London cabbies to protest over smartphone app.
Discussion
s1962a said:
Zod said:
s1962a said:
Another benefit of Uber (and apps like it, though I don't know of others) is that you can use it abroad the same way you use it here, and you get billed in local currency without any hassle. I've got one of those credit cards that doesn't charge for foreign currency transactions so using Uber in europe is quite preferable and easy for me, and I just pay the GBP equivalent of the local currency.
The other day some block came up to me in my car and asked me if I was an Uber car - the cheek of the man! For this very reason I think TFL need to take a long hard look at the inconvenience this is causing for members of the public being mistaken for uber drivers whilst going about their usual business.
Do you drive a Prius or an E Class?The other day some block came up to me in my car and asked me if I was an Uber car - the cheek of the man! For this very reason I think TFL need to take a long hard look at the inconvenience this is causing for members of the public being mistaken for uber drivers whilst going about their usual business.
Uber works well in major world cities but in smaller cities and towns whilst they have to have a presence (for their existing users) it doesn't work very well for them. Infact it's hugely unprofitable for them and certainly doesn't affect local private hire companies in the slightest. May even be a boost for them.
drainbrain said:
Uber works well in major world cities but in smaller cities and towns whilst they have to have a presence (for their existing users) it doesn't work very well for them. Infact it's hugely unprofitable for them and certainly doesn't affect local private hire companies in the slightest. May even be a boost for them.
You go where the demand is, they will know where the demand is, its not difficult to see how many users open the app to check if there is a car in Guildford, for example, if lots of people do it, they would likely have more cars there, same goes for Leeds, Manchester, Brighton etc etc. If they have 25,000 cars in London, I'm sure its of very little interest to them whether they are winning the mini cab market in Exeter.Zod said:
s1962a said:
Another benefit of Uber (and apps like it, though I don't know of others) is that you can use it abroad the same way you use it here, and you get billed in local currency without any hassle. I've got one of those credit cards that doesn't charge for foreign currency transactions so using Uber in europe is quite preferable and easy for me, and I just pay the GBP equivalent of the local currency.
The other day some block came up to me in my car and asked me if I was an Uber car - the cheek of the man! For this very reason I think TFL need to take a long hard look at the inconvenience this is causing for members of the public being mistaken for uber drivers whilst going about their usual business.
Do you drive a Prius or an E Class?The other day some block came up to me in my car and asked me if I was an Uber car - the cheek of the man! For this very reason I think TFL need to take a long hard look at the inconvenience this is causing for members of the public being mistaken for uber drivers whilst going about their usual business.
okgo said:
drainbrain said:
Uber works well in major world cities but in smaller cities and towns whilst they have to have a presence (for their existing users) it doesn't work very well for them. Infact it's hugely unprofitable for them and certainly doesn't affect local private hire companies in the slightest. May even be a boost for them.
You go where the demand is, they will know where the demand is, its not difficult to see how many users open the app to check if there is a car in Guildford, for example, if lots of people do it, they would likely have more cars there, same goes for Leeds, Manchester, Brighton etc etc. If they have 25,000 cars in London, I'm sure its of very little interest to them whether they are winning the mini cab market in Exeter.As I said, works very well in major world cities where there are loads of tourist mugs and company credit card wallahs. But try telling Mrs McNobody that she's to pay triple the fare for her daily regular run to the bingo and back because it's 6pm, and she'll whack you with her handbag. Plus of course she (and about a gazillion other UK citizens) can't get near a credit card and don't want one anyway.
Chris George
12k Views
I'm a freelance photographer with an erratic income; so I thought that I could supplement my income with Uber-X driving in London.
I decided to undertake a two month experiment to see if Uber Driving was a viable way of providing an additional income. During this experiment I was working twelve hour shifts six days a week. During the weekdays for this work my revenue was between £120 - £150 per day before expenses. On weekends I was bringing in revenue of approximately £150 for each day. I really was quite busy and accepting most pings. I also tried to ensure that I was maximizing the times I was working surge times Quite frankly I found it difficult to see how I could have worked much harder or for that matter much smarter!
