# Help managing a fleet of UberX



## musslewhite (Mar 23, 2015)

I have six cars working UberX and hire drivers to keep them going 24x7.

I wonder if anybody has heard of any fleet software that might help me manage the drivers, measure their productivity, etc. I heard that Sherpa is good but only if you have different accounts for each car so it does not work for me as I have them all in one account.

I would like to continue growing but find it extremely difficult to manage any more cars without any extra help.

Let me clarify that the margins are thin and getting thiner, I will not get rich from this, but working these cars gives me more profit than keeping the money in the bank.


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## musslewhite (Mar 23, 2015)

I have the cars in Mexico city. We have a different set of economics down here, at least for the time being. Manpower is cheaper here and the numbers make sense. I imagine it will not last, considering that Uber is a fan of lowering fees to inhumane levels.


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## scrurbscrud (Sep 11, 2014)

musslewhite said:


> I have the cars in Mexico city. We have a different set of economics down here, at least for the time being. Manpower is cheaper here and the numbers make sense. I imagine it will not last, considering that Uber is a fan of lowering fees to inhumane levels.


That says more about Uber than Mexico, for sure. In what way do you want to manage them i.e. what metrics and measures?


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## just drive (Oct 29, 2014)

Spreadsheet could be a good start


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## Showa50 (Nov 30, 2014)

Have you tried Googleing 'fleet software'? Not being a smartass, sometimes the obvious isn't first to come first. 
I'm sure there are other companies in your same predicament, mainly small taxi cap companies.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

I think he means the rates will drop to inhumane levels in the (near) future. At least that's how I read it.


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## Ripd (Feb 10, 2015)

musslewhite said:


> I have the cars in Mexico city. We have a different set of economics down here, at least for the time being. Manpower is cheaper here and the numbers make sense.


This makes perfect sense if you are running a sweatshop and are having cars provided by a car theft ring. Throw in a couple chop shops....


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## musslewhite (Mar 23, 2015)

Older Chauffeur said:


> I think he means the rates will drop to inhumane levels in the (near) future. At least that's how I read it.


Older Chauffeur you read correctly. We expect to be no different than any other city that Uber is in, thus, they will continue to drop rates until it is no longer a good business. For the time been, I get to hire drivers and pay them much more than they could earn as taxi drivers. 
I already tried goggling "fleet software" or "Taxi managing software" but it is more about taxi dispatching o GPSing their schedules... I want to grow to 20 cars which translates into 40 drivers (2 drivers per car with 1o hour shifts each). I am looking for a software that helps me managing 40 drivers, the time they come in , they finish their shift, their number of trips, the time they are logged on, etc.


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## musslewhite (Mar 23, 2015)

Ripd said:


> This makes perfect sense if you are running a sweatshop and are having cars provided by a car theft ring. Throw in a couple chop shops....


So... because we are Mexicans we are all car thieves and have sweatshops?... Geeez, I should have known better than starting a thread here.


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## scrurbscrud (Sep 11, 2014)

musslewhite said:


> So... because we are Mexicans we are all car thieves and have sweatshops?... Geeez, I should have known better than starting a thread here.


Have you tried contacting Uber local and see if you could access limited live data feeds for your fleet cars?


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Tough crowd here sometimes......


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## OrlUberOffDriver (Oct 27, 2014)

@musslewhite good job! Look into a company that offers GPS tracking. I can't think of name right now but I believe it's what you looking for. I will let you know when the name comes to me.


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## Ripd (Feb 10, 2015)

musslewhite said:


> So... because we are Mexicans we are all car thieves and have sweatshops?... Geeez, I should have known better than starting a thread here.


Act offended so you can get some sympathy. Get real dude. You propose beating the hell out of cars 24/7 for peanuts, clearly state you have a
fishy 'different set of economics', then play the race card when I point out what a farce your whole situation is. The cab companies in your area are probably barely getting by and then you propose how you're going to do it for 1/3rd the price? Fishy fishy fishy.... it's obvious there is lots of hidden details in your story.


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## Sacto Burbs (Dec 28, 2014)

I recently plugged in the Metromile gadget into the car. It automatically tracks all the trips and you can categorize them. It's just a beta for their insurance program, but it's true that pretty much any GPS tracking software will be able to give you something similar. No personal recommendations I'm afraid.

Try googling things like, where is your teen driving your car. 

as to the so-called Americanos, they just hate to see somebody who is making the system work. Keep at it, keep your guys employed. I'm behind you. Ride the wave. Uber on.

Are you required to have commercial insurance?


