# Since when is For Hire driving a hobby?



## TwoFiddyMile

Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
THESE are all hobbies.
Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
Say WHAAAAAT?
Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


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## supernaut

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


At _least_ one, and some might argue two. The "millenials" are an unmitigated disaster of a generation, though.


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## Chef Aarron

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


So says the buggy whip salesman....


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## Older Chauffeur

Well, if these hobbyists don't turn a profit in 3 out of the prior 5 years the IRS may agree with them and disallow their deductions.


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## Superunknown

Those who consider driving around drunks and entitled cheapskates a hobby are clearly very sick in the head and need professional help pronto.


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## Chef Aarron

Superunknown said:


> Those who consider driving around drunks and entitled cheapskates a hobby are clearly very sick in the head and need professional help pronto.


What about those who consider driving around drunks and entitled cheapskates a "profession"? LOL! You guys need to get over yourselves. You do a job that does not require any skill beyond what most 16 year olds posess and the knowledge of a first year business major at a community college. Sadly, many drivers do not posess this minimum, but that doesn't make you anything special!


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## HiFareLoRate

I consider Uber as a hobby. 
Just like playing my gameboy when I'm bored.
Just like watching classics cause I'm poor.
Just like driving Uber for .65 cause I'm bored and poor.


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## Older Chauffeur

I think that the OP is saying that driving as an independent contractor should be seen as a business, as opposed to a hobby. I don't see anyone claiming that it is a profession, which by definition requires training, in some cases years of training.


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## Chef Aarron

Older Chauffeur said:


> I think that the OP is saying that driving as an independent contractor should be seen as a business, as opposed to a hobby. I don't see anyone claiming that it is a profession, which by definition requires training, in some cases years of training.


You didn't see his ramblings in the other thread that prompted him to start this one....


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## Older Chauffeur

Chef Aarron said:


> You didn't see his ramblings in the other thread that prompted him to start this one....


Ah, I see.


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## Chef Aarron

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


Just curious, were you going for spelling or spelunking? Either way, you failed, but at least if you were going for spelling, there's a delightful irony.


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## SEAL Team 5

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


Well Uber X is a hobby, real " fare for hire" is a profession. My company of almost 15 years in the livery service is solid proof of that.
When the number 1 cause of death in America involves an automobile, it's hard to compare the "fare for hire" industry to bird watching.
And yes, we have failed with more then just one generation. Just look at how much our world rankings in mathematics and science have fallen in the past 20 years. Look at the obesity rate among Americans, especially our youth. Look at the increase in %'s of Americans on some type of gov't assistance in the past 20 years. 
The music of our times says it clearly. "I'm just a looser baby so why don't you kill me", " I'm just a looser with no self esteem", "we don't need no education" and a million more lyrics. Thank God I'm old and my kids are all college graduates.


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## Craig T Nelson

Probably gonna piss some people off by saying this, but I definitely consider it a hobby, albeit a financially productive one. Then again, I only do it ~5 hours per month on average. 

brb making at least $25/hour from 9p-1a on a Friday night
brb can do it as much or as little as I want
brb have no life anyway so why the hell not (no effs givin about having no life, I've already had many) 
brb learn more about the city I've lived in for 20 years (and not as a foreveralone hermit) every night I drive
brb 95% of people are cool af, the other 5% are the ones who program in a destination and/or tell me where to go, I confirm I'm familiar with the address, they glue their eyes to their phone for the 5-10 minute ride
brb live in extremely safe city so no Chiraq/East Los riders or destinations
brb not some little scared dude that can't handle himself physically or socially
brb not socially inept so make single-serving friends with damn near every trip
brb get paid the Tuesday night after I drive

I'll admit that: 
1) I'd go broke/insane/turn criminal if I had to do this as a f/t job
B) Yesterday I signed up for Lyft, just to try it out, enjoy a tiny signing bonus and possible tips provided via their tip option on the app, and the insta-pay per every $50 earned 

Sorry if most of you don't like uber. I get it. I used to work jobs so menial they'd make uber driving seem prestigious. If I lost my day job and fell off, its nice to know I'd have uber to add at least a little wind to the sails til I found something else. But definitely wouldn't want to do it for a living and definitely understand how..cheaply uber treats it's f/t drivers. My advice would be to get a better job and/or stop driving and/or *****ing about it.


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## Chef Aarron

Another Uber Driver said:


> ..................but putting a dollar-seventy-five worth of food onto a plate that you can buy at a Wal-Mart for two dollars and change and sprinkling
> twenty-seven cents worth of a thick liquid of various colours onto it and charging eighty-seven fifty for it _*IS*_ a profession.
> 
> Take your own advice.
> 
> Glorified burger flipping is a _*SKILL*_? Anyone with an Intelligence Quotient of eighty can work at Icky-D's for two weeks and learn how to flip a burger.


Yeah, that's what I do. Actually, the last dinner party I cooked was a 6 course meal for 9 people. Client pays for all of the groceries. My fee for cooking, about 5 hours work all total from arrival to cleaning up and leaving the house, was $530. It was only that low because I offer a 10% referral discount. I get quite a few leads through a referral website called Thumbtack where I am currently the only personal chef in this area with nothing but 5 star reviews. 8 of them, last I looked. I've cooked for clients like the Executive Vice President of Investment Operations for Everbank, an owner of a large nationwide property management company, and a player for the New York Mets. Nice try, genius.


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## Chef Aarron

Another Uber Driver said:


> Right, Rocket Scientist: what you just posted was not even a "try", nice or otherwise.
> 
> If your doing multiple and repeated glorified and overpriced burger flips and fancy squirt gun squirts for high powered clients is a "skill", by your own logic, driving around those same high powered clients must be a "skill", which is in direct contradiction to the Rocket Science that you post about drivers on these boards.
> 
> Would you like to rent my crowbar to pry your virtual foot out of your cybermouth, O _*Summa Cum Laude*_ Graduate of Whatever Culinary "Institute" it was? I will give you the ten-per-cent uberpeopledotnet discount, so it will cost you only five-hundred-thirty dollars.
> 
> ..........or can you also flip burgers standing on one foot? There is a name for that..........................................


LOL! Yeah, being hired by a high powered client based pon reputation and talent is the same as being in the same neighborhood as one to get the ping.


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## DriverX

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


LOL they are probably just too embarrassed to admit they need the money and have lowered themselves to common taxi driver status so they say its just a "hobby"


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## shiftydrake

Yep I completely agree with driverx I Am a cab driver and to be an ACTUAL CAB driver it does require more than driving your personal car more than a hobby and definitely more stress than most other jobs what I do is NOT a hobby this IS a skilled profession and I am very happy with my chosen skilled profession what I find hilarious are the following....... When "hobby/part timers" claim they refuse to drive more than 5 mins to pick up, or if their destination is far off they refuse, or the unlimited references of "minimum wage".......minimum wage is an hourly way to judge actual employees NOT contracted workers if the contracted amount is not acceptable either side can end agreement......and parent company sets up rules that each contractor has to follow if contractor does not follow rules...agreement is cancelled by parent company........... And something else I find funny is how everyone calculates how much $ they believe they are making..minus gas,and other expenses I don't know of any other skilled professional drivers that sit around and do that what most of us do is we calculate what gas we have to use daily then deduct that from our take each day and that is how most do....... not cost of insurance cuz we need that anyway....nor minus IRS credit for mileage....cuz that's actually a plus at end of year....maintenance I can see but not needed to be deducted daily I mean come on.....so now let's hear all the nay-sayers saying I'm wrong...or I am a troll..or whatever else is said I am sitting here on edge of my seat waiting for responses


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## Chef Aarron

shiftydrake said:


> Yep I completely agree with driverx I Am a cab driver and to be an ACTUAL CAB driver it does require more than driving your personal car more than a hobby and definitely more stress than most other jobs what I do is NOT a hobby this IS a skilled profession and I am very happy with my chosen skilled profession what I find hilarious are the following....... When "hobby/part timers" claim they refuse to drive more than 5 mins to pick up, or if their destination is far off they refuse, or the unlimited references of "minimum wage".......minimum wage is an hourly way to judge actual employees NOT contracted workers if the contracted amount is not acceptable either side can end agreement......and parent company sets up rules that each contractor has to follow if contractor does not follow rules...agreement is cancelled by parent company........... And something else I find funny is how everyone calculates how much $ they believe they are making..minus gas,and other expenses I don't know of any other skilled professional drivers that sit around and do that what most of us do is we calculate what gas we have to use daily then deduct that from our take each day and that is how most do....... not cost of insurance cuz we need that anyway....nor minus IRS credit for mileage....cuz that's actually a plus at end if year....maintenance I can see but not needed to be deducted daily I mean come on.....so now let's hear all the nay-sayers saying I'm wrong...or I am a troll..or whatever else is said I am sitting here in edge of my seat waiting for responses


I het what ypur saying and in general agree. Caculating expenses on a per mile basis works better for most Uber drivers, though, only because the amount we drive is so variable. If I consistently did roughly the same amount week to week, I would agree 100% that it makes more sense to treat expenses in more of a bulk fashion, but when I drive 10 hours one week and 50 the next and with the margins so slim with the current rates that pennies matter, it's gotta be broken down to finer detail and per mile is the simplest and most meaningful. Could just as easily be per hundred miles or whatever, but I'm sure you get my point.


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## Tnasty

I hate to be mean, but if anyone has ever worked with a Chef they will tell you they are usually Dbags but I don't know you.


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## TwoFiddyMile

DriverX said:


> LOL they are probably just too embarrassed to admit they need the money and have lowered themselves to common taxi driver status so they say its just a "hobby"


Precisely.


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## TwoFiddyMile

Chef Aarron said:


> LOL! Yeah, being hired by a high powered client based pon reputation and talent is the same as being in the same neighborhood as one to get the ping.


Whats a pon, genius?
We simpletons want to know.


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## negeorgia

I am guilty with qualifiers. Non surge, uberX, pick up over 2 minutes away should be left to the hobbyists. Uber off til surge for part time business.


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## shiftydrake

Yeah pon? Inquiring minds want to know


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## rtaatl

Driving for hire is serious business. Just wait til you have to organize transportation for major events and deal with congressman, entertainers, and other celebrities. Then deal with their managers and handlers about schedule changes and certain personal "requirements". Funny how some people in show business can be like kids where their handlers or airline reps tell them where to go and what to say. This business, when things get serious, take an operation management approach...and yes, the people that hire you take it seriously. It's a good thing too because the pay can get great with the right gigs. Yes driving a car around isn't hard to do, but the tradeoff is that one bad incident can ruin your reputation so there isn't any margin for error. I have to say doing a limo service has taken me to events and places I'd never be able to go being a tech analyst at a hospital.


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## TwoFiddyMile

You dont hobby for profit.
The whole mindset is designed to be a slap in the face towards those of us with families to feed through driving.

Im a fairly accomplished part time musician.
Ive opened for Leslie West, Felix Cavilere, Charlie Daniels, and a host of others.
After I turned 30 I decided to focus on my dayjobs. I have no shame for not having made it, its all good.
I still play. When i gig, its for profit.

Theres a ton of New Hate on this board.
Not sure its even real. All of a sudden the hatred for licensed full time drivers by "hobbyists" is at full speed.

Heres what I think- i think The Caterer and his ilk are normal American Failures like the rest of us, but have to lie to themselves in order to get through the day.
They need the money just like we do!
Its ok that you washed out at NOBU, 
I never got my rockstar dream- but I ACCEPTED that not everyone goes straight to the top.

Rideshare is not a hobby.
It's a part time job.


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## EcoboostMKS

I don't care about the money. I'm just doing this to meet interesting people and give them a better option than the evil taxi companies.


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## TwoFiddyMile

EcoboostMKS said:


> I don't care about the money. I'm just doing this to meet interesting people and give them a better option than the evil taxi companies.


Sucker. Oops sarcasm...


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## Another Uber Driver

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Felix Cavilere


I never knew that he was part of Joey Dee and the Starliters.


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## EcoboostMKS

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Sucker.


Oh it's great. The money isn't good, but I get to meet new people all the time. What more can you ask?! We should all be paying uber to be allowed to have so much fun. I'm thinking of dropping off a big case of waters and box of mints at one of their local offices right now.


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## TwoFiddyMile

Another Uber Driver said:


> I never knew that he was part of Joey Dee and the Starliters.


Funny.
Felix Cavilere was the leader of The Rascals.
Liberty DiVito was playing drums for him that night.
Felix and Leslie argued about the opening slot, a real has been rockstar argument.

The funny thing is, I may have opened for Joey Dee and the Starlighters.
So many has beens, so long ago...


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## TwoFiddyMile

EcoboostMKS said:


> Oh it's great. The money isn't good, but I get to meet new people all the time. What more can you ask?! We should all be paying uber to be allowed to have so much fun. I'm thinking of dropping off a big case of waters and box of mints at one of their local offices right now.


We really need a sarcasm emoticon.


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## EcoboostMKS

TwoFiddyMile said:


> We really need a sarcasm emoticon.




If you want my true opinion, I hope this entire app ********* business goes up in flames and everyone that drives for uberx (outside of NYC, but even that's getting just as bad) is pathetic. They think they're not taxi drivers, but they are, just without the tips and are paid pennies on the dollar. But they do get to meet all these new people every day driving for uber, so there's that.


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## EcoboostMKS

GooberX said:


> Without a doubt.
> 
> I thought you were the one that was serious about this being a hobby.
> 
> I'm not awake yet.


The crazy thing is a lot of people do make comments like this to justify the pathetic slave labor they do with this job. You read nonsense comments like that every day on here and people actually mean it.

I've been in this business for over a decade now doing both legitimate taxi driving and now with my limo company. It's my full time job and business. Not uber, but limo. I take this work very seriously because it's how I put food on the table.


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## EcoboostMKS

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Whats a pon, genius?
> We simpletons want to know.


It's a passive optical network. Everyone knows that....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_optical_network


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## TwoFiddyMile

They have to lie to themselves to get through the day.
What pissed me off enough to start this thread was the shit slinging they do on this forum.
Its fine to lie to yourself. 
Dont bring it around here.


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## EcoboostMKS

TwoFiddyMile said:


> They have to lie to themselves to get through the day.
> What pissed me off enough to start this thread was the shit slinging they do on this forum.
> Its fine to lie to yourself.
> Dont bring it around here.


I didn't see the other thread, but i can only imagine the ignorance being spewed. Enough to give you a headache, I'm sure.


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## UberLou

Superunknown said:


> Those who consider driving around drunks and entitled cheapskates a hobby are clearly very sick in the head and need professional help pronto.


So are those that do this full-time for a living.


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## ATX 22

I started out with Uber as a part time driver, to supplement my primary income. Thanks to this forum and members like TwoFiddyMile, I not only learned quickly about pax tendencies, I spent the time and money to be sure my assets were covered because of the potential for an accident due to reasons beyond my control. I learned to minimize my deadhead miles, and I worked at having my total miles for the night pay at $1 for every actual mile driven. It wasn't easy at $1.20 or $1.10 per mile, but it was a goal, and I was successful more often than not. I also knew right where my threshold was, and the January rate cut was it.
Anyone who is claiming that this is a hobby is in denial of the consequences of not being properly insured. If you are buying the Uber line about their umbrella policy, you are a bankruptcy waiting to happen.
Transporting people should always be taken seriously. That's someone's son, daughter, mother or father who is entrusting their life and livelihood to you to get them where they are going safely.
I am still driving, part time, but now I am properly licensed, I dress up, and I drive high end cars for a local limo company. I make as much as before, usually on 2-3 trips per weekend, as I did hustling and monitoring every dead mile on my car. My auto insurance costs are down, as are my vehicle maintenance costs. My schedule is actually more flexible now, than it was driving Uber/Lyft. 
This is not a hobby. If you view it as such, then stop taking money to do it.


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## UberXpert2020

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


-- Did you just call people "*Uberites*"? I LOVE THAT. Anyway, to my point - I agree with you!! People can say all they want about Uber...but one thing i know for a fact, its NOT a hobby!! Like you said, "*destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup*" - how do people miss this point?? I drive because i need the money to pay off my school loans (that i wish i should have never taken out to begin with)...

I have to say this though: I haven't driven for them since the 1st of this year and you better believe they have been bombarding me with messages of *"let's get you on the road"?"make an extra 1000dollars"* BS. How about, i will do it on my terms - when i want to don't you get?? PS: if you are driving for UBER, all you are doing is making Travis Kaplanick Billionaire. Don't you ever forget that, you "*Uberite*".


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## TwoFiddyMile

Uberite does kinda sound like Mennonite lol!


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## UberXpert2020

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Uberite does kinda sound like Mennonite lol!


-- you are a trip!!!


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## RichR

TwoFiddyMile said:


> You dont hobby for profit.


Oh, really? Who died and made you king?

Such a whiner you are.


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## EcoboostMKS

RichR said:


> Oh, really? Who died and made you king?
> 
> Such a whiner you are.


hob·by1
ˈhäbē/
_noun_

*1*. 
an activity done regularly in one's leisure time *for pleasure*.
"her hobbies are reading and gardening"
synonyms: pastime, leisure activity, leisure pursuit; More


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## RichR

EcoboostMKS said:


> hob·by1
> ˈhäbē/
> _noun_
> 
> *1*.
> an activity done regularly in one's leisure time *for pleasure*.
> "her hobbies are reading and gardening"
> synonyms: pastime, leisure activity, leisure pursuit; More


So, pleasure and profit are mutually exclusive now? You get no pleasure from profit?