Taking into account expenses such as diesel, car rental, fixed penalty charge notices (which are difficult to avoid, I had three during the two months!) minor scratches to bodywork (which are also difficult to avoid, one during the two months), parking fees (which are difficult to avoid as well) cost of a PHV license and other expenses then my conclusions about long term viability of Uber driving was quite grim. I'm not sure if many Uber Drivers are closely looking at their costs when they boast about how much money they make! My mileage was approximately 3000 per month and the wear and tear on the car was enormous. Even if I'd bought or leased a car for somewhere in the region of £350 per month and paid my own insurance (£400 monthly approximately) the actual profit I would have made would be have been markedly different to the one that I'd calculated.
To summarize I was making substantially less than minimum wage, working 60 hours a week at very anti-social hours, meeting many self-entitled unpleasant people, my health started to suffer, my social life was almost non-existent and I was treated as a servant by most people. In conclusion my recommendation would be to avoid Uber driving and look at working as an employee instead. Even McDonalds workers get treated better and make more money in the long run. i.e with paid holidays, national insurance contributions, sick pay etc. Uber say you are a 'partner' but the reality is that you are an employee without any benefits or job security. The only control you have, is that you can choose when to work; however this is a false benefit as the only way to make any money is to work very long shifts during very anti-social hours.
I have stopped working as an Uber driver for one week now and I have no regrets that I finished. It was an interesting experience and I had lots of memorable conversations and discovered much about London that remains hidden to most dwellers but I do not wish to repeat this experiment. To make it viable then my estimate is that fares would need to increase by at least 50% and a tipping option needs to be added.
Updated 29 Dec 2015 • View Upvotes
12k Views
I'm a freelance photographer with an erratic income; so I thought that I could supplement my income with Uber-X driving in London.
I decided to undertake a two month experiment to see if Uber Driving was a viable way of providing an additional income. During this experiment I was working twelve hour shifts six days a week. During the weekdays for this work my revenue was between £120 - £150 per day before expenses. On weekends I was bringing in revenue of approximately £150 for each day. I really was quite busy and accepting most pings. I also tried to ensure that I was maximizing the times I was working surge times Quite frankly I found it difficult to see how I could have worked much harder or for that matter much smarter!
Taking into account expenses such as diesel, car rental, fixed penalty charge notices (which are difficult to avoid, I had three during the two months!) minor scratches to bodywork (which are also difficult to avoid, one during the two months), parking fees (which are difficult to avoid as well) cost of a PHV license and other expenses then my conclusions about long term viability of Uber driving was quite grim. I'm not sure if many Uber Drivers are closely looking at their costs when they boast about how much money they make! My mileage was approximately 3000 per month and the wear and tear on the car was enormous. Even if I'd bought or leased a car for somewhere in the region of £350 per month and paid my own insurance (£400 monthly approximately) the actual profit I would have made would be have been markedly different to the one that I'd calculated.
To summarize I was making substantially less than minimum wage, working 60 hours a week at very anti-social hours, meeting many self-entitled unpleasant people, my health started to suffer, my social life was almost non-existent and I was treated as a servant by most people. In conclusion my recommendation would be to avoid Uber driving and look at working as an employee instead. Even McDonalds workers get treated better and make more money in the long run. i.e with paid holidays, national insurance contributions, sick pay etc. Uber say you are a 'partner' but the reality is that you are an employee without any benefits or job security. The only control you have, is that you can choose when to work; however this is a false benefit as the only way to make any money is to work very long shifts during very anti-social hours.
I have stopped working as an Uber driver for one week now and I have no regrets that I finished. It was an interesting experience and I had lots of memorable conversations and discovered much about London that remains hidden to most dwellers but I do not wish to repeat this experiment. To make it viable then my estimate is that fares would need to increase by at least 50% and a tipping option needs to be added.
Updated 29 Dec 2015 • View Upvotes
drainbrain said:
Chris George
12k Views
I'm a freelance photographer with an erratic income; so I thought that I could supplement my income with Uber-X driving in London.
