# I drove for Uber for a week, and here's what it was like



## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

*I drove for Uber for a week, and here's what it was like*
SVERRE RØRVIK NILSEN
*http://www.businessinsider.com/i-drove-for-uber-for-a-week-heres-what-its-really-like-2015-2*


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)




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## Long time Nyc cab driver (Dec 12, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> *drove for Uber for a week, and here's what it was like*
> SVERRE RØRVIK NILSEN
> *http://www.businessinsider.com/i-drove-for-uber-for-a-week-heres-what-its-really-like-2015-2*


Best comment on article;

*toddd *
on Feb 4, 5:07 PM said:
"I had a Prius plugin hybrid, and with the low consumption, it's a natural choice. This really is the perfect Uber car. If I were to do this long term, I would likely use a Tesla Model S."

Errr, ok.

From $69,900
2014 Tesla Model S, MSRP


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## Ez-Russ (Oct 31, 2014)

Long time Nyc cab driver said:


> Best comment on article;
> 
> *toddd *
> on Feb 4, 5:07 PM said:
> ...


Is this guy crazy?


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

Ez-Russ said:


> Is this guy crazy?


Not crazy, just naive, about a lot of things. He should try Uber in another year. But first, not tell them he's a "journalist" doing a story on Uber. SMH talk about naive. How much do you want to bet that woman that bad talked taxis was an Uber plant?


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## Just_in (Jun 29, 2014)

observer said:


> Not crazy, just naive, about a lot of things. He should try Uber in another year. But first, not tell them he's a "journalist" doing a story on Uber. SMH talk about naive. How much do you want to bet that woman that bad talked taxis was an Uber plant?


in the comment section

The suspected Uber plant's always accuse the other side of being the suspected Taxi Cartel. It's more than likely corporate Uber vs. current or former Uber Drivers.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

observer said:


> Not crazy, just naive, about a lot of things. He should try Uber in another year. But first, not tell them he's a "journalist" doing a story on Uber. SMH talk about naive. How much do you want to bet that woman that bad talked taxis was an Uber plant?


Ooooops, my bad,

He's not a journalist. He's a contributor.

I wonder if that means he works for Uber directly, and wrote this for propaganda purposes and snuck it by businessinsider? Maybe both he and the "blonde" both work for Uber, maybe, maybe not but it sure was kind of naive.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

Just_in said:


> in the comment section
> 
> The suspected Uber plant's always accuse the other side of being the suspected Taxi Cartel. It's more than likely corporate Uber vs. current or former Uber Drivers.


Hmmm I didn't see any comments for some reason and I looked for them. I'll go recheck it.


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## Long time Nyc cab driver (Dec 12, 2014)

http://connect.everythingzoomer.com/m/photo?id=2144522hoto:502256
just in. For you


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

observer said:


> Hmmm I didn't see any comments for some reason and I looked for them. I'll go recheck it.


Ok, found them, btw I forgot to mention three half days do not equal one week.


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## Just_in (Jun 29, 2014)

Long time Nyc cab driver said:


> http://connect.everythingzoomer.com/m/photo?id=2144522hoto:502256
> just in. For you


 I have not gotten around to changing it.


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## Just_in (Jun 29, 2014)

observer said:


> Ok, found them, btw I forgot to mention three half days do not equal one week.


I searched Uber/Norway on Google. It came up OSLO with Uber Black Rates that I didn't understand. But in the article it say's he drives for Uber POP.

https://www.uber.com/cities/oslo


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

Just_in said:


> I searched Uber/Norway on Google. It came up OSLO with Uber Black Rates that I didn't understand. But in the article it say's he drives for Uber POP.
> 
> https://www.uber.com/cities/oslo


As far as I can tell Uberpop was banned in December in Oslo, not that being banned has ever stopped Uber.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)




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## finansakrobat (Feb 7, 2015)

I wrote this piece. It was based on the Norwegian market. The income, car choice etc is fairly unique here. Firstly, electric cars are subsidized here. Tesla is one of the most common cars you see on the street. 

I am not a journalist. I was paid nothing by BI or Uber to wrote this. Other than the fares. 

I worked 3-4h/d for 3 days and made 3101 NOK, which is like 500$ or something. I don't remember. It's in the post. 

I see this forum is very anti uber and some cab driver told me about it. 

That's about it.


