# A Rate Uberx drivers can only dream about



## UBERXTRA (Jun 29, 2014)

I needed a ride yesterday in Conroe TX, near Houston. No Ubers nearby so we call a cab. An older Lincoln, shows up, dirty, interior is old, (no water, candy or gum lol).

Works out to $2.25 a mile for an inferior product, yet Uberx insists on only charging riders 60% of that. I asked the driver what the minimum fare was for a short trip…. $15.

Uberx drivers are being abused. Uber needs to realize this and do the following:

-Allow tips to be charged to the ride, so it's still cashless
-raise the rider fees to at least 80% of cab fees
-keep the Uber commission at 20% and remove all the other miscellaneous fees.

The KISS principle:
Keep It Simple Stupid


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## UBERXTRA (Jun 29, 2014)

Oh yeah, even though it was a crummy car, I loaded and unloaded my own suitcase, the driver couldn't find the receipt book, I still tipped 15% on a $30 ride. 

Uber mismanagement is really missing the boat.


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## Joanne (May 7, 2014)

See, I think that even if uber costs just as much as a cab, riders would still prefer to uber.


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## UberSonic (Jul 22, 2014)

I hear nothing but horror stories about Detroit Metro cabs from my riders. We could cost more than cabs and still get riders. The cleanliness and convenience are huge selling points.


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## UBERXTRA (Jun 29, 2014)

Joanne said:


> See, I think that even if uber costs just as much as a cab, riders would still prefer to uber.


That is exactly right. I travel quite a bit. That is how I found out about Uber and eventually became an Uberx driver. I would much rather ride in an Uber car.

I am also traveling on business, I am required to use the company credit card. No way to tip the driver unless it is out of my own pocket.

So&#8230;. occasionally I'll hand over a $5 bill. More often than not, I don't.

If Uber allowed tipping, I would tip 20% every time. (Unless the driver did something outrageous not to deserve it.)

Screwed by Uber&#8230;. sounds like the refrain from a good country song. LOL


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## UberSF (Jul 30, 2014)

UBERXTRA said:


> I needed a ride yesterday in Conroe TX, near Houston. No Ubers nearby so we call a cab. An older Lincoln, shows up, dirty, interior is old, (no water, candy or gum lol).
> 
> Works out to $2.25 a mile for an inferior product, yet Uberx insists on only charging riders 60% of that. I asked the driver what the minimum fare was for a short trip&#8230;. $15.
> 
> ...


 We like you UBERXTRA!!


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## Jordan9K (Jul 6, 2014)

Uber needs to consider the Apple agenda. Build a superior product, charge a higher price. Simple. Uber is better than taxi's without even considering price. When someone pushes the button for an Uber they want convenience, professionalism, a comfortable and clean ride. Everyone is willing to pay extra for that kind of guarantee. Us Uber drivers are now becoming less valuable as each day passes.

Cutting worker pay to be able to cut prices? That's not how you scale a company, dick.


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## arklan (Aug 3, 2014)

full agreement here.


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## ubearx (Jun 29, 2014)

UBERXTRA said:


> I needed a ride yesterday in Conroe TX, near Houston. No Ubers nearby so we call a cab. An older Lincoln, shows up, dirty, interior is old, (no water, candy or gum lol).
> 
> Works out to $2.25 a mile for an inferior product, yet Uberx insists on only charging riders 60% of that. I asked the driver what the minimum fare was for a short trip&#8230;. $15.
> 
> ...


Move to conroe, tx and be a cabbe over there! You're mixing apples and oranges. Ask that drivers how many trips he made that day, ask if he can stop paying his commercial insurance and company's fees when he gets sick


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## UberXWhip (Aug 17, 2014)

$0.80 to get picked up in Orange County, CA. The most expensive place in the country. 80 ****ing cents. Cheaper than the cost of a single condom or a cup of coffee, and I'm supposed to drive my air conditioned, comfortable and clean car to your doorstep from possibly 3 miles away to pick you up??? Go **** yourself.


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## RS King (Aug 18, 2014)

UberXWhip said:


> $0.80 to get picked up in Orange County, CA. The most expensive place in the country. 80 ****ing cents. Cheaper than the cost of a single condom or a cup of coffee, and I'm supposed to drive my air conditioned, comfortable and clean car to your doorstep from possibly 3 miles away to pick you up??? Go **** yourself.


