# Is driving electric a smart decision?



## Ride Student (Aug 29, 2021)

Trying to gather data around the topic to share with the community:









Rideshare Driver Survey


Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.




www.surveymonkey.com


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

Ride Student said:


> Trying to gather data around the topic to share with the community:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Lol, joined 15 minutes ago and you’re gathering data to share with the community? What community is that?


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## Ride Student (Aug 29, 2021)

Bork_Bork_Bork said:


> Lol, joined 15 minutes ago and you’re gathering data to share with the community? What community is that?


I am gathering information for a research project to understand drivers' views around the use of electric vehicles. My intention is to post a summary of the findings on this thread, with this community. Every one is free to decide whether to participate.


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

Ride Student said:


> I am gathering information for a research project to understand drivers' views around the use of electric vehicles. My intention is to post a summary of the findings on this thread, with this community. Every one is free to decide whether to participate.


Gee, thanks for the permission sparky! Let me be the first to officially ignore you!


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Electric car can make sense for a part-time driver. Back when I was driving full time I was driving 500 miles in a lot of day.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

Ride Student said:


> .. My intention is to post a summary of the findings on this thread, with this community. Every one is free to decide whether to participate.


Well first, thank you for making participation optional!

Second, before posing such a question we need to know a lot more about you. And for my participation it's not optional. Who are you again? How much do you know about rideshare? Have you educated yourself on the economics of rideshare?

Wait. Don't answer. The survey you linked to tells us everything. When polling as to why a drivers has not gone electric it leaves out the singular most important response on the multiple choice answer.

Go educate yourself. Tell us what response is missing, and then I for one would be happy to participate.

/Tron
2021 Bolt EV


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## TomTheAnt (Jan 1, 2019)

LOL! 🤦‍♂️


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## UberApfel (Jul 5, 2020)

Honestly, no. Hybrids are the obvious best choice, but just because Hybrids are part-electric doesn't mean we're ready to go full speed on full-electrics considering how shitty our batteries are.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

Don't take the abuse here, Call Uber, they know everrrrrrrrry thing, but i stand with the community, i am not bashing, well ummmmmmm maybe, *** it think whatever


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## losiglow (Dec 4, 2018)

I thought long and hard about going Electric. The downside that I see would be range. I'll sometimes work the full 12 hours they allow us to and I've had days where I go over 400 or 500 miles. Obviously in that case I would need to stop to charge, maybe twice depending on the car. And depending on what time of day it is, you could miss out on more fares than gas would cost you for the day. The advantage would obviously be lower-cost on fuel and maintenance. My Toyota hybrid has very little maintenance already other than oil changes so I think fuel would really be the only advantage.


I could see myself eventually getting an electric vehicle but I'm waiting until the range is at least 400 miles.


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## Illini (Mar 14, 2019)

And, the OP hasn't been back......


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

Illini said:


> And, the OP hasn't been back......


Shocking, right?


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## TomTheAnt (Jan 1, 2019)

He/she/they is probably busy tabulating all the millions of responses the survey received.


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## Nythain (Jul 15, 2021)

Why on earth would someone "go" electric. Too much cost for absolutely no gain. Hybrid i get, thats a thing. So many hybrids atm beyond the coveted prius. But if i had a tesla id be damned if if it was my uber car lol.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Nythain said:


> Why on earth would someone "go" electric. Too much cost for absolutely no gain. Hybrid i get, thats a thing. So many hybrids atm beyond the coveted prius. But if i had a tesla id be damned if if it was my uber car lol.


I want to be able to make my monthly 300+ mile trip with out having to stop to charge or have to charge when I get there right away if i was able to limp it in. Oh wait, I pull a boat most of the time, bet that would even eat up the charge quicker. All Electric is not for me, it does not fit my needs.


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## 142605 (Mar 4, 2018)

Ride Student said:


> Trying to gather data around the topic to share with the community:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, I drive a Tesla occasionally for Uber. Many would argue with deprecation it doesn’t make sense, however because I use free city charging and have zero maintenance costs, I net significantly more than drivers with ICE vehicles. Plus, it’s more fun to drive.


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## FerengiBob (Nov 6, 2019)

My Hybrid Sienna is getting a solid 38mpg around town.

My "research" only showed about a 20% advantage of electronic over Hybrid, and I was basing my numbers on a modest 33mpg.

