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It's just a 2015 Jetta, but It's given me the opportunity to work for Uber.
![[image loading]](http://imganuncios.mitula.net/2015_volkswagen_jetta_s_black_in_clementwood_vermont_8050004414976099525.jpg)
(random google image)
They've already sent a dude out to check out the ride. I just need to wait for the insurance, registration, and plates to come in the mail. They send me a text like every day to finish my app, or come into Irvine HQ and finish my app, and they give me 100$ sign up bonus for first 10 rides.
Older gentleman who came out gave me a lot of advice and said it was really great.
Anyone know anyone who works for it and has any tips? I live in So Cal, so I'll most likely be ferrying people to airports and driving drunks around. The pay seems pretty good if you keep getting fares (uber just takes 20% of your fare and you keep the rest).
I've always sort of thought that it's always a bad ROI or whatever if you use your own vehicle as part of your work (gas, insurance, repairs, upkeep, etc). However, I don't give a shit right now.
And besides that, I currently work for a chinese food place doing deliveries etc. And the boss man is a huge dick who micromanages like crazy. I didn't wanna work there anymore after like a week. Even though the pay is somewhat decent for how little time I spend working there (my hourly is about the same as the tips).
The car is pretty decent. The acceleration isn't the greatest but it drives pretty smoothly and the stereo and shit is pretty cool. I'm not a fan of this key fob shit, and the speakers could use an upgrade but it's not that big of a deal. The mpg is not bad. It sorta tells you how many miles you got left in your tank and when you fill up you can see that.
I've been keeping a log of tips, miles driven, amount of deliveries, and money spent on gas for the chinese food place.
Technically I could be paid .55cents per mile iirc and make a lot more money. However, the boss often does give free meal at the end of the shift and pays 1$ per delivery, so it sort of evens out.
 
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Nice bro congrats ! This sounds like a great opportunity and a brand new 2015 Jetta will def. be nice as well, Jetta's are reliable and great cars from what I have heard, congrats again and good luck on the new job! Did you pick up any Chinese while at this current job?
Thanks for sharing~ 5/5
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Did you forget how to write? Cause this is utter shit.
1/5 on writing.
User was temp banned for this post.
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Congrats on the ride Chalz.
Def interested to hear how uber works out. I've not heard good things as far as making money and stuff but who knows! Best of luck dude
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Be careful with insurance while working for Uber. Technically, to drive people around for fares, you need to have commercial insurance in most places, and that costs like 10X more. Uber will tell you that personal insurance is enough, when in reality, it isn't.....
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Hey man, let us know your experiences with Uber. I used to drive for Lyft in Atlanta but the market became so saturated with drivers that I decided it wasn't worth my time anymore (I wasn't making that much hourly)
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Holy crap, you're buying that car from a dealer in Vermont! I grew up in Vermont!
I gotta say I can't stand bosses who micromanage. I work in retail (hopefully not for much longer :p), and honestly managers will often force me to do whatever task I'm doing using a technique that is significantly less efficient than what I was originally doing. Gaah it pisses me off. Whenever they do, I just keep reminding myself that I'll be getting less work done but still be paid the same for my time, so fuck them.
On April 17 2015 07:22 iTzSnypah wrote:
Did you forget how to write? Cause this is utter shit.
1/5 on writing.
User was temp banned for this post.
When I read this in the ABL, I expected to find a blog that was almost unreadable due to grammatical errors. When I got here, however, I found a blog that was perfectly fine. You, sir, are a salty ass-hole.
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On April 17 2015 10:21 Impervious wrote:
Be careful with insurance while working for Uber. Technically, to drive people around for fares, you need to have commercial insurance in most places, and that costs like 10X more. Uber will tell you that personal insurance is enough, when in reality, it isn't.....
I thought Uber pays for insurance to protect itself? I was listening to an NPR story on it while in an Uber once. Are you saying that the Uber driver is also liable, in addition? Why would someone who is hurt sue the driver rather than Uber? Uber is a billion dollar business.
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On April 17 2015 12:29 IgnE wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2015 10:21 Impervious wrote:
Be careful with insurance while working for Uber. Technically, to drive people around for fares, you need to have commercial insurance in most places, and that costs like 10X more. Uber will tell you that personal insurance is enough, when in reality, it isn't..... I thought Uber pays for insurance to protect itself? I was listening to an NPR story on it while in an Uber once. Are you saying that the Uber driver is also liable, in addition? Why would someone who is hurt sue the driver rather than Uber? Uber is a billion dollar business.
Thing is he's the owner of the car, and he no doubt plans to use it off the clock, hence why he needs insurance. But yes, if he gets in an accident while working, Uber's insurance would pick up the tab, rather than his own (at least that's how I understand it).