Lol, it's just so ludicrous, it's funny. Do you realize that it now takes the base fares from your first 13 trips to pay your iPhone lease each week. One thing is for sure. Whoever is making these decisions is not our partner. These people are testing the market to see exactly how low they can get the labor costs down to. If not enough drivers quit or strike, you can bet there is another rate cut, commission increase, or raised fee just around the corner.


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## Just Some Guy (Jun 10, 2014)

UBERXTRA said:


> I needed a ride yesterday in Conroe TX, near Houston. No Ubers nearby so we call a cab. An older Lincoln, shows up, dirty, interior is old, (no water, candy or gum lol).
> 
> Works out to $2.25 a mile for an inferior product, yet Uberx insists on only charging riders 60% of that. I asked the driver what the minimum fare was for a short trip&#8230;. $15.
> 
> ...


When I first started, the minimum fare in Boston for UberX was $10. It was still cheaper than a taxi, and there were almost back to back trips all night. Then they dropped it to $8 in October, which wasn't too bad, still made good money. Then the beginning of summer they dropped it to $6. I can understand the need for lowering rates during the summer to compensate for the loss of 500,000 college students. But to drop the rates again down to $5 just as all those college students are coming back to town just makes no sense at all. They had no problem paying the original rates, even with x2 to x3 surge (and sometimes more at certain times) almost every night, so why lower rates?


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## BeeinKC (Aug 18, 2014)

Most everybody understands that you get what you pay for. I think Uber is a service that is superior to taxis. I don't understand why they need to be priced lower AND provide superior service.


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## SCdave (Jun 27, 2014)

Uber has a model of how they want to grow their business. There is nothing wrong with this. Amazon had a model, lost money for years and years, and now has grown into an amazing giant. As far as I know, Amazon didn't transfer the cost of doing business this way to independent partners. Yes, Uber could also choose to grow the business slower with higher rates but they have obviously decided for the fastest growth possible. Part of this is "pushing" a culture shift towards a new Public Transportation model And yes, I said Public Transportation. With Uberx rates being so low, I look at it as Public Transportation not Private Driver.

What my problem is with Uber is that they are transferring a good portion of the cost of growing the business from themselves/their investors to the Driver. There are many ways they can compensate Drivers and not transfer the cost of growth onto us.
1) Lowering Uber Commission.
2) Providing compensation to offset accelerated depreciation / maintenance & repairs by Trips/App-On Mileage Driven
Uber is great with algorithms. Create one to compensate drivers by vehicle model/type.
3) Offer Vouchers for Stock Options when they do go public with a IPO in the future. Tied into Trips / Mileage / months as driver.
If a company wants me to help finance their growth and not pay me directly now, offer me some type of equity option for future compensation.
4) Real discounts setup with a regional/national car service & tire retail outlets. No Uber, not 15% discounts like they currently have and I can do better any day of the week. Something significant that saves Drivers real money.
5) Pre-certified car programs on vehicles suitable for TNC business that include financing options, maintenance packages, and extended warranties. Good cars that have already taken a big depreciation hit.
6) Include a guarantee that if a driver commits to a Uber Certified Program (New or Pre-Certified), that Uber Payout (Commission/Rates/Fees) will not be lowered for term of program (2-5 years or whatever). That is Uber can't change commission, lower driver earnings, add additional Uber mandated fees. 
7) Add one of your own that compensates the Driver for giving money to Uber/Uber Investors (yes, I said giving our money) for the opportunity to grow Uber's business model.

If the Rates were like they were back in January 2014 (at least in LA Market for me), I would like some of these types of programs but could make my budget work. Now with rates so so low, commission so high, Uber Data Fees, and not knowing when the next HIT will come, Uber must think how to offer something tangible for the Driver to continue, as Uber always tells us, offering Awesome Uber Experience to the Rider.

Sorry for the long post. I haven't been thinking about this much.


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## osii (Aug 21, 2014)

I just started and one thing I see is that if you do some real numbers like over $500 a day, renting a taxi cab doesn't seem like such a bad idea. You do lose the mileage deduction which is where all the money is made in uber. Your tax bill is cut by about half.

I'd be a lot happier with a max daily commission somewhere around $50 or $60. When your commission starts equaling that of a taxi rental, it becomes pointless to drive your own car.


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