Who pays for the Uber?

[FrancisCA]

So I live in the middle of SF like downtown. If i travel outside of SF is it reasonable to charge a traveling fee? Sometimes I have to travel to San Jose which is either a 1h train ride or 45min car ride one way. Plus the cost of those things.

[+ Keith30309]

So I live in the middle of SF like downtown. If i travel outside of SF is it reasonable to charge a traveling fee? Sometimes I have to travel to San Jose which is either a 1h train ride or 45min car ride one way. Plus the cost of those things.

Everyone has a different take on this but I think it’s a very reasonable request. I’ve paid for Ubers in the sprawl of Houston plus it gives me some assurance of exactly when I’m going to see someone.

 

That said, I also consider the total cost of a meet and weigh it against my interest in the gentleman. If someone is already at my threshold then an additional $70 round trip may push me to look for a plan B.

[+ ArVaGuy]

You should be up front in your profile and state that a travel fee may be necessary for meetings outside a core area. That at least let’s the potential client know in advance of an additional cost.

 

My personal practice is to cover the cost of Uber, taxi, or valet parking if I’m hiring a guy in a large city like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco or similar. I confirm the rates for parking and get estimates for an Uber ride. Between $50 - $75 would be the limit on what I’d be willing to cover.

 

When finalizing arrangements I tell the guy I’ll cover these nominal costs.

[MikeBiDude]

it gives me some assurance of exactly when I’m going to see someone.

Exactly! If at my home I know to go meet them at security gate. If hotel...the lobby.

 

additional $70 round trip may push me to look for a plan B.

$ounds about right ?

[marylander1940]

Exactly! If at my home I know to go meet them at security gate. If hotel...the lobby.

 

 

$ounds about right ?

 

I think what @Keith30309 meant is that ubering someone to you is a sign that you're interested and that he is actually coming.

 

Most hotel rooms have peepholes, I never understood escorts (or clients) going to a hotel without knowing the room number... I don't do that. Security gate? I only know one in Beekman Place.

 

$35 dollars uber ride is a long ride, that should cover it.

[+ OliverSaks]

Within a city, I’ve started to ask for, at least, half of the Lyft-uber/caltrain/travel time (if considerable) - we’re both putting something up, it doesn’t add too much usually to my rate, and it just seems reasonable enough.

 

I include it in my initial rates message.

[cmennow]

I've seen it go both ways. I have a couple of guys who will Uber themselves to me nd then I have had someone request that I send a car. It just depends on the mood, vibe, and cost for me. I'm in the Bay Area so a $20 uber ride is normal around here.

[cany10011]

I rarely pay for Uber for an escort. I’m centrally located, in a safe neighborhood, upscale building. Hire during normal business hours and have lots of public transportation options. Unless, it were raining or extremely late, would i consider paying an escort to come by Uber. I’d rather they increase their rate to include the cost than ask me to call an Uber for them.

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

So I live in the middle of SF like downtown. If i travel outside of SF is it reasonable to charge a traveling fee? Sometimes I have to travel to San Jose which is either a 1h train ride or 45min car ride one way. Plus the cost of those things.

 

Here in the Midwest, most have cars and traveling to see me shouldn't require Uber - - thus I've always assumed that the outcall rate covered transportation. I would completely understand an increase in the outcall rate if traveling outside of the typical market.

[Trick]

I’ve reimbursed escorts for their Uber fares. I don’t want any of my personal information and accounts being exposed thru the Uber account. If the provider cannot trust me to pay a $20-30 Uber fare, I don’t think he will trust me to pay his fee.

 

I’ve seen prepaid Uber cards at grocery stores, I may try them someday to see how they’ll keep my anonymity.

[corndog]

In the past, I've ordered an Uber to pick up a guy. I won't do that again. The Uber driver couldn't find the guy at the address he provided, and it wasn't until the third Uber that he finally connected. I had to pay cancellation fees, and my Uber rating took a hit.

 

If I'm within the city that the guy is adverting in, and he advertises an outcall rate, I believe that his transportation costs should be factored in to the outcall price.

[MrMattBig]

So I live in the middle of SF like downtown. If i travel outside of SF is it reasonable to charge a traveling fee? Sometimes I have to travel to San Jose which is either a 1h train ride or 45min car ride one way. Plus the cost of those things.