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## scrurbscrud (Sep 11, 2014)

Well, if the guy hasn't run off, there are a couple other avenues for exploration. If he comes back, will share. People that take offense, even if it's not warranted in their mind, might not appreciate the dissemination styles here, or the information, even if it's good/factual.

I think it's safe to say Mexico Uberx drivers are just as challenged as we are.


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## musslewhite (Mar 23, 2015)

Sacto Burbs said:


> I recently plugged in the Metromile gadget into the car. It automatically tracks all the trips and you can categorize them. It's just a beta for their insurance program, but it's true that pretty much any GPS tracking software will be able to give you something similar. No personal recommendations I'm afraid.
> 
> Try googling things like, where is your teen driving your car.
> 
> ...


Thank you Sacto Burbs.

Yes we are required to have insurance but it does not have to be commercial. Nevertheless all the big insurance companies state in our insurance policy that they are aware the insurance is for an Uber car and aknowledges what it represents. They give us a very nice price (cheaper than a regular car) as they consider us one fleet.


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## musslewhite (Mar 23, 2015)

Ripd said:


> Act offended so you can get some sympathy. Get real dude. You propose beating the hell out of cars 24/7 for peanuts, clearly state you have a
> fishy 'different set of economics', then play the race card when I point out what a farce your whole situation is. The cab companies in your area are probably barely getting by and then you propose how you're going to do it for 1/3rd the price? Fishy fishy fishy.... it's obvious there is lots of hidden details in your story.


No Ripd, far from offended, not even surprised. In every group there is always one like you: a person that can not comprehend how somebody is making things work when they are not able, hence, they try to bring everybody down. Knock yourself out bud.


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## Ripd (Feb 10, 2015)

How about you start and manage a 6 piece lounge band and outfit each member with 25 thousand dollar guitars which will all require crazy expensive maintenance and soon depreciate to dust. Pay the band peanuts to make sure you have high employee turnover. Then find that everyone and his brother is doing the same thing and the gigs are becoming scarcer. Then your agent (Uber) will announce a 25% decrease in your rate and try to justify it by saying you'll make more money in the end, all while flooding your market with competition. They'll offer you a bunch of bogus incentives to keep you chasing your tail..... and one day you wake up and realize that you haven't actually earned money. You've merely converted that original 6 x 25k investment back into cash. Then you have to factor in all your expenses and aggravation which will be huge. Then you get to realize that you were just a pawn and the only people who made real money were:
1: Uber
2: The guy who gets paid to maintain your fleet. Your talking about putting 150k+ per year minimum on these cars. 
3: Pemex
4: Insurance -



musslewhite said:


> I will not get rich from this, but working these cars gives me more profit than keeping the money in the bank.


You make that statement as if its a fact. It's dead wrong. You have 6 cars out 24/7. Your risk exposure is off the charts. A couple insurance claims go against you and your little ********* dreams are over when they drop you and you're holding the bag on a bunch of obscenely depreciated cars. Still think it's your best investment?

I see that musselwhite really wants to come off as some sort of 'working class hero' by the way he tries to talk tough. I don't love Uber but I love the concept of the app and the unrealized potential it has... but keep in mind that legit cab companies, as old fashioned as they are, are priced the way they are for a reason.... to make real profit for the people involved. Uber has made it extremely attractive to the rider, profitable to Uber, but at the expense of the driver. 
Cab companies = real math, real accounting principles like the 'bottom line' and operating in the red or black, depreciation, expenses etc.
Uber = Throw venture capital and incentive gimmicks at all it's problems. Its all fuzzy math... marketing math...... jim jones kool aid

but....

If your on the receiving end of a car theft ring and have access to some chop shops.... disregard everything I said above.... you may be able to turn a profit. You know a shit ton of vehicles stolen in the USA have found their way down to Mexico / Central / South America to be fitted with dingleballs and a new life in a ********* operation. Dont get all butthurt... it's a fact. The only reason I took the time to write it down is because its an interesting convergence of concepts and some new perspective.


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## OrlUberOffDriver (Oct 27, 2014)

@musslewhite name is; mycartracks


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## stuber (Jun 30, 2014)

musslewhite said:


> I have six cars working UberX and hire drivers to keep them going 24x7.
> 
> I wonder if anybody has heard of any fleet software that might help me manage the drivers, measure their productivity, etc. I heard that Sherpa is good but only if you have different accounts for each car so it does not work for me as I have them all in one account.
> 
> ...


A: I don't like the "fleet" concept in general. Drivers should own the cars they drive.

B: If you are going to run a fleet, then why involve yourself with managing the drivers.
Just lease out or finance the cars to drivers capable of managing their own business. Same ROI, way less hassles.


