# Another Open Letter to Travis



## CONDIA (Sep 14, 2014)

Dear Travis,

You are a scumbag, narcissistic, and self-loathing liar; who takes advantage of those you call "partners" every step of the way. 

While you sit on your Billions and continue to grow your business, why can't you stop fighting the drivers over what is pennies to you?

We the drivers don’t feel like your "partner" though, every time we turn around, you are dictating terms that, somehow, always fall out of our favor. 

A better description is "Uber Suckers."

With just 1 year driving, UBER should still be new and exciting for me.

Instead, I feel like a 20 year vet, remembering the golden days of driving, when rates were better.

The funny part is, the customers don’t even realize the dama, especially since the rate breakdown was removed from the Application for customers to see.

Travis, you always ignore the drivers. 

You ignore the 2014 IRS standard mileage rate of .56/mile expense using a vehicle for business and also the dead miles. 

As many drivers report driving a dead mile for every revenue miles, "income", is the number that should matter, but insted is the number that you ignores.

Travis, perhaps you can tell me what part of the fare is that "gratuity" you keep insisting is built into the fare? 

Of course, you are to the point when you said that Uber makes more money than ever.

But forced to accept less for fares and a lower profit margin, doesn't look a good partnershit for drivers.

Yet everyday on Craigslist, everybody can see ads about all the money drivers can make Ubering. 

For some reason, (and despite English being a listed requirement of driving for Uber), the advertisements in Spanish says you can make times more.

Does Uber pay more for being bilingual in a bonus I have not yet heard about? 

Or does Uber believe Spanish speakers are more gullible? 

Or can deal with bigger disappointments? 

Or maybe you believe we work longer hours? 

Why the difference?

It’s clear to me, that Uber depends on bringing on drivers that do not understand math. 

That is why we lose features on the Driver’s Dashboards that would help us understand our revenue, expenses, and income.

It’s why you keep advertising how much can be made in fares, but not in revenue and income. 

It’s why you ignore driver’s expenses when you report on how much we make.

...and then you push these "subprime leases" charging drivers over 20% interest on while cutting rates all along. 

That ist why I think you are a scumbag.

How about helping out the little guy who is the backbone of your empire, and still offer a fair price to the customers.

The drivers want to work, earn a living honestly, and provide good service. 

However, UBER system is rigged against us. 

Horrid car financing deals, lack of insurance coverage for drivers, a ridiculous rating system, promoting no tips, authorities that punish for operating illegally, dastardly low rates, 20% commission, 1$ discount for every ride, 520$ a year for cell phone use. What a combination!

All while the poor driver smile and tell everyone how great everything is.

Travis, your best drivers are leaving in droves, and it might still be a little bit away, but eventually Uber will burn as slowly potential drivers realize this is not worth it, as any other minimum wage job pays better.

And as the quality of the drivers and the rides continues to fall to conditions worse than those Taxis you were beating into the ground, your customers will find another way to get from Point A to Point B.

But still, I am a driver that has not yet totally given up on Uber and hopes Travis can right his wrongs, and learn to treat his "partners" with at least some respect. 

UBER ON!


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## Taxi Driver in Arizona (Mar 18, 2015)

Maybe you should stop putting money in the guys pocket if you hate him so much.


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## doyousensehumor (Apr 13, 2015)

Would a letter like this be just tossed out as disgruntled driver or taken seriosly?


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## Sly (Aug 30, 2014)

It's the way capitalism works. If you don't think you are making enough money you have the right to do something else. You do not have the right to force Uber to charge more, that would be socialism. I prefer to be paid more myself, but that isn't how our country works.


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## Aerosly (Apr 18, 2015)

Letters like this almost never work. The only thing that will get his attention is if a massive percentage of drivers walk out so that the service doesn't work anymore.


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## UberXTampa (Nov 20, 2014)

Aerosly said:


> Letters like this almost never work. The only thing that will get his attention is if a massive percentage of drivers walk out so that the service doesn't work anymore.


A new massive number of new drivers will then be on the streets. What is the barrier to entry? Almost none. There goes any negotiations power drivers might think they have.

We cannot force uber to raise rates, but we can fight to get all tolls be reimbursed and I believe there must have been a class action lawsuit already about it.

In Tampa after more than 1 year of uber being in operation, still close to 80% of my tolls go unpaid. I try to write for every single one missed but still the ratio of paid tolls don't go more than 70% paid. Still I lose 30% of my tolls to uber. This is insane. Going forward, I will try to recover 100% of my tolls but it is very tedious and frustrating.


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## JLA (Mar 26, 2015)

Sly said:


> It's the way capitalism works. If you don't think you are making enough money you have the right to do something else. You do not have the right to force Uber to charge more, that would be socialism. I prefer to be paid more myself, but that isn't how our country works.


This is also a great example why this country needed Unions too. You could use that same argument for any industry. Without a Union like say the Teamsters this is what you get. 0 bargaining power = 0 rights. Without a Union the only thing that could keep compensation decent is if Uber risked losing workers to other companies over pay. Between being at the top of the Ride sharing and most of their business involved in recruitment that's just not gonna happen. Not to mention anyone can drive.

