First off, the most important "gear" of all, the car. I drive a 2013 Ford Explorer XLT, in gray, with black leather interior. It's pretty well loaded - we got a great deal buying it used in 2014, with only just over 10k miles on it, and it's still under 25k miles. We didn't really drive it all that much before I started the Uber/Lyft thing (and really I still don't, in the grand scheme of mileage).
Even though the car is 3 years old and we weren't even the original owner, I still have riders all the time telling me it still has new car smell. It's nice to hear, though funny to me because I totally don't notice it. But hey, if it keeps the five star ratings coming, I'm happy!
A nice feature for my passengers is that the car has rear climate controls, so they can set the AC or heat however it suits them. I'm not sure how often people actually change it, but I do sometimes point it out, especially when I'm not sure how well-cooled the back has gotten on a hot day, etc. It can't hurt, and I know as a passenger I love having this feature!
On the phone side, I've been an iPhone user since the start, and like to stay on the "S" train, so I'm currently using an iPhone 6S. I haven't gone Plus because it just seems too close to a phablet, though I keep thinking about it, we'll see.
I of course have a gajillion apps, but the important ones here are the Uber passenger and partner apps, the Lyft app, and for navigation I exclusively use Waze. Have I mentioned how awesome Waze is? I swear, every time I try to second-guess Waze, I end up paying for it (well, except for the route home from the north via I-93S and Albany St - but I can forgive Waze not learning that one well because of the tunnel and the hell it plays with GPS).
To keep that phone in place I've got a Ram X-Grip Mount, which was recommended by a colleague and is totally awesome. The suction and mounting are rock-solid, but the X-Grip is infinitely adjustable and super easy to take the phone in and out of, or rotate a little bit to get the right angle. Highly recommended, well worth the price.
Then to keep everyone in the car powered up, I have two AmazonBasics 4.0 Amp dual-port USB car chargers, one for me up front and one in the back for passengers. The back one has an AmazonBasics Lightning cable and an AmazonBasics MicroUSB cable, coiled and zip tied together. This goes over really well, especially with Pokémon Go's popularity. Gotta catch 'em all, and stay powered while doing it! I've found that this charger is easily able to keep up with my phone while running multiple GPS apps and streaming music over bluetooth. I really love Amazon's AmazonBasics line, I don't know that I've had a problem with it yet.
I'm currently toying with the idea of getting a dash cam. I don't know if I really NEED one, but you don't know you need it until it's too late, right? I just think it would be neat to be able to share some of the crazy stuff you see on the roads around Boston. It would also be handy for my Waze map editing, to help me remember intersections, speed limit signs, etc. Has anyone played with one? Are they any good?
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