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## UBERxGc (Feb 8, 2015)

The guy asks a specific question about a software and suddenly everyone becomes an expert at how he should run things!!

Just answer the guy's question or if you really have to, you can give him advice politely.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

It's hard for me to believe that a person can own a fleet of six vehicles for hire, run them 20 out of 24 hours of the day - and pay less than Joe bag 'O Donuts with his one car that he drives to buy his donuts, all on insurance that is non commercial. That is impressive, to the point where it sounds more like UBER speak than the truth, but then again, I know zero about the ways of the mexican insurance industry or business world. That aside, I don't think this fellow's model could work in the US because they would be employees, the cars would need to be leased. @musslewhite Keep the forum updated on your venture, it'll be interesting to hear how this works out for you. What kind of car/year do you run if you don't mind my asking.


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## stuber (Jun 30, 2014)

Point taken. I'll shut up now.


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## Ripd (Feb 10, 2015)

UBERxGc said:


> The guy asks a specific question about a software and suddenly everyone becomes an expert at how he should run things!!
> 
> Just answer the guy's question or if you really have to, you can give him advice politely.


If someone proposed hiring and bankrolling 6 people to sit at a blackjack table 24/7, and speak as if it was an entirely realistic business model, and claim it was better than the money just sitting in the bank.......don't you think someone would point out how FOS they were? Don't you think we'd all already be doing it if it was such a great idea?


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## marketmark (Dec 2, 2014)

Huberis said:


> It's hard for me to believe that a person can own a fleet of six vehicles for hire, run them 20 out of 24 hours of the day - and pay less than Joe bag 'O Donuts with his one car that he drives to buy his donuts, all on insurance that is non commercial. That is impressive, to the point where it sounds more like UBER speak than the truth, but then again, I know zero about the ways of the mexican insurance industry or business world. That aside, I don't think this fellow's model could work in the US because they would be employees, the cars would need to be leased. @musslewhite Keep the forum updated on your venture, it'll be interesting to hear how this works out for you. What kind of car/year do you run if you don't mind my asking.


I met a driver here who has a fleet of four uberx cars. He personally works(drives) about 16 hours a day seven days a week. Spends the rest of his time managing the other cars and working on getting his own customers outside of uber (I set up a couple of websites for him), so it is doable in the US. Since he has been doing this for at least 2 years it must work on some level.

The coolest thing he showed me is that he gets to see 100% of the comments left by drivers.

Anyway, back to the topic... He tracks everything on paper and does schedules on his iphone.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

Ok, he has a fleet of four cars, that's cool. Are the drivers paid employees, something which UBER does everything and anything to avoid or is this person leasing the cars out to their drivers? If they are paid employees, I would assume the owner of the car would have much higher operating costs. I would assume that owner would without question need commercial insurance at that point for the simple fact that now there are employees involved. If this guy is driving 16 hours/7 days and then becomes a manager for the other 8 and has the stamina to sustain that for two years yet only has four cars to show for it......? I don't know what to make of any of that. "The coolest thing he showed me is that he gets to see 100% of the comments left by drivers." - What a treat.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

If that is the coolest thing he showed you, he didn't have much to show you. @marketmark When you suggest getting calls outside of UBER, what does that even mean? How does he charge/bill them?


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## marketmark (Dec 2, 2014)

Huberis said:


> Ok, he has a fleet of four cars, that's cool. Are the drivers paid employees, something which UBER does everything and anything to avoid or is this person leasing the cars out to their drivers? If they are paid employees, I would assume the owner of the car would have much higher operating costs. I would assume that owner would without question need commercial insurance at that point for the simple fact that now there are employees involved. If this guy is driving 16 hours/7 days and then becomes a manager for the other 8 and has the stamina to sustain that for two years yet only has four cars to show for it......? I don't know what to make of any of that. "The coolest thing he showed me is that he gets to see 100% of the comments left by drivers." - What a treat.


As far as stamina goes, he is a third world refugee and built different than most of the people here I assume. He has limited options for income and a large family (wife/daughter/parents/etc) to support so his math is a bit different from mine...

He pays his drivers as 1099 employees and they maintain their own personal insurance on his cars. Uber pays him for all the rides given under his account and he deducts the daily car rent/phone/etc and pays them. He rents out the cars to them on an 8/10/12 hour basis and covers his expenses that way.
He only has four cars because that is his comfort level. He is definitely not getting rich, but his cash flow is pretty good.
Also, VERY IMPORTANTLY!, he has no assets anyone can come after him for if something goes wrong... The risk vs reward is very far away from anything I would consider reasonable, but he has to do what he has to do...


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## marketmark (Dec 2, 2014)

Huberis said:


> If that is the coolest thing he showed you, he didn't have much to show you.