Use public transit whenever possible. Saves on gas and maintenance of driving and for the most part eliminates traffic/accident delays. I would approach each time on a case by case basis, but would never charge more than 20/30 dollars extra, and I personally try to avoid traveling more time one way to an outcall than the time I will spend with the client. That being said I have traveled 2+hours and double the distance from SF to San Jose in Southern California for appointments. Most of the time for regulars and most of the time don't ask for reimbursement for travel time and costs. Those clients appreciate that I handle everything and they get to sip on a glass of wine and just wait with horny anticipation with no fuss.

[DMICS]

So I live in the middle of SF like downtown. If i travel outside of SF is it reasonable to charge a traveling fee? Sometimes I have to travel to San Jose which is either a 1h train ride or 45min car ride one way. Plus the cost of those things.

 

In your scenario I think it's totally fine if you charge a travelling fee. I've actually offer to pay travel fees/round trip Uber when the commute is that long.

 

What irks me is in NYC, providers that are located in Manhattan, adding a travelling fee for an outcall within Manhattan. New York has the biggest public transit network in the world (I could be wrong, but definitely in North America), and often its faster then Uber etc. I just feel like in this situation that method is used to squeeze out extra money from a client.

[FrancisCA]

In your scenario I think it's totally fine if you charge a travelling fee. I've actually offer to pay travel fees/round trip Uber when the commute is that long.

 

What irks me is in NYC, providers that are located in Manhattan, adding a travelling fee for an outcall within Manhattan. New York has the biggest public transit network in the world (I could be wrong, but definitely in North America), and often its faster then Uber etc. I just feel like in this situation that method is used to squeeze out extra money from a client.

Thats odd. If its within the city I dont mind especially if I can bike or walk there

[FrancisCA]

Use public transit whenever possible. Saves on gas and maintenance of driving and for the most part eliminates traffic/accident delays. I would approach each time on a case by case basis, but would never charge more than 20/30 dollars extra, and I personally try to avoid traveling more time one way to an outcall than the time I will spend with the client. That being said I have traveled 2+hours and double the distance from SF to San Jose in Southern California for appointments. Most of the time for regulars and most of the time don't ask for reimbursement for travel time and costs. Those clients appreciate that I handle everything and they get to sip on a glass of wine and just wait with horny anticipation with no fuss.

Oof that SF to San Jose traffic is a killer!!

[mike carey]

Oof that SF to San Jose traffic is a killer!!

I did that trip by train to meet an escort in San Jose, zero stress, about an hour. But then he was close to the station so cab/uber at the SJ end wasn't an issue. (Then, I'm a bit of a public transport nerd, went from WeHo to LAX that way [perhaps not the wisest decision] and have used subway and LIRR between JFK and Manhattan rather than cabs.)

[+ nycman]

My boss doesn’t pay me to drive to work.

 

I don’t see why I should pay others to do the same.

 

My boss does pay me to fly all over the world....that’s different.

[Islesguy]

I did that trip by train to meet an escort in San Jose, zero stress, about an hour. But then he was close to the station so cab/uber at the SJ end wasn't an issue. (Then, I'm a bit of a public transport nerd, went from WeHo to LAX that way [perhaps not the wisest decision] and have used subway and LIRR between JFK and Manhattan rather than cabs.)

I assume you only use the subway to Jamaica when you aren't near Penn station. The number of times I have been stuck on the E train in Queens for any number of reasons is outlandish. I've had better luck on the J train, but it's a long ride from downtown. I'd hate to have to risk missing a flight just to save a few bucks.

[+ OliverSaks]

You can go to a barbershop and pay someone’s fee, but it does seem like you’d pay a little extra to have them come to your house, no?

 

My boss doesn’t pay me to drive to work.

 

I don’t see why I should pay others to do the same.

 

My boss does pay me to fly all over the world....that’s different.

[mike carey]

I assume you only use the subway to Jamaica when you aren't near Penn station. The number of times I have been stuck on the E train in Queens for any number of reasons is outlandish. I've had better luck on the J train, but it's a long ride from downtown. I'd hate to have to risk missing a flight just to save a few bucks.

