# Gig companies fear worker shortage despite a recession.



## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

https://www.wired.com/story/gig-companies-fear-worker-shortage-despite-recession/amp


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

huh. I'm back out there once I have both shots onboard. But, yeah, otherwise last ride was 3/17/20. Hopefully those who did RS for a living had a Plan B and aren't coming back......as if hope was a plan.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

SHalester said:


> huh. I'm back out there once I have both shots onboard. But, yeah, otherwise last ride was 3/17/20. Hopefully those who did RS for a living had a Plan B and aren't coming back......as if hope was a plan.


What I find interesting is that drivers are staying home for what is likely more or less 300 bux a week.

Where's all the megabux, drivers supposedly made doing TNC?


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

observer said:


> What I find interesting is that drivers are staying home for what is likely more or less 300 bux a week.


the problem with that 'plan' is UI and PUA and whatever are temporary. Yes, they have been extended. and now plan in place to ext to Sept (but only at current $300). Anybody getting fat on the couch really needs to think about when it all ends and that will happen when the number of vaccinated creeps up past 80%.

The big whine will occur when State's begin enforcing, if you are on UI, you must be looking for a job and be able to prove it. Lotta crying will happen and that will signal the beginning of the end.

They certainly has plenty of time to come up with Plan B, C, D, E...........


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## 12345678 (Jan 8, 2019)

The $300 is what the feds kick in. You also get what the state gives. Arizona is the second lowest with a maximum of $240 plus the $300 =$540 there are a lot of other states who pay $400, $500, $600 plus the $300
one state has a max of over $1200 plus the $300. The $300 federal will most likely get bumped up to $400 with this next stimulus bill. Most people are getting $700 - $800 per week
how much do you really make per week driving after all expenses 
and you are also taking the chance to get sick


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

12345678 said:


> The $300 is what the feds kick in. You also get what the state gives. Arizona is the second lowest with a maximum of $240 plus the $300 =$540 there are a lot of other states who pay $400, $500, $600 plus the $300
> one state has a max of over $1200 plus the $300. The $300 federal will most likely get bumped up to $400 with this next stimulus bill. Most people are getting $700 - $800 per week
> how much do you really make per week driving after all expenses
> and you are also taking the chance to get sick


I would think most people are way past the limits that their state gives out. At least in California you only get a certain amount of weeks. Unless that has changed.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

but bu


observer said:


> At least in California you only get a certain amount of weeks


but but but it keeps being extended. My 'year' display now shows: 2020 on Extension. My original year began 3/20/19. And if stim 3 is approved it will be extended again to Sept.

Gift the keeps giving.


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## ThrowInTheTowel (Apr 10, 2018)

observer said:


> What I find interesting is that drivers are staying home for what is likely more or less 300 bux a week.
> 
> Where's all the megabux, drivers supposedly made doing TNC?


The biggest misconception is that drivers were making decent money in the first place. When you take in consideration the countless threads of drivers complaining about being paid $3 per ride it all makes sense. Some states pay a minimum amount around a $100 plus the additional $300.

An average ant making $15 per hour working 40 hours grosses $600 minus gas, maintenance, and maybe even daycare costs. Taking $400 with no expenses, home with the kids, and not risking your health balances out the same. The sad part is many drivers don't even average $15 hour which makes staying home even better.


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## 12345678 (Jan 8, 2019)

past stimulus packages extended it to 50 weeks. This next bill will extend it 24 or 28 more weeks. It should be passed by March 14. So it will be extended to the end of august, maybe to the end of September but most likely august 29th


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

... and whenever there is a shortage of anything, in a capitalist free-market system, the price for that commodity goes UP until there is no shortage any more.
Uber needs more drivers?

PAY THEM

They will come.


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## AvisDeene (Jun 7, 2019)

UberBastid said:


> ... and whenever there is a shortage of anything, in a capitalist free-market system, the price for that commodity goes UP until there is no shortage any more.
> Uber needs more drivers?
> 
> PAY THEM
> ...


With the way they have been behaving, it seems like they'd rather go bankrupt before they give more to drivers.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

AvisDeene said:


> With the way they have been behaving, it seems like they'd rather go bankrupt before they give more to drivers.


And, such is the efficiency of free-market.
Then they go BK, and another company charges the rider a fair price, and pays the driver what they need to pay him to get him to work for them. If the rider isn't willing to pay fair - then they ride the bus and there's no such thing as ride share.
And the Uber driver now drives a bus for the city and joins the union and gets dental.
Capitalism works.