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Yeah that's obvious and not what I was talking about.
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What exactly is "checking out the ride"? I assume that they control if you actually have a vehicle that is up to their standards of service, so you can't do this with a 20-year old wreck? Anyway, besides having a 20-year old wreck, I also live in a country where this doesn't work (you need to be moreorless a real licenced taxi driver to work with Uber because of outdated regulations kept by the taxi lobby), but I think it could be quite fun.
Once I picked up some hitchikers in Norway who bribed me into driving them where they wanted to go (I usually take hitchhikers a little out of my way for free, but this was like two hours of driving while my real friends waited for me to pick them up in a mountaing cabin) - the nice thing was that I made something about my usually weekly salary withing those two hours, yet the passangers were very happy to save so much money compared to taking a taxi ... I was contemplating for a little bit to stay in Norway for some time and operate an illegal tourist taxi service for some time, but chickened out eventually.
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On April 17 2015 12:29 IgnE wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2015 10:21 Impervious wrote:
Be careful with insurance while working for Uber. Technically, to drive people around for fares, you need to have commercial insurance in most places, and that costs like 10X more. Uber will tell you that personal insurance is enough, when in reality, it isn't..... I thought Uber pays for insurance to protect itself? I was listening to an NPR story on it while in an Uber once. Are you saying that the Uber driver is also liable, in addition? Why would someone who is hurt sue the driver rather than Uber? Uber is a billion dollar business.
I read like a dozen articles on uber and driving for uber. Didn't stumble across this one, can you link it?
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On April 17 2015 16:19 opisska wrote:
What exactly is "checking out the ride"? I assume that they control if you actually have a vehicle that is up to their standards of service, so you can't do this with a 20-year old wreck? Anyway, besides having a 20-year old wreck, I also live in a country where this doesn't work (you need to be moreorless a real licenced taxi driver to work with Uber because of outdated regulations kept by the taxi lobby), but I think it could be quite fun.
Once I picked up some hitchikers in Norway who bribed me into driving them where they wanted to go (I usually take hitchhikers a little out of my way for free, but this was like two hours of driving while my real friends waited for me to pick them up in a mountaing cabin) - the nice thing was that I made something about my usually weekly salary withing those two hours, yet the passangers were very happy to save so much money compared to taking a taxi ... I was contemplating for a little bit to stay in Norway for some time and operate an illegal tourist taxi service for some time, but chickened out eventually.
Another veteran uber driving was sent to my house within 15 minutes (just like he would for a normal fare). He shows up, uber sends him a checklist. He semi interviews me and he gets 20$ for it. And then verifies a bunch of other things like your ID and such. Yea it has to be recent as 2005 car, 4 doors, in working order etc.
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On April 17 2015 12:29 IgnE wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2015 10:21 Impervious wrote:
Be careful with insurance while working for Uber. Technically, to drive people around for fares, you need to have commercial insurance in most places, and that costs like 10X more. Uber will tell you that personal insurance is enough, when in reality, it isn't..... I thought Uber pays for insurance to protect itself? I was listening to an NPR story on it while in an Uber once. Are you saying that the Uber driver is also liable, in addition? Why would someone who is hurt sue the driver rather than Uber? Uber is a billion dollar business.
Well, yes and no. Uber does have insurance on itself, but the vehicle you're using for transporting people is your own. The vehicle has to be insured, and the driver is responsible for insurance, seeing as it is their personal vehicle. When a vehicle is used to transport people for fares (legal term of "livery"), then in most places it has to be insured as a commercial vehicle. That insurance costs a lot more than personal insurance does. Uber, as far as my understanding, does not cover that higher insurance cost..... And if you don't declare the vehicle is being used for commercial purposes, you're committing insurance fraud.....
Basically, if you get in an accident while using the car to drive someone for a fare, whether they are in the vehicle or you are heading to the location to pick them up, you are required by law (in most places) to have commercial insurance on the vehicle. Even if you have personal insurance that more than covers the accident, it's not the right type of insurance on the vehicle for the use at the time, so your claim would likely get declined..... At which point, if there are any injuries, you would be the one getting sued for it, not the insurance company.....
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according to Uber's own blog, that is just all wrong. Uber, again according to Uber, has a commercial insurance policy for their drivers while working. working being defined as trip acceptance to completion.
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Yeah dude, I think Uber has a huge commercial insurance policy for all its drivers. When you are worth a billion dollars you can't risk a massive class-action lawsuit from all the passengers getting in accidents.
@Marlie
No, it was several months ago and I can't find the show I was listening to. It was on Fresh Air or something, I don't really remember the specifics.
