Uber's recently announced strong quarterly results so ride sharing seems to be a thing again. Can you balance your family life while profitably managing this side hustle? Play the Uber Game and find out. 

Here's the worksheet that accompanies this game that was created after this blog post first appeared in 2018: Interactive: Can You Make It As An Uber Driver? 

In my never-ending search for engaging personal finance interactives (games), I stumbled upon this simulation of what it means to be an Uber driver and all the key decisions that they make everyday. I had a good feeling before I played the game since it was the most engaging story that the Financial Times ran all year (as measured by time on page).

What's cool about the game is that students are constantly making decisions (type of car to drive, whether to chase a surge, whether to pick up inebriated passengers) and then seeing the immediate consequences of their decisions. They also get players to consider life/work balance, how to manage their scarce resource: time, the importance of customer service and short vs. long-term thinking. All this in an engaging 10 minute game. Enjoy!

Lot of great questions in our worksheet and here are some additional ones in case you want to customize: 

• What level of difficulty did you choose? Why? 
• How might a credit score impact one's ability to live in San Francisco? 
• What type of car did you select? Why?
  
  • What costs will vary based on the car you selected? 
• There are lots of investments that you can make as an Uber driver, such as having water/mints, phone chargers for passengers, etc. 
  • What decisions did you make about investments? Why?
• Many people who drive for Uber do not live in the busy city; rather, they chose to live right outside.
• What do you think are the financial implications of living a distance from where you work?
• How did you react to the "ride goal" that appeared while you played? How did that affect your motivation? 
• The average person spends 26 minutes (one way) commuting to work. What do you think would be the challenges to driving so many hours for Uber?
• Did you chase the surge when you had the opportunity? Why or why not? 
• What was your final rating, as determined by the passengers? What do you think had the biggest impact on earning that rating?
• What was the final outcome when you played the game the first time?
  • How is success measured with this game? Fares earned? 
• What are 2-3 decisions that you might make differently the next time you play based on what you learned the first time? 
• What surprised you about the experience of being an Uber driver?
  • Was it easier or harder than you expected? 
  • List the pros/cons of this job based you on your experience. 

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Here's a few ideas on how you might implement the Uber Game, including a debate, a discussion about taxes and using competition to build student interest. 

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 Only 2 more weeks left in the PAYBACK Challenge. $75,000 in scholarships available to the winners! 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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