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## ThrowInTheTowel (Apr 10, 2018)

UberBastid said:


> And, such is the efficiency of free-market.
> Then they go BK, and another company charges the rider a fair price, and pays the driver what they need to pay him to get him to work for them. If the rider isn't willing to pay fair - then they ride the bus and there's no such thing as ride share.
> And the Uber driver now drives a bus for the city and joins the union and gets dental.
> Capitalism works.


That is exactly how the free market is suppose to work unless you have zero competition and a upscale version of the mafia running the show but I promise you there will come a day when they all will sit in an empty room and say to themselves, "We probably should of just paid a decent wage instead of all the games."


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

observer said:


> What I find interesting is that drivers are staying home for what is likely more or less 300 bux a week.
> 
> Where's all the megabux, drivers supposedly made doing TNC?


You mean the trolls who CLAIMED they were making big bucks??


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

observer said:


> What I find interesting is that drivers are staying home for what is likely more or less 300 bux a week.
> 
> Where's all the megabux, drivers supposedly made doing TNC?


It was life-changing money. It changed their lives for the better?



goneubering said:


> You mean the trolls who CLAIMED they were making big bucks??


It was said that a lot of drivers actually made pretty decent money by recruiting other drivers - way back in the day.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

ABC123DEF said:


> It was life-changing money. It changed their lives for the better?
> 
> 
> It was said that a lot of drivers actually made pretty decent money by recruiting other drivers - way back in the day.


"Was".


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## doyousensehumor (Apr 13, 2015)

Meh. Reality is different than what the news article is suggesting.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

doyousensehumor said:


> Meh. Reality is different than what the news article is suggesting.


No. No.
I don't believe it.

Are you suggesting that a trusted US news reporting agency would slant their report to sell a particular agenda? I just don't believe its possible.


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

ABC123DEF said:


> It was said that a lot of drivers actually made pretty decent money by recruiting other drivers - way back in the day.


The referral harlots contributed to the driver glut while at the same time deterring some pax from tipping by constantly lying about all the "megabucks" drivers were making.


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## Ummm5487 (Oct 15, 2020)

Pax all tell me its very hard to get a driver these day...i dont blame drivers...besides covid..picking up strangers is one thing but now its strangers in mask....last night i picked up two young guys both in ski mask pants sagging dread locks...and im think "wtf am i doing with my life"


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## melusine3 (Jun 20, 2016)

ABC123DEF said:


> It was life-changing money. It changed their lives for the better?
> 
> 
> It was said that a lot of drivers actually made pretty decent money by recruiting other drivers - way back in the day.


Oh Gawd I remember the Rideshare Guy, got a Lyft referral fee off of my introduction to them. "Googled" (some other search engine tho) RSG and he's still at it!


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

ABC123DEF said:


> It was life-changing money. It changed their lives for the better?
> 
> 
> It was said that a lot of drivers actually made pretty decent money by recruiting other drivers - way back in the day.


Oh. That's true.


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## Driving With A Purpose (Jul 28, 2020)

Don't forget the unintended consequences. 

There were COVID related consequences of staying at home- a higher incidence of depression, suicides, arguments, divorce, etc.

For the so-called "FREE" unemployment money and stimulus money there are also unintended consequences. Many of us are creatures of habit. If you go a certain amount of time without working, you will be less likely to even try to work and will try to find every creative excuse you can to get out of doing work. As an example, think about the number of people who used to work out at gyms and will likely never do so again.

Somehow the thought of telling a lady I just met in a bar that I "collect unemployment for a living" just doesn't sit well with me. Thankfully, I'm married and won't be going to singles bars anymore.


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## JeanOcelot0 (Dec 30, 2020)

observer said:


> What I find interesting is that drivers are staying home for what is likely more or less 300 bux a week.
> 
> Where's all the megabux, drivers supposedly made doing TNC?


There's also the FPUC (?) that is 1/2 of the average for the state. For my state, it's only $107. 



ThrowInTheTowel said:


> The biggest misconception is that drivers were making decent money in the first place. When you take in consideration the countless threads of drivers complaining about being paid $3 per ride it all makes sense. Some states pay a minimum amount around a $100 plus the additional $300.
> 
> An average ant making $15 per hour working 40 hours grosses $600 minus gas, maintenance, and maybe even daycare costs. Taking $400 with no expenses, home with the kids, and not risking your health balances out the same. The sad part is many drivers don't even average $15 hour which makes staying home even better.