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On April 18 2015 03:05 brian wrote:
according to Uber's own blog, that is just all wrong. Uber, again according to Uber, has a commercial insurance policy for their drivers while working. working being defined as trip acceptance to completion.
It does not fully cover anything that happens while you are logged in but haven't accepted a trip yet though. And because your vehicle is being used for a commercial purpose at that point, it may void your personal insurance on the vehicle. And the coverage Uber has in this period of time is rather weak..... Also, just by logging into Uber, you could permanently void your personal insurance, so that an accident that happens off the clock may no longer be covered. A lot of this depends on your individual insurance.....
Like I said in my first post, be careful. Nobody should just rush into this to make some money, because some of the things going on right now are borderline illegal and it could seriously bite you in the ass.
Uber also stated that their insurance policy is "proprietary", and isn't disclosed fully anywhere visible by the public. If that isn't going to be a huge red flag for anyone else, I don't know what would be.....
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Dude there are millions of rides; there have been accidents. You could just try and find out what Uber insurance did or did not cover on those thousands of accidents.
But yes, Uber is a ruthless amoral libertarian corporation. That should raise red flags for a number of reasons.
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On April 18 2015 11:34 Impervious wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2015 03:05 brian wrote:
according to Uber's own blog, that is just all wrong. Uber, again according to Uber, has a commercial insurance policy for their drivers while working. working being defined as trip acceptance to completion. It does not fully cover anything that happens while you are logged in but haven't accepted a trip yet though. And because your vehicle is being used for a commercial purpose at that point, it may void your personal insurance on the vehicle. And the coverage Uber has in this period of time is rather weak..... Also, just by logging into Uber, you could permanently void your personal insurance, so that an accident that happens off the clock may no longer be covered. A lot of this depends on your individual insurance..... Like I said in my first post, be careful. Nobody should just rush into this to make some money, because some of the things going on right now are borderline illegal and it could seriously bite you in the ass. Uber also stated that their insurance policy is "proprietary", and isn't disclosed fully anywhere visible by the public. If that isn't going to be a huge red flag for anyone else, I don't know what would be.....
how have you decided that driving around with the Uber app opened has voided your personal insurance coverage? lol 'permanently void' is not an insurance practice. it's either covered or not. an insurance company absolutely could not cancel you for cause for having your Uber App open.
insurance companies sell, specifically, 'ride sharing commercial coverage' on policies. I don't think Uber not disclosing the particulars of their contract is at all odd. it's their contract, and if I were them I wouldn't want to make it accessible to their competitors.
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It's not me that has decided that Uber's insurance and license coverage is not necessarily sufficient, it is insurance companies and the governments that have publicly stated that Uber is walking a fine line between legal and illegal..... It's actually not just about Uber, but any ride sharing company. According to a number of insurance companies, the vehicles usually aren't being declared as being used for commercial purposes (IIRC there are 2 states in the USA that have laws allowing policies which are private yet usable for ride sharing which avoids this issue, a kind of hybrid insurance). If you've lied to the insurance companies, it can void your policy, even if the incident happens while you aren't currently logged into Uber's app. There have been cases where that has happened, go look it up. Also, a number of municipalities which are responsible for licensing taxi services in cities have noted that the laws don't allow for ride sharing in the way that Uber or other services do it. Fines have been handed out and cars have been impounded over this, and more municipalities are making laws to make this kind of thing more difficult. Yet again, you can find out about this if you look it up.
If you are in a location where you can get appropriate insurance and do not require a taxi license, then by all means, Uber is a great way to make money. It is much cheaper than normal taxi services because it costs significantly less to run the service, so more money goes into the driver's pocket.
There are lots of issues with it here in Canada, for instance. It has been completely kicked out of some cities.
http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2015/02/04/insurance-bureau-raises-concerns-about-extent-of-uber-coverage.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/uber-poses-real-and-urgent-safety-problems-warns-toronto-investigation/article21807900/
http://www.thestar.com/business/2014/11/21/online_giant_uber_clashes_with_offline_taxi_world.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/12/18/uber-lyft-driver-insurance/
But, by all means, ignore all the warning signs to make some cash. In my view, you'd be better off selling drugs for cash than this..... I don't own a car, but I looked into Uber and other ride sharing services like this to see how much money could be made working for them. Not knowing all of the details of the insurance policy that I'd be covered under, how it interacts with my own insurance policy, and knowing that there are holes that have been shown to exist in it didn't help with that.....
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I currently drive deliveries and my boss has some sort of insurance on all of us besides our own personal insurance.
I'm sure uber has something like that as well.
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Finally got my plates in the mail, stoked that they are easy to remember and nothing terrible spelled out.
Probably gonna try and finish up the stuff tomorrow and check back in with uber.
