If you’re looking for one of the best cities in the contiguous United States, then Las Vegas is it. The city never sleeps, is always busy, is full of money (more tips), and hosts some of the country’s biggest conventions, sports matches, and entertainment events. To top it all off, there’s hardly any public parking, and city regulations favor Uber drivers and ridesharing! 

The best times to drive for Uber in Las Vegas are typically early mornings (7am to 9am), late afternoons (4pm-8pm), and late nights (10pm to 5am). On weekdays, the morning will typically be the busiest time of day as people arrive at the airport for business trips and attend massive conventions.

Also, if you stay on top of your game and up-to-date with the latest conventions and major events, then you can plan your schedule to cater to the attendees and make some serious money. 

In Las Vegas, there’s always something going on. When I say that the city never sleeps, I say it from my experience as an Uber driver in Vegas. From Old Vegas to the Vegas Strip, there are people who need rides at all hours of the day, every day of the week. In this post, you’re about to receive all of the knowledge and strategies I’ve accumulated to become one of the top 90th-percentile Uber drivers in Las Vegas!

The Best Times To Drive For Uber In Las Vegas, NV

Although I’ve had a little bit of experience driving in other cities (Jacksonville and Phoenix), most of my short career as an Uber driver has been spent driving in Las Vegas. While I don’t drive as much today as I used to, I still clock-in for a few shifts a week to earn some side money. As always, Vegas never fails to disappoint, and slow days are very rare here. 

Las Vegas is one of the top tourist destinations not just in America but in the world. I guarantee that you’ll meet tourists and businessmen/businesswomen from around the world if you spend a few days here. The latest statistics show that almost 50 million people visited Las Vegas in 2019, a number that has been steadily rising for years.

While COVID-19 certainly took its toll on Vegas, most of the casinos, hotels, and convention centers are back to operating at their usual capacity. The only difference is that people must wear masks indoors and social distance in populated areas. 

Most of your business as an Uber driver is going to come from tourism. Although you’ll give the occasional Vegas resident a ride here and there, most people who live and work in Vegas have their own means of transportation. This means that most of your time driving will be spent in the same general areas:

• The McCarran International Airport
• The Vegas Strip (Modern Hotels and Casinos)
• Old Vegas (Historical Las Vegas)
• The Las Vegas Convention Center

On weekdays, the morning will typically be the busiest time of day as people arrive at the airport for business trips and attend massive conventions. On weekends, however, you’ll likely be busy morning and night. In my experience, there’s a strong tipping culture in Vegas, and most visitors understand that. On a good day, I can easily earn an extra $50 to $100 in extra tips on top of what Uber pays me for the ride. 

The Best Times To Drive For Uber Based On The Vegas Economy

I’m a pretty organized guy, so I like to create systems in whatever I do in life. Creating a system for my Uber driving has been immensely helpful as it allows me to create an organized schedule for work. 

When it comes to driving for Uber, I find that strategy is everything. Sure, you can “wing it,” but I guarantee that you won’t make as much as an Uber driver who has taken the time to identify the demographics and key groups of their city. 

For example, if you want to take advantage of the nightlife crowd, it helps to know what bars/clubs are the busiest, what time they open, and what time they typically close. This will allow you to position yourself and take advantage of the most customers. 

Here are the three most profitable groups and times that I’ve identified for the Las Vegas area. 

Group #1: Conventions And Daytime Tourists(6am-9am, 4pm-7pm)

Vegas isn’t just a “weekend city.” The Las Vegas Convention Center is one of the biggest in the country and regularly hosts large events that attract tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country. The convention center events typically start in the morning between 8am, and 10am and go until the late afternoon.

Since public parking is incredibly limited at the Convention Center (and you’ll have to walk nearly half a mile if you do find parking), almost everybody who attends these events takes an Uber there in the early morning between 6am and 9am. When the convention is over (usually between 4pm and 7pm), a massive amount of people come piling out of the building to hail Ubers. 

Group #2: Vegas Nightlife (10pm-12am, 1:30am-3am)

The Vegas nightlife scene is arguably what the city is most famous for. Its massive casinos, clubs, and billion-dollar boxing events are what bring most tourists to Vegas. There tends to be a surge earlier in the night, around 10pm to midnight, as people are making their way to the venues. It will stay fairly steady all night, and then there will be a second surge once people start getting tired and hail rides back to their hotels. 

Group #3: McCarran International Airport (6am-12pm)

As I’ve mentioned, Las Vegas doesn’t have a lot of public parking. So, unlike other large cities where visitors would usually rent a car, most visitors just use Uber while they’re here in order to save time and money. That means you’ll be picking up a lot of people at the airport. 

The McCarran International Airport is the biggest commercial airport in Vegas and tends to be busiest in the early morning and afternoons. When there’s not a convention going on, many Uber drivers spend their morning shifts going to and from the airport until the nightlife picks up later in the day. 

Final Tips

The only downside that I’ve found about driving in Vegas is that my car insurance is a bit higher here than it was when I was Ubering in other states. Other than this, though, if you’re an Uber driver, then Las Vegas is a goldmine! It’s busy year-round, has something going on almost every day, and is full of people who have extra cash in their pockets for tips. You’ll have to deal with some annoying downtown traffic during the busy hours, but it’s almost always worth your time.