Uber Drivers Can Make As Much As $1,500 On A Coachella Weekend

 Music Festival Goers Rely On Ride Share Services  

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Nightlife Blogger

While a lot of people are spending a lot of money at Coachella, some are making money.

Quite good money, in fact.

Those people include ride share drivers. In fact, when done right, a driver can make as much as $1,500 on a Coachella weekend.

So says an Uber driver who has worked Coachella in the past and is doing it again in 2019.

But before you rush out and sign up to be a driver to make some quick dough, you have to be prepared to work, be friendly and be flexible.

“If you want to make money driving for Uber at Coachella, you’ve got to be prepared to work long hours,” said our Uber driver, who requested his name not be used for this article. “You have to start early, be ready all day and work late into the night.

“I try to avoid getting in the ride share pickup line. There’s so many other drivers, and you’re going some distance away from Coachella, that you may only get one trip. Instead, I try and pick up other riders.

“Some of this I do in advance. Prior to going out on the weekend, I have already secured passengers. One group is paying me $1,000 to take them around on the weekend. That’s the best way to make money at events like Coachella. Otherwise, it’s really tough because there are so many drivers.”

Earn Your Uber Tip; Don’t Expect It

“A lot of Uber drivers complain about the tips, either how little they are or maybe they don’t get any tip,” our driver said. “I always ask ‘what did you do to deserve a tip?’

Supplemental Income For Uber Drivers At Coachella

The real key to making money, out Uber driver says, is the supplemental income. And that is direct fares in which customers pay the driver as kind of personal chauffeur, bypassing the app.

“That’s part of being a good driver,” he said. “If people like you and know they can rely on you, then they will hire you directly. It’s good for them because they don’t have to worry about a driver canceling or some other mishap. And it’s good for the drivers because we have guaranteed rides.

“I’ll do flat rates for direct rides and if there’s a lot of riders, then quite often people can get to or from the Coachella for around $10 a head. That’s a great deal.”