Thinking to join Uber

forgotmyname

Buy a car just to work part time, unlikely to get back anywhere near your expenditure.

Plenty of data on what cars they recommend in different Cities.

When i browse the autotrader i sort by cheapest and sometimes the cars are ex taxi with 50,000 miles a year on them not uncommon.

System

3Dshay wrote: »

Hello all,

Sorry if this is not the best place to post this thread, I could not find a related section to ask this question.

So basically I am a student and also work on my placement year, I am thinking to join uber because in my opinion that is the only job that I can do in my spare hours, any time and any day, and unlike other jobs, you do not have to work in a bar or restaurant for like £7ish per hour, so basically again my opinion is there is always work for you as a uber driver, you can work any day/time, and without a boss.
.

In the UK there are specific legal requirements you need to comply with unlike in the USA where you can just put the app on your phone and off you go. Here you will need to get a Private Hire Licence for your vehicle from the local authority taxi licencing office. There are additional requirements for the testing of the vehicle over and above a normal annual MOT. You will also need to get a badge as well as a driver which involves an enhanced CRB check as well.

Basically you need to set up as a private hire taxi.

In short the costs to set it all up and the ongoing costs mean you can't just do a few hours here and there and actually make a profit out of it.

forgotmyname

Probably make more money with a paper round.

Arklight

I've used Uber and Lyft many times in the US. The maintenance concerns are generally addressed by the cars needing to be quite new. Automobiles are much cheaper in America than rip off Britain so this is feasible for Uber drivers there.

I've had some really interesting rides from actual people of all ages and walks of life there. I've been driven by retired university professors, students, veterans, jazz musicians who supported acts I'd heard of, writers and artists, and full time drivers who open and close the doors for you.

As far as I can see in England it's the usual grunting minicab drivers who just have the Uber app as an extra. The last one I used was double the cost of an actual minicab (£12 to go two miles down the road) then I got pestered by Uber to leave a tip as well.

[Deleted User]

Arklight wrote: »

As far as I can see in England it's the usual grunting minicab drivers who just have the Uber app as an extra. The last one I used was double the cost of an actual minicab (£12 to go two miles down the road) then I got pestered by Uber to leave a tip as well.

Yep a local journey that I'll use a PH sometimes for costs around £3.20 yet Uber quotes double that and you have to wait ages for them to come if there is one local enough. Local PH is here in less than 5 minutes.

peter12345678910

I was talking to a taxi driver a couple of weeks ago about money and he said the problem was that there are too many taxi drivers.You need to be very rural not urban to make a profit. Gross profit make be good, but at the end of the day net profit counts as with all jobs

System

Arklight wrote: »

I've used Uber and Lyft many times in the US. The maintenance concerns are generally addressed by the cars needing to be quite new.

That doesn't address maintenance concerns. It isn't uncommon for a car used as a taxi to do 50-100,000 miles a year, much of it urban driving, and that means that a car less than a year old could have well knackered suspension, brakes and steering.

As far as I can see in England it's the usual grunting minicab drivers who just have the Uber app as an extra.

That's because by law in the UK to carry passengers for profit you need to comply with all the regulatory requirements for private hire or hackney carriage including having a PH or HC licence plate issued by the local authority attached to the vehicle so to be an Uber you have to effectively be a one person taxi or minicab company which is why it is usually minicab drivers.

AnotherJoe

Read this http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2017/11/22/mr-money-mustache-uber-driver/

US-based but I think the economics still apply


TL;DR from the article;

“Imagine developing a company specifically to take advantage of people’s ignorance of how expensive it really is to drive their own car. What would this company look like? “ (the answer is of course that it would look like very much like Uber or any other ridesharing company)

unholyangel

sevenhills wrote: »

The £1,000 that you quote would more likely be a regular taxi driver, not one just starting out, that maybe as high as £2,000

Yes, that is why I said:

But I can tell you that even someone with max no claims and years of experience would usually pay at least £1000 for insurance where as a normal driver (not driving for hire) they'd pay maybe £250-300.

It was also the reason I added how much they'd pay as a normal driver, to show the OP how much of a difference there is for an experienced driver (with the underlying implication being if you're paying more than they would as a normal driver, you'll be paying more than they would as a driver for hire).

Mercdriver

Arklight wrote: »

I've used Uber and Lyft many times in the US. The maintenance concerns are generally addressed by the cars needing to be quite new. Automobiles are much cheaper in America than rip off Britain so this is feasible for Uber drivers there.

I've had some really interesting rides from actual people of all ages and walks of life there. I've been driven by retired university professors, students, veterans, jazz musicians who supported acts I'd heard of, writers and artists, and full time drivers who open and close the doors for you.

As far as I can see in England it's the usual grunting minicab drivers who just have the Uber app as an extra. The last one I used was double the cost of an actual minicab (£12 to go two miles down the road) then I got pestered by Uber to leave a tip as well.

I was in LA for a week a few weeks ago and in Santa Monica, a colleague was picked up by an Uber car. It was an absolute shed. I asked her how often she is picked by Uber cars in that state. She stated that this was completely normal.