How sad.


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## tohunt4me

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


Some realize a larger tax write off than they will ever earn driving.


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## EcoboostMKS

RichR said:


> So, pleasure and profit are mutually exclusive now? You get no pleasure from profit?
> 
> How sad.


pleas·ure

_adjective_

used or intended* for entertainment rather than business.*


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## RichR

EcoboostMKS said:


> pleas·ure
> 
> _adjective_
> 
> used or intended* for entertainment rather than business.*


You obviously cherry-picked a definition to suit your ridiculous agenda. I'm sure if you put your thinking cap on, you can find a definition to fit the sort of pleasure (it's a noun, btw) _even you _get from turning a profit.

Then again, your definition does fit, insofar as I do Uber for entertainment rather than business. The joy of turning a profit has entertainment value, too.


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## EcoboostMKS

RichR said:


> You obviously cherry-picked a definition to suit your ridiculous agenda. I'm sure if you put your thinking cap on, you can find a definition to fit the sort of pleasure _even you _get from turning a profit.


I'm cherry picking dictionary definitions? I'm not even giving opinions, I'm copying and pasting actual definitions of words.

I think I'd feel pleasure if your brain worked a little better, but if it did, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Now I understand why some of you guys drive for uberx.


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## TwoFiddyMile

RichR said:


> So, pleasure and profit are mutually exclusive now? You get no pleasure from profit?
> 
> How sad.


Don't be sad, little buckeroo.
Turn that frown upside down 

You found a HOBBY!


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## RichR

EcoboostMKS said:


> I'm copying and pasting actual definitions of words.


_*Partial *_definitions.



EcoboostMKS said:


> I think I'd feel pleasure if your brain worked a little better


I'll never get tired of seeing someone claiming intellectual superiority when he's clearly outmatched.

Again, learn the difference between a _noun_ and an _adjective_.


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## TwoFiddyMile

RichR said:


> _*Partial *_definitions.
> 
> I'll never get tired of seeing someone claiming intellectual superiority when he's clearly outmatched.
> 
> Again, learn the difference between a _noun_ and an _adjective_.


Shush.
We're edifying hobbyists.


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## EcoboostMKS

RichR said:


> _*Partial *_definitions.
> 
> I'll never get tired of seeing someone claiming intellectual superiority when he's clearly outmatched.
> 
> Again, learn the difference between a _noun_ and an _adjective_.


But you're attempting to use the word as a verb...


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## TwoFiddyMile

English 101 is down the hall.
This is the Anti Hobby Lobby lmao...
(See what I did there?)


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## RichR

EcoboostMKS said:


> But you're attempting to use the word as a verb...


Fresh out of logical arguments, you go there. Hmm. What a surprise.


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## JuanIguana

Chef Aarron said:


> What about those who consider driving around drunks and entitled cheapskates a "profession"? LOL! You guys need to get over yourselves. You do a job that does not require any skill beyond what most 16 year olds posess and the knowledge of a first year business major at a community college. Sadly, many drivers do not posess this minimum, but that doesn't make you anything special!


I am special.


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## Chef Aarron

JuanIguana said:


> I am special.


How cute that you still believe everything your mommy told you!


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## UberPasco

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Shush.
> We're edifying hobbyists.


I'm not sure how hobbies and making money suddenly became mutually exclusive. I have been in the sports card / memorabilia hobby for 30 years and have profited tens of thousands of dollars. At no time have I considered it 'my profession'. Additionally, I purchase items at flea markets and auction houses and flip them for profit. I find it enjoyable and do it for pleasure.

Now, a taxi driver obsessively trolling a website created predominately for Uber drivers......now that may be hobby.

Edit: I apologize for using the same phrase as RichR. I don't want it to seem that those of us who uber have a talking points memo. Like those who drive taxis apparently have.


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## JuanIguana

SEAL Team 5 said:


> Well Uber X is a hobby, real " fare for hire" is a profession. My company of almost 15 years in the livery service is solid proof of that.
> When the number 1 cause of death in America involves an automobile, it's hard to compare the "fare for hire" industry to bird watching.
> And yes, we have failed with more then just one generation. Just look at how much our world rankings in mathematics and science have fallen in the past 20 years. Look at the obesity rate among Americans, especially our youth. Look at the increase in %'s of Americans on some type of gov't assistance in the past 20 years.
> The music of our times says it clearly. "I'm just a looser baby so why don't you kill me", " I'm just a looser with no self esteem", "we don't need no education" and a million more lyrics. Thank God I'm old and my kids are all college graduates.


long live Beck!


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## JuanIguana

shiftydrake said:


> Yep I completely agree with driverx I Am a cab driver and to be an ACTUAL CAB driver it does require more than driving your personal car more than a hobby and definitely more stress than most other jobs what I do is NOT a hobby this IS a skilled profession and I am very happy with my chosen skilled profession what I find hilarious are the following....... When "hobby/part timers" claim they refuse to drive more than 5 mins to pick up, or if their destination is far off they refuse, or the unlimited references of "minimum wage".......minimum wage is an hourly way to judge actual employees NOT contracted workers if the contracted amount is not acceptable either side can end agreement......and parent company sets up rules that each contractor has to follow if contractor does not follow rules...agreement is cancelled by parent company........... And something else I find funny is how everyone calculates how much $ they believe they are making..minus gas,and other expenses I don't know of any other skilled professional drivers that sit around and do that what most of us do is we calculate what gas we have to use daily then deduct that from our take each day and that is how most do....... not cost of insurance cuz we need that anyway....nor minus IRS credit for mileage....cuz that's actually a plus at end of year....maintenance I can see but not needed to be deducted daily I mean come on.....so now let's hear all the nay-sayers saying I'm wrong...or I am a troll..or whatever else is said I am sitting here on edge of my seat waiting for responses


...


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## JuanIguana

Chef Aarron said:


> How cute that you still believe everything your mommy told you!


Thanks


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## JuanIguana

TwoFiddyMile said:


> You dont hobby for profit.
> The whole mindset is designed to be a slap in the face towards those of us with families to feed through driving.
> 
> Im a fairly accomplished part time musician.
> Ive opened for Leslie West, Felix Cavilere, Charlie Daniels, and a host of others.
> After I turned 30 I decided to focus on my dayjobs. I have no shame for not having made it, its all good.
> I still play. When i gig, its for profit.
> 
> Theres a ton of New Hate on this board.
> Not sure its even real. All of a sudden the hatred for licensed full time drivers by "hobbyists" is at full speed.
> 
> Heres what I think- i think The Caterer and his ilk are normal American Failures like the rest of us, but have to lie to themselves in order to get through the day.
> They need the money just like we do!
> Its ok that you washed out at NOBU,
> I never got my rockstar dream- but I ACCEPTED that not everyone goes straight to the top.
> 
> Rideshare is not a hobby.
> It's a part time job.


I know you!!


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

JuanIguana said:


> I know you!!


Oh yeah?
What instrument do you play?
Load in is down that hall, 2nd right, and through the kitchen...


----------



## JuanIguana

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Oh yeah?
> What instrument do you play?
> Load in is down that hall, 2nd right, and through the kitchen...


Exactly. I bust my knuckles every time I round the dishwasher with the friggin SVT!


----------



## JuanIguana

RichR said:


> _*Partial *_definitions.
> 
> I'll never get tired of seeing someone claiming intellectual superiority when he's clearly outmatched.
> 
> Again, learn the difference between a _noun_ and an _adjective_.


par·tial

ˈpärSHəl/

adjective

1. favoring one side in a dispute above the other; biased.

"the paper gave a distorted and very partial view of the situation"

synonyms:biased, prejudiced, partisan, one-sided, slanted, skewed, colored,unbalanced

"a very partial view of the situation"


----------



## JuanIguana

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Whats a pon, genius?
> We simpletons want to know.


Like, a pon broker.

Or key pon trucking, doncha know?


----------



## 20yearsdriving

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


How about a "sick" hobby ?


----------



## 20yearsdriving

SEAL Team 5 said:


> Well Uber X is a hobby, real " fare for hire" is a profession. My company of almost 15 years in the livery service is solid proof of that.
> When the number 1 cause of death in America involves an automobile, it's hard to compare the "fare for hire" industry to bird watching.
> And yes, we have failed with more then just one generation. Just look at how much our world rankings in mathematics and science have fallen in the past 20 years. Look at the obesity rate among Americans, especially our youth. Look at the increase in %'s of Americans on some type of gov't assistance in the past 20 years.
> The music of our times says it clearly. "I'm just a looser baby so why don't you kill me", " I'm just a looser with no self esteem", "we don't need no education" and a million more lyrics. Thank God I'm old and my kids are all college graduates.


Amen .

Btw I see the issues you mentioned as 2 
1 a sad truth 
2 the filler material that pushes others upwards


----------



## 20yearsdriving

EcoboostMKS said:


> I don't care about the money. I'm just doing this to meet interesting people and give them a better option than the evil taxi companies.


Well said


----------



## EcoboostMKS

20yearsdriving said:


> Well said


It's all worth it when I hand one of my riders a mint. There's no better feeling than knowing you've saved the breath of someone paying you $5 to drive them 10 miles down the road. And to top it off they give me a glorious 5 star rating to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What a great job.


----------



## 20yearsdriving

EcoboostMKS said:


> It's all worth it when I hand one of my riders a mint. There's no better feeling than knowing you've saved the breath of someone paying you $5 to drive them 10 miles down the road. And to top it off they give me a glorious 5 star rating to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What a great job.


Of course those poor souls drunk on a dozen 14 dollar cocktails 
Some one needs to save them


----------



## Older Chauffeur

EcoboostMKS said:


> It's all worth it when I hand one of my riders a mint. There's no better feeling than knowing you've saved the breath of someone paying you $5 to drive them 10 miles down the road. And to top it off they give me a glorious 5 star rating to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What a great job.


----------



## GooberX

EcoboostMKS said:


> It's all worth it when I hand one of my riders a mint. There's no better feeling than knowing you've saved the breath of someone paying you $5 to drive them 10 miles down the road. And to top it off they give me a glorious 5 star rating to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What a great job.


No way!!!!!

You do that?????

I know, I know, couldn't resist.


----------



## EcoboostMKS

Older Chauffeur said:


>


Actually let me rephrase that. Not a great job - great hobby!


----------



## UberReallySucks

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


_You Forgot Marijuana .... that's also a hobby to some!

Yes, we actually have failed with yet another generation... of hobbyists._


----------



## JuanIguana

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Oh yeah?
> What instrument do you play?
> Load in is down that hall, 2nd right, and through the kitchen...


Bass for one...


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

JuanIguana said:


> Exactly. I bust my knuckles every time I round the dishwasher with the friggin SVT!


Bass players secretly run the world.


----------



## RockinEZ

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


At times driving for Uber is not a bad experience. 
It is just never really a good experience.

Hobbies are fun. Uber is rarely fun.


----------



## RockinEZ

EcoboostMKS said:


> I don't care about the money. I'm just doing this to meet interesting people and give them a better option than the evil taxi companies.


LOL!


----------



## Older Chauffeur

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Bass players secretly run the world.


I was a bass player a long, long time ago. Used to fit my double bass into a 1963 Corvair Monza, sometimes along with a girlfriend to get to gigs. Never made it big, but it helped pay the bills. One of the guys in the group made it a career and was fairly successful.

Edit: this subtopic got me thinking and I looked up another guy from that group, and he too has made a successful musical career. Maybe I should have stuck with those guys!


----------



## Another Uber Driver

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Funny. Felix Cavilere was the leader of The Rascals.


I know that he was with the Rascals. I never knew that he was with Joey Dee and the Starliters before the Rascals.

_*See*_ always was my favourite tune of theirs--a rather obscure one, but my favourite.


----------



## Scenicruiser

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Bass players secretly run the world.


Spoken like a drummer!


----------



## elelegido

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


Surely a hobby is a constructive activity in which something is created that did not exist before. A stamp collection, a woven basket, a model battleship etc. Uberlyfting creates nothing, so it's not a hobby.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Another Uber Driver said:


> I know that he was with the Rascals. I never knew that he was with Joey Dee and the Starliters before the Rascals.
> 
> _*See*_ always was my favourite tune of theirs--a rather obscure one, but my favourite.


Thanks for that obscure factoid, i had no idea Felix was in Joey Dee and the Starlighters.
I Wikiid him, Felix also produced at least one album by Laura Niro.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Scenicruiser said:


> Spoken like a drummer!


Mommy wouldnt let me play drums.
Electric stringed instruments have volume knobs, she said.

So jealous of drummers, never have to learn realative minors or how to transpose.


----------



## uber strike

many drivers have been assaulted, attacked, spit on, slapped, pulled knife on, accused of rape and did jail time, etc. ,,,two uber drivers just got killed this weekend. don't think they would call it a hobby...


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

uber strike said:


> many drivers have been assaulted, attacked, spit on, slapped, pulled knife on, accused of rape and did jail time, etc. ,,,two uber drivers just got killed this weekend. don't think they would call it a hobby...


Excellent point.
Calling rideshare a hobby cheapens the tragic deaths of those victims.


----------



## RichR

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Calling rideshare a hobby cheapens the tragic deaths of those victims.


Really? If a pax kills one of us hobbyists, are you saying that's not tragic? Or, that we aren't hobbyists after all?

Or, are you saying hobbies, by definition, cannot be dangerous or deadly? Hunting, motorsports, auto repair, skiing, ... If I call those my hobbies, does it cheapen the tragic deaths of any (professionals or hobbyists) who've died?


----------



## Bill Collector

Back in a day I used to have a hobby of listening to Short Wave radio. Used to spend hours trying to pull in Radio Romania in 9 MHz band using a long wire antenna contraption. If time was money, then I did spend a lot of it. But it gave me pleasure. Now with Uber, I make some money. Actually I made just enough to cover the value of the car. Oh and the countless hours spent driving. The wear is beginning to show, however. Tires are way past the "lincoln head" wear. Odometer is fast approaching 200K miles. Bottom line, "ATM" is going to run out of cash pretty soon. 

I don't know if you can call this a hobby but I do enjoy talking to total strangers about topics ranging from strip clubs to transcendental meditation. I have given rides to state legislators to escorts. Regardless, I try to earn $1/mile and $10/hr for the times I drive. Damn you Uber for getting me addicted to this peanut wage gig!


----------



## Chef Aarron

uber strike said:


> many drivers have been assaulted, attacked, spit on, slapped, pulled knife on, accused of rape and did jail time, etc. ,,,two uber drivers just got killed this weekend. don't think they would call it a hobby...


Yeah. I'm one of them. I've been assaulted. I still don't aggrandize myself into thinking it's anything more than an easy job.


----------



## Another Uber Driver

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Thanks for that obscure factoid, i had no idea Felix was in Joey Dee and the Starlighters.
> I Wikiid him, Felix also produced at least one album by Laura Niro.


I did not know that he had worked with Laura Nyro. There is one of the better writers and performers who went before her time. She used to get quite a bit of airplay on the old WHFS and WGTB, here. She deserves to be better known that she is. If you told more than a few people about the tunes that she wrote from which other bands and groups made hits, few would know who she was, still.


----------



## naplestom75

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


Right now it is for me. But I still only do it if it is profitable.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

RichR said:


> Really? If a pax kills one of us hobbyists, are you saying that's not tragic? Or, that we aren't hobbyists after all?
> 
> Or, are you saying hobbies, by definition, cannot be dangerous or deadly? Hunting, motorsports, auto repair, skiing, ... If I call those my hobbies, does it cheapen the tragic deaths of any (professionals or hobbyists) who've died?


You already diminish rideshare so much by calling it a "hobby" that one would hope you factored in your tragic death as part of your "hobbyistic cheap thrills", not dissimilar to auto erotic asphyxiation.

A tragedy yes, but anyone risking death for cheap thrills gets placed in the same deviant category as David Carradine.


----------



## RichR

TwoFiddyMile said:


> You already diminish rideshare so much by calling it a "hobby" that one would hope you factored in your tragic death as part of your "hobbyistic cheap thrills", not dissimilar to auto erotic asphyxiation.
> 
> A tragedy yes, but anyone risking death for cheap thrills gets placed in the same deviant category as David Carradine.


Do I diminish auto repair by calling it my hobby? Mechanics (professionals and hobbyists) working under cars have died after the cars fell (or were pushed) off their jacks. Were they "risking death for cheap thrills"? How is the rideshare hobby any different than the auto repair hobby?


----------



## AintWorthIt

I'll admit I do it to meet women, I guess that's kind of a hobby  That being said since the winter cut I have not taken one ride that is not surge, girls are better on Lyft anyways. I've also gotten to the point if it's a guys name, they have to be really close for me to pick them up, cute girl with a good profile pic on Lyft I tend to expand my pickup radius a bit


----------



## phillipzx3

RichR said:


> Do I diminish auto repair by calling it my hobby? Mechanics (professionals and hobbyists) working under cars have died after the cars fell (or were pushed) off their jacks. Were they "risking death for cheap thrills"? How is the rideshare hobby any different than the auto repair hobby?


Ford isn't calling their trained mechanics "hobbyists" in order to avoid regulations that have been put in place to protect the mechanics and their customers.