You still have to pay the utility in my area.


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

Brotherlove said:


> My Hybrid Sienna is getting a solid 38mpg around town.
> 
> My "research" only showed about a 20% advantage of electronic over Hybrid, and I was basing my numbers on a modest 33mpg.
> 
> You still have to pay the utility in my area.


Weird, I am averaging 43 mpg when I Uber in my 2021 XLE


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## FerengiBob (Nov 6, 2019)

Bork_Bork_Bork said:


> Weird, I am averaging 43 mpg when I Uber in my 2021 XLE


I don't keep up with it religiously. Will track it more closely.


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## 142605 (Mar 4, 2018)

Brotherlove said:


> My Hybrid Sienna is getting a solid 38mpg around town.
> 
> My "research" only showed about a 20% advantage of electronic over Hybrid, and I was basing my numbers on a modest 33mpg.
> 
> You still have to pay the utility in my area.


It’s hard to do the math, but start with charging. Where I live, there are a lot of free charging spots at malls, grocery stores, pharmacies, and public locations like libraries and parks. There probably are near you too you just haven’t noticed them. Granted, they have to be convenient enough to take advantage of and available when you need them. I have two completely free city charging locations within a mile of where I live. I don’t rideshare every day, but if I did, that would be a significant savings. Add to that zero maintenance except tires and wiper blades. Some people may find that hard to believe, but 9 out the 10 things that fail most often in cars (radiators, alternators, transmissions, etc.) don’t even exist in electric cars.

While I don’t know the actual numbers, at the end of the day even _with_ free charging, it’s probably _still_ cheaper to drive a used high mileage Prius than a Tesla. If you’re a full time rideshare driver that puts profit above all else (including comfort) that’s probably the way to go. But that’s not me, my life doesn’t revolve around rideshare. I don’t even want to _ride_ in an old Prius, let alone own one. Rideshare is just a fun side hustle for me and I’d rather make less and drive a vehicle I enjoy.


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## 142605 (Mar 4, 2018)

Ride Student said:


> I am gathering information for a research project to understand drivers' views around the use of electric vehicles. My intention is to post a summary of the findings on this thread, with this community. Every one is free to decide whether to participate.


Apologies for the rude responses some have left. With people like that it’s not hard to imagine why they haven’t been successful in life, ending up angry and bitter, trying to make a part time side side hustle their full time job.


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## Ride Student (Aug 29, 2021)

Thank you to those that have provided comments around EVs on this thread and those who have filled the survey so far.


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## FerengiBob (Nov 6, 2019)

My decision was based on 30 years of delivering supplies.

Knowing my tourist market, EV was a consideration but my day job required a delivery capability.

Mini van means max capacity 
Hybrid means 2X mpg
XL option means max revenue

30 days and 200 trips... no regrets.


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## DiffLock (Nov 21, 2021)

No, it is not. Buy a mature hybrid. Wait for another decade before considering EVs. Wait till more manufacturers join the game.


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## Hexonxonx (Dec 11, 2019)

I don't do ride share. I do food delivery for DD, UE and GH. I traded my 2019 CR-V for a 2022 hybrid CR-V and I am getting about 10mpg more than I was getting on the non hybrid which is pretty good for an SUV. The non hybrid was getting 26mpg and I am getting 36 on the hybrid. That works about to about 120 mpg more than what I was getting on the non hybrid per tank.

I have a 2019 Accord Sport that I am thinking of trading for either a 2022 Hybrid Accord or a second Hybrid CR-V. I do a lot of drive orders for DoorDash so I use the space in the CR-V for that. I've put 12 Chipotle catering boxes in the back of my CR-V with no problems.

By the food delivery is all I do, full time. Sitting in a lot in the hybrid waiting for orders uses very little fuel I've noticed as it will run the EV most of the time and turn on the ICE just to charge the battery enough to run on EV for a while again.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

A smart decision would be to avoid driving

i wonder how much radiation is emitting from EV


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

Trafficat said:


> Electric car can make sense for a part-time driver. Back when I was driving full time I was driving (500 miles in a lot of day). << ??


 Now that's a Bluber Driver, Please do not talk to the Pax, you might confuse them


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Sorry for the poor grammar. 🤷‍♂️

I meant:
"There were many days where I drove over 500 miles."