I thought it was pretty cool. I have always been curious as to the comments left...
I would spend time going through them if they were available to me.



Huberis said:


> @marketmark When you suggest getting calls outside of UBER, what does that even mean? How does he charge/bill them?


I set up a website for him where passengers can schedule airport pickups/drop-offs and weekend trips. His plan is to add a suburban with TCP plates to his empire.


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

musslewhite said:


> I have six cars working UberX and hire drivers to keep them going 24x7.
> 
> I wonder if anybody has heard of any fleet software that might help me manage the drivers, measure their productivity, etc. I heard that Sherpa is good but only if you have different accounts for each car so it does not work for me as I have them all in one account.
> 
> ...


POST # 1 /@musslewhite : Your Profile
Page
States: female. Who is Avatar Man?


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

No doubt you are correct, having a large family changes his calculus. I find it hard to believe if they are employed by this person and don't own the cars they could use their own insurance and personal insurance at that. That doesn't mean he can't try to do it and it most certainly falls in line with the UBER mantra of "Hey guys, you don't need commercial insurance, we got you covered, don't tell your insurance company what you're doing if asked, hope you don't mind if James River contacts your provider the moment you have an at fault" kind of deal. Now- if you say he rents the car, that would usually mean a lease. He leases to them in 8- 10 hour increments and he pays the drivers because the accounts are all in his name...... Good grief man. That sounds legal to you????


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## marketmark (Dec 2, 2014)

Huberis said:


> That sounds legal to you????


Legal? Who knows...
Too risky for me? Definitely.

As far as insurance... I know for a fact, at least here in CA, that you don't need to own a car to have insurance on it.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

@marketmark What do you suppose he charges the driver per hour? If the driver doesn't make enough to cover the lease for that day, where does the money come from? What does the driver's personal insurance cover exactly? I doubt it would include collision. Does the driver pay a bond/deductible? I'd love to read more about this, feel free to send me the URL for his website. Peace.


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## Nick3946 (Dec 12, 2014)

Vezma GPS Mileage Tracker in Google apps.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

@marketmark

"Legal? Who knows...
Too risky for me? Definitely."

That suggests to me it may not actually work on some level or at least not on the level.


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## Walkersm (Apr 15, 2014)

@musslewhite Most of the transportation software available will not help you with any sort of Efficiency statistic. Because uber is on demand you can not have software that predicts what is efficient and what is not. All you can really do is what uber does. Look at the data at the end of the month and eliminate your lowest producer. Or do some retraining.

Most transportation software is developed to track cars so you can direct them to the position you want them to be in based on your companies customers. But Uber is handiling all of that with there software and just assigning it to the closets driver. You are not privy (except for surge) to where demand is going to be.

You would be better off just creating metrics you can extrapolate from weekly reports such as:
Total fares
Total Rides
Total Surge Fares
Ratio of Surge fares to regular fares.

You would soon see who the drivers are that are hiding out trying to avoid the work.


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## Lidman (Nov 13, 2014)

A good title for renting out UBER x's would be in the same category as "REnt a wrecks".


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## ReviTULize (Sep 29, 2014)

DenverDiane said:


> I see.
> If Uber is paying out "inhumane levels" of pay and you are making a profit by taking a cut of that - doesn't that mean that you are paying your drivers even far more inhumane levels of pay?


They must have a different platform there...UberSweatShop


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## azndriver87 (Mar 23, 2015)

i don't know why people would want to work for fleet for uber. That's 2 middle man taking your money. Unless these guys have bad driving records, can't pass uber inspection, and you're not reporting these to uber.


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## Hal Green (Sep 19, 2014)

This software may be able to. Help you.
Priced very reasonable great support.

Tripman elite
Www.irissystems.biz


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## stuber (Jun 30, 2014)

I'm fundamentally opposed to "entrepreneurs" of this sort. As a single car owner/operator, it's not in my interest to encourage UBER fleet moguls. They're just adding cars to the already oversaturated supply.

I'm sure UBER loves these guys, however. More cars, more cars, more cars...


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## rudyb (Mar 23, 2016)

Im working as a consultant for a company in San Diego that is currently developing a fleet management solution for Uber and Lyft Drivers. If anyone is interested in Beta testing please let me know


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## Andie (Feb 10, 2017)

rudyb said:


> Im working as a consultant for a company in San Diego that is currently developing a fleet management solution for Uber and Lyft Drivers. If anyone is interested in Beta testing please let me know


Hi *rudyb*, what is the name of the company?


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## tradedate (Nov 30, 2015)

Andie That post is from a year ago.


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