Uber claimed their "partners" were just doing "ride share as a part-time (hobby) gig...picking up people who happened to be going their way. Uber did everything they could to avoid rules and regulations set in place to drive a cab...including the need for proper insurance.

"Need some extra money? Come drive for Uber"

It's all fun and games until people start getting hurt or until it start costing (someone) money. It's why insurance companies will stop providing "gap" insurance once they all understand it's costing them too money to let a bunch of "hobby" drivers put 100K miles a year on their car using 10K a year rates.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

RichR said:


> Do I diminish auto repair by calling it my hobby? Mechanics (professionals and hobbyists) working under cars have died after the cars fell (or were pushed) off their jacks. Were they "risking death for cheap thrills"? How is the rideshare hobby any different than the auto repair hobby?


The difference between your rideshare hobby and your auto repair hobby is (i hope) you do rideshare for a retail company, and (hopefully) you dont do auto repair hobbying for a retail for profit company.
TERRIBLE example. 
Try it tho!
"Hey there Sears Auto Center manager! Im an Auto Repair Hobbyist.
Mind if i do some alignments, cut some rotors, and swap out that F150 computer system for free?"


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Chef Aarron :
Saw what you did there, slick move deleting post lol.
Answer to your repealed question...two beautiful 5 year old twins and a hot wife all of whom are hopelessly in love with me, as I Am them.
I don't drive a cab due to other great opportunities lol.
Turn 50 in 4 months, I had left the cab business "for good" in 1991 and built an entire middle management career in inbound call center customer service.

Outsourcing is a *****. Im a bootstrap pulling merit carrying self responsible human- i do what is necessary to pay my bills.
What about you?
Who loves you, Cheffy?


----------



## 20yearsdriving

Cheffy deleted post mmmm
Blown out of the water again 
Good job 250


----------



## USArmy31B30

DriverX said:


> LOL they are probably just too embarrassed to admit they need the money and have lowered themselves to common taxi driver status so they say its just a "hobby"


What's wrong with being a cabbie? Why do you see cabbies as a LOWER LABOR FORCE? I believe it's a decent job and an honest way to make a living (for the most of them). They pay taxes and helps boost the economy, not like some people out there who does all the crime, a menace to the society who doesn't have a job and collects welfare checks...

They can call RIDESHARING a hobby all they want but the IRS will get their CUT towards the end of that year no matter what!

Some may call ridesharing business a "Burro", some may call it a "Donkey", but others may just call them a bunch of "Jackasses"


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Cabbing is a low esteem job by western world societal standards. 
The only time im truly embarrassed to be a cabbie is pulling into the pickup line of my kids school.
All those lexus and BMW, and...my cab.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Your reading comprehension sucks.
Cabbed 1988- 1991 then ran call centers.
Call centers were outsourced in 2000, been BACK in a cab since 2001.

Everyones laughing at you...


----------



## Chef Aarron

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Your reading comprehension sucks.
> Cabbed 1988- 1991 then ran call centers.
> Call centers were outsourced in 2000, been BACK in a cab since 2001.
> 
> Everyones laughing at you...


Except You didn't say you went back to cabs. You did, however, say

"I don't drive a cab due to other great opportunities lol.
Turn 50 in 4 months, I had left the cab business "for good" in 1991 and built an entire middle management career in inbound call center customer service."​Go answer some phones for $2.50 a mile....


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Chef Aarron said:


> Except You didn't say you went back to cabs. You did, however, say
> 
> "I don't drive a cab due to other great opportunities lol.
> Turn 50 in 4 months, I had left the cab business "for good" in 1991 and built an entire middle management career in inbound call center customer service."​Go answer some phones for $2.50 a mile....


Any answer for who loves you?
It was a serious yet rhetorical question. 
No one here loves you.


----------



## MikesUber

Riveting back and forth Uber fam lol you guys 



Craig T Nelson said:


> brb 95% of people are cool af, the other 5% are the ones who program in a destination and/or tell me where to go


 Word, 99% of my pax have been cool or at least chill people. 1% or less have been slightly agitated because of a bad day but being the C/S master that I am I've typically changed their attitude or at least make them feel better by the end of the ride. The real grumpy entitled ones? 1-star and report if necessary.



Craig T Nelson said:


> brb not socially inept so make single-serving friends with damn near every trip


 Right? I've had awesome connections with people, ending rides in hand-shakes and the almighty tip. If anything some people have left the ride feeling exceptional b/c of our great conversations. Of course for me I'm doing this for profit too aka surge.



TwoFiddyMile said:


> It's a part time job.


 Definitely agree. Working for compensation, reported to the IRS as a business, it's a job. Maybe people are getting the meaning lost when using "hobby", and I also agree some use it as a buffer to what they actually feel aka "I'm driving a taxi"



ATX 22 said:


> That's someone's son, daughter, mother or father who is entrusting their life and livelihood to you to get them where they are going safely.


 That's a big thing, I have college girls get in (I'm 28) and look a little nervous. Have had a friend drop her friend off in my car and say, "Please don't like murder her or something" lol. Some people are afraid and don't really look at me, maybe it's their first ride and they're sketchy about using a U/L or a taxi, we're strangers. It's all about making them comfortable before they even get in.

I've installed super bright LEDs so they can clearly see my face/the interior. I turn them on as they're approaching the car, look at them, smile and wave. From then on it's pure customer service and people skills. For the nervous ones basically act like you're meeting your S/O's parents for the first time.


----------



## RichR

TwoFiddyMile said:


> The difference between your rideshare hobby and your auto repair hobby is (i hope) you do rideshare for a retail company, and (hopefully) you dont do auto repair hobbying for a retail for profit company.
> TERRIBLE example.
> Try it tho!
> "Hey there Sears Auto Center manager! Im an Auto Repair Hobbyist.
> Mind if i do some alignments, cut some rotors, and swap out that F150 computer system for free?"


Okay then. Once again, I was hoping you'd be able and willing to engage in some intelligent debate. But, whenever I question any of your "points" to make my own, you change the subject and throw up another stupid straw man.

Clearly, you're only interested in whining and pouting. My bad.


----------



## Another Uber Driver

TwoFiddyMile said:


> The only time im truly embarrassed to be a cabbie is pulling into the pickup line of my kids school. All those lexus and BMW, and...my cab.


I would be embarrassed at driving the Lexus or BMW.

A Lexus screams: "I PAID TOO MUCH FOR MY TOYOTA!!!!!!!!"

A BMW is nothing but an overpriced tin box that, when it has to go to the shop, will be laid up there for six weeks while it is waiting for parts from Germany (and they build the things in Alabama and North Carolina.....figure out that one) and when you finally do get to pick up the thing, the bill is for half what you paid for the thing in the first place.



TwoFiddyMile said:


> Any answer for who loves you? No one here loves you.


----------



## Dan The Lyft Man

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


It's a hobby for my, because I have a job... I do this for all the extra money $$$$ my family gets. I do this during the time they are asleep (early morning sometimes overnight), so it doesn't take me away from them. My wife doesn't understand why I like it, but she even calls it a hobby.


----------



## USArmy31B30

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Cabbing is a low esteem job by western world societal standards.
> The only time im truly embarrassed to be a cabbie is pulling into the pickup line of my kids school.
> All those lexus and BMW, and...my cab.


Why in the hell would you be embarrassed? You were there for your kids, you were not there to please other people with what you drive...


----------



## USArmy31B30

Sigh*** it makes me wanna eat balut, green mangoes with bagoong


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

USArmy31B30 said:


> Sigh*** it makes me wanna eat balut, green mangoes with bagoong


Me too!
My mother in law is flying in from the Philippines in 4 hours.
We have a nice little house in suburban Davao, will be nice to spend a month there next year. Mabuhay!


----------



## DriverX

Chef Aarron said:


> That's why he lashes out at others so much. He self-aggrandizes himself and ridicules others because, at the end of the day, he knows he did not make as much of himself as he had hoped, especially after getting fired from his middle management call center job (running a call center in middle management is usually a sub $40K a year job anyway), and now that he realizes he's 50 and his life is in the same place as when he was 30 he has to belittle others to make himself feel better about what he sees as his pathetic life.
> 
> I feel much more pity for hum than anger.


Chef would never get fired from a 40K job, because he is the perfect example of "company boy." He would do anything his boss told him to do regardless of the consequences. I find it sad that people have to keep working well into their golden years just to make ends meet and they call it a "hobby," give me a break, this S is not a hobby.

Oh look SD county is starting to heat up again now that all the morning driver "hobbyists" got tired and went home for dinner. These idiots have been riding around all day logged in making new friends for standard rates because "It's just their hobby, and don't need the money."


----------



## NachonCheeze

Call it a hobby, dont call it a hobby, whatever. At the end of the day its a job with a low barrier to entry that one can use to make some money, kill some time, converse with people, etc. So why do I drive: For the most part I actually do enjoy it, the wife and kids take everything and leave me with pennies so the fUBer money is my money, hands off!!! Last month bought a new table saw (Woodworking is my hobby), This month bought a 65" TV. Next month...nothing I want to buy so wont be driving much.
Over 50
BSEE
MBA

I do feel like people look down on me but when I drive them to their crappy apartment, house etc. I don't feel so bad.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Woodworking-hobby.
Got it.


----------



## 20yearsdriving

NachonCheeze said:


> Call it a hobby, dont call it a hobby, whatever. At the end of the day its a job with a low barrier to entry that one can use to make some money, kill some time, converse with people, etc. So why do I drive: For the most part I actually do enjoy it, the wife and kids take everything and leave me with pennies so the fUBer money is my money, hands off!!! Last month bought a new table saw (Woodworking is my hobby), This month bought a 65" TV. Next month...nothing I want to buy so wont be driving much.
> Over 50
> BSEE
> MBA
> Make over $100k in my regular job
> 
> I do feel like people look down on me but when I drive them to their crappy apartment, house etc. I don't feel so bad.


A retired customer of mine 
His hobby reclaimed old wood work 
His entry order is no less that 1k order
There is a 1 year waiting list

Hobby $$


----------



## DriverX

NachonCheeze said:


> I do feel like people look down on me but when I drive them to their crappy apartment, house etc. I don't feel so bad.


Sometimes I F with them, when they ask me loaded questions or have some sort of superiority complex. As I drop them off in the their crappy suburban house with dead grass and no yard or a condo on the verge of not looking new anymore, I ask them when they gave up on living the dream and moved to the burbs? They laugh it off like it was just a joke, but I can sense their pain as I turn the dagger.


20yearsdriving said:


> A retired customer of mine
> His hobby reclaimed old wood work
> His entry order is no less that 1k order
> There is a 1 year waiting list
> 
> Hobby $$


But he would be doing it for no money at all right? If someone would do this for no money at all, then I'd agree that it's a hobby for them. Now show me that person?


----------



## Superunknown

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Cabbing is a low esteem job by western world societal standards.
> The only time im truly embarrassed to be a cabbie is pulling into the pickup line of my kids school.
> All those lexus and BMW, and...my cab.


At least 90% of those who drive a Lexus or BMW are up to their eyeballs in debt keeping up with the Joneses, so I wouldn't be embarrassed at all. Every month I go without having a car payment is more money I can put away each month for retirement.

To hell with western society's "standards".


----------



## howo3579

Ubering IS a hobby if you want it to be. Since it doesn't really make profit, you can treat it like a video/mind game. Chasing surge and strategically maximizing the efficiency and the money you collect. In the end, the money can't pay the bill but you get that satisfaction. Kind of like doing drug. You get addicted and even when the rate is lowered to 10 cents per mile, you still play the game.


----------



## William1964

How is it any different than delivering pizza.

Selling arts and crafts at the Mushroom Festival two or three times a year is a hobby.

Driving people from point A to point B 5 hours a day 7 days a week is not a hobby.

It can't be a hobby. I must take one trip every 30 days.


----------



## 20yearsdriving

If you want to combine a hobby with making money 

For the love of God "really" make money 

Or You can combine your hobby with charity


----------



## RichR

DriverX said:


> I find it sad that people have to keep working well into their golden years just to make ends meet and they call it a "hobby,"


If I was driving for Uber _*to make ends meet*,_ it wouldn't be a hobby; that's a job.

A hobby is something I choose to do _*in my free time for enjoyment*_, such as auto repair, hunting, motorsports, bicycling, selling on eBay, photography, driving for Uber, ...

All my hobbies cost time. Altogether, they cost money. Individually, some of them save money and others make money. But, I don't _*need *_that money. I do them all for enjoyment. Along with meeting some interesting people, some of the enjoyment of driving for Uber is the challenge of turning a profit at it.

Some people make their living (or make ends meet) doing what I do for my hobbies. That doesn't make their profession any less honorable. Likewise, some people choose to write software as a hobby. I don't, mainly because that's a big part of what I do at my day job and I want to do other things with my free time. But their choosing it for a hobby doesn't hurt my profession any more than my driving for Uber hurts the full-time driver's.

*But, the economics... that's different. *When a hobbyist (or, a contractor) can perform my job adequately, and is willing to do it for much less (or no) profit, that will affect the price I can charge for my product. Then what? I guess I could whine and pout about my circumstances, and tell the world that the newbies moving in on my previously-exclusive territory are a bunch of morons. That seems to work for some.


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## UberJag

Who cares if it's a hobby or not? Why judge? Maybe the person is retired and just wants to get out and talk to people. I know many people who spend a ton of money on their chosen hobby. They do it because they like it. I think some of us came here to get good tips and advice but with all the whining and criticizing I leave here feeling sorry that so many of you have so much anger.


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## 20yearsdriving

UberJag said:


> Who cares if it's a hobby or not? Why judge? Maybe the person is retired and just wants to get out and talk to people. I know many people who spend a ton of money on their chosen hobby. They do it because they like it. I think some of us came here to get good tips and advice but with all the whining and criticizing I leave here feeling sorry that so many of you have so much anger.


Give it a few years of uber driving 
You'll be there too


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## UberJag

20yearsdriving said:


> Give it a few years of uber driving
> You'll be there too


I probably won't be doing this for years. It's a second job for me just to have a little extra money each month. When it gets to the point when I don't want to do it, I'll just quit. Back in the early 90s I was a chauffeur driving stretch limos as a second job. I got tired of that after a few months and quit so who knows...maybe this will be just a short gig for me. Right now I'm enjoying it.


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## 20yearsdriving

UberJag said:


> I probably won't be doing this for years. It's a second job for me just to have a little extra money each month. When it gets to the point when I don't want to do it, I'll just quit. Back in the early 90s I was a chauffeur driving stretch limos as a second job. I got tired of that after a few months and quit so who knows...maybe this will be just a short gig for me. Right now I'm enjoying it.


I get it
Wasn't fun to drive limo ? Yes it was

Is the same thing all over , just less money

It will wear in time


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## UberJag

20yearsdriving said:


> I get it
> Wasn't fun to drive limo ? Yes it was
> 
> Is the same thing all over , just less money
> 
> It will wear in time


No, it was not fun driving a limo. I have horror stories. I quit and then had nightmares for about a year! I had some scary stuff happen driving drunks around in 1990!


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## 20yearsdriving

UberJag said:


> No, it was not fun driving a limo. I have horror stories. I quit and then had nightmares for about a year! I had some scary stuff happen driving drunks around in 1990!


Have you read the horror stories here ?

It's the same gig al over just worse 
It's a taxi crowd you serve now


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## TwoFiddyMile

UberJag said:


> No, it was not fun driving a limo. I have horror stories. I quit and then had nightmares for about a year! I had some scary stuff happen driving drunks around in 1990!


Its the BOTTOM of the taxi pax that now take Uber. 
1 block grocery runs, projectile pukers, killers.
Oh my.


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## UberJag

20yearsdriving said:


> Have you read the horror stories here ?
> 
> It's the same gig al over just worse
> It's a taxi crowd you serve now


It's different. When I drove the limo it was a time when it was the cool thing to rent a white stretch limo and get a lot of friends and go bar hopping. The early 90s...mullets, big hair and all! I would pick them up and drop them off at a bar and wait, then take them to another bar and wait, on and on.... Now I pick them up and take them to the bars and turn off the app when it starts getting late and don't have to deal with driving drunks around! I have been tempted with the $50 an hour guarantee they keep sending me to work 2:00-3:00 am on Friday and Saturdays though.


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## Hunt to Eat

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


I collect and refurbish pinball machines. Is that a real hobby?


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## 20yearsdriving

UberJag said:


> It's different. When I drove the limo it was a time when it was the cool thing to rent a white stretch limo and get a lot of friends and go bar hopping. The early 90s...mullets, big hair and all! I would pick them up and drop them off at a bar and wait, then take them to another bar and wait, on and on.... Now I pick them up and take them to the bars and turn off the app when it starts getting late and don't have to deal with driving drunks around! I have been tempted with the $50 an hour guarantee they keep sending me to work 2:00-3:00 am on Friday and Saturdays though.


That is good

Let me ask you 
Do ever get that 4.00 mini ride ?
And if you do .... You know you clear about 2.00... Correct?

Honestly how does that make you feel ?
Specially when the rider gives you attitude on top

How many of those can you stomach in a life time ?


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## TwoFiddyMile

Hunt to Eat said:


> I collect and refurbish pinball machines. Is that a real hobby?


Depends.
Does it surge?


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## UberJag

20yearsdriving said:


> That is good
> 
> Let me ask you
> Do ever get that 4.00 mini ride ?
> And if you do .... You know you clear about 2.00... Correct?
> 
> Honestly how does that make you feel ?
> Specially when the rider gives you attitude on top
> 
> How many of those can you stomach in a life time ?


