE STARTING TRIP (on Android devices only). Click PICK UP. If it's a cash trip, you'll see a "Cash payment trip" message right above the START TRIP button.

UPDATE (April 4, 2016):
On iOS devices, after starting a cash payment trip, there will be a pop up reminding you to collect cash after the trip, as below.

You will also see a CASH TRIP icon at the top left of your map.

AFTER THE TRIP IS STARTED. Click DROP OFF. If it's a CASH trip, you will see a "COLLECT CASH" button right after you click DROP OFF, as below. Tip: You can click DROP OFF anytime while still on trip (even if you are not yet at the destination).

What are the steps to complete a CASH trip?

Step 0: Receive a request and start the trip as normal. Note: You can click DROP OFF anytime to know that it is a CASH trip.

Step 1: Click "COLLECT CASH" once you arrived at the destination. (Observe that the COMPLETE TRIP is grayed out yet). The fare will then be calculated.

Step 2: Show the bill to the rider. After you receive the cash, click "DONE".

Step 3: The screen will go back to the previous screen. Notice the "COLLECT CASH" was changed to "CASH COLLECTED" with the amount below it. Also, the "COMPLETE TRIP" button is now active. Swipe as normal to complete the trip and provide your rating.

That's it.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What does it mean for me?
A: The ability to collect cash will give you access to more customers in Cebu! In addition, you can use the cash you receive to pay for things like gas at the end of each day.

Q: When can riders start paying cash?
A: As Uber is just testing cash in Cebu, only a certain group of riders will be able to avail of this option. Riders can start paying in cash starting today.

Q: Can I opt out from getting cash trips?/Can I choose to get cash trips?
A: No, you will not be able to opt out of receiving cash trips. Uber is exploring cash as an option in order to give drivers more riders, more trips, and more earnings! While Uber understands that this may be a concern for you, Uber always put the safety of riders and drivers in mind.

Q: Does this mean that Uber will only be accepting Cash from now on?
A: No, Uber is still accepting credit cards as a payment option. Again, Cash will only be available as a payment option for a select group of riders and that this is being rolled out as a test. Remember that if the Trip Fare box is NOT Green, then please do NOT collect cash. You should only collect cash if the Trip Fare box is GREEN

Q: How do we remit our cash?
A: There will be no need to remit cash to Uber and you’ll get to keep all of the cash that you collect. The Uber Service Fee from all of your cash trips would simply be deducted from the non-cash trips on your next payment statement.

Q: Do I have to give change?
A: As it is the driver’s responsibility to collect cash, it is also their responsibility to provide the correct amount of change. You should ALWAYS have enough cash on hand to always give the correct amount of change for your cash trips. Uber suggests the following:

2 pieces of P500 bills
5 pieces of P100 bills
5 pieces of P50 bills
5 pieces of P20 bills
10 pieces of P10 coins
20 pieces of P1 coins

Q: I’m a Partner-Operator. How do I know how much my driver collected?
A: In your payment statement, if you see a GREEN symbol beside the trip, then that means that it is a cash trip. You will also be able to see how much your driver should have been able to collect, as well as the Uber Service Fee that will be deducted to your final earnings.

If you have other questions/concerns, feel free to post it below.

Cash Payment Arriving in Cebu Soon!

Photo credit: serdef.org

Uber announced today that CASH PAYMENT will be experimented in Cebu soon to selected riders. For drivers, this will mean more riders, more trips, and more earnings!

In the meantime, partner-drivers are required to take the Uber Cebu Cash Training before March 31, 2016, 11:59PM.

UPDATE (March 23, 2016): It was reported that some Uber riders in Cebu can already opt to pay in cash.

Uber Recorded its First-Ever SURGE in Cebu

Surge Pricing or NO CARS AVAILABLE

Yesterday, Uber announced that it is activating its Surge Pricing feature in Cebu beginning today, March 21, 2016. Check this post for more details about surge pricing.

The first-ever surge in Cebu happened at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport this afternoon at around 2:50 PM, as shown below. Per our monitoring, the surge started at 1.2x and disappeared after few minutes.

There are a number of ways that you can do to avoid paying extra in an event of surge. The first, and probably the most used, is to wait until the surge disappears. You will receive an automatic notification by clicking "NOTIFY ME WHEN SURGE DROPS" button as below.

The other option that you could try is FARE SPLIT. Of course, you need a friend (up to 3) to do this. In a nutshell, the total fare will be divided into 2 (or 4 if you have 3 friends with you) plus an additional P10 for using the fare split feature.

Again, Surge Pricing is helpful to balance the supply versus the demand. Without it, there's no way to get an Uber ride when you need it most. Surge Pricing is better than NO CARS AVAILABLE.