Saturday night I was walking along a street and counted 4 Ubers in a space of just an hour. Clearly their not hurting for drivers. All looked foreign too. That's probably the future of Uber for now.


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## DrJeecheroo (Feb 12, 2015)

Come on Sly. Just admit to everyone here. You're a communist!! We won't hold it against you.


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

JLA said:


> This is also a great example why this country needed Unions too. You could use that same argument for any industry. Without a Union like say the Teamsters this is what you get. 0 bargaining power = 0 rights. Without a Union the only thing that could keep compensation decent is if Uber risked losing workers to other companies over pay. Between being at the top of the Ride sharing and most of their business involved in recruitment that's just not gonna happen. Not to mention anyone can drive.
> 
> Saturday night I was walking along a street and counted 4 Ubers in a space of just an hour. Clearly their not hurting for drivers. All looked foreign too. That's probably the future of Uber for now.


POST # 7 /JLA :..................+1​


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## KingJimmy (May 16, 2015)

The original poster sounds like an abused woman, who in spite of all the crap she takes at home, still loves her man and would do anything she could to win his love.

Stop with the victim mentality already. Travis is not oppressing you. You are oppressing you.


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## UberRidiculous (May 19, 2015)

UberXTampa said:


> A new massive number of new drivers will then be on the streets. What is the barrier to entry? Almost none. There goes any negotiations power drivers might think they have.
> 
> We cannot force uber to raise rates, but we can fight to get all tolls be reimbursed and I believe there must have been a class action lawsuit already about it.
> 
> In Tampa after more than 1 year of uber being in operation, still close to 80% of my tolls go unpaid. I try to write for every single one missed but still the ratio of paid tolls don't go more than 70% paid. Still I lose 30% of my tolls to uber. This is insane. Going forward, I will try to recover 100% of my tolls but it is very tedious and frustrating.


Wow. Cheated on tolls too. Horrible!


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

Well, if you need to begin your letter calling Travis a narcissistic scumbag, and why wouldn't you? Your concerns may be just a bit too big for his breakfast. Uber is unlikely to change in any direction other than for the worse with Travis at the helm. Things may be too far gone. You can foment change with your feet by walking. Eventually regulation will start to catch up and despite King Jimmy here, Uber needs to be regulated responsibly, but Travis has zero tolerance for any kind of regulation he can feel. 

Drivers mostly hurt their own efforts by working under local radar, they are also far too easily swayed into recruiting more and more drivers for a quick payoff. 

Given the culture at the top, how can uber ever be expected to treat its drivers with respect?


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

KingJimmy said:


> The original poster sounds like an abused woman, who in spite of all the crap she takes at home, still loves her man and would do anything she could to win his love.
> 
> Stop with the victim mentality already. Travis is not oppressing you. You are oppressing you.


It isn't love in spite of it all, it's a matter of disfunction, power and control.

You use an analogy comparing the OP to a woman being oppressed and abused and then tell him he isn't being oppressed. What kind of logic is that? Your understanding of abusive relationships is distorted to the point where there is zero merit, it is simply wrong to draw comparisons between this guy's behavior and an abused woman.

All that being said, I just reread the letter. It is pretty loopy. Not sure what the deal is with the tirade about advertising in Spanish. ****. If a person is at the point where they must write such a letter, it's time to pack up and move on asat.


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## Uber Cancel (May 1, 2015)

I quit Uber because I am a communist.


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## Natron (May 26, 2015)

CONDIA said:


> Dear Travis,
> 
> You are a scumbag, narcissistic, and self-loathing liar; who takes advantage of those you call "partners" every step of the way.
> 
> ...


Wow... I have been reading through these forums to get some good tips and advice on how to be successful at this Uber thing however, after reading all of this... I quit! That's right... I quit and I have not even started yet! LMAO! I am signed up and ready to drive but it sounds like an effing nightmare. I have read other positive posts as well but this takes the cake... I hate capitalistic *****s and now that I know how this Travis guys operates, I am not going to even waste my time. (You can turn a profit and take care of your people... look at Walmart Vs. Costco) Anyway... Thanks Condia for opening my eyes... Back to the drawing board for me. Would probably be better off waiting tables to bring in extra cash with 10x less BS! (Yes, I have done that before and it sucks too but does not sound half as bad as what you all are going through.) Best wishes to you all, sincerely, Natron.


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## Sly (Aug 30, 2014)

I don't understand why he would read past "you're a scumbag". I didn't.


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## Orlando_Driver (Jul 14, 2014)

Sly said:


> I don't understand why he would read past "you're a scumbag". I didn't.


Why did you comment, if you did not read the post ?


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## johnywinslow (Oct 30, 2014)

Problem is he thinks those letters are funny and entertainment. As long as there are desperate people there will be an uber x screwing them!


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## Sly (Aug 30, 2014)

Non-Uber drivers and ex-Uber drivers should find their own site somewhere else.
If you don't like Uber then don't work for them.


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