Of course I get those mini rides but at least they are quick and I can get back out there. I've never had a rider give me attitude yet. I've given every single rider I've had 5 stars...I know I'm going to piss some of you off with that! On the other side of it when I'm the pax, I've given all but one driver I've had 5 stars.


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## 20yearsdriving

UberJag said:


> Of course I get those mini rides but at least they are quick and I can get back out there. I've never had a rider give me attitude yet. I've given every single rider I've had 5 stars...I know I'm going to piss some of you off with that! On the other side of it when I'm the pax, I've given all but one driver I've had 5 stars.


You have great atitude !!

But for some it will be thousands of those rides for years

Can you agree there may be some anger on those drivers??

What does uber do about that ?

They double down and cut rates 
Offer bogus bonus that actually further lower earnings for the majority that can't commit to 75 rides in a Week ( that would be you )

So tell me is it reasonable to be angry ?


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## UberJag

20yearsdriving said:


> You have great atitude !!
> 
> But for some it will be thousands of those rides for years
> 
> Can you agree there may be some anger on those drivers??
> 
> What does uber do about that ?
> 
> They double down and cut rates
> Offer bogus bonus that actually further lower earnings for the majority that can't commit to 75 rides in a Week ( that would be you )
> 
> So tell me is it reasonable to be angry ?


I totally understand and I think if I did this full time and didn't have another option I wouldn't have a good attitude. I work as an Executive Assistant for VPs in high tech. I've worked for some of the worst bosses! You know what I did when I hated my job? ...I found another one! Complaining all the time will just drive you crazy!


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## 20yearsdriving

UberJag said:


> I totally understand and I think if I did this full time and didn't have another option I wouldn't have a good attitude. I work as an Executive Assistant for VPs in high tech. I've worked for some of the worst bosses! You know what I did when I hated my job? ...I found another one! Complaining all the time will just drive you crazy!


Agreed

That 4.00 mini ride is usually taken not so much out of necessity 
It's taken out of convenience

Charging 8.00 for that convenience would not be evil ? Correct ?

It would be fair to both driver & rider
It would totally change driver attitude

For people that take that mini ride out of necessity we should all subsidize it 
( most of public transportation is tax payer subsidized) 
Uber totally transfers cost to others ( mainly the driver)

I tell you personally I have never ever posted a complaint of any of my customers

I have never driven for uber either

I'm a one man livery

I perfectly understand how you see things 
And 100% agree with you ........... But once you involve uber in the mix : it's another dimension 
Normal does not apply

You'll see this in time


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## secretadmirer

Well perhaps if they manufactured toy uber cars and a travis doll that could be a hobby. Add in some model taxis and a remote control, and you have like a battle between the two.


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## uber strike

here's another creep that does uber as a "hobby"


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## stuber

Chef Aarron said:


> What about those who consider driving around drunks and entitled cheapskates a "profession"? LOL! You guys need to get over yourselves. You do a job that does not require any skill beyond what most 16 year olds posess and the knowledge of a first year business major at a community college. Sadly, many drivers do not posess this minimum, but that doesn't make you anything special!


Good grief. Most professions don't require much in the way of extraordinary skills that couldn't be learned quickly by anyone with average intelligence. Uber went after taxis because it's lucrative low hanging fruit. Don't get too smug and comfortable. All professions will soon be vulnerable to the gig economy raiders.

There's already apps for doctors and lawyers. Engineers are freelancing like crazy.


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## stuber

JuanIguana said:


> Exactly. I bust my knuckles every time I round the dishwasher with the friggin SVT!


Nothing beats the warm thunder of an Ampeg with the 6x8 cab. Edit. 6x10 cab. They also made an 8x10, but I liked the low end on the 610 better.


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## samsung191

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


Its not that working for Uber is a hobby,

Its that driving is a hobby.

Some people just love to drive, me being one of them.


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## Huberis

stuber said:


> Nothing beats the warm thunder of an Ampeg with the 6x8 cab.


I had to schlep one of those routinely up and down flights of stairs as a roadie for a band back in college, my spine says plenty beats that rig..... Actually, they do sound great, but torture is torture.


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## SEAL Team 5

uber strike said:


> here's another creep that does uber as a "hobby"


This driver wasn't satisfied with just giving out mints and water. I think he's taking customer service a little too far for $.60 a mile. The new Uber driver. Coming to a street corner close to you.


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## Huberis

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?


TNC's ability to key off of the casual nature of the work is critical to their ability to perform and focus on times of exceptionally high demand. There is a critical difference from part time work and something described as a hobby. TNCs such as Uber very much benefit and no doubt work very hard to cultivate a field of drivers who are more inclined to see the task as a hobby rather than work much less a job. Such a person is likely to be far less critical and content to be decently rewarded for minimal work, with all other work at their own risk, kind of like gambling.

Excellent observation. I would suggest both the work at hand as well as the people doing the work seem to be defined as defined as disposable commodities. Everyone is invited to the party and drive. One Uber drivers pax today could be their driver the next evening and Uber will always be there to take their commission. I had this evening off, I just got home from Thai food, a half a bottle of wine, a bit if Scotch and the surprise of the evening: Rittenhouse Rye which is a hell of a value....... There is a strange similarity to Uber and say Match.com or OkCupid, people are i fact trying to get from a to b, find a partner and so on, but much of it is really just about entertainment.

When things no longer seem interesting, the work is disposable, TNC take advantage of that and it allows them to set prices, acquire a fleet of virtually cost free cars etc. By promoting the work as a hobby, TNCs are being manipulative.


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## 5StarPartner

As far as the comment about being embarrassed picking up your kids from school in a cab, that's just silly. My dad came to America and was a cab driver, worked his way up and now owns 20 medallions in Philly. Lives in an $800,000 house and still parks his unused cabs in the drive-way while his UPenn senior physician neighbor parks his Bently. That's right, a cab driver made it just as the doctor who lives next door had. Never underestimate yourself.


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## 60000_TaxiFares

I've driven cabs a long time since my therapist suggested this as a way to "*get out and meet people*" also! years ago

My advice here *is a gift* so I want to re-iterate ....

-I am smarter than all of you ,
-I have a closet the size of a small house with suits worth more than your cars..... 
-Have a collection of cars that is truly astounding, 
-My monthly trust fund check makes your *yearly* earnings look like a kid with a paper route.

Sometimes *brilliant people* such as myself tend to become seclusive.... thus the taxicab hobby!

Since hobbies are mostly done out of interest and love, and usually lose money or break even... *UBER* *and LYFT* are the perfect candidates!!!

My trust funds are unbreakable, and judgement proof (as many of my naughty shenanigans over the years have proven)

For most of you "*normals*" UBER/LYFT is highly recommended for a excellent hobby. Many drivers in *most states* have probably been *underinsured by UBER/LYFT insurance scheme for years*.

If you don't have a $20000/yr trust attorney like my Mr. Milner, have significant (for you) assets and can't declare bankruptcy at the drop of a hat, you're *very smart *for engaging in driving for " profit."

Your first *Head On collision* will be a great aid for your therapy. Drivers' (or your own) _closed-casket_ funerals are also a kick.

Those rascals who *Mug or Kill* , steal a phone, then order a cab or "Timeshare" with it for a double play are always a source of laughs for many years .

And much much more! Enjoy!

Stay Safe

CC


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

60000_TaxiFares said:


> I've driven cabs a long time since my therapist suggested this as a way to "*get out and meet people*" also! years ago
> 
> My advice here *is a gift* so I want to re-iterate ....
> 
> -I am smarter than all of you ,
> -I have a closet the size of a small house with suits worth more than your cars.....
> -Have a collection of cars that is truly astounding,
> -My monthly trust fund check makes your *yearly* earnings look like a kid with a paper route.
> 
> Sometimes *brilliant people* such as myself tend to become seclusive.... thus the taxicab hobby!
> 
> Since hobbies are mostly done out of interest and love, and usually lose money or break even... *UBER* *and LYFT* are the perfect candidates!!!
> 
> My trust funds are unbreakable, and judgement proof (as many of my naughty shenanigans over the years have proven)
> 
> For most of you "*normals*" UBER/LYFT is highly recommended for a excellent hobby. Many drivers in *most states* have probably been *underinsured by UBER/LYFT insurance scheme for years*.
> 
> If you don't have a $20000/yr trust attorney like my Mr. Milner, have significant (for you) assets and can't declare bankruptcy at the drop of a hat, you're *very smart *for engaging in driving for " profit."
> 
> Your first *Head On collision* will be a great aid for your therapy. Drivers' (or your own) _closed-casket_ funerals are also a kick.
> 
> Those rascals who *Mug or Kill* , steal a phone, then order a cab or "Timeshare" with it for a double play are always a source of laughs for many years .
> 
> And much much more! Enjoy!
> 
> Stay Safe
> 
> CC


And...
Thread.
LOL!


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Huberis said:


> I had to schlep one of those routinely up and down flights of stairs as a roadie for a band back in college, my spine says plenty beats that rig..... Actually, they do sound great, but torture is torture.


Technology changed. 
My BIG cab these days is a Schroeder 2x12 which can handle 700 watts RMS and weighs a whopping 38 lbs.
Mr Schroeder used some synthetic for the cab material, and some proprietary drivers and super light magnets in the speakers.
Does it SOUND as good as an Ampeg 8x10 fridge? Hell no, but a midget 50 year old with a bad back like me can still gig.


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## TwoFiddyMile

5StarPartner said:


> As far as the comment about being embarrassed picking up your kids from school in a cab, that's just silly. My dad came to America and was a cab driver, worked his way up and now owns 20 medallions in Philly. Lives in an $800,000 house and still parks his unused cabs in the drive-way while his UPenn senior physician neighbor parks his Bently. That's right, a cab driver made it just as the doctor who lives next door had. Never underestimate yourself.


You are 100% right.
Im still reeling from the events over the past 2 years.
I was living the dream, having been issued a franchise in prominent Metro West suburban boston city to operate a dispatch cab company, they never turned down a request for a medallion, etc.
Going from 5 cabs to 1...and the Southeast isnt cab strong like the Northeast. 
So i bought into the societal BS here in Charlotte and forgot where i came from.

Imma be a proud medallion holder in that school pickup line...shake off my depression, get a better haircut and some nicer clothes.


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## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


Really?
I know you are not unaware of the millions of members of local BRAND SPONSORED car clubs who invest fortunes into vehicles, travel and social events just to participate in car shows, car rallies, racing events, etc. which builds the brand and brand loyalty for the sponsors.

You mean to tell me that you don't belong to the Porsche Club of America?


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## Michael - Cleveland

DriverX said:


> LOL they are probably just too embarrassed to admit they need the money and have lowered themselves to common taxi driver status so they say its just a "hobby"


When I use Uber as a rider here in the 216, 1/2 my drivers are college age kids supplementing their income by driving just 10-15 hours/wk. That's not a 'hobby' - but it's hobby-_ish_ because they love to drive and meet people - and it's a take-it-or-leave-it proposition for them. The other half are seniors who are retired with little else to do. (One senior driver told me: "_I married him for love - not for lunch - I have to get out of the house_.") They are driving mostly daytime hours, operating cars that are fully paid for (and fully depreciated - and they know how to take advantage of that with their taxes). The older folks are generally using what they view as otherwise unproductive time to do something they enjoy, feel connected to the community and supplement their retirement income.

There is also something to be said for those drivers who are just fascinated with this new phenomenon commonly called 'ride-share' - and with Uber itself. For us older folk, we've seen lots of fads come and go - but we've never see a company go from pipe-dream to a $60 bil valuation in 5 years.

TwoFiddyMile , it's a mistake (a big one, IMO) to try to characterize all drivers as having the same motives, goals and financial situations.


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## TwoFiddyMile

Michael - Cleveland said:


> When I use Uber as a rider here in the 216, 1/2 my drivers are college age kids supplementing their income by driving just 10-15 hours/wk. That's not 'hobby' - but it's hobby-ish because they love to drive and meet people - and it's a take-it-or-leave-it proposition for them. The other half are seniors who are retired with little else to do. They are driving mostly daytime hours, operating cars that are fully paid for (and fully depreciated - and they know how to take advantage of that with their taxes). The older folks are generally using what they view as otherwise unproductive time to do something they enjoy, feel connected to the community and supplement their retirement income.
> 
> There is also something to be said for those drivers who are just fascinated with this new phenomenon commonly called 'ride-share' - and with Uber itself. For us older folk, we've seen lots of fads come and go - but we've never see a company go from pipe-dream to a $60 bil valuation in 5 years.
> 
> TwoFiddyMile , it's a mistake (a big one, IMO) to try to characterize all drivers as having the same motives, goals and financial situations.


I only stereotype all Uberites who mistake it for a "hobby".
Uber doesnt. Remember the Craigslist sucker ads?
"Make $1500 per week, be your own boss".
People who are embarrassed they need the money lie and call it a hobby.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> I only stereotype all Uberites who mistake it for a "hobby".
> Uber doesnt. Remember the Craigslist sucker ads?
> "Make $1500 per week, be your own boss".
> People who are embarrassed they need the money lie and call it a hobby.


I understand your perception - and I'm sure you're right when it comes to some people... but it's still a generalization (and I find generalizations pretty irritating - but that's just me). I never saw (and still haven't seen) any Craigslist ADs (who the hell 'reads' Craigslist?). I just heard about them here long after I signed up and started driving. I doubt I am the only driver out here that is older and didn't know a thing about Uber (no less Lyft) until reading about it in the WSJ, Forbes, etc.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

Huberis said:


> the surprise of the evening: Rittenhouse Rye which is a hell of a value.......


hmmm - I'll have to check that out - thanks. Never been Rye drinker, but love single malt scotch. Time to cultivate a new taste.


> There is a strange similarity to Uber and say Match.com


 ha! - that is EXACTLY how I describe Uber to riders when they [predictably, inevitably] ask: "_So, how long have you been working for Uber?_" My response is always: "No one works for Uber. I pay Uber for access to their APP the same way that you do. Uber is just like Match.com; it matches people who need rides with people who have cars."


> When things no longer seem interesting, the work is disposable, TNC take advantage of that and it allows them to set prices, acquire a fleet of virtually cost free cars etc. By promoting the work as a hobby, TNCs are being manipulative.


That's the business plan in a nutshell!


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## TwoFiddyMile

Please, anyone who can get their hands on advertising copy by Uber using and promoting the word "hobby"...
Id like to see it.
Actually that would explain a lot!


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Please, anyone who can get their hands on advertising copy by Uber using and promoting the word "hobby"...
> Id like to see it.
> Actually that would explain a lot!


lol... of course. But you're assuming that by definition a hobby can't be a money making venture - and that's just not true. Even the 'stamp collectors' you mentioned at the top are building value in their collections - and buy-sell-trade their holdings in order to 'profit'. ANd do you mean to tell me that you don't know anyone who 'dabbles' in the stock market as a hobby?

I've got news for you: If your work isn't ALSO your hobby, you should probably find a different line of work! 

yeah - I know... I'm quibbling over semantics.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Of course one can profit from a hobby.
Generally, i cant think of one "hobby" where you are dispatched for 25%, told what to do, or deactivated for non compliance 

Sorry Michael, you are a very smart dude- but you aren't likely to corner me on this issue.


----------



## Huberis

Michael - Cleveland said:


> hmmm - I'll have to check that out - thanks. Never been Rye drinker, but love single malt scotch. Time to cultivate a new taste.


I am a Scotch drinker too. Good rye has its own thing going on. Apparently rye has a long and storied tradition in PA which was destroyed by prohibition. Rittenhouse Square is in Philly though this rye is not made in Philly. Very smooth rye and under thirty bucks, onsale in PA for about $23 which is a bargain. Let me know what you think if you try it.


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## North End Eric

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Of course one can profit from a hobby.
> Generally, i cant think of one "hobby" where you are dispatched for 25%, told what to do, or deactivated for non compliance
> 
> Sorry Michael, you are a very smart dude- but you aren't likely to corner me on this issue.


If I received 25% of every call I dispatched my ex-wife would be a very wealthy lady.


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## UberJag

I had one of my pax tell me that one of his relatives (I think he said father-in-law) sold his business for tens of millions of dollars (I can't remember the exact amount) and now he's an Uber driver just so he has something to do and to get out and socialize.


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## Michael - Cleveland

UberJag said:


> I had one of my pax tell me that one of his relatives (I think he said father-in-law) sold his business for tens of millions of dollars (I can't remember the exact amount) and now he's an Uber driver just so he has something to do and to get out and socialize.


But does he tip his passengers?


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## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Of course one can profit from a hobby.
> Generally, i cant think of one "hobby" where you are dispatched for 25%, told what to do, or deactivated for non compliance
> 
> Sorry Michael, you are a very smart dude- but you aren't likely to corner me on this issue.


My friend, "_hobby_" is in the eye of the beholder. 
We don't get to define what someone else's hobby is.


----------



## UberJag

Michael - Cleveland said:


> But does he tip his passengers?


Wouldn't that be great! You get in an Uber and your driver is some rich guy and gives you your fare back! I would love to be that rich and be able to pass out cash to strangers!


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## TwoFiddyMile

Michael - Cleveland said:


> My friend, "_hobby_" is in the eye of the beholder.
> We don't get to define what someone else's hobby is.