Doesn't most of that apply to all minicab work? The vast majority are self-employed (even if a firm is providing a vehicle, insurance, etc) and it's always seemed like a hard way to make a living.12k Views
I'm a freelance photographer with an erratic income; so I thought that I could supplement my income with Uber-X driving in London.
Did he expect that to be different just because it's for a startup with a fancy app?
sjg said:
drainbrain said:
Chris George
12k Views
I'm a freelance photographer with an erratic income; so I thought that I could supplement my income with Uber-X driving in London.
Doesn't most of that apply to all minicab work? The vast majority are self-employed (even if a firm is providing a vehicle, insurance, etc) and it's always seemed like a hard way to make a living.12k Views
I'm a freelance photographer with an erratic income; so I thought that I could supplement my income with Uber-X driving in London.
Did he expect that to be different just because it's for a startup with a fancy app?
s1962a said:
sjg said:
drainbrain said:
Chris George
12k Views
I'm a freelance photographer with an erratic income; so I thought that I could supplement my income with Uber-X driving in London.
Doesn't most of that apply to all minicab work? The vast majority are self-employed (even if a firm is providing a vehicle, insurance, etc) and it's always seemed like a hard way to make a living.12k Views
I'm a freelance photographer with an erratic income; so I thought that I could supplement my income with Uber-X driving in London.
Did he expect that to be different just because it's for a startup with a fancy app?
I remain unconvinced that cab driving is skilled work - and there seems to be no shortage of labour willing and able to provide it. I struggle to see how it could command more than minimum wage in the market.
Apps like Uber just intensify competition, and this will ultimately drive down prices to marginal cost.
Apps like Uber just intensify competition, and this will ultimately drive down prices to marginal cost.
brickwall said:
I remain unconvinced that cab driving is skilled work - and there seems to be no shortage of labour willing and able to provide it. I struggle to see how it could command more than minimum wage in the market.
Apps like Uber just intensify competition, and this will ultimately drive down prices to marginal cost.
London cab driving - as any major city - has some additional skills. A satnav, the friend of every uber driver only goes so far.Apps like Uber just intensify competition, and this will ultimately drive down prices to marginal cost.
The black cabs should be modernising, they are their own worst enemy at times.
The number of times I've got into a cab saying "cash only"... It's 2016 FFS.
Burwood said:
The real world example doesn't show a grim outcome though. Even working 20 days a month it shows income 2,600-3,000. 3k miles covered at 30mpg is £500 in fuel, £400 in insurance and £300 in car running costs for dents servicing etc. Almost 2k a month left over. Whats wrong with that if one wants some extra cash. I think the penalty charge notices are something you would learn about. Of course they are avoidable if you pay attention. I have yet to use Uber being in rural Surrey however a friend in Richmond uses them almost exclusively now. Blackcab costs of his usual route was £35, Uber between £16 and £19 depending on traffic, time of day.
You're forgetting Uber's take from that though which is around 25%. I was having a gander on the uber forum a little while ago ( yes, there is one!) and they are not a happy bunch to say the least. You can be locked out of the app for minor indescresions such as not being available for hire at periods to suit uber, low customer scores and refusing fares from known difficult customers amongst a load of other reasons and that's not including when the drivers app goes offline for no reason which is again a common complaint.It seems Uber relies on driver churn to keep the numbers up as,according to the uber forum, you have to basically live in your Prius to make any decent money and most barely clear minimum wage.
A big thing that has gone unmentioned is that one if the proposals is to remove the exemption of the congestion charge for minicabs in London. This may well be enough for many drivers to jack it in unless Uber improves its rates which as they have just gone up for new drivers, seems unlikely.
Vaud said:
skyrover said:
Yes... it's fraud, plain and simple
I've no idea if they declare it or not. I don't mind paying cash for small amounts. But I don't carry much. I want to pay by debit card or Visa/Amex. Like I can in many, many countries.
It's a lot easier for expenses for a start.
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