Can You Make Money with Uber ?

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Uber is not all it is Cracked up to be

If you are a professional driver who is considering a job driving with Uber, there are some things you need to know. Do not be fooled by their deceptive and sometimes downright dishonest, claims about the benefits of joining Uber.  Ads in most major cities are claiming incomes of $1000 per week, while in reality Uber drivers are earning less than half that amount even working 50-60 hrs. per week. The Uber concept is good for the consumer, great for Uber, and horrible for the driver.
In an article that appeared recently in Business Insider , the author interviewed several Uber drivers and they uniformly stated that they have never come close to earning what Uber ads claim, and that earnings have been steadily decreasing for some time now because  Uber has flooded the market in most major cities resulting in less than 50% occupancy for most  Uber drivers.  Not a single driver reported making anywhere near $1000 a week after subtracting gas cost and fees paid by the driver, and of course after Uber takes their 20% right off the top. Add to this the wear and tear on your vehicle and it turns out the driving for Uber pays significantly less than driving for a conventional cab company.

Uber also employs a bait and switch tactic when trying to attract new drivers;  In LA, for instance Ubert started out with a $2.50/mile rate that attracted many new drivers, since at $2.50/ mile the drivers could earn a living without working  a ridiculous number of hours. Once the needed drivers were hired, Uber dropped the rate to a measly $1.10 per mile, not enough to make a living no matter how many hours the driver works. The chart below shows how Uber empoloyed the same tactic in NJ:

NEW JERSEY:
Original Price          Summer 2014 Price              Fall 2014 Price
$2.25/mile                 $1.90/mile                    $1.64/mile
$0.30/minute               $0.20/minute                  $0.20/minute
$3.00 base                 $3.00 base                    $2.00
$7.00 minimum              $7.00 minimum                 $6.00 minimum

As this chart shows, Uber started out advertising reasonable rates that would provide a full time driver with a reasonable living, and within the space of a few months dropped the rates so that the same driver working the same hours would make 28% less; Thus a driver making $50,000/yr gross to begin with would make only $36,000/yr after the rates were lowered.

Another move by Uber to attract more business was to cut rates in major markets to well below -market levels, attracting new traffic (which Uber profits from) while forcing  drivers  to drive longer hours at the reduced fares to make the same amount of money.  Once again, Uber wins, the consumer wins, and the drivers lose.

It is also worth noting that Uber discourages tipping, and didn’t even include the tipping option in the app until very recently. That is because tipping doesn’t benefit Uber, and by not encouraging tipping the service appears more economical to the consumer.

Probably the best indicator of how Uber views their drivers is the fact that they try to convince their drivers that all of their sleight of hand concerning rates, fares, and commissions is actually in the driver’s best interests. Not only do they brazenly exploit the very drivers who have made them rich, but they treat them as if they are ignorant fools who will believe the wild claims that Uber has been making a standard component of their business model. Compare this shady way of doing things with the legal, moral, and business philosophy of the traditional cab company or limo service, and I think you will agree that there really is no comparison at all.

This is also true when it comes to vehicle maintenance and replacement costs since with the legal cab company the driver does not incur any repair or replacement bills like the Uber driver will encounter as his car ages rapidly from the grueling regimen a commercial car endures. The expense of having to purchase a replacement vehicle is enough to put most single car Uber drivers out of business, or at best deeply in the red for a considerable time.

After taking all of these  factors into consideration, it becomes clear that driving for Uber has absolutely no advantages over driving for a traditional, legal, cab company. The cab company’s rate ( currently around $2.40/mile in most urban markets) is not going to fluctuate wildly. This provides the driver with a stable income allowing them to make future financial plans with a reasonable amount of confidence that their incomes will remain stable moving forward. The cab company is unlikely to flood the market with excessive cars/drivers as has been the case with UBer in several locations. The bottom line is that Uber does not live up to it’s claims and there is more money and more security driving for a legitimate, legal cab company.

Request your local Uber drivers in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota, Jacksonville, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Coral  and ask how much money they really make......

Taxi Driver on Uber and Lyft / Opinion

"The commission’s executives are continuing to negotiate with the ride-sharing businesses over ways to help them operate legitimately, and many of the key issues, including more thorough background checks, commercial insurance, vehicle inspections and whether the commission can impose pre-determined rates on rides, have been worked out."

Neither Uber nor Lyft want to communicate with PTC, why?
because 3-6 months from now, when they are going to be forced to accept conditions imposed on them by court, they also will be forced to raise the rates to compensate drivers for extra expenses like commercial insurance, city license, hack license, car inspections, etc.
............but,.......... by then , their market share in local personal transportation field will be substantially higher, build on $1.20 a mile rides they advertise now.
Needless to say, when they are going to rise rates, they also  will be blaming "bad" PTC for that, making uber look like "Robin Hood" company FORCED TO COMPLY WITH EVIL GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS.
............a cinderella, fighting "corrupted taxi cartels"........?   

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"Fight-between-hillsborough-and-ride-sharing-services-goes-up-a-notch

By Keith Morelli | TBO.com

TAMPA — The simmering feud between the agency that regulates cab and limousine services in Hillsborough County and a handful of upstart ride-sharing companies escalated Thursday when a Lyft driver refused to take a plea on a misdemeanor of driving a taxi without a license and demanded a jury trial.

Farhad Kazemi, 42, rejected a misdemeanor intervention program that could have resulted in a dismissal of the charges and said he wanted his case heard by a jury. Hillsborough County Judge Lawrence Lefler set a trial date of Oct. 20.

Another Lyft driver, Darrell Rogers, was scheduled to appear in court Thursday on similar charges but failed to appear. Lefler issued a warrant for his arrest.