Shh! Or ill tell everyone you were hustling the track for johns wearing spandex two sizes too small.

Ehh, its a hobby...


----------



## ORT

Craig T Nelson said:


> Probably gonna piss some people off by saying this, but I definitely consider it a hobby, albeit a financially productive one. Then again, I only do it ~5 hours per month on average.
> 
> brb making at least $25/hour from 9p-1a on a Friday night
> brb can do it as much or as little as I want
> brb have no life anyway so why the hell not (no effs givin about having no life, I've already had many)
> brb learn more about the city I've lived in for 20 years (and not as a foreveralone hermit) every night I drive
> brb 95% of people are cool af, the other 5% are the ones who program in a destination and/or tell me where to go, I confirm I'm familiar with the address, they glue their eyes to their phone for the 5-10 minute ride
> brb live in extremely safe city so no Chiraq/East Los riders or destinations
> brb not some little scared dude that can't handle himself physically or socially
> brb not socially inept so make single-serving friends with damn near every trip
> brb get paid the Tuesday night after I drive
> 
> I'll admit that:
> 1) I'd go broke/insane/turn criminal if I had to do this as a f/t job
> B) Yesterday I signed up for Lyft, just to try it out, enjoy a tiny signing bonus and possible tips provided via their tip option on the app, and the insta-pay per every $50 earned
> 
> Sorry if most of you don't like uber. I get it. I used to work jobs so menial they'd make uber driving seem prestigious. If I lost my day job and fell off, its nice to know I'd have uber to add at least a little wind to the sails til I found something else. But definitely wouldn't want to do it for a living and definitely understand how..cheaply uber treats it's f/t drivers. My advice would be to get a better job and/or stop driving and/or *****ing about it.


So what your are saying is that your are operating as an illegal Uber ********* with your personal vehicle with personal auto insurance and license plates, that is what you are doing, correct me if I am wrong.


----------



## python134r

Superunknown said:


> Those who consider driving around drunks and entitled cheapskates a hobby are clearly very sick in the head and need professional help pronto.


I couldn't agree more, ENTITLED CHEAPSKATES=90% of the PAX I drive.....its sickening........


----------



## 20yearsdriving

this first got weird 
Then corny
Then lame 

Keep it up 

"Uber millionaire match maker "

F LMAO!!


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Thread peaked at the "Trust Fund Hobbyist" lampoon.
Laughed my ass off on that one.

Too subtle, i bet 5000 UPnet members hit him up for cash and he had to log out.


----------



## 20yearsdriving

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Thread peaked at the "Trust Fund Hobbyist" lampoon.
> Laughed my ass off on that one.
> 
> Too subtle, i bet 5000 UPnet members hit him up for cash and he had to log out.


If you are worth millions and need to drive uber for your "social" life

I've seen it all !!!

Has to be Aston Kucher posting 
We all got punked LOL!!


----------



## mizzrock

uber strike said:


> many drivers have been assaulted, attacked, spit on, slapped, pulled knife on, accused of rape and did jail time, etc. ,,,two uber drivers just got killed this weekend. don't think they would call it a hobby...


Atleast now they're out of debt....


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

ORT said:


> So what your are saying is that your are operating as an illegal Uber illegal cab with your personal vehicle with personal auto insurance and license plates, that is what you are doing, correct me if I am wrong.


Thats' funny - the state of NY and the city of NYC both seem to think it's perfectly legal. Maybe you should write and show them the error of their ways.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

mizzrock said:


> Atleast now they're out of debt....


yeah - 'cause no one in history has ever been injured, seriously maimed, or died while participating in their hobby.
Especially race car hobbyists, spelunkers, mountain climbers, rock climbers, hang gliders, horseback riders, hunters, participants in sports, boaters, pilots, gun enthusiasts...


----------



## Casuale Haberdasher

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


POST # 1/TwoFiddyMile : Congratu-
lations on Your
F I R S T☆ F E A T U R E D☆T H R E A D !


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Michael - Cleveland said:


> yeah - 'cause no one in history has ever been injured, seriously maimed, or died while participating in their hobby.
> Especially race car hobbyists, spelunkers, mountain climbers, rock climbers, hang gliders, hunters, participants in sports, boaters, pilots, gun enthusiasts...


Right! Injury through "hobby assault".
You are really grasping at straws, Michael.


----------



## RockinEZ

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Excellent point.
> Calling rideshare a hobby cheapens the tragic deaths of those victims.


Oh hell, that is nothing compared to hitch-hiking through Weed California in the '70s with long hair.


----------



## RockinEZ

If the man is paying the bills, it does not matter if he pulls up in a turnip truck in the long run.
The children will still get an education regardless of how they got to school.
Getting them there is the important part.


----------



## ORT

Michael - Cleveland said:


> Thats' funny - the state of NY and the city of NYC both seem to think it's perfectly legal. Maybe you should write and show them the error of their ways.


Where are your getting your information from, must be from the enquirer, there is no such thing as a illegal Uber ********* driver in NYC.


----------



## Another Uber Driver

ubersuperbowlstrike said:


> With most new hires being senior citizens, x fares can be their hobby at least in my market it's quite easy for these senoirs


Several of my Uber Taxi and UberX customers from Cincinnati have told me that in that market, many of the UberX drivers are retired corporate 
higher-ups with nothing better to do. They come out and drive a couple of hours per day just to get out of the house.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Right! Injury through "hobby assault".
> You are really grasping at straws, Michael.


yeah... listing dozens of things people choose to do as hobbies in which injury and death are not uncommon (and certainly happen at higher rates than driving Uber) is completely nondispositive to your proposition.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

ORT said:


> Where are your getting your information from, must be from the enquirer, there is no such thing as a illegal Uber illegal cab driver in NYC.


That's exactly what I said. Did you REPLY to the wrong post?


----------



## SibeRescueBrian

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of a hobby is "a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation." Personally, I never found anything particularly calming about driving for Uber. However, if someone else finds it "especially relaxing", I suppose technically, it could be a hobby.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

SibeRescueBrian said:


> According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of a hobby is "a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation." Personally, I never found anything particularly calming about driving for Uber. However, if someone else finds it "especially relaxing", I suppose technically, it could be a hobby.


yup... it's something we talk about in our CLE zello group all the time. 
Like a lot of hobbies, even though the activity can be frustrating, it's also addictive and most of the time, pretty damned enjoyable.
hehe... kind of a cross between playing chess and gambling!


----------



## Stygge

SibeRescueBrian said:


> According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of a hobby is "a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation." Personally, I never found anything particularly calming about driving for Uber. However, if someone else finds it "especially relaxing", I suppose technically, it could be a hobby.


I fit that description.  I am also greedy so I strive to maximize my profit while pursuing my hobby. I like to play games and uber took it to a whole new level.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

People in this forum - especially the cab and livery drivers - like to paint all TNC drivers with a broad brush, as if we all have the same goals, motives, financial situations, skill levels, experience, etc. And that's ridiculous.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Michael, you are a talented wordsmith.
However, i stick with my original thesis...For Hire driving is a pursuit for money, with a dispatch service whom intends to get rich off of its "partners".

It is disingenuous to describe a financial pursuit, driven by a global corporation, as a hobby.
A gentlemans passtime? Sure. A part time job for rich eccentric dilettantes?
No problem.
Lets take "Joe". Joe works for IBM, takes home $357,000.00 before taxes.
Joes marriage is stale- he gets pretty fed up listening to "The Old Nag".
So he signs up to Uber. Fine, hes all of.the above- eccentric, dilettante, gentleman chauffeur. 
Do you think Joe would have signed up as an Uber partner if the pitch had been 
"Uber is looking for rich eccentric executives to HOBBY our pax around for our profit!"

Nope.
I know he wouldnt have.


----------



## DriverX

Stygge said:


> I fit that description.  I am also greedy so I strive to maximize my profit while pursuing my hobby. I like to play games and uber took it to a whole new level.


nobody buys it. you do it for the money, admit it


----------



## DriverX

Michael - Cleveland said:


> My friend, "_hobby_" is in the eye of the beholder.
> We don't get to define what someone else's hobby is.


Sure we do. We also get to yell at them when their so called hobby limits my income. Your "hobby" is taking the food off some poor drivers kids dinner plate. Why not find something less selfish to do as a "hobby?"


----------



## Stygge

DriverX said:


> nobody buys it. you do it for the money, admit it


I would uber full time if they paid me the same as my full time gig. It's just a hobby. I can't afford to let it be my regular occupation.

EDIT; Uber is my third job. Me second job pays less than uber and is even more fun.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Stygge said:


> I would uber full time if they paid me the same as my full time gig. It's just a hobby. I can't afford to let it be my regular occupation.


Exactly. Very well put.


----------



## DriverX

SEAL Team 5 said:


> This driver wasn't satisfied with just giving out mints and water. I think he's taking customer service a little too far for $.60 a mile. The new Uber driver. Coming to a street corner close to you.


Uber refused to refund her $83, claiming he finished the job.


----------



## DriverX

TwoFiddyMile said:


> You are 100% right.
> Im still reeling from the events over the past 2 years.
> I was living the dream, having been issued a franchise in prominent Metro West suburban boston city to operate a dispatch cab company, they never turned down a request for a medallion, etc.
> Going from 5 cabs to 1...and the Southeast isnt cab strong like the Northeast.
> So i bought into the societal BS here in Charlotte and forgot where i came from.
> 
> Imma be a proud medallion holder in that school pickup line...shake off my depression, get a better haircut and some nicer clothes.


Picking your kid up in your cab is more respectable than sending a stranger in an Uber to do it!


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Let me state something for the record.
If I ever hit Powerball, i mean one of those jackpots where I truly would not have to work again...
I would keep my cab on the road.
Understand one thing- I take cab driving for money very seriously.
So, even with $20,000,000.00 in the bank,
"AIN'T NO HOBBY FOR ME, BIOTCH!"

This is my business. Rich or poor, im in it to win it.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Michael, you are a talented wordsmith.
> However, i stick with my original thesis...For Hire driving is a pursuit for money, with a dispatch service whom intends to get rich off of its "partners".
> 
> It is disingenuous to describe a financial pursuit, driven by a global corporation, as a hobby.
> A gentlemans passtime? Sure. A part time job for rich eccentric dilettantes?
> No problem.
> Lets take "Joe". Joe works for IBM, takes home $357,000.00 before taxes.
> Joes marriage is stale- he gets pretty fed up listening to "The Old Nag".
> So he signs up to Uber. Fine, hes all of.the above- eccentric, dilettante, gentleman chauffeur.
> Do you think Joe would have signed up as an Uber partner if the pitch had been
> "Uber is looking for rich eccentric executives to HOBBY our pax around for our profit!"
> 
> Nope.
> I know he wouldnt have.


I'm not trying to change your mind. You have a preconceived notion that you use to generalize about all TNC drivers. That's your prerogative. It's a complete fallacy, but you're entitled to your opinion. IMO, you can't make blanket statements about one million people who have only 2 things in common (a driver's license and an insured car with 4 doors).

And yes, 'Joe' and a lot more like him would be more likely to respond to your AD than to '"Earn $24/hr".


----------



## DriverX

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Let me state something for the record.
> If I ever hit Powerball, i mean one of those jackpots where I truly would not have to work again...
> I would keep my cab on the road.
> Understand one thing- I take cab driving for money very seriously.
> So, even with $20,000,000.00 in the bank,
> "AIN'T NO HOBBY FOR ME, BIOTCH!"
> 
> This is my business. Rich or poor, im in it to win it.


I'd paint HUGE uber logos on my car set it on fire and launch it off a cliff, filming it all for youtube. Then I'd buy several better cars load them in my MEGA-yacht and sail to my private island nation where uber would be banned. My hobby would then become impregnating as many beautiful natives as possible trying to beat Genghis Khan's record for DNA proliferation.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Let me state something for the record.
> If I ever hit Powerball, i mean one of those jackpots where I truly would not have to work again...
> I would keep my cab on the road.


Of course you would... but you wouldn't be driving it!


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Only way Joe is responding to driving people for free is if its a charitable 501c3 organization.
Then its still not a hobby- its volunteer work.
I was pretty good at marketing, Michael. 
I got my 5 cab company up to half a mil in gross sales 3 years running.
That ad above was a joke. An anti ad, really.
Its a lot harder to market to potential drivers than to pax.
Ive done both.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

DriverX said:


> Sure we do. We also get to yell at them when their so called hobby limits my income. Your "hobby" is taking the food off some poor drivers kids dinner plate. Why not find something less selfish to do as a "hobby?"


Another myth.
The people I drive rarely ever used a cab before they started using Uber - if ever. Cabs under-serve the kind of pax I drive around. The fact is that if the taxi and limo industry had jumped on the opportunities to do expand their businesses by doing what the TNCs did, there would have been no room in the market for the TNCs to enter. And by your logic, Henry Ford should be shamed for putting all of those wagon wheel makers and stables out of business. Ridiculous.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Michael - Cleveland said:


> Of course you would... but you wouldn't be driving it!


Of course i would drive my cab.
Just not at 4 am, 5 am, or 6am


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Only way Joe is responding to driving people for free is if its a charitable 501c3 organization.
> Then its still not a hobby- its volunteer work.


Now you're going to try to argue semantics,
ignoring the fact that volunteer work is some people's idea of a hobby.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Michael - Cleveland said:


> Now you're going to try to argue semantics,
> ignoring the fact that volunteer work is some people's idea of a hobby.


Fine, I'll grant you volunteer work=hobby, that is more or less semantics.
However, Uber is as far from a 501c3 as anything anywhere.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Fine, I'll grant you volunteer work=hobby, that is more or less semantics.
> However, Uber is as far from a 501c3 as anything anywhere.


I am a hobbyist driver. I am not Uber. 
Just because someone builds lego sculptures as a hobby and sells them - doesn't mean they are the Lego Corporation.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Michael - Cleveland said:


> I am a hobbyist driver. I am not Uber.
> Just because someone builds lego sculptures as a hobby and sells them - doesn't mean they are the Lego Corporation.


Edit: You are an Uber Partner.
Try telling them you wish to donate your remaining 75% if this is simply your hobby


----------



## Mars Troll Number 4

I believe that uberX is a hobby in the Orlando Area,

For 2015 all Uber did was DECREASE my tax burden, No joke. After deducting 54c a mile I operated at a loss. And they lowered the rates 10c a mile for the beginning of the year.


----------



## Older Chauffeur

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> I believe that uberX is a hobby in the Orlando Area,
> 
> For 2015 all Uber did was DECREASE my tax burden, No joke. After deducting 54c a mile I operated at a loss. And they lowered the rates 10c a mile for the beginning of the year.


You could have done even better using the allowed standard mileage rate for 2015 of $0.575; $0.54 is the rate for 2016.


----------



## DriverX

Michael - Cleveland said:


> Another myth.
> The people I drive rarely ever used a cab before they started using Uber - if ever. Cabs under-serve the kind of pax I drive around. The fact is that if the taxi and limo industry had jumped on the opportunities to do expand their businesses by doing what the TNCs did, there would have been no room in the market for the TNCs to enter. And by your logic, Henry Ford should be shamed for putting all of those wagon wheel makers and stables out of business. Ridiculous.


I'm talking about the TNC Drivers. They have kids to feed too! Your's is the typical entitled Republican mindset on display, thinks only of themselves.


----------



## 20yearsdriving

Remember that Walmart greeter commercial ?

"Even if they didn't Pay me I would still be here"

Remember ?


----------



## Another Uber Driver

Michael - Cleveland said:


> kind of a cross between playing chess and gambling!


You never played chess for money? ......or Xiang Xi? I have a bar room story about that one.



Michael - Cleveland said:


> People in this forum - especially the cab and livery drivers - like to paint all TNC drivers with a broad brush, as if we all have the same goals, motives, financial situations, skill levels, experience, etc. And that's ridiculous.


***Presses "HUH?" button.***



Michael - Cleveland said:


> The people I drive rarely ever used a cab before they started using Uber - if ever. Cabs under-serve the kind of pax I drive around. The fact is that if the taxi and limo industry had jumped on the opportunities to do expand their businesses by doing what the TNCs did, there would have been no room in the market for the TNC


I have similar experience. Most of my UberX customers are people who never would have used a cab, anyhow. It is funny, but, as Uber does offer taxis here, it has made some time cab riders out of them. Uber can be quite habit forming (In fact, there is an article in ya-HOO! News about it). Once people learn about gaming the surge, if they do not like the surge factor, they will still use Uber, just Uber Taxi instead of UberX. (Uber Pool is popular here mostly among the cheapskates. Many people still consider it creepy to share a car with someone; share a bus or subway car, allright; car, no.)

Again similar. I have long shaken my head at the attitude of the cab drivers around here. For many years, I have told more than a few of them that at some point, someone will come up with an alternative and these people are going to take it. Guess what? Someone came up with an alternative and these people are taking it: be it TNC, Uber Taxi or Uber Black. They balked at credit cards, they did not want to take people here or there (and dangerous neighbourhoods were not the only refusal-to-carry reasons), they yakked on their telephones instead of paying attention to the road. I could go on. If these drivers had hauled their customers, treated their customers civilly and accepted credit cards, Uber never would have gone anywhere, here.