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## finansakrobat (Feb 7, 2015)

Uber pop is only open for some users. It's in beta or something. Fighting with politicians I think. I don't know. My goal is to raise awareness. 

On a sidenote, taxis here are insanely expensive. Minimum rate is around 150NOK or about $20-25.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Thank you @finansakrobat for accepting my invitation to engage with Drivers. And welcome to @uberpeople.net
Can you please post what the Uber Rates for Norway in US$. This will help explain why US Drivers are so upset.
Thank you!


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## finansakrobat (Feb 7, 2015)

I don't know where to find the quotes.

What I can say is;

An average Uber Pop ride in Oslo is like 3-8 minutes, inside city limits and costs $10 or a little less. That's 50% - 33% of the cab price in town.

It's still hard to get a car in the city, due to few drivers. 


chi1cabby said:


> Thank you @finansakrobat for accepting my invitation to engage with Drivers. And welcome to @uberpeople.net
> Can you please post what the Uber Rates for Norway in US$. This will help explain why US Drivers are so upset.
> Thank you!


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## Fauxknight (Aug 12, 2014)

His PiP is much more expensive to drive than a normal Prius for Uber work. It has a very short battery range, only good for commuting to and from work, then gets worse gas mileage because of all the extra weight. Not to mention higher upfront costs and thus faster depreciation. The model S at least has a decent set of batteries, still looking at God aweful depreciation.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

finansakrobat said:


> Uber pop is only open for some users. It's in beta or something. Fighting with politicians I think. I don't know. My goal is to raise awareness.
> 
> On a sidenote, taxis here are insanely expensive. Minimum rate is around 150NOK or about $20-25.


Thank you for posting, as you can see Uber does not have a lot of fans on this forum, and I would venture to say fans in many other places.

Uber started out being a great deal for both drivers and passengers. Drivers made good money, passengers saved money. Now drivers are making less than minimum wage in a lot of cases. This will eventually happen in Norway.

Please keep an open mind as you read the posts on the forum. What you read here, will happen eventually in every country Uber enters to do business.

Welcome to the forum, hopefully you will post and we can learn from you, and you gain another perspective on Uber.


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## finansakrobat (Feb 7, 2015)

In my view, uber pop c in the US) is not a job. It's a side gig at best. I'm considering doing it more. I just enjoyed it and running a startup is very unpredictable. 

Maybe my view will change, but so far the average hourly wage for drivers in Oslo is over 200 NOK/hour, which is ok


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

*Uber arrives to take on taxi firms*
November 19, 2014
http://www.newsinenglish.no/2014/11/19/uber-arrives-to-take-on-taxi-firms/

*The controversial "personal transport" company Uber was accelerating its way into the Norwegian market this week, opening its first "private chauffeur" service in Oslo on Wednesday. Local taxi companies feel threatened and Uber can expect to run into many legal roadblocks.*
*








*
Newspaper _Dagens Næringsliv (DN)_reported that Uber, founded in San Francisco in 2009, was undaunted and keen to take on Oslo's private chauffeur market first.

"We're starting up our Uber Black service in Oslo from Wednesday," Jo Bertram, director for Uber in Great Britain and the Nordic countries, told DN. "Those who download our app and register themselves can then place an order to be driven somewhere." He described Uber Black as "a service for exclusive personal transport with strict demands regardings cars and drivers."

At the same time, however, Uber is also launching a "test" of its Uber Pop service, which has proven to be a direct challenge to the taxi business. "We're in the process of tying up with drivers and will invite Norwegians who have registered with us to try out the service around six months from now," Bertram told DN.

'Clearly illegal'
Uber already has run into conflicts with established taxi companies in other countries where it has launched its service. Taxi drivers claim Uber is little more than an organized form of "pirate taxis," and similar complaints are expected in Norway. They already have some powerful backing at the state level.

"This is clearly illegal," Bård Hoksrud, state secretary in the Transport Ministry, told DN. "If anyone wants to be paid to drive someone or something somewhere, they must have a permit and a special license." Hoksrud sees no exception to such rules, and that it "doesn't matter" whether Uber considers their operation a pilot or test project.

Bertram said Uber wants its entry into the Norwegian market to be conflict-free, and claimed the company had been in "dialogue" with local authorities and Oslo's taxi business. That was flatly denied by Glenn Tuxen, leader of the Oslo chapter of the Norwegian taxi federation_Norges Taxiforbund_.