Surge Pricing: Uber's Dynamic Pricing Explained

Uber will be activating it's surge pricing feature in Cebu beginning Monday, March 21, 2016. For those who aren't familiar with it, don't freak out yet as I will try to explain here everything you need to know about it. But before anything else, it is important to know what does Uber stands for.

Uber is ALWAYS a reliable ride. Being unavaliable, inconvenient is the opposite of Uber. Being Uber means being "Always On" and "Always Convenient".

This is Uber's differentiator from your regular taxi system. And this is the main reason why they do surge pricing.

What is surge pricing and how does it work?

At times of high demand, the number of drivers becomes limited. As a result, prices are increased to encourage more drivers to become available. Raising prices will dramatically increase the number of cars on the road, therefore, more safe and convenient rides will be served.

For example, if there are 300 cars up in a city and 290 of them are either picking up a rider or in a trip, this would be considered an extremely tight supply situation. Higher prices encourages more drivers to come online. The algorithm raise the price in increments over time until demand begins to decrease. When supply is enough, the price will go down.

How do Uber riders know the price?

Whenever there is surge (or surge pricing), you'll see a notification screen (as below) in your app. You'll have to accept these higher rates before you can proceed with your request.

The math is fairly simple. If your 2-km commute to work takes you 7 minutes, a regular-priced Uber ride would cost you around Php 74.80, as below:

UberX rate in Cebu

Base Fare + (Time Rate * Time) + (Distance Rate * Distance) = Total Fare

40 + (3 * 7) + (6.9 * 2) = Total Fare

Total Fare = Php 74.80

However, if there is 2.0x surge, your trip will now cost Php 149.60.

You can also run a fare estimate right within your app to know roughly what your trip will cost before you request it, so there are never any surprises on your receipt.

Please note that depending on supply/demand conditions, you may begin seeing surge pricing take effect in Cebu beginning Monday, March 21, 2016.

Questions? Send us an email at ubercebutips@gmail.com.

Cebu Uber Driver Promotional IncentivePhoto credit: www.sgvbusiness.com

Here's the official promotional incentive for drivers for the week of March 21-27, 2016:

Uber Cebu Driver Incentive for March 14-20, 2016

Cebu Uber Driver Promotional Incentive
Photo credit: www.sgvbusiness.com

Here's the official promotional incentive for drivers for the week of March 14-20, 2016:

Uber Cebu Driver Incentive for March 7-13, 2016

Cebu Uber Driver Promotional Incentive
Photo credit: www.sgvbusiness.com

Here's the official promotional incentive for drivers for the week of March 7-13, 2016:

Uber phone battery draining so fast? Here are some simple tips you should try

Photo credit: finance.yahoo.com

Is your Uber phone's battery draining so fast that even if it's charged all the time, battery level keeps going down? This problem is more common on Android phones than iOS devices. This is because Uber Partner app is a high battery use app. But there are a lots of things you can do to make your phone's battery last longer. And they are just simple adjustments on your phone's settings.

1. Screen

The phone's screen is almost always the #1 offender. Try setting the brightness level to the minimum level. Go to Settings -> Display ->Brightness (or Brightness Level). You might also want to change to a black wallpaper.

2. Wi-Fi

There's no reason why you need to turn on Wi-Fi (same with Bluetooth) when driving, so make sure it is turned off or disabled all the time. Wait, there's more, on Android, even if Wi-Fi is disabled, your phone could still be searching for networks. To turn this off, go to Wi-Fi settings -> Advanced. Uncheck the option for Wi-Fi Scanning (or anything similar to this such as below).

3. Auto-sync

Any changes you make to your accounts (Google, Facebook, Messenger, etc) on the web will be automatically copied to your phone, and vice versa. That includes facebook posts, e-mails, and even photos. So disable this as well.

4. Unused Apps

Unused apps drain battery by consuming processing power when not in use. Uninstall them or restrict them from running.

Last but not the least, as soon as you notice that your battery is dropping faster than usual, restart your phone.

Let us know your comments and more tips by commenting it below.

Uber Cebu Partners Guide in Online Submission of TNVS CPC Requirements

Uber Cebu Partners Guide in TNVS CPC Requirements Online Submission
Photo credit: forbes.com

CONGRATULATIONS to all Uber Cebu partners who received an email/SMS that their Provisional Authority certificates have been approved by LTFRB.

Below is the extracted form from t.uber.com/TNVSCPCSubmitCebu for everybody's reference. If you need to know the CPC requirements and blank forms, click here:

No DTI Certificate of Business Name Registration yet? Check here.

No BIR Certificate of Registration yet, use your 2015 ITR or BIR 2316.

UPDATE (March 9, 2016): Updated per latest update from Uber.