TwoFiddyMile said:


> Of course i would drive my cab.
> Just not at 4 am, 5 am, or 6am


I would drive, still, but as you state, not at O-Dark-Hundred. Hit the street at maybe three, four, five P.M., work a couple of hours. Hit the street after noon Mass on Sunday(or after 10:30 Mass, if I can get up---that Mass is in Italian). Run a couple of taxi pings on Saturday.........you get the idea.


----------



## Stygge

DriverX said:


> I'm talking about the TNC Drivers. They have kids to feed too! Your's is the typical entitled Republican mindset on display, thinks only of themselves.


Do you suffer from SAD or what's your problem? It must be difficult for you to be so moody all the time.


----------



## 14gIV

many drivers in my city are retired or semi retitarded....most of them just play golf and chill all day so why not drive some people around and make some beer money....so yes driving *CAN* be a hobby!


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Edit: You are an Uber Partner.


Nowhere in my contract am I awarded any share of Uber Technologies. I ain't no partner - and I ain't no shareholder.


> Try telling them you wish to donate your remaining 75% if this is simply your hobby


 I already donate my car, my insurance, my time, my patience... and now you want me to donate what little they provide me that doesn't even cover my costs? Heck, that alone should prove this is a hobby!


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

DriverX said:


> I'm talking about the TNC Drivers. They have kids to feed too! Your's is the typical entitled Republican mindset on display, thinks only of themselves.


lol! 58 year old life long Dem - and liberal progressive activist. 
But nice attempt to label someone you don't know squat about.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

Another Uber Driver said:


> Again similar. I have long shaken my head at the attitude of the cab drivers around here. For many years, I have told more than a few of them that at some point, someone will come up with an alternative and these people are going to take it. Guess what? Someone came up with an alternative and these people are taking it: be it TNC, Uber Taxi or Uber Black. They balked at credit cards, they did not want to take people here or there (and dangerous neighbourhoods were not the only refusal-to-carry reasons), they yakked on their telephones instead of paying attention to the road. I could go on. If these drivers had hauled their customers, treated their customers civilly and accepted credit cards, Uber never would have gone anywhere, here..


Do you really blame the hacks and not the cab companies and cartel of taxi & limo commissions and medallion finance companies?


----------



## Another Uber Driver

Michael - Cleveland said:


> Do you really blame the hacks and not the cab companies and cartel of taxi & limo commissions and medallion finance companies?


The situation was, and is, a little different here. Since the late 1980s, there have been somewhere in the neighbourhood of one-hundred cab companies. Until early in this century, the Hack Office (and subsequently the Taxicab Commission---after 1987) was charter vending machine. The only requirement was twenty cabs, a District of Columbia address, a human being at that address during business hours and a telephone number with a 202 area code that a human being answered during business hours. The DCTC finally did stop issuing charters for companies.

You can add to that the number of drivers with their names painted on the side of their cabs (independents). The DCTC has stopped issuing numbers to independents, but those who are out there can keep their names on the sides of their cabs. If they do decide to paint into a company, they lose their number. The regulators have another motive for that, which is the subject of another post. I mention the independents simply to use their existence for my purposes.

Another factor to consider is that on paper, at least, the District of Columbia is an open-entry market. On paper, anyone with a four door hoopty that he can patch through inspection and a hack licence can go into business. There are no medallions, here. Currently, the DCTC has put a freeze on vehicle licences, but, on paper, the market is still open-entry. In fact, some of the corporations have received some new H-plates. For nine, or so, years, the DCTC did not issue any new hack licences, either. When they started again in 2013, the new licensees were told that they could not own, they would have to rent. It created quite the shortage of rental cabs, for a while, beginning late 2013 to early 2014. In fact, it was a good thing that I had bought that 2014 Fusion when I did. As I could not secure a rental cab when my cab was out of service, at least I did have the opportunity to earn a few dollars driving UberX. This provided some cash flow when I had to replace my cab in mid-2015.

The point of all of this preamble is that for years, there was no cartel of companies. There were no mdeallions, ever. The market always has been open entry. The companies and the regulators always had an adverse relationship, here. The drivers always had an adverse relationship both with companies and regulators. Drivers moved from company to company or painted their names on the sides of the cabs. Companies shied from trying to control drivers, as they did not want to lose the driver. If a driver was not happy with the way one company treated him, he simply went to another company, which welcomed him with open arms. You had (and still have) many small companies. There are, and were, a few large ones; either they ran a major radio dispatch service, had large rental fleets or had large shop facilities. There was one company that did have all three, but it was the only one like that.

The collusion between the companies and regulators here started early in this century. It gelled with the arrival of Uber. The regulators are seeing an advantage in helping the companies collect the debts from the drivers. The companies are seeing an advantage in doing the regulators' jobs for them., especially when it comes to controlling the drivers. They are taking most of their lessons from the Arlington model (a Virginia suburb). There, collusion between regulators and the one large company has worked well, to the advantage of regulators and companies and to the maximum disadvantage of drivers, mind you. There have been ****** in the armour, mind you, as well, when the County Board and the courts became involved on one specific issue or another, but, on the whole, both companies and regulators in Arlington have been happy with the overall results of the collusion.

In Washington, we have no "base" system for cabs (the street vendors, do, however, have it). The regulators are pushing the drivers into companies, slowly, but they are doing it. Further, the regulators have made it more difficult to leave one company and go to another. The companies like this because now drivers can not leave a trail of debt with several companies across the City, as they used to. You pay up or get kicked out and no other company will take you. The option of painting your name on the side of the car is gone. Further, you obey the rules or you get kicked out and no other company will take you, if, for no other reason than they do not want the liability associated with a habitual rule breaker. It is a way to kick out the back door someone who is deemed "undesirable".

For years, the consumer complaints have been against the individual drivers. The companies used to beg off, stating that these drivers were "independent contractors", thus they had no control over them. The companies only "provided services to cab drivers". The regulators and the courts began to discount that in the late 1980s. By 2013, even the regulators had put written rules into effect that specifically hold the companies responsible for the drivers. There were protests from the companies. The companies cited examples to illustrate what was keeping them from controlling the drivers. The regulators did (for once) listen and put into effect measures that helped the companies control their drivers.

Let me leave this wall of text on the companies and go to the drivers in another post.


----------



## Another Uber Driver

Michael - Cleveland said:


> Do you really blame the hacks and not the cab companies and cartel of taxi & limo commissions and medallion finance companies?


For years, the drivers here had an attitude that they were doing the customers a favour by having their hoopties out here and letting the customers ride in them. It might have worked while it was the only game in town, but once an alternative came along, people were going to try it, at least. There was some limited demonstration of this that sprung from the Reciprocal Agreement and Interstate Compact of 1947. This agreement, among other things, allowed cabs from one jurisdiction to pick up in another, in response to a telephone call or previous arrangement, as long as the trip terminated in the jurisdiction of licensure. If you will recall the Arlington model, for a moment. The one large company there exercised quite a bit of control over their drivers. They provided a free car wash, vacuum, rags, spray bottles and trash cans at the Company Offices. They let you know very quickly that mistreatment of customers got you yanked out of your cab and sent elsewhere to drive. They had a shop that could fix broken air conditioners, or, anything else. As these were mostly rentals, there was no charge to the driver to fix something. People in the City who wanted to go to Virginia (where two of the airports are) used to call this company. They stated that the drivers were nicer, the cars were better (Arlington had a six year age limit--at the time, the District had none), they had air condition and the drivers did not argue about turning on the thing, and, after 1989, they accepted credit cards.

In the City, drivers would not use the air condition, had broken down hoopties, yakked on their telephones, would not take people here or there and had a really bad attitude. Some of this did change in 1996, when the DCTC finally gave us some decent rates. We did buy better cars, because, suddenly, due to the marked increase in rates, _*WE COULD AFFORD TO BUY THEM!*_ We did not want to drive these hoopties any more than people wanted to ride in them. Still, that was the only thing that did change. The bad attitudes stayed the same. As the demand for credit card acceptance from the public increased, the resistance from the drivers stiffened. This had been a seller's market for so long that no one expected that it would change. The regulators joined the push, but still both companies and drivers resisted. To be sure, there were some of us (myself included) who did rise to meet the demand, but we were few. It took the arrival of Uber to get the regulators to mandate plastic acceptance. Even then, drivers were pretending that the terminals did not work. The balking at the cards is still a problem, but, as the TNCs proliferate, the drivers have begun to accept the idea that cashless payment is here to stay.

Even though air condition is a requirement, drivers still balk. They cruise around with it off. They complain when the customer wants it turned on. If you tried that with Uber or Lyft, enough customers will low rate you that you will be de-activated. This is another reason that the politicians, at least, love the TNCs: they self-regulate. They get rid of the "troublesome" drivers. There is little possibility of overcharging. If the TNC driver does try to get cash from a customer, or, even put extra onto his own terminal (square), no questions asked de-activation is swift and sure.

My customers here have noticed an improvement in the drivers' attitudes. If they do yakk on the telephone, if the customer asks them to stop, they will. There is less balking at the credit cards. There is less refusal to carry. More drivers keep their air condition on.

To be sure, the cab drivers and companies do have legitimate gripes. In the District, there is little regulation. We used to complain that the TNC drivers are not subject to harassment from Police and Hack Inspectors. These days, the TNC drivers get it worse than we do. There has arisen more regulation of the TNCs in the suburbs, perhaps that City will take that as a model. The TNCs here do pay to the City one per-cent of the gross fares to fund accessible taxicabs, thus there has been some addressing of the concerns that neither the TNCs nor their drivers pay any taxes or fees. Virginia and Maryland are requiring more fees, but, thus far, at least, the TNCs have been paying them for the drivers. There is one major complaint from the companies that while they are responsible for the drivers, the TNCs are, as yet, not. I do expect that will change, as, on paper, at least, the TNCs do have money. There must be more than one lawyer in more than one place who would love to get his greasy paws on some of that money.

Here, with two exceptions, the cab companies do not have too much money. In fact, given the choice of the balance sheet of a Colorado short line in the 1930s or that of a D.C. cab company in the very late twentieth or very early twenty-first century, I would take the Colorado railroad every time. Of the two cab companies here that do have money, one's money is so encumbered that the ownership owes its principal creditor down to the fourth generation. The other has so thick a corporate veil and pays off so quickly, that it has dodged, and likely will continue to dodge, many bullets.


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## TwoFiddyMile

Another Uber Driver said:


> For years, the drivers here had an attitude that they were doing the customers a favour by having their hoopties out here and letting the customers ride in them. It might have worked while it was the only game in town, but once an alternative came along, people were going to try it, at least. There was some limited demonstration of this that sprung from the Reciprocal Agreement and Interstate Compact of 1947. This agreement, among other things, allowed cabs from one jurisdiction to pick up in another, in response to a telephone call or previous arrangement, as long as the trip terminated in the jurisdiction of licensure. If you will recall the Arlington model, for a moment. The one large company there exercised quite a bit of control over their drivers. They provided a free car wash, vacuum, rags, spray bottles and trash cans at the Company Offices. They let you know very quickly that mistreatment of customers got you yanked out of your cab and sent elsewhere to drive. They had a shop that could fix broken air conditioners, or, anything else. As these were mostly rentals, there was no charge to the driver to fix something. People in the City who wanted to go to Virginia (where two of the airports are) used to call this company. They stated that the drivers were nicer, the cars were better (Arlington had a six year age limit--at the time, the District had none), they had air condition and the drivers did not argue about turning on the thing, and, after 1989, they accepted credit cards.
> 
> In the City, drivers would not use the air condition, had broken down hoopties, yakked on their telephones, would not take people here or there and had a really bad attitude. Some of this did change in 1996, when the DCTC finally gave us some decent rates. We did buy better cars, because, suddenly, due to the marked increase in rates, _*WE COULD AFFORD TO BUY THEM!*_ We did not want to drive these hoopties any more than people wanted to ride in them. Still, that was the only thing that did change. The bad attitudes stayed the same. As the demand for credit card acceptance from the public increased, the resistance from the drivers stiffened. This had been a seller's market for so long that no one expected that it would change. The regulators joined the push, but still both companies and drivers resisted. To be sure, there were some of us (myself included) who did rise to meet the demand, but we were few. It took the arrival of Uber to get the regulators to mandate plastic acceptance. Even then, drivers were pretending that the terminals did not work. The balking at the cards is still a problem, but, as the TNCs proliferate, the drivers have begun to accept the idea that cashless payment is here to stay.
> 
> Even though air condition is a requirement, drivers still balk. They cruise around with it off. They complain when the customer wants it turned on. If you tried that with Uber or Lyft, enough customers will low rate you that you will be de-activated. This is another reason that the politicians, at least, love the TNCs: they self-regulate. They get rid of the "troublesome" drivers. There is little possibility of overcharging. If the TNC driver does try to get cash from a customer, or, even put extra onto his own terminal (square), no questions asked de-activation is swift and sure.
> 
> My customers here have noticed an improvement in the drivers' attitudes. If they do yakk on the telephone, if the customer asks them to stop, they will. There is less balking at the credit cards. There is less refusal to carry. More drivers keep their air condition on.
> 
> To be sure, the cab drivers and companies do have legitimate gripes. In the District, there is little regulation. We used to complain that the TNC drivers are not subject to harassment from Police and Hack Inspectors. These days, the TNC drivers get it worse than we do. There has arisen more regulation of the TNCs in the suburbs, perhaps that City will take that as a model. The TNCs here do pay to the City one per-cent of the gross fares to fund accessible taxicabs, thus there has been some addressing of the concerns that neither the TNCs nor their drivers pay any taxes or fees. Virginia and Maryland are requiring more fees, but, thus far, at least, the TNCs have been paying them for the drivers. There is one major complaint from the companies that while they are responsible for the drivers, the TNCs are, as yet, not. I do expect that will change, as, on paper, at least, the TNCs do have money. There must be more than one lawyer in more than one place who would love to get his greasy paws on some of that money.
> 
> Here, with two exceptions, the cab companies do not have too much money. In fact, given the choice of the balance sheet of a Colorado short line in the 1930s or that of a D.C. cab company in the very late twentieth or very early twenty-first century, I would take the Colorado railroad every time. Of the two cab companies here that do have money, one's money is so encumbered that the ownership owes its principal creditor down to the fourth generation. The other has so thick a corporate veil and pays off so quickly, that it has dodged, and likely will continue to dodge, many bullets.


I don't like air conditioning. I have finally come up with a solution.
My taxi is a 2012 grand caravan. It has two AC zones.
My biggest beef is cold air blowing directly on my arms and face.
Answer? Keep the two vents on either side of the steering wheel OFF!
Indirect AC is fine.
When it blows on my face, i get sick.


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## Michael - Cleveland

Another Uber Driver
Interesting, and fascinating, when viewed in light of the medallion systems in NYC and Chicago where the dynamic is entirely different.

Also interesting is comparing the MD/VA/DC hodgepodge of different state and city regulatory bodies that have no choice but to either work together or not work at all to a state like Ohio where a new TNC laws (written entirely by Uber and the financial lobbyists) have wrested the ability of local municipalities to regulate TNCs.

And who knew that a one sentence question could illicit a reply of:
14 paragraphs
107 lines
1,872 words
10,574 characters (with spaces)​


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## TwoFiddyMile

Boston medallion history was entirely different. 
Before 1930, taxi owners purchased CABSTANDS from the city, and set their own rates.
What happened was so much curbspace was taken up by taxis and their private cabstands, the city went to the medallion system around 1930. Urban legend has it that since they were limited in number, the first medallion sale occured within a month.
During WWII, business was so slow Boston repealed hundreds of medallions back to a cap of 1525...
Until some southie kid named Lynch applied for a medallion in 1987 and subsequently sued the city.
End chapter 1...


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## Ziggy

TwoFiddyMile said:


> I don't like air conditioning. I have finally come up with a solution.
> My taxi is a 2012 grand caravan. It has two AC zones.
> My biggest beef is cold air blowing directly on my arms and face.
> Answer? Keep the two vents on either side of the steering wheel OFF!
> Indirect AC is fine.
> When it blows on my face, i get sick.


Yep ... I do the same thing ... 3 A/C zones in my Denali ... mine is off or sometimes low. Pax front is on and they can control; pax back is on and they can control


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## KMANDERSON

TwoFiddyMile said:


> You dont hobby for profit.
> The whole mindset is designed to be a slap in the face towards those of us with families to feed through driving.
> 
> Im a fairly accomplished part time musician.
> Ive opened for Leslie West, Felix Cavilere, Charlie Daniels, and a host of others.
> After I turned 30 I decided to focus on my dayjobs. I have no shame for not having made it, its all good.
> I still play. When i gig, its for profit.
> 
> Theres a ton of New Hate on this board.
> Not sure its even real. All of a sudden the hatred for licensed full time drivers by "hobbyists" is at full speed.
> 
> Heres what I think- i think The Caterer and his ilk are normal American Failures like the rest of us, but have to lie to themselves in order to get through the day.
> They need the money just like we do!
> Its ok that you washed out at NOBU,
> I never got my rockstar dream- but I ACCEPTED that not everyone goes straight to the top.
> 
> Rideshare is not a hobby.
> It's a part time job.