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

Trafficat said:


> Sorry for the poor grammar. 🤷‍♂️
> 
> I meant:
> "There were many days where I drove over 500 miles."


I am just having fun, just edit the posts, but either way I knew what you meant, so its all good,
Peace


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## UberExplorer (11 mo ago)

DiffLock said:


> No, it is not. Buy a mature hybrid. Wait for another decade before considering EVs. Wait till more manufacturers join the game.


Wait for every can manufacturer to come out with one? Like they did in 2022 model year? Pretty much all car companies now sell an electric car. 

I have been considering driving an electric car for Uber. I drive part time. During the week after work I could drive without ever needing any gas. On the weekends I work 2 12 hour days and I would have to recharge. Someone said you might lose the cost of gas charging which I can understand but I doubt it. In Jan I used $750+ in gas alone. Charging a tesla near me is less than $10 from 10-80%. With a 300 mile range I should only need to charge 1 time per day outside my home. 

The problem comes in with the monthly cost for me. I pay around $450 a month on my ICE vehicle. A tesla may run me $300-$400 a month more. I would still be saving money... unless I decide maybe I don't want to work one weekend or I get sick or something. Now on my ICE vehicle I have the $450 payment but I don't have the cost of gas so if I dont work my cost is lower where if I buy the tesla I will have the payment no matter if I drive or not. This is a sticking point for me. In December I had covid and could not ride share for 3 weeks. I would have been stuck with a huge car payment that I couldnt afford without rideshare. The best option would probably be to save up and drop a huge downpayment to lower the cost of the electric car so you dont have to worry about the payments.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

A solar flare knock out 40 of 49 of Elon Musk satellites, do you really want to be driving an EV? Think what could happen if the power grid is affected and you are way out in bum fcku Idaho and that happen, man you will have to depend on U2 (ur 2 feet), life never gets easier, just more complicated.
I just hope that they are not hurling back to Earth








Solar storm knocks out 40 newly launched SpaceX satellites


A geomagnetic storm triggered by a large burst of radiation from the sun has disabled least 40 of the 49 satellites newly launched by SpaceX as part of its Starlink internet communications network, the company said.




www.reuters.com


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## UberExplorer (11 mo ago)

coolblk said:


> A solar flare knock out 40 of 49 of Elon Musk satellites, do you really want to be driving an EV? Think what could happen if the power grid is affected and you are way out in bum fcku Idaho and that happen, man you will have to depend on U2 (ur 2 feet), life never gets easier, just more complicated.
> I just hope that they are not hurling back to Earth
> 
> 
> ...


You think a gas car would be much better? How you gonna pump gas if you run out in bfe and there is no power? This is a silly argument. An EV might actually be better in end of the world type stuff. You can get solar panels and wind turbines to charge the batteries and use the batteries to power other things. If we stop drilling for oil because of some type of huge event we would run out of gas pretty quickly. I am not some hippy global warming type person either. I like the idea of EV for the savings on gas. Think about the overhead you save if you dont have to pay for gas. Somewhere between 1/3 and 1/4 of my uber income goes back to gas.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

coolblk said:


> A solar flare knock out 40 of 49 of Elon Musk satellites, do you really want to be driving an EV? Think what could happen if the power grid is affected and you are way out in bum fcku Idaho and that happen, man you will have to depend on U2 (ur 2 feet), life never gets easier, just more complicated.
> I just hope that they are not hurling back to Earth
> 
> 
> ...


They did hurtle back to earth. But by design, they burn up in the atmosphere before any chance of hitting you on the head.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

UberExplorer said:


> You think a gas car would be much better? How you gonna pump gas if you run out in bfe and there is no power? This is a silly argument. An EV might actually be better in end of the world type stuff. You can get solar panels and wind turbines to charge the batteries and use the batteries to power other things. If we stop drilling for oil because of some type of huge event we would run out of gas pretty quickly. I am not some hippy global warming type person either. I like the idea of EV for the savings on gas. Think about the overhead you save if you dont have to pay for gas. Somewhere between 1/3 and 1/4 of my uber income goes back to gas.


Haven't you heard of sniffling fuel, or you too young to understand, but either way at least you can still cover the extra miles with what will be leave in the tank,


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

_Tron_ said:


> They did hurtle back to earth. But by design, they burn up in the atmosphere before any chance of hitting you on the head.


