Thinking to join Uber

Mercdriver

To the OP, ignore turnover quotations, they mean nothing. My father in law and my brother in law ran a courier company and were contractors for Target and then Citylink when they took over Target. Their turnover was very healthy indeed, but with insurances and fuel being sky high they were barely able to pay themselves a wage. Citylink had the cheek to charge senders a fuel surcharge ("because fuel is at an all time high") at the same time as refusing them a raise on their contract fees to take account of fuel prices.

With pressures starting to rise in the Middle East with Trump positioning in ME, it could get volatile which leads to lower supply and then higher prices. Remember that you will need Public Liability insurance too.

z1a

Mercdriver wrote: »

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.

She probably thought you meant California!

Car_54

USA is a big place. California is prosperous, plenty of jobs, so cabbing is a last resort. In places like Mississippi the opposite is the case, hence the professors, musicians etc. mentioned in an earlier post moonlighting as Uber drivers.

Scrapit

OP that bar work ain't looking so bad now. Or Macy d's. Or supermarket stuff....

Arklight

Mercdriver wrote: »

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.

LA was my oldest Uber driven by a very nice girl who had a full 5 stars. It did kind of look like she'd lived in it at one point.

To be fair though it still wasn't as bad as the wrecks that pass for licensed yellow taxis in much of the US.

As far as I can see the standards for motor ordnance are just very low in America. But it doesn't seem to afford any particular problems for anyone other than the owners so maybe they are too strict here.

The majority of the Ubers I have taken there are almost brand new. I'm not sure about now but last time I looked your car couldn't be older than 3-6 years to drive for them.

A nice earner for Uber is leasing, which is why you get so many young men picking you up in gleaming Dodge Chargers they're trying to pay back from their takings.

I suspect the fundamentals are terrible for them but I can see how it hooks people in.

peter12345678910

Mercdriver wrote: »

To the OP, ignore turnover quotations, they mean nothing. My father in law and my brother in law ran a courier company and were contractors for Target and then Citylink when they took over Target. Their turnover was very healthy indeed, but with insurances and fuel being sky high they were barely able to pay themselves a wage. Citylink had the cheek to charge senders a fuel surcharge ("because fuel is at an all time high") at the same time as refusing them a raise on their contract fees to take account of fuel prices.

With pressures starting to rise in the Middle East with Trump positioning in ME, it could get volatile which leads to lower supply and then higher prices. Remember that you will need Public Liability insurance too.

Uber requires all of their drivers to have car insurance, and provides supplemental insurance coverage, but only while the app is on. Here's how it works: When the Uber app is off, a driver is covered by their own personal car insurance. When the Uber app is turned on, a low level of liability insurance becomes active.

Jlawson118

I was about to post the same thread a few weeks ago whilst contemplating this, but I can't actually see it being a good way of making a living. A few months ago I watched a bit of a research into Uber, on YouTube, to which people said it's great for short term cash, but long term you end up spending more than you've actually earned.

At first, you've got to gain your city licensing, and then secondly a car. If you already have one then great, but you'll have to do your research into whether Uber accept your make of car to be a taxi, and it can vary from city to city. I drive a fairly new Audi A3, very spacious and comfortable, and Uber in Leeds apparently don't accept it. So getting onboard with Uber for me would mean I'd have to finance a car, which is £250 per month before even starting.

Thirdly, insurance is what will take its toll, especially being young like yourself. You would also need to fork out extra for business insurance and public liability insurance (If not covered with the business). Depending on your age and experience, Even with two years no claims for me this year, I paid £1700 for personal insurance. Divide that by 12 months and that's just over £140 per month.

You've then got your fuel costs. Which as a taxi if you're stopping and starting all of the time, this will drain your fuel. The costs on this I'm not sure about, it depends entirely on the car, the routes you're driving, how much you are stopping and starting and how many miles you typically drive. My practical work at university used to involve going to various locations, and I was always driving stop-start and it used to cost me over £50 per week with the miles I was racking up.

You're then racking up a lot of miles, meaning the car will need more frequent safety and servicing checks, this soon adds up. And it does seem a lot of money that Uber pay out, but then once you factor in running costs and tax, I can't really imagine you come out with much money from it in the end

Jlawson118

Arklight wrote: »

LA was my oldest Uber driven by a very nice girl who had a full 5 stars. It did kind of look like she'd lived in it at one point.

To be fair though it still wasn't as bad as the wrecks that pass for licensed yellow taxis in much of the US.

As far as I can see the standards for motor ordnance are just very low in America. But it doesn't seem to afford any particular problems for anyone other than the owners so maybe they are too strict here.

The majority of the Ubers I have taken there are almost brand new. I'm not sure about now but last time I looked your car couldn't be older than 3-6 years to drive for them.

A nice earner for Uber is leasing, which is why you get so many young men picking you up in gleaming Dodge Chargers they're trying to pay back from their takings.

I suspect the fundamentals are terrible for them but I can see how it hooks people in.

This reminds me of a video I watched on YouTube a while ago, regarding a lady who slept in her car and pretty much 'lived on the road' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9abrZwnPThE

Arklight

Jlawson118 wrote: »

This reminds me of a video I watched on YouTube a while ago, regarding a lady who slept in her car and pretty much 'lived on the road' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9abrZwnPThE

Interesting thanks. That's very American.

My first thought was how / where you find to sleep in the middle of the day in a sweltering car with the engine off in California.

As ever with the US it's hard to see whether the gig economy is a solution to, or a symptom of, America's awful social contract.

The full time call centre job Teri would have left to spend her life driving for Uber wouldn't have had any benefits either. No medical, little sick or paid leave, and no pension, so she probably does feel much better off working as an Uber driver.