The rest of us failures except where we are in life and call uber a part time job


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## jonnyplastic

* A hobby is collecting baseball cards. I would never call driving some of these self-entitled egomaniacs a hobby. That's a big fat joke!*


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## Another Uber Driver

Michael - Cleveland said:


> (written entirely by Uber and the financial lobbyists)
> 
> And who knew that a one sentence question could [B]illicit[/B] a reply of


 (emphasis mine)

That is who wrote the non-regulations in the District of Columbia (I have inside information)

Finally (for this post, at least), as one who through tireless labour and unstinting effort has achieved the Rank of Inspector in the Grammar Police, I must take you to task on syntax and vocabulary. "Illicit" is an adjective that means "improper" or "illegal" ([B][I]L[/I][/B][I][B]atin:[/B][/I] "[I][B]licitum[/B][/I]"; "allowed" from "[I][B]licere[/B][/I]"; to be allowed or "[I][B]licet[/B][/I]"; " it is allowed" [[I]similar: [B]English[/B][/I]: "sc." for [I][B]"scilicet"[/B][/I]; "it is allowed to know"; [I][B]Latin: "scire" + "licet"[/B][/I]]. "[I][B]il[/B][/I]"; privative). The word that you wanted was "elicit" ([I][B]Latin "ex"[/B][/I]; "out of"+[I][B]"ligere"[/B][/I]; "to choose" [I]sim: English [/I]"select").

A preposition is something that you do not end a sentence with.


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## Older Chauffeur

^^^^
That last statement is one with which I am down!


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## Cocobird

Chef Aarron said:


> What about those who consider driving around drunks and entitled cheapskates a "profession"? LOL! You guys need to get over yourselves. You do a job that does not require any skill beyond what most 16 year olds posess and the knowledge of a first year business major at a community college. Sadly, many drivers do not posess this minimum, but that doesn't make you anything special!


Sorry, but professional doesn't necessarily mean you have to have a skill. Politicians seem to lack any skill other than the ability to talk more than a 13 year old girl, but we keep electing them. Spelling is an important skill for a profession. BTW, it's "Possess"


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## Michael - Cleveland

Another Uber Driver said:


> The word that you wanted was "elicit"


LOL! The word I wanted is what I posted.
Where's your sense of irony, man? - I chose that just for you because I thought you'd appreciate the double entendre.


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## Tnasty

jonnyplastic said:


> * A hobby is collecting baseball cards. I would never call driving some of these self-entitled egomaniacs a hobby. That's a big fat joke!*


Sometimes I wish I could convince my passengers I'm deaf.Ill follow this app thingy but this hearing aid( prop) isn't working...sorry.


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## TwoFiddyMile

I, for one, appreciate the latin lesson.
Not sure i learned anything reading at 0 dark hundred, but informative none the less.


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## Another Uber Driver

Michael - Cleveland said:


> I chose that just for you because I thought you'd appreciate the double entendre.


I must have missed the irony and double entendre, but I did appreciate the opportunity for some tongue-in-cheek pedantry, errant or otherwise.

Likely I should have connected the "illicit" with the author(s) of the non-regulations.

I just awakened, so I can not think of an excuse. If I do think of one, I will post it later.


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## rocksteady

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


Some people need to get a life


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## ChortlingCrison

I don't truly believe that some of these drivers think of it as a hobby. They don't want to admit that uber has them by the (you choose an orifice)


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## rocksteady

ChortlingCrison said:


> I don't truly believe that some of these drivers think of it as a hobby. They don't want to admit that uber has them by the (you choose an orifice)


I agree that's true for most. Although masochism is a real thing, you're right. Most just don't want to admit they're in an abusive relationship so they say it's by choice to feel like they're in control.

I could easily name a hundred other things I'd rather be doing as a hobby.


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## Frankinjax

Michael - Cleveland said:


> Do you really blame the hacks and not the cab companies and cartel of taxi & limo commissions and medallion finance companies?


It's both and a "culture" of arrogance and lack of morality and total greed on the part of cab companies. They overcharge, especially during events, and will dump passengers on the side of the road at their whim. But you don't hear about them on the news because they buy advertising time. One man owns many of the local cab companies. He is attempting to buy councilman Shallenberger and the City Attorney to oust rides sharing in Jacksonville. Its getting too crazy out there.


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## Chef Aarron

Cocobird said:


> Sorry, but professional doesn't necessarily mean you have to have a skill. Politicians seem to lack any skill other than the ability to talk more than a 13 year old girl, but we keep electing them. Spelling is an important skill for a profession. BTW, it's "Possess"


Ummm...actually by definition it does. If there are no skills required, that's a job.

Congratulations on finding my minor typo!


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## Chef Aarron

DriverX said:


> Sometimes I F with them, when they ask me loaded questions or have some sort of superiority complex. As I drop them off in the their crappy suburban house with dead grass and no yard or a condo on the verge of not looking new anymore, I ask them when they gave up on living the dream and moved to the burbs? They laugh it off like it was just a joke, but I can sense their pain as I turn the dagger.
> 
> But he would be doing it for no money at all right? If someone would do this for no money at all, then I'd agree that it's a hobby for them. Now show me that person?


So, basically your disrespectful, insulting, and condescending to your riders. Explains a lot.


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## Chef Aarron

Michael - Cleveland said:


> I understand your perception - and I'm sure you're right when it comes to some people... but it's still a generalization (and I find generalizations pretty irritating - but that's just me). I never saw (and still haven't seen) any Craigslist ADs (who the hell 'reads' Craigslist?). I just heard about them here long after I signed up and started driving. I doubt I am the only driver out here that is older and didn't know a thing about Uber (no less Lyft) until reading about it in the WSJ, Forbes, etc.


"Twofiddymile" refers to the 250 ignorant and judgmental conclusions he can reach per mile about people he doesn't know.


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## DriverX

Chef Aarron said:


> So, basically your disrespectful, insulting, and condescending to your riders. Explains a lot.


YES and they TIP me for it!


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## TwoFiddyMile

Chef Aarron said:


> "Twofiddymile" refers to the 250 ignorant and judgmental conclusions he can reach per mile about people he doesn't know.


Who are you again?


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## Cocobird

Chef Aarron said:


> Ummm...actually by definition it does. If there are no skills required, that's a job.
> 
> Congratulations on finding my minor typo!


You are welcome. Honestly, would you call our politicians professional? Would you say they have any real beneficial skills?


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## Chef Aarron

Cocobird said:


> You are welcome. Honestly, would you call our politicians professional? Would you say they have any real beneficial skills?


The skills do not have to meet your arbitrary test of being beneficial to be skills. Yes, I would call certain types of politics a profession. Go try to get elected for a major political office and report back an educated opinion on the matter.


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## blondieokie

I am with you 100%. 

I posted a serious business-related idea on a topic (maintaining good ratings) and someone immediately told me I am taking it too seriously. REALLY? Wanting to require riders to leave feedback if they rates me less than 5 stars seems pretty reasonable. At the very least it gives Uber market data. At the most it helps keep people rating 4 instead of 5 for utterly no reason at all. Got a similar unhelpful and belittling response on a complaint post regarding canceled rides. Are we just here to "troll" one another, or actually support each other? 

This might not be my main job but it is a job, and actually bleeds into my primary job. I am a real estate agent and get leads from driving, in addition to getting to know areas of the city better. When other drivers don't take the position as seriously, no matter how much their performance SHOULDN'T have any bearing on me, it does, because to riders we are all one big uber machine. If another driver's nonchalance does them in for Uber and they decide to go elsewhere, that is not only a rider I may have lost for future rides, it could also be a future real estate client. At that point I go from getting $16 fares to $4000 ones, potentially. Really sucks when I hear people's stories about careless Uber drivers turning them off from the app. And I know those rude or just plain bad drivers aren't always the problem too... sometimes it is just people not logging on enough to make it a reliable transportation source. ect. Ugh. So many factors!


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## Michael - Cleveland

blondieokie said:


> Are we just here to "troll" one another, or actually support each other?


Seriously? Welcome to the internet.
Remember the first rule of Fight Club...


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## KMANDERSON

Chef Aarron said:


> "Twofiddymile" refers to the 250 ignorant and judgmental conclusions he can reach per mile about people he doesn't know.


You disrespect more people around here then anybody.


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## RichR

blondieokie said:


> Got a similar unhelpful and belittling response on a complaint post regarding canceled rides. Are we just here to "troll" one another, or actually support each other?


There's plenty of support here, along with a lot of disenchantment and cynicism about the whole Uber experience.


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## TwoFiddyMile

KMANDERSON said:


> You disrespect more people around here then anybody.


He has no self respect.
Its always the way with those with widespread disrespect of others.


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## Another Uber Driver

blondieokie said:


> Are we just here to "troll" one another, or actually support each other?


^^^^^^^^These two below quoted gentlemen have it about right. \/ \/. \/ \/ \/



Michael - Cleveland said:


> Welcome to the internet.





RichR said:


> There's plenty of support here, along with a lot of disenchantment and cynicism about the whole Uber experience.


You can get good advice and support, here, but you will run across some of these people who need their existence validated, so they attack you without any provocation. This happens anywhere. The relative surface anonymity of the web simply makes it easier.

Do not shy from posting questions, if you do need advice or help. Odds are that there is someone here who has had a similar experience and can answer your question, or, at least tell you what he went through and what he did about it.

If it helps you, any, you can always put someone on "iggies" who is really being obnoxious..


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## TwoFiddyMile

The power whining is palpable.


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## KMANDERSON

You are making my point


KMANDERSON said:


> You disrespect more people around here then anybody.


----------



## KMANDERSON

Looks like he deleted his thread


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## TwoFiddyMile

KMANDERSON said:


> Looks like he deleted his thread


Mods delete a fair amount of his posts, but it's possible he was proactive this time and covered himself.


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## KMANDERSON

Chef Aarron said:


> Looks like a moderator jumped in. Duh!


Look I have no problem with you.But you are quick to disrespect people.


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## TwoFiddyMile

Chef Aarron said:


> Looks like a moderator jumped in. Duh! Whatever. You're both about to go on ignore anyway.


Correction: doesnt learn from past mistakes.


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## Michael - Cleveland

Another Uber Driver said:


> ^^^^^^^^These two below quoted gentlemen...


Stop the name-calling or I'll report you.


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## Cocobird

Chef Aarron said:


> The skills do not have to meet your arbitrary test of being beneficial to be skills. Yes, I would call certain types of politics a profession. Go try to get elected for a major political office and report back an educated opinion on the matter.


You think too highly of politicians.


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## RichR

Cocobird said:


> You think too highly of politicians.


Politicians run the gamut from dedicated professionals to mindless puppets, much like rideshare and taxi drivers.


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## Cocobird

They all suck.


RichR said:


> Politicians run the gamut from dedicated professionals to mindless puppets, much like rideshare and taxi drivers.


----------



## Avb

shiftydrake said:


> Yep I completely agree with driverx I Am a cab driver and to be an ACTUAL CAB driver it does require more than driving your personal car more than a hobby and definitely more stress than most other jobs what I do is NOT a hobby this IS a skilled profession and I am very happy with my chosen skilled profession what I find hilarious are the following....... When "hobby/part timers" claim they refuse to drive more than 5 mins to pick up, or if their destination is far off they refuse, or the unlimited references of "minimum wage".......minimum wage is an hourly way to judge actual employees NOT contracted workers if the contracted amount is not acceptable either side can end agreement......and parent company sets up rules that each contractor has to follow if contractor does not follow rules...agreement is cancelled by parent company........... And something else I find funny is how everyone calculates how much $ they believe they are making..minus gas,and other expenses I don't know of any other skilled professional drivers that sit around and do that what most of us do is we calculate what gas we have to use daily then deduct that from our take each day and that is how most do....... not cost of insurance cuz we need that anyway....nor minus IRS credit for mileage....cuz that's actually a plus at end of year....maintenance I can see but not needed to be deducted daily I mean come on.....so now let's hear all the nay-sayers saying I'm wrong...or I am a troll..or whatever else is said I am sitting here on edge of my seat waiting for responses


This is the same educated skilled taxi driver that uses "cuz" instead on "because" in a sentence.

I don't mean to be a grammar nazi but too many times I hear Taxi drivers complain and give me dirty looks. Too many times I heard taxi drivers complain how expensive medallions were. WELL HERE YOU GO. Medallions have dropped. Mafiosos and financial mobsters who own 100 medallions have lost millions and I AM VERY HAPPY.

ITS 2018 (almoast) it was time for a [email protected]&%%g change. $65 to go 14 miles in a taxi. Come on. "Credit card machine doesn't work" Come on. Taxi drivers getting beaten up and car jacked. Come on. People running out of cabs without paying their fare. Come on. You're bashing the same industry that is putting an end to a lot of your own problems too. This was needed. Ordering a taxi from a phone instead of waiting 40 minutes in the rain getting sick (happened to me) was needed.

And the same taxi drivers who beat up Uber drivers, set cars on fire, blocked streets in protest, are calling Uber drivers uneducated. HOW IRONIC. And all these thousands of "educated, smart" taxi drivers and medallion owners and not one foresaw the ride share industry. Welcome to the new age.


----------



## TwoFiddyMile

Avb said:


> This is the same educated skilled taxi driver that uses "cuz" instead on "because" in a sentence.
> 
> I don't mean to be a grammar nazi but too many times I hear Taxi drivers complain and give me dirty looks. Too many times I heard taxi drivers complain how expensive medallions were. WELL HERE YOU GO. Medallions have dropped. Mafiosos and financial mobsters who own 100 medallions have lost millions and I AM VERY HAPPY.
> 
> ITS 2018 (almoast) it was time for a [email protected]&%%g change. $65 to go 14 miles in a taxi. Come on. "Credit card machine doesn't work" Come on. Taxi drivers getting beaten up and car jacked. Come on. People running out of cabs without paying their fare. Come on. You're bashing the same industry that is putting an end to a lot of your own problems too. This was needed. Ordering a taxi from a phone instead of waiting 40 minutes in the rain getting sick (happened to me) was needed.
> 
> And the same taxi drivers who beat up Uber drivers, set cars on fire, blocked streets in protest, are calling Uber drivers uneducated. HOW IRONIC. And all these thousands of "educated, smart" taxi drivers and medallion owners and not one foresaw the ride share industry. Welcome to the new age.


Welcome to UPNet. Welcome to my formerly featured thread. I see you know everything about everything.
Lol.


----------



## naplestom75

Avb said:


> This is the same educated skilled taxi driver that uses "cuz" instead on "because" in a sentence.
> 
> I don't mean to be a grammar nazi but too many times I hear Taxi drivers complain and give me dirty looks. Too many times I heard taxi drivers complain how expensive medallions were. WELL HERE YOU GO. Medallions have dropped. Mafiosos and financial mobsters who own 100 medallions have lost millions and I AM VERY HAPPY.
> 
> ITS 2018 (almoast) it was time for a [email protected]&%%g change. $65 to go 14 miles in a taxi. Come on. "Credit card machine doesn't work" Come on. Taxi drivers getting beaten up and car jacked. Come on. People running out of cabs without paying their fare. Come on. You're bashing the same industry that is putting an end to a lot of your own problems too. This was needed. Ordering a taxi from a phone instead of waiting 40 minutes in the rain getting sick (happened to me) was needed.
> 
> And the same taxi drivers who beat up Uber drivers, set cars on fire, blocked streets in protest, are calling Uber drivers uneducated. HOW IRONIC. And all these thousands of "educated, smart" taxi drivers and medallion owners and not one foresaw the ride share industry. Welcome to the new age.


This thread is sooooo 16 months ago


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## TwoFiddyMile

naplestom75 said:


> This thread is sooooo 16 months ago


Very true. The "hobbyists" seem to have changed their nomenclature.
They are now "part timers" or "gig economists" lol.


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## Uberfunitis

Many do hobbies that are expensive and make others much money. Scuba diving, flying, golf. etc


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## TwoFiddyMile

Uberfunitis said:


> Many do hobbies that are expensive and make others much money. Scuba diving, flying, golf. etc


Cab driving as a hobby lol.
Still cracks me up.


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## ShinyAndChrome

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Cab driving as a hobby lol.
> Still cracks me up.


I'm coming out with an app called Poober. Basically plumber for hire. But not good, professional ones. Essentially you'll make money unclogging people's toilets. Some will do it as a hobby.

I get your point. It's a lame hobby. I do it kind of as a "hobby", too, but I do have legitimate other hobbies that are real ones.


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## stuber

TwoFiddyMile said:


> You dont hobby for profit.
> The whole mindset is designed to be a slap in the face towards those of us with families to feed through driving.
> 
> Im a fairly accomplished part time musician.
> Ive opened for Leslie West, Felix Cavilere, Charlie Daniels, and a host of others.
> After I turned 30 I decided to focus on my dayjobs. I have no shame for not having made it, its all good.
> I still play. When i gig, its for profit.
> 
> Theres a ton of New Hate on this board.
> Not sure its even real. All of a sudden the hatred for licensed full time drivers by "hobbyists" is at full speed.
> 
> Heres what I think- i think The Caterer and his ilk are normal American Failures like the rest of us, but have to lie to themselves in order to get through the day.
> They need the money just like we do!
> Its ok that you washed out at NOBU,
> I never got my rockstar dream- but I ACCEPTED that not everyone goes straight to the top.
> 
> Rideshare is not a hobby.
> It's a part time job.


Agree. I love reading these old resurrected threads. People were so mean back then. I miss those days

UBER is not a job (you're not an employee.) It's not a profession. It's not an occupation, and it's not a hobby. It's also not rideshare (Rideshare is more akin to carpool where the driver is taking along a passenger to someplace he or she happens to be going anyway.)