Yep, I'm not there often, if I were I would probably use taxis if the timing made it necessary. The times I've been departing, it was on 6pm Qantas flights and I gave myself heaps of time. On one trip on a first-snow day in November, I was there at least four hours before the flight but the crew were over two hours late due to the snow on the road! If things are going to go wrong they will.

[Islesguy]

Yep, I'm not there often, if I were I would probably use taxis if the timing made it necessary. The times I've been departing, it was on 6pm Qantas flights and I gave myself heaps of time. On one trip on a first-snow day in November, I was there at least four hours before the flight but the crew were over two hours late due to the snow on the road! If things are going to go wrong they will.

Oh the magic of snowy days. Both an extreme headache and beautiful. Giving yourself heaps of time is always advisable.

[Mocha]

My boss doesn’t pay me to drive to work.

 

I don’t see why I should pay others to do the same.

 

My boss does pay me to fly all over the world....that’s different.

 

But if you order something from Amazon, unless you have Amazon Prime...who’s going to pay for the shipping?

 

Then again, this is why I’ve kept with cars for the past 15 some years. The way these clients nowadays fuck around with bookings (one such nitwit today took 2 fucking hours just to give me his goddamn ROOM NUMBER to the Mariott he was staying at. Dumb ass was like, “i thought if I gave you my last name, they would just forward you to my room” I DONT HAVE YOUR ROOM NUMBER, BIMBO! Mariott policy says they won’t forward someone to a room with just a last name. Then he cancels because HE took 2 hours to give the room number, after I told him it would now be another hour before I could arrive because he couldn’t be bothered to give the info to me when I was asking for it 2 hours earlier.

 

Fortunately I didn’t waste my gas going to see his stupid ass, but if I’d of booked a Uber there for all this run around...it would have been some trouble.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Mocha

[DMICS]

But if you order something from Amazon, unless you have Amazon Prime...who’s going to pay for the shipping?

 

Then again, this is why I’ve kept with cars for the past 15 some years. The way these clients nowadays fuck around with bookings (one such nitwit today took 2 fucking hours just to give me his goddamn ROOM NUMBER to the Mariott he was staying at. Dumb ass was like, “i thought if I gave you my last name, they would just forward you to my room” I DONT HAVE YOUR ROOM NUMBER, BIMBO! Mariott policy says they won’t forward someone to a room with just a last name. Then he cancels because HE took 2 hours to give the room number, after I told him it would now be another hour before I could arrive because he couldn’t be bothered to give the info to me when I was asking for it 2 hours earlier.

 

Fortunately I didn’t waste my gas going to see his stupid ass, but if I’d of booked a Uber there for all this run around...it would have been some trouble.

 

Yeah I would've been FURIOUS. Sorry to hear @Mocha. One thing I've learned in this whole M4M culture...men are the dumbest, period. Got crawling animals with more common sense.

[Mocha]

Yeah I would've been FURIOUS. Sorry to hear @Mocha. One thing I've learned in this whole M4M culture...men are the dumbest, period. Got crawling animals with more common sense.

 

They really are, and it seems to come at certain times of the month/year.

 

I’ve been on a miracle streak the past several weeks, all good clients, abundant tippers, almost too good to be true.

 

But then this week (atleast in my current market) people have been right back to the usual bullshit and games like before. Exactly why I stay touring because some cities you can’t give them more than a week or 2, and it’s OVER. And when you’re used to things going well, along comes someone to remind how you just have to revert to being a bitch.

 

I gave this mother fucker too much kindness: answering emails far longer than I should. Normally I’d cut them off right after I say, “call/text me to confirm”. But thinking all RENTMEN clients who email have a good heart, I ended up finding out once again why I don’t waste time engaging them.

 

Anyhow, not to derail the topic. But perhaps the question of who pays for Uber may be more complex than it seems:

 

https://medium.com/radical-urbanist/i-dont-use-uber-neither-should-you-4e1009d0a238

 

(PS, skip Uber and use LYFT if you are going to rideshare. I feel Lyft is so much easier and better. But in the long run, any app that ends in “errrr” might be bad for the ecosystem lol)

[loremipsum]

I have them call it. Once when I called my own, I arrived at the hotel at which they were staying (or so they claimed earlier) and waited in the lobby for them to reply while I called and texted several times in vain. After half an hour I just left. It wasn’t nice.