The two are the first of nearly two dozen cases made by local transportation inspectors over the past two weeks that now are wending their way through county court. The court cases began after the Public Transportation Commission, which has been locked in a dispute with Uber and Lyft over what level of regulation the ride-sharing services should be subject to, set up an operation to cite the drivers.

“I guess it was a sting,” Public Transportation Commission Executive Director Kyle Cockream said of the operation that netted Kazemi and other ride-sharing drivers. “That’s the closest thing to describe it.”............"

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Canada vs Uber Con Artists

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Uber In Canada


Uber has become one of the fastest-growing tech companies of the past year. It seems you are hearing about it everywhere, and it has even launched in Canada. This year, the company has raised $1.5 billion in venture capital, and it touts itself as a cheaper alternative to taking a taxi, while also laying claims that it is possible to make $50,000 to $100,000 a year as an Uber driver.
The road for Uber has not been an easy one, especially in Canada. In September of 2012, it was reported that Uber was in a dispute with local regulators, and two months later it was announced that the company was raising its rates to $75 per hour to comply with regulations. By December, Uber had chosen not to get a licence from the city. That same month, Uber was charged with 25 municipal licencing offenses in Toronto, including having an unlicensed taxi brokerage and unlicensed limo service.
Uber has touted itself as an alternative to taxis, but many have found that just getting an Uber ride is very difficult. In a piece in the Financial Post, published in September of 2014, a reporter attempted to compare different transit options, including Uber. Depsite checking several times between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., he found no cars were available and the reporter had to take transit to work. As a result, the reporter could not verify the claim that it is 40 per cent cheaper than a Toronto taxi.
What about the claims of making $50,000 to $100,000? These claims seem to be greatly exaggerated upon. For one, there are often too many people offering the service now to actually bring in that much money. One driver stated that they work the busiest hours of the day for Uber, driving people around, and clear around $1,000 a month. That comes to $12,000 a year, far below the average and only in the busiest place at the busiest time.
The road for Uber has not been a smooth one, with many controversies surrounding the company, including in Canada. In December 2013, a person who was working as an Uber driver struck and killed a six-year-old girl with his car. The driver was not carrying a passenger but because the driver was checking the Uber mobile application at the time, the family launched a lawsuit against Uber.
The National Federal of the Blind has also filed a lawsuit against uber claiming that the company violates the American with Disabilties Act. There was one reported instance of a service dog being stored in the trunk and the refusal of the driver to acknowledge the concern of the blind passenger. Another case showed a driver getting into a verbal exchange with a blind man, and accelerating quickly, nearly injuring the guide dog. Cab drivers in Paris have also protested the competition created by the startup. Drivers blocked roads of many European cities in protest of what they see is a threat to their livelihood. They state that Uber, due to it being app-based, is not subject to the same fees and regulations they face.
Uber has also been cited as sabotaging other competitors. Uber employees in New York City were reported to have ordered rides from Gett, a competitor, only to cancel them later. This wasted the time of the drivers to get actual customers, and it lowered the incentives of the drivers to keep with the company, causing them instead to go to Uber. Lyft has also been subject to sabotage. A CNN Money story in August of 2014 found that 177 Uber has also been cited as sabotaging other competitors. Uber employees in New York City were reported to have ordered rides from Gett, a competitor, only to cancel them later. This wasted the time of the drivers to get actual customers, and it lowered the incentives of the drivers to keep with the company, causing them instead to go to Uber.   Lyft has also been subject to sabotage. A CNN Money story in August of 2014 found that 177 Uber employees ordered and cancelled 5,560 rides with Lyft over the past year. One Uber recruiter canceled 300 rides in the space of two weeks. Uber did not issue an apology for this.
With Uber in Canada, many see the company threatening the livelihood of taxi companies, when rides can be found at all. Many complain that all that is needed to be an Uber employee is a background check, but little else, which can put people at risk when getting in a car with someone who is not working under a regulated taxi cab service.
Uber has had many problems in the past, and their claims of paying upwards of $50,000 or more to people who drive for them seem to be greatly exaggerated. Many feel that the company has grown too fast, and has no real regulations to keep things in check. Coupled with its business practices, or the practices of its employees, when dealing with competitors, and it is clear to see that Uber has several black eyes for its business so far.
If you are thinking of being an Uber employee, don’t waste your time it seems. If you are thinking of using Uber, it might be best to just choose a regular taxi cab company.

Toronto, Ontario,
 Montreal, Quebec,
Calgary, Alberta,
Ottawa, Ontario,
Edmonton, Alberta,
Mississauga, Ontario,
Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Vancouver, British Columbia,
 Brampton, Ontario,
Hamilton, Ontario,
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Uber and its Drivers

fuck the uber, terrorists

Uber Plays Stupid in Tampa Bay

Uber Plays Stupid in Tampa court hearing. "we don't use taxi meters, we just use "stupid" phones, which computes distance, time and price somewhere on servers in California and that's how drivers get paid and customers get charged" ..................IS THIS FOR REAL?  ..........DO UBER THINK, THAT PEOPLE IN FLORIDA ARE STUPID?

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Uber-and-Ptc-square-off-before-hearing-officer-over-tickets

"...............Much of Monday's hearing centered around determining if a smartphone app can be considered a meter. If so, regulators argued Uber's drivers are operating in the same fashion as cab drivers, and thus subject to the same rules. But Uber representative Matthew Gore, general manager in Florida, said the rate is calculated by an algorithm on the their servers in California, not in the app.

"The vehicles are not taxicabs, and there is no meter installed," Gore said after Monday's hearing. "It's a new category of service that the regulators never wrote into their laws."............"

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