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Adden

Registered: 06/04/03
Posts: 39,201
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Anyone ever run Uber?
#23959744 - 12/27/16 03:22 AM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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In a couple weeks, I'll be starting work at 5pm. The commute in and out of Portland area is terrible. Traffic is normally bad anyway, then add a commute.
So I was thinking of heading north around 11am and running Uber from Noon to 4:00.
I've got a clean background and clean driving record with insurance, a 2016 stick shift 4 door. 20k miles great tires and brakes. I'd just have to clean up the trunk/glovebox/doors, load some roadside emergency/repair gear, and a bug out bag.
I figure, why the heck not, I can make some loot while stuck in traffic for some other asshole, then go into work.
Taxes are gonna suck, I've done this whole dog and pony show before though on contracting. I'll even write off getting it detailed before I start.
Thoughts, experiences?
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PreparationH
apply daily

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Re: Anyone ever run Uber? [Re: Adden]
#23959769 - 12/27/16 04:11 AM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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Ha, I am getting a smart phone in the next 2 weeks to start doing uber too. The 2 people I know that do it love it. One guy does it for pocket money and the other does it full time.
The only negative I hear is the wear and tear on your vehicle and that you dont want to depend on it as your main income. My one friend had a customer with a DUI that needed rides to work every morning and was paying him like $20 per ride to his job 15 minutes away. It seems like it can really be worth it if you play it right.
I'm also posting in here to read other's experiences.
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Adden

Registered: 06/04/03
Posts: 39,201
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I'd like to hear others as well. A lot of people commute to Portland or Tualatin areas and I can drop people off on my way there. My wife said she would do it, too, so we get both the lunch crowd and dinner crowd. I imagine those to be peak hours. I wonder if the weekend is good money for designated driver rides.. I'd assume/hope so.
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Shroomism
Space Travellin



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Re: Anyone ever run Uber? [Re: Adden]
#23959800 - 12/27/16 05:07 AM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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Not worth it anymore IMO.
I tried it to supplement my income when it first started, I could make around $20-25/hr on average pretty easy, just working late at night and weekends. Seems like a decent chunk but when you add in you have to pay for gas, all the wear and tear on your ride, taxes at the end of the year, etc etc.. it adds up. I did it for around 8 months. Part time at first but then I also did it full time in between jobs.
Then Uber continually decreased their rates, then they continually increased the cut they take from your pay. Really good for the passengers - but the drivers got the shaft every step of the way. Then they made you use their issued phone which they charged $10/month for. They later made it so you could use your own phone but it couldn't be jailbroken/rooted. They encourage you to keep waters and snacks and extra chargers in your car for passengers and that's all well and good but that all comes out of your pocket. My paychecks kept going down and down and down, and I was working the same.
It became too much after a while. I did not like the additional wear and tear on my vehicle especially since I am OCD and crazy about my car, and driving a modified car the first two months I had a bitch slam my door into a curb.. was taking some drunk person home down some unlit road late at night and slammed into a giant rock in the road, tore up my front bumper and lip. That was like a good $700 in repairs The uber app tells people tip is included, but it's not... there is no tip and they continually fucked drivers over so your cut is less than ever. So riders think tip is included and there is no way to tip through the app so you'll pretty much never get tipped except maybe 1 out of 200.
The final straw was when some drunk dude puked in the back of my car.. he managed to open the window and get the majority out the window... and sprayed all over the side of my car, but there was some in the interior too. I took a bunch of pictures and cleaned it as best I could and got it professionally cleaned the next day costing me $170 and uber refused to comp me for it. They are supposed to cover up to a $200 cleaning fee in the event someone pukes/etc in your car and it requires professional cleaning. They refused me.. saying it wasn't "severe" enough to justify professional cleaning and drivers are expected to keep their cars clean anyway. I said fuck you.
It was totally not worth it for me in the end. I would work a crazy week of late night surge rides (driving during surge pricing became the only real way to keep it profitable) , and maybe pull in a ~$1000 check after ~40 hours of driving but then you realize oh I spent $250 just in gas that week, uber also takes their 10%(15% now?) cut right off the top.. that $1000 gets taxed and you have to pay that at the end of the year on your 1099, and whatever little additional wear and tear on your ride and extra maintenance you have to do.. your actual income is only maybe half or less.
Uber nickel and dimed the drivers and it got pretty shitty IMO. Uber as a company can suck my dick. Lyft I've heard is a lot better, and Lyft people can tip through the app. I knew some people who would drive for both Uber and Lyft, they would switch between them depending what was surging best at the time.. that's the smartest way to do it if you're going to go for it IMO. If you drive a super economical car that you don't care a whole lot about, then it becomes a bit more lucrative, like if you drove a prius or something.. but then you're driving a prius.
Overall it's a decent enough way to make a some cash on the side, you work your own hours and work whenever you want so that's a big plus. You can do it as a main job too but it's grueling as a motherfucker and I wouldn't recommend it really. But for me it became too much of a headache.. too much risk and not enough reward. After it was all said and done after taxes and uber's cut and gas and everything, I was barely making much at all. So I guess if you drove a hybrid or electric car, then it's much better if you aren't blowing through shittons of money on gas
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LSDollar


Registered: 02/09/15
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Re: Anyone ever run Uber? [Re: Shroomism]
#23959812 - 12/27/16 05:32 AM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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I have thought about it, but my city is "too small" or "ubers not running there"
I think I could make some easy bank in a couple days and a couple tanks of gas. Car gets 25MPG a tank, if i only tank city trips that are more than 10 miles to get there, ill be hitting 27 easily. Summer time, long trips I hit 28-30.
Charge someone 20$, and pay 6-8$ in gas.
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Prisoner#1
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Re: Anyone ever run Uber? [Re: Adden]
#23959996 - 12/27/16 08:55 AM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Adden said: I've got a clean background and clean driving record with insurance
do you have commercial insurance? if not, you can lose the car and still be making payments because you didnt have adequate insurance for a for hire vehicle
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Herbologist
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Re: Anyone ever run Uber? [Re: Prisoner#1]
#23960010 - 12/27/16 09:05 AM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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If he has a carrier that provides it, he can get an endorsement on his personal insurance to extend coverage to his vehicle while shuttling for Uber. Otherwise, yeah, he has only the coverage Uber provides.
-------------------- Shroomery Law: Don't piss off the leftist mods & their friends!
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Adden

Registered: 06/04/03
Posts: 39,201
Loc:
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Re: Anyone ever run Uber? [Re: Prisoner#1]
#23960234 - 12/27/16 11:02 AM (7 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Prisoner#1 said:
Quote:
Adden said: I've got a clean background and clean driving record with insurance
do you have commercial insurance? if not, you can lose the car and still be making payments because you didnt have adequate insurance for a for hire vehicle
Very good to know. Thanks.
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