Uber is mostly part-time, mostly temporary entrepreneurs who use their personal vehicle and UBER's insurance to drive people for hire. It's cut-rate, unregulated, for hire transportation where jobs are brokered to the drivers by a tech company through an app.

Yes, it works ALMOST EXACTLY like a for hire taxi, but to say it's a taxi creates a lot a trouble and expense. So nobody wants to call it that.

UBER is an idea that perfectly capitalizes on a desperate, hollowed-out economy. There are fewer jobs that pay living wages, so UBER simply exploited the underemployed and "retired."

Unregulated "Gypsy" cabs have always plagued the transportation industry. UBER found a way to organize these people into a single entity that they could control and skim profits from.

Uber's greatest asset is market scale. Their second biggest asset is the control over drivers and passengers that their market scale affords them.

How many customers would UBER or LYFT have if they had rates equivalent to local taxis? The only drivers who like the low rates are those who place call volume as a higher priority than per mile profitability. But there are many of those drivers; possibly an endless supply of those drivers.

It's a moot point anyway, as robot cars will soon eliminate the human drivers and leave more profit for UBER.

You can call what UBER created "genius", but that's a bit generous. There's nothing particularly unique or brilliant about UBER. They're just robber barons who invested first with the available technology in order to have a monopoly.

Celebrate the exploiters if you like. Participate in it. I'll pass.


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## stuber

stuber said:


> Agree. I love reading these old resurrected threads. People were so mean back then. I miss those days
> 
> UBER is not a job (you're not an employee.) It's not a profession. It's not an occupation, and it's not a hobby. It's also not rideshare (Rideshare is more akin to carpool where the driver is taking along a passenger to someplace he or she happens to be going anyway.)
> 
> Uber is mostly part-time, mostly temporary entrepreneurs who use their personal vehicle and UBER's insurance to drive people for hire. It's cut-rate, unregulated, for hire transportation where jobs are brokered to the drivers by a tech company through an app.
> 
> Yes, it works ALMOST EXACTLY like a for hire taxi, but to say it's a taxi creates a lot a trouble and expense. So nobody wants to call it that.
> 
> UBER is an idea that perfectly capitalizes on a desperate, hollowed-out economy. There are fewer jobs that pay living wages, so UBER simply exploited the underemployed and "retired."
> 
> Unregulated "Gypsy" cabs have always plagued the transportation industry. UBER found a way to organize these people into a single entity that they could control and skim profits from.
> 
> Uber's greatest asset is market scale. Their second biggest asset is the control over drivers and passengers that their market scale affords them.
> 
> How many customers would UBER or LYFT have if they had rates equivalent to local taxis? The only drivers who like the low rates are those who place call volume as a higher priority than per mile profitability. But there are many of those drivers; possibly an endless supply of those drivers.
> 
> It's a moot point anyway, as robot cars will soon eliminate the human drivers and leave more profit for UBER.
> 
> You can call what UBER created "genius", but that's a bit generous. There's nothing particularly unique or brilliant about UBER. They're just robber barons who invested first with the available technology in order to have a monopoly.
> 
> Celebrate the exploiters if you like. Participate in it. I'll pass.


Fiddy. I knew if I came back I would hear from veterans.


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## deadmile

Goddamn that's a lotta likes TwoFiddyMile hell yeah!!!!!


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## TwoFiddyMile

Crush your enemies
See them driven before you
And hear the Lamentations of their women.
That is what's best in life.


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## Nats121

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.

Before 2014, you were hard pressed to find drivers who had anything bad to say about Uber.

When pay rates were GOOD, driver morale was HIGH.

Drivers didn't consider rideshare a hobby, or a disposable job. Some even looked at it as a business opportunity.

Everything changed after the PAY CUTS, and the LIES.

Uber and Lyft ruined an excellent concept with their unethical conduct.


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## tohunt4me

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Crush your enemies
> See them driven before you
> And hear the Lamentations of their women.
> That is what's best in life.


I gave up eating still beating human hearts Atilla !

# scorched earth


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## KMANDERSON

The moderators need to reactivate chef Aaron account.


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## SEAL Team 5

Nats121 said:


> IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
> 
> Before 2014, you were hard pressed to find drivers who had anything bad to say about Uber.


That because there was only Uber @ $5/mile. There wasn't any rating system, acceptance rate, James River Ins, green light hubs, X or XL. Back then Uber was a real transportation company with real driving contractors. I can only speak for AZ, and every driver from Uber's AZ (Phoenix Scottsdale only) debut in Oct 2012 till the inception of UberX was properly licensed, insured, vetted and drug tested per AZ Dept of Transportation standards. I know all about the good old days as I began accepting pings over 5 years ago. But the UberX drivers ruined this industry forever. Rates will never be more than what they are today.



TwoFiddyMile said:


> Crush your enemies
> See them driven before you
> And hear the Lamentations of their women.
> That is what's best in life.


This sounds almost like a quote from Conan the Barbarian.


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## TwoFiddyMile

SEAL Team 5 said:


> That because there was only Uber @ $5/mile. There wasn't any rating system, acceptance rate, James River Ins, green light hubs, X or XL. Back then Uber was a real transportation company with real driving contractors. I can only speak for AZ, and every driver from Uber's AZ (Phoenix Scottsdale only) debut in Oct 2012 till the inception of UberX was properly licensed, insured, vetted and drug tested per AZ Dept of Transportation standards. I know all about the good old days as I began accepting pings over 5 years ago. But the UberX drivers ruined this industry forever. Rates will never be more than what they are today.
> 
> This sounds almost like a quote from Conan the Barbarian.


It was intended to be verbatim.


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## deadmile

Featured twice TwoFiddyMile ??


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## TwoFiddyMile

Oh wow a blast from the past. I should start a new thread...
"Since when is for hire driving a volunteer position?"


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


I'll be honest, i treat taxi driving almost like a hobby, i only did some 60 hours this moth.


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## TwoFiddyMile

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> I'll be honest, i treat taxi driving almost like a hobby, i only did some 60 hours this moth.


Yes but you dispatch. Let's be frank- the 10 years I dispatched, I'm surprised I didn't have a massive heart attack.


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## Cableguynoe

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Yes but you dispatch. Let's be frank- the 10 years I dispatched, I'm surprised I didn't have a massive heart attack.


I imagine in most cities dispatchers play on their phones all day


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## TwoFiddyMile

Cableguynoe said:


> I imagine in most cities dispatchers play on their phones all day


Traditional dispatch is almost dead. I'm with the same LLC which operates L.A. Yellow. The IVR is AI. By the second time you call, it recognizes your number and asks questions "do you need a cab from your last address of service from us?" they know your regular destinations.

And thats just for dinosaurs who refuse to use the app!


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## steveK2016

The only ones I've heard call Uber a Hobby are retirees.


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## MadTownUberD

Uber is my hobby and I'm nowhere close to retiring. I wouldn't do it for free though.

Oh, and BTW:


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## observer

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Traditional dispatch is almost dead. I'm with the same LLC which operates L.A. Yellow. The IVR is AI. By the second time you call, it recognizes your number and asks questions "do you need a cab from your last address of service from us?" they know your regular destinations.
> 
> And thats just for dinosaurs who refuse to use the app!


Last week my kids and I went to the Greyhound bus station to ship off the exwife.

There was a lady there in her late 80s early 90s that had flown in from NYC. Her plane was delayed and she missed the only bus heading to the Inland Empire. Her only option was a bus the next day.

Some how, not naming any names, (the exwife) volunteered us, we wound up trying to get her home. I would have taken her myself but it was a four hour roundtrip and I had to be at work in eight hours.

At first she was going to either rent a car or stay at a hotel.

I didn't really feel comfortable putting an older lady (not trying to be ageist) in a car for a two hour trip in the dark, to someplace she had never driven.

So we looked at booking her a hotel. The Best Western up the street was over a hundred bux. A car rental would be almost as much. So, I started thinking she could probly get an Uber for that much.

I don't Uber so I asked my daughter to get a fare quote. Ninety four bux.

As I explained to the lady if she got a hotel plus a taxi to the bus station the next morning plus cost of the bus plus taxi from the other station to her friends house, she'd spend about two hundred bux. Uber would be cheaper by half.

I saw a Yellow Cab outside the door so I ran out to get a quote but he left just as I got to the car. So, I called Yellow direct and I got AI. After about three questions, I hung up.

I don't like Uber, (hence no Uber app on my fone), obviously nothing against the drivers I just don't like how Uber operates. So we (my daughter) wound up helping the lady download the app.

Once downloaded, we ordered her Uber. Five minutes later it arrived, I placed her luggage in the trunk, we helped her into the front seat and away she went into the night.

All in all we spent about an hour with the lady. My exwife (the one who shall remain unnamed) had left 55 minutes earlier. But we didn't mind helping her she was a delightful lady.

TDLR- I don't like AI.

BTW, that driver did a four hour trip for about sixty bux plus expenses.

SMH!!

Make that,

SMDH!!!!


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## TwoFiddyMile

About 50% of our business is app based. The phone only exists for dinosaurs.
Funny thing is I'm a dinosaur. I used to call dispatch on a weekly basis. They made it so difficult I had to learn to hack their system.
Now I just follow protocol and push the "request a callback" button on the tablet.
Half the time there's no one working in corporate to call me.
Truth be told, this stuff (including Uber) needs human oversight.


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## tohunt4me

When you wrote this in 2016
I considered Uber my full time job.

Now i consider Uber an Occasional Hobby.

Except
Hobbies CANT DEACTIVATE YOU ON GROUNDLESS ACCUSATIONS !


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## Cableguynoe

observer said:


> TDLR- I don't like AI.
> !


You don't like AI/Uber, but really it worked like a charm.
You had a driver in 5 minutes!
Isn't that freakin great?

I would recommend to anyone to have the app on your phone.
Next time your need an unexpected ride your daughter might not be around.
How else can you have a ride ready to go in 5 minutes?



observer said:


> BTW, that driver did a four hour trip for about sixty bux plus expenses.
> 
> SMH!!
> 
> Make that,
> 
> SMDH!!!!


Who knows, maybe he lives in that direction.


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## steveK2016

observer said:


> Last week my kids and I went to the Greyhound bus station to ship off the exwife.
> 
> There was a lady there in her late 80s early 90s that had flown in from NYC. Her plane was delayed and she missed the only bus heading to the Inland Empire. Her only option was a bus the next day.
> 
> Some how, not naming any names, (the exwife) volunteered us, we wound up trying to get her home. I would have taken her myself but it was a four hour roundtrip and I had to be at work in eight hours.
> 
> At first she was going to either rent a car or stay at a hotel.
> 
> I didn't really feel comfortable putting an older lady (not trying to be ageist) in a car for a two hour trip in the dark, to someplace she had never driven.
> 
> So we looked at booking her a hotel. The Best Western up the street was over a hundred bux. A car rental would be almost as much. So, I started thinking she could probly get an Uber for that much.
> 
> I don't Uber so I asked my daughter to get a fare quote. Ninety four bux.
> 
> As I explained to the lady if she got a hotel plus a taxi to the bus station the next morning plus cost of the bus plus taxi from the other station to her friends house, she'd spend about two hundred bux. Uber would be cheaper by half.
> 
> I saw a Yellow Cab outside the door so I ran out to get a quote but he left just as I got to the car. So, I called Yellow direct and I got AI. After about three questions, I hung up.
> 
> I don't like Uber, (hence no Uber app on my fone), obviously nothing against the drivers I just don't like how Uber operates. So we (my daughter) wound up helping the lady download the app.
> 
> Once downloaded, we ordered her Uber. Five minutes later it arrived, I placed her luggage in the trunk, we helped her into the front seat and away she went into the night.
> 
> All in all we spent about an hour with the lady. My exwife (the one who shall remain unnamed) had left 55 minutes earlier. But we didn't mind helping her she was a delightful lady.
> 
> TDLR- I don't like AI.
> 
> BTW, that driver did a four hour trip for about sixty bux plus expenses.
> 
> SMH!!
> 
> Make that,
> 
> SMDH!!!!


You had the opportunity to let a driver get an XL ride out of that, for the same price she would have spent on a hotel but saved time of having to wait til next day but you cockblocked that driver ..hope you feel proud man!


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## Cableguynoe

steveK2016 said:


> You had the opportunity to let a driver get an XL ride out of that, for the same price she would have spent on a hotel but saved time of having to wait til next day but you cockblocked that driver ..hope you feel proud man!


I thought something similar.

At least quote her $20 higher price and give the driver a $20 up front tip. 
Still would have worked out well for her.


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## observer

steveK2016 said:


> You had the opportunity to let a driver get an XL ride out of that, for the same price she would have spent on a hotel but saved time of having to wait til next day but you cockblocked that driver ..hope you feel proud man!


I do.

She was a little old lady.

An XL would have cost her more money.

Respect your elders, sonny.



Cableguynoe said:


> I thought something similar.
> 
> At least quote her $20 higher price and give the driver a $20 up front tip.
> Still would have worked out well for her.


Yea, on this point I agree.

I totally should have let her know that a tip would have been greatly appreciated.
Next time this happens I will definitely tell them to tip.

She was a very nice lady, I hope she did tip him on her own.


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## steveK2016

observer said:


> I do.
> 
> She was a little old lady.
> 
> An XL would have cost her more money.
> 
> Respect your elders, sonny.
> 
> Yea, on this point I agree.
> 
> I totally should have let her know that a tip would have been greatly appreciated.
> Next time this happens I will definitely tell them to tip.
> 
> She was a very nice lady, I hope she did tip him on her own.


I respect my elders: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Benjamin Franklin.

So much so that I want to give them each a nice, safe home in my personal FDIC insured home.


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## observer

Cableguynoe said:


> You don't like AI/Uber, but really it worked like a charm.
> You had a driver in 5 minutes!
> Isn't that freakin great?
> 
> I would recommend to anyone to have the app on your phone.
> Next time your need an unexpected ride your daughter might not be around.
> How else can you have a ride ready to go in 5 minutes?
> 
> Who knows, maybe he lives in that direction.


I just get kinda exasperated with the endless questions. Both AI and Uber are becoming necessary evils.

I would totally get behind an app for independent contractor drivers, I just personally don't like Uber.

All three of my kids use Uber but very sparingly. I've only been in one Uber and that was with them.

I started working at a place 12 miles from home where one of my kids works. My hundred dollar Tbirds motor recently blew up after four years of use. So now we commute together 3 days, the other two days I take the Metro. Metro is surprisingly good for me. It takes me 5-10 minutes longer than driving and when solo it's half the cost of gas.


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## TwoFiddyMile

Double Featured? Heck I could have the first ever re-featured thread Cableguynoe


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## Cableguynoe

TwoFiddyMile said:


> *Since when is For Hire driving a hobby?*





TwoFiddyMile said:


> Double Featured? Heck I could have the first ever re-featured thread Cableguynoe


It's a fair question that should be answered every year


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## UBERPROcolorado

TwoFiddyMile said:


> Stamp collecting. Needlepoint. Spelinunking.
> THESE are all hobbies.
> Recently, I've been reading through these threads and several young Uberites stated unequivocally "I consider Uber a hobby'.
> Say WHAAAAAT?
> Never have I encountered a hobby which involves destroying ones car in order to supply wealth for the worlds biggest pre-IPO startup.
> Is it just me, or have we failed with an entire generation?


A few years after retiring I found that I still wanted to work, but on my terms. I did some consulting but found it to be drab. Then a friend suggested driving for Uber.

I started driving about 2 years ago and found it to be enjoyable and addictive. I figured out how to make it profitable and found the daily battle with Uber to be fun and challenging.

The entire "gig" concept is, at best, a nice side income. Those that expect to carve out a full time living with a gig job are fooling themselves. 
Anyone that expects U/L to be anything more than a "hobby" is fooling themselves.

See ya on the streets.....


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## TwoFiddyMile

UBERPROcolorado said:


> A few years after retiring I found that I still wanted to work, but on my terms. I did some consulting but found it to be drab. Then a friend suggested driving for Uber.
> 
> I started driving about 2 years ago and found it to be enjoyable and addictive. I figured out how to make it profitable and found the daily battle with Uber to be fun and challenging.
> 
> The entire "gig" concept is, at best, a nice side income. Those that expect to carve out a full time living with a gig job are fooling themselves.
> Anyone that expects U/L to be anything more than a "hobby" is fooling themselves.
> 
> See ya on the streets.....


I found it exciting and enjoyable when I was clearing in excess of $75,000.


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## UBERPROcolorado

TwoFiddyMile said:


> I found it exciting and enjoyable when I was clearing in excess of $75,000.


I was netting more when I started with Uber too. I was not happy with the loss..... But I took it in stride and re-worked my game.

As for being a sofa jockey....I have over 8000 trips with the majority of my trips at night, Uber Ski and mountain trips. I maintain a 4.98 and am a "rider preferred"driver. So I have little time to sit on the sofa.

I figured out that tips are the key. Don't rush a trip. If the rider needs to stop at 7-11 or drop by the weed shop....lets go! Great service turns into a great tip. A trip a few weeks ago to Vail paid $130. Not worth the miles and time considering I had to dead-head back. So I had to make the riders want to dig deep on the old wallet. Tip = $140 cash and lunch with the riders. Now the trip was well worth it.

In addition, Uber is giving Denver about $200 a week in free money. Just drive as normal and the Qwest pays off.

It is all in the way you deal with the riders. Make them thrilled and the money comes.

Have a great/safe day!


----------