This is not about if the Satellites will burn up or where they land should they fail burn up,(Not all Satellites burn up as expected in our atmosphere, Some actually makes it back to earth), anyway the response was pertaining to the EV and possible failure if they lost all satellite guidance or direct burn outs from a Solar flare, should one reach low orbit close enough to have direct affects


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

coolblk said:


> Haven't you heard of sniffling fuel, or you too young to understand, but either way at least you can still cover the extra miles with what will be leave in the tank,


This makes absolutely no sense. What's the difference between what's left in the tank and what's left in the battery of the car. Either way, if the grid is down you aren't getting any more gas OR electricity to fuel your car. So what is your point?



coolblk said:


> This is not about if the Satellites will burn up or where they land should they fail burn up,(Not all Satellites burn up as expected in our atmosphere, Some actually makes it back to earth), anyway the response was pertaining to the EV and possible failure if they lost all satellite guidance or direct burn outs from a Solar flare, should one reach low orbit close enough to have direct affects


What satellites have made it back to earth without burning up ( I can think of only one Skylab, which was a space station not a satellite, and it scattered some pieces on the earth but the chances of anyone getting hit are slim and none. What is a "direct burn out from a solar flare"? What is reaching low orbit? Again, this makes no sense.

You are grasping at straws or something to justify an irrational distaste for EV's.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

Disgusted Driver said:


> This makes absolutely no sense. What's the difference between what's left in the tank and what's left in the battery of the car. Either way, if the grid is down you aren't getting any more gas OR electricity to fuel your car. So what is your point?
> 
> 
> 
> ...











A spacecraft graveyard exists in the middle of the ocean — here's what's down there


The "Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility" is a spot where NASA and other space agencies send satellites, laboratories, telescopes, and spaceships to die.




www.businessinsider.com


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

Disgusted Driver said:


> This makes absolutely no sense. What's the difference between what's left in the tank and what's left in the battery of the car. Either way, if the grid is down you aren't getting any more gas OR electricity to fuel your car. So what is your point?
> 
> 
> 
> ...








Spacecraft cemetery - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org




A total of more than 263 spacecraft were disposed in this area between 1971 and 2016.[10] The defunct space station Mir[17] and six Salyut stations[1] are among the nearly 200 pieces of Russian spacecraft debris in this region, making Russia the largest contributor of spacecraft in the cemetery.[12] The remaining pieces of debris in the cemetery belong to the United States, Europe, Japan, as well as certain private organizations. Among American spacecraft, remnants of the Skylab space station were deposited into the spacecraft cemetery.[12]

The decommissioning of Tiangong-1, the first Chinese space station, was an unsuccessful targeted re-entry at Point Nemo. During an extended mission phase, control was lost due to a power failure, leading to an uncontrolled landing outside of the spacecraft cemetery

Not Everything on re-entry Burn Up, The Shuttles can be proof of that as they successfully return to earth travelling at the same velocity as falling satellites.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

coolblk said:


> Spacecraft cemetery - Wikipedia
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Fair enough, I learned something but I still fail to see how this has anything to do with reliability of EV's.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

Disgusted Driver said:


> This makes absolutely no sense. What's the difference between what's left in the tank and what's left in the battery of the car. Either way, if the grid is down you aren't getting any more gas OR electricity to fuel your car. So what is your point?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

Disgusted Driver said:


> Fair enough, I learned something but I still fail to see how this has anything to do with reliability of EV's.


Computers technology can become doomed


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

Disgusted Driver said:


> Fair enough, I learned something but I still fail to see how this has anything to do with reliability of EV's.











How can the solar cycle threaten technology on Earth?


Your space questions, answered.




www.technologyreview.com





Read, Your answers are in this one of the many articles with scientific explanations


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

Umm, if we are looking at worst case emp then the gas powered car isn't going to work either, they have electronics too. You are saying everything are bad because of a doomsday scenario. If that comes true you have much more to worry about than whether the car runs.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

Disgusted Driver said:


> Umm, if we are looking at worst case emp then the gas powered car isn't going to work either, they have electronics too. You are saying everything are bad because of a doomsday scenario. If that comes true you have much more to worry about than whether the car runs.


