Wingz

Wingz Review:

Wings is a ride sharing app that differs from Uber and Lyft in that rides are pre-scheduled and longer duration. So you don’t have to take short-haul trips that aren’t worth the mileage. But, Wingz also requires nicer –and larger — cars and top-notch customer service.

How it works

The site encourages drivers to sign up. However, will only onboard new drivers when the demand calls for it. So, joining may take time, if you’re in a saturated market. The site says to expect onboarding to take 30 days.

Moreover, the site only operates in a few major cities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Portland, Seattle, Miami and Orlando. (You choose your market from a drop-down menu on the site.)

When you sign up with a driver profile, the site will set up an onboarding session with you. Drivers must pass a phone screening, DMV and background checks, and have an appropriate car. The only cars approved on this platform are full-sized sedans, SUVs and mini-vans.

Getting rides

Once accepted to the platform, you’ll get Wingz business cards, which you’re encouraged to give out to customers. The site is looking for drivers who impress their customers enough to get repeat business.

Wingz will start sending driver requests. These are usually airport rides, non-emergency medical transportation and other scheduled longer-haul rides. The starting and ending locations, as well as the pay, are clearly noted in the app. And, unlike Uber and Lyft, which don’t share their profit margins, Wingz is clear about the percentage it takes (usually 12%). So drivers know they’re getting the bulk of the fare.

Driver pay

The combination of longer rides and building customer relationships means that drivers often earn more per hour here than they do with any other driving app. One review on TheRideShareGuy estimates that the pay per hour works out to about $51. Even with high gas prices, that’s worth leaving home for.

Another positive

During Covid, the site actually waived its commission to give drivers 100% of the fare. This may have been something of a symbolic gesture given that there was so little activity during those years. However, it sent a compelling message that this company cares about its drivers and is one of the reasons Wingz gets the highest rating among ride share services on SideHusl.com.

The flip side

That said, these are generally one-way trips. So when accounting for your time and costs, remember that you are not going to have a fare going the other direction. You may want to also sign up for another ride share app, such as Uber or Lyft, to fill in the other side of the trip.

Recommendations

We think this site offers a great value proposition to drivers. However, it may not be able to keep you busy full time. Other sites to consider include Alto, which hires drivers as employees. And Uber and Lyft to fill in your return-trips.

You may also want to consider driving kids through Kango, RubiRides, KidCar or HopSkipDrive. All three promise higher rates of pay than typical ride sharing apps. And their peak times are late afternoons, when the typical ride share app is slow.

What their drivers say: (from UberPeople.net)

You have to build up your own private client list with them. It’s for frequent business travelers who want the same driver every time. Trips are pre-scheduled in advance. It’s up to you to find your own clients so they add drivers slowly. Only sign up if you do the airport regularly and want to hand out business cards to be peoples personal driver. Decent pay and good tips, but they expect black car service. You wont get many if any random pings.

Yep … pays $2/mi … but they only take 12%. Though it’s hard to swallow $2/mi when you’re used to $2.75 or $3.75

From Indeed

The boss and other employees are always helpful, open to help and energetic. An employee will always have another’s back. As long as you do you work and focus on your job you will make great pay.

Productive place to work, you usually have work to do and still have time to sit down and relax, Decent tips, minimum $15 on a bad day

*Updated 3/2/2023