"We haven't had any dialogue with Uber and can't understand how what they're doing can be legal," Tuxen told DN. Uber has not received any permit for operations in Oslo.

Set to offer much lower rates
Alise Davidsen, communications director for the City of Oslo, confirmed, however, that the city had received notice from Uber describing the service it planned to establish in Norway. "We responded that the service appeared to violate applicable regulations," Davidsen said. "We later asked for more details of the concept, but have not received a reply."

There's no question Uber plans to seriously undercut the rates charged by taxis in Oslo. According to a contract obtained by DN that's used between Uber and prospective drivers, passengers will be charged a minimum pickup price of NOK 40 (USD 6) plus NOK 10 per kilometer and NOK 3 per minute. That compares to Oslo Taxi's minimum pick-up price of NOK 109 during the day (higher at night and on the weekends) plus NOK 13 per kilometer and NOK 6.5 per minute in addition to a base price of between NOK 43 and 91.

Norwegian consumers have complained for years that taxis have become extremely expensive, also after the old taxi monopoly was abolished and many more players entered the market. A service like Uber's could quickly run them out of business even though taxi officials warn drivers against signing up with Uber because "it can't possibly be profitable" for them at such low rates. Uber takes a 20 percent cut of a driver's revenues, and all drivers are required to be registered business owners with the state.

Tuxen of the taxi federation said he doesn't expect any fistfights to break out over Uber's service, though, as has happened in some cities. "If they go ahead with establishing operations within our field, we will follow this up legally," Tuxen said.
*
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund*


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## UberHammer (Dec 5, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> Thank you @finansakrobat for accepting my invitation to engage with Drivers. And welcome to @uberpeople.net
> Can you please post what the Uber Rates for Norway in US$. This will help explain why US Drivers are so upset.
> Thank you!


It's hard to relate to his situation given the different currency and financial situations of his country.

Even in the US there are markets where Uber rates are above $1.50 and of course drivers are happy (for the time being). His situation may be similar to that.

What I would find interesting is if there is a happy Uber driver in markets such as Nashville, Louisville and Lexington... where rates are $0.73/mile, $0.70/mile and $0.65/mile respectively. Level of compensation has a direct correlation to happiness. Just because there are Uber drivers that are happy making $1.50/mile somewhere doesn't mean all drivers, even those with much lower rates, should be happy too... and if they're not then they're just trolls.


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## finansakrobat (Feb 7, 2015)

You can't use Dagens Næringsliv as a source. Not credible on this topic. Media is terrible on the uber launch. 

Hourly average in Oslo is right now over $26. I'm looking at a Nissan Leaf, which means it would be zero costs other than than the 4k NOK lease. So 4 out of the 5 weeks would be just net income. 

I can't speak for anyone else. Just what I'm seeing. 

S


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## Krishna (Sep 4, 2014)

finansakrobat said:


> In my view, uber pop c in the US) is not a job. It's a side gig at best. I'm considering doing it more. I just enjoyed it and running a startup is very unpredictable.
> 
> Maybe my view will change, but so far the average hourly wage for drivers in Oslo is over 200 NOK/hour, which is ok


Please pause and consider the arrogance (unintentional, I'm sure) of telling people that what they do for a living is "not a job."

Then re-read this passage from your own article:

"I only really have a single negative thing to say about the experience. It's how society treat drivers. Come to think of it, it occurred to me that taxi drivers are low on the social totem pole, which I think is terrible. I hope that Uber will help people open up their cars more and maybe remove this stigma. Because it's car-sharing, not a taxi service."

Can you see that you are doing the same thing as the passengers you complained about?

I only drive UberX occasionally (I can't afford to do it more because it pays so poorly here). But I'm still doing it for money, it is still a job, and workers deserve respect in any occupation.


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## frndthDuvel (Aug 31, 2014)

I see this forum is very anti uber and some cab driver told me about it.
That's about it.[/QUOTE said:


> Not so much anti-Uber. But just beaten down by constant price reductions and the rating system that keeps "partners" worrying about de-activation at all times. I have never had a Rider say that UBER charged so much, so what do you think the benefit to Drivers who have suffered 2 20% price cuts in the last 6 months is?