While solar flares can destroy Electronics, It doesn't mean that it will be a doomsday scenario as we can survive a Solar flare. 
Older cars without computer electronic control systems can survive such EMP as long as the battery was disconnected before any surge passes through the wiring, on the other hand the Electronic Magnetic Pulse can destroy computer chips without any battery attached. 
Elon Satellites are testimony how close to our planet that flare reached considering the distance of the Sun at 147.79 million km from the Earth. and that was a mild Solar Flare.


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## UberExplorer (11 mo ago)

ALL cars made in the last 20+ years would die from an EMP because they require electronics to work. You arent driving a car older than 20 years for uber... Most cars in the last 20 years also have devices in the gas tanks so you cant easily remove fuel from them. Yes they make pumps to do this, if you can get the hose in your tank. If you carry a pump and/or a garden hose with you and you get lucky enough that you can get gas out of the tank while driving Uber if there is an outage I guess you have a point? Then you also have to worry about getting shot for stealing someone else's fuel during a power outage when they may be looking to use it as well. 

If you mean that in an end times type senario that you will take fuel eventually you will run out. Everyone will be looking for fuel and no one will be producing/distributing it. Solar panels would still charge an electric car. It would take days to weeks for a full charge but it would work.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

UberExplorer said:


> ALL cars made in the last 20+ years would die from an EMP because they require electronics to work. You arent driving a car older than 20 years for uber... Most cars in the last 20 years also have devices in the gas tanks so you cant easily remove fuel from them. Yes they make pumps to do this, if you can get the hose in your tank. If you carry a pump and/or a garden hose with you and you get lucky enough that you can get gas out of the tank while driving Uber if there is an outage I guess you have a point? Then you also have to worry about getting shot for stealing someone else's fuel during a power outage when they may be looking to use it as well.
> 
> If you mean that in an end times type senario that you will take fuel eventually you will run out. Everyone will be looking for fuel and no one will be producing/distributing it. Solar panels would still charge an electric car. It would take days to weeks for a full charge but it would work.


Generally speaking on which vehicles would work in the scenario, those that will be burnt wouldn't be old enough, and with an EMP no one is going anywhere on Uber. (Oh wait, **** me" corrections, Uber has Mennonites service) Amish Uber
Everyone is lost without cellular signal, EMP or no EMP


I wonder the wait time for pax.









Uber Launches Service in Amish Country


LANCASTER, PA After receiving fierce resistance from licensed taxi companies in large cities around the world, online transportation network Uber received a huge boost this week as the Pennsylvania Dutch welcomed Uber to the region. “We’re really looking [...]




dailybonnet.com


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

*‘Acting like an idiot’: Mennonite Uber Driver Clocked at Just 2.32 km/hr on Trans-Canada Highway *


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Ride Student said:


> Trying to gather data around the topic to share with the community:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, a massive fleet operator , says NO !


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

coolblk said:


> Generally speaking on which vehicles would work in the scenario, those that will be burnt wouldn't be old enough, and with an EMP no one is going anywhere on Uber. (Oh wait, **** me" corrections, Uber has Mennonites service) Amish Uber
> Everyone is lost without cellular signal, EMP or no EMP
> 
> 
> ...


Carrier Pidgeon !


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## SpinalCabbage (Feb 5, 2020)

tohunt4me said:


> The UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, a massive fleet operator , says NO !
> 
> View attachment 645347


 We should disband the USPS.


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

tohunt4me said:


> The UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, a massive fleet operator , says NO !
> 
> View attachment 645347


Agree with them as they deliver mail in very remote areas , and the last thing they need is to run out of power in an unsafe area


tohunt4me said:


> Carrier Pidgeon !
> View attachment 645369


By the time he arrive to you with the ping, the pax change their mind, I would send a response to the pax can you tell me exactly where you will be, I am on my way, meanwhile you have to wait for a response before you can move, cant fkuc the pigeon coordination's,


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## strongman (11 mo ago)

I would gladly drive an EV is they were anywhere near affordable.... no matter which way the numbers are crunched it's simply a losing proposition at today's EV car prices.


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## p7wang (12 mo ago)

tohunt4me said:


> Carrier Pidgeon !
> View attachment 645369


Birds aren't real!


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## coolblk (Nov 1, 2019)

p7wang said:


> Birds aren't real!


"I always wonder about those flying thingy"


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## p7wang (12 mo ago)

strongman said:


> I would gladly drive an EV is they were anywhere near affordable.... no matter which way the numbers are crunched it's simply a losing proposition at today's EV car prices.


How about now?


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