Anyway, I've been keeping a log of my pay and expenses for my current job doing deliveries. It's 9$/hr + tips And each day I work 4 hours (sometimes 5) It's around 290$ every 2 weeks in base pay. And I work 4-5 days a week.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Tg2Bgil.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/AkqYHTC.jpg)
I forgot to write that I paid 70$ for insurance on the 3rd And was paying 43$ the previous 2 months on my mom's car that she was letting me drive.
I plan to keep a similar log file when I drive for uber, I was wondering if there are any excel type programs I could get for android phone.
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If you're going to drive for Uber, it's probably worth doing some quick digging into the local politics and news around it. I know that in Boston there's starting to be anti-Uber blowback after one of their drivers was accused of rape in December and the taxi companies are capitalizing on it pretty hard. + Show Spoiler +And I don't blame them but that's not really here nor there.
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On April 20 2015 14:52 TheTenthDoc wrote:If you're going to drive for Uber, it's probably worth doing some quick digging into the local politics and news around it. I know that in Boston there's starting to be anti-Uber blowback after one of their drivers was accused of rape in December and the taxi companies are capitalizing on it pretty hard. + Show Spoiler +And I don't blame them but that's not really here nor there. There's rumblings of more regulation which will probably mean less dosh for drivers.
I didn't know what dosh meant, so I googled to be sure. Kinda coincidental http://www.dir.ca.gov/DOSH/
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http://citypaper.net/uberdriver/
Article by undercover driver.
One way Uber has fewer costs than the taxi companies is that its drivers use their personal insurance policies as their primary coverage. Uber assures drivers that their personal insurance policies are sufficient, but many big insurance companies have been very clear that they disagree.
"Private passenger auto policy isn't intended to cover livery services," Nicole Mahrt Ganley, a spokeswoman for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, told the San Francisco Chronicle in November. "There is little question that engaging in livery services is a material change in the nature of the risk being insured, and most states would allow companies to cancel coverage."
Uber reassures drivers that they've got them covered, but their vaunted $1 million policy is secondary for collision — that is, drivers must try to get their own insurance companies to pay the claims first. If the claim is rejected because the insurer figures out it's Uber-related, then Uber's policy kicks in — but the driver's almost certainly going to have his personal insurance policy cancelled, and in some cases be investigated for fraud.
On top of that, there's periods where it's unclear if anyone's insuring the driver.
"Technically, Uber's insurance covers you from the time you pick your passenger up until the time you drop them off," says Jason Fidishun of Yardley-based Fidishun Insurance, an independent agency representing Progressive, which he says offers the only hybrid personal-commercial policy available in Pennsylvania developed with Uber and Lyft drivers in mind. The driver's personal insurance, according to Uber, covers him when he doesn't have a passenger in the car. "The problem is some insurance companies are saying, 'As soon as you log on with your app, you're using your car commercially'" — that is, if you're hurrying to pick someone up but don't have a passenger yet, there's a possibility that the driver will be covered by neither policy in an accident.
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I havent driven for uber for many years, it ended up being too many miles on my car between food delivery and that. Uber was fun though, plenty of stories.
I still keep logs, avg like 30 miles a day, working 5 nights a week. Tips and wages have doubled/tripled.
Same restaraunt, been 11 years now.
I think im at 95k miles on my jetta now, it was originally a lease/buyout thing. DO NOT RECOMMEND doing this, huge pain in the ass. I did have my boss and our bank co sign a loan so i paid off the rest of the car like 5 years ago?
Last couple years things ramping up needing to be replaced or fixed. Ive been watching lots of car yt channels etc, ive done 99% of the work on my car and buying tools and shit. Its actually not that complicated, you get a code, you check shit small to big related to possible issues and process of elimination. Save tons of money and bs with mechanic shops, and learn in the process and gain tools. Aide effect, you got people wanting you to do their brakes and change their oil and shit haha.
Also, my friend and I bought a bus with ideas for a food truck which has been a pretty slow process, mainly because CA beuracracy bs and the fact that he lives 1.5 hours away and i work almost every night.
I should do a proper blog life update , so many things have happened. Seems mostly for the worse lately.
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Hey Charlie, nice to see you again (this is fanatacist in case you don't know).
Sorry to hear about your troubles with gig work but it sounds like you made the most of it by gaining skills when it comes to car maintenance. Would also love to hear some of your horror stories. I think we could have a whole thread about work horror stories to be honest, could be a fun time 
Love your idea for a food truck. Obviously there are a lot if logistical and legal barriers to selling food out of a truck, but it's something I dreamed of too. What type of food were you thinking of doing?
Wishing you all the best, your drinking buddy fana ♡
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EPT