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> passengers will be charged a minimum pickup price of NOK 40 (USD 6) plus NOK 10 per kilometer and NOK 3 per minute.


http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=NOK&To=USD

1.00 NOK = 0.131103 USD
Norwegian Krone ↔ US Dollar

Oslo Rates:
Minimum Fare 40 NOK = $5.25
Base Fare = ???
Per KM 10 NOK = $2.11/Mile
Per Minute 3 NOK = ¢39/Minute
San Francisco Rates:
Minimum Fare = $5
Base Fare = $2.20
Per Mile = $1.30
Per Minute = ¢26
And a SF rate cut of ~25% is imminent in the next few weeks. A 25% rate cut means a cut of ~45% in Drivers' Operating Profit Margin. On Fri Jan 9th Uber cut rates in 49 smaller markets to ~¢75/mile. 
And it followed on Fri Jan 16 with LA rate cut








And one major US Market's rate have been cut on following Fridays.

You would need around 42,955.78kr (5,710.99$) in Oslo to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 6,500.00$ in San Francisco.
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...ry2=Norway&city1=San+Francisco,+CA&city2=Oslo

So @finansakrobat , you see where I'm going with this...
This is why US Uber Drivers feel so exploited:
https://uberpeople.net/threads/poll...rxploitation-to-the-best-of-my-ability.10943/


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## Fauxknight (Aug 12, 2014)

finansakrobat said:


> I'm looking at a Nissan Leaf, which means it would be zero costs other than than the 4k NOK lease. So 4 out of the 5 weeks would be just net income


1. Electricity is cheaper than gas, but still not free.

2. The range on a Leaf isn't long enough for a decent nights work.


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## UberHammer (Dec 5, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> Per KM 10 NOK = $2.11/Mile


More than three times as much as Louisville. Imagine that.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

finansakrobat said:


> You can't use Dagens Næringsliv as a source. Not credible on this topic. Media is terrible on the uber launch.
> 
> Hourly average in Oslo is right now over $26. I'm looking at a Nissan Leaf, which means it would be zero costs other than than the 4k NOK lease. So 4 out of the 5 weeks would be just net income.
> 
> ...


Out of curiosity, do you have Mcdonalds there, and if you do how much is starting wage? Trying to get a baseline idea on how wages compare.

My two boys are going to Norway, Sweden and Germany for a couple months during the summer. They are excited about visiting and exploring the three countries.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

finansakrobat said:


> I see this forum is very anti uber and some cab driver told me about it.


I'm the one who invited you to post on this thread...not "some cab driver".


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## Long time Nyc cab driver (Dec 12, 2014)

observer said:


> Out of curiosity, do you have Mcdonalds there, and if you do how much is starting wage? Trying to get a baseline idea on how wages compare.
> 
> My two boys are going to Norway, Sweden and Germany for a couple months during the summer. They are excited about visiting and exploring the three countries.


I'm sure the cost of living in Norway, Sweden and Germany are much higher that the United States, tell your boys to bring a Volvo back for me


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

Long time Nyc cab driver said:


> I'm sure the cost of living in Norway, Sweden and Germany are much higher that the United States, tell your boys to bring a Volvo back for me


Yea, good thing is they're paying for everything  . They shouldn't be spending too much, in Norway and Sweden they're staying at friends houses. In Germany they are staying at a sister in laws. I'll have them bring back two Volvos, one for you and one for me ;-) . Volvos are good cars first few years but parts get expensive.


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## Long time Nyc cab driver (Dec 12, 2014)

observer said:


> Yea, good thing is they're paying for everything  . They shouldn't be spending too much, in Norway and Sweden they're staying at friends houses. In Germany they are staying at a sister in laws. I'll have them bring back two Volvos, one for you and one for me ;-) . Volvos are good cars first few years but parts get expensive.


My Volvo is a big money pit but I still feel safe driving it.
My sister went to Sweden in her hippie days, they wouldn't let her in the country because she didn't have enough money with her.
They put her in jail before they could deport her.
She said they're Nazi's .
Here is a link to the world record holder for mileage of a non commercial vehicle, a Volvo of course.
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/18/irv-gordons-volvo-p1800-has-hit-3-million-miles/


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## MikeB (Dec 2, 2014)

finansakrobat said:


> I'm looking at a Nissan Leaf, which means it would be zero costs other than than the 4k NOK lease. So 4 out of the 5 weeks would be just net income.


What is the annual mileage allowance in the lease contract?


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## finansakrobat (Feb 7, 2015)

Fauxknight said:


> 1. Electricity is cheaper than gas, but still not free.
> 
> 2. The range on a Leaf isn't long enough for a decent nights work.


Actually, it is free here.


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