But the ant gets to immediately write off the mileage (i.e., at the federal rate) both for what the nominal distance the rides were and also some fudge factor for the fact that the ant must typically drive from the last drop-off point to the next pick-up point.

@@@

Mark my words - when the CHEESE is finally over, ants' pay rates will plunge.

This guy called it the existential problem for the Army of Labor:


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## UberBeemer (Oct 23, 2015)

For sure, covid is "killing" rideshare earnings. But this happened AFTER Uber and Lyft reconfigured things like incentives and surges. 4 years ago, 1500 or 2k per week wasn't difficult. But a significant part of that came in the form of surges and CT bonuses.

We may never see earnings return to pre-covid levels, but those levels were trending downward since the early days anyway.

Lately, for many of us, this only makes sense as a side hustle, because risk vs reward has been so bad for so long.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

A


UberBastid said:


> ... and whenever there is a shortage of anything, in a capitalist free-market system, the price for that commodity goes UP until there is no shortage any more.
> Uber needs more drivers?
> 
> PAY THEM
> ...


AMEN !

UBER MUST RE LEARN THIS !


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## TXUbering (May 9, 2018)

RS could ask the government for the vaccine for its drivers. Give drivers an opportunity to get a shot as an essential worker, and in order to get the 2nd shot, they have to put in so many hours. Market their drivers as being vaccinated, which would give riders peace of mind. That should be beneficial to all parties, except maybe those missing out on their shots.


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## Young Kim (Jan 28, 2015)

observer said:


> https://www.wired.com/story/gig-companies-fear-worker-shortage-despite-recession/amp


Such a good informative article. I do agree that there is a pro and con for the business in general. I have had a LOT, and I mean a LOT, of gig workers who say that they will NOT look for work until the UI runs out. I am happy for them... more work for me, and people deserve a break from the grind...especially working for an evil company like Uber.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

tohunt4me said:


> A
> AMEN !
> 
> UBER MUST RE LEARN THIS !


Everyone must learn this.
It must be taught in grade school.

Supply v Demand curve is not hard to understand.


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

Cheese will hurt them a lot, as will an economic recovery, at any level IMHO.


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## JeanOcelot0 (Dec 30, 2020)

SHalester said:


> The big whine will occur when State's begin enforcing, if you are on UI, you must be looking for a job and be able to prove it. Lotta crying will happen and that will signal the beginning of the end.
> 
> They certainly has plenty of time to come up with Plan B, C, D, E...........


My state uses the Geographic Solutions webapp; it is very easy to just select a few jobs and click on the "apply" button; that action is noted in the system, so an overworked state unemployment bureaucracy will be pleased by it.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)




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## bobby747 (Dec 29, 2015)

My buddy in nyc. Not an uber 1099. Gets $485 total but is allowed to earn $500 a week. Me I can earn $54 . Makes no sense


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## JeanOcelot0 (Dec 30, 2020)

bobby747 said:


> My buddy in nyc. Not an uber 1099. Gets $485 total but is allowed to earn $500 a week. Me I can earn $54 . Makes no sense


I think that you, as a "Rational Economic Actor", should just continue with your staycation. :coolio:


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## bobby747 (Dec 29, 2015)

Say what you want. I got over 20,000 rides on all platforms. I joined 5 plus years ago. You joined 5 minutes ago. Who really cares what you think.


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## jfinks (Nov 24, 2016)

observer said:


> What I find interesting is that drivers are staying home for what is likely more or less 300 bux a week.
> 
> Where's all the megabux, drivers supposedly made doing TNC?


There is more money to be made than 300 a week. Heck this week Uber has a $300 bonus for doing 60 rides. A driver can do that in 3 days. There are other consecutive trip bonuses also usually. Not mega bux for sure, but 700 in 3 days isn't too bad.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

SHalester said:


> the problem with that 'plan' is UI and PUA and whatever are temporary. Yes, they have been extended. and now plan in place to ext to Sept (but only at current $300). Anybody getting fat on the couch really needs to think about when it all ends and that will happen when the number of vaccinated creeps up past 80%.
> 
> The big whine will occur when State's begin enforcing, if you are on UI, you must be looking for a job and be able to prove it. Lotta crying will happen and that will signal the beginning of the end.
> 
> They certainly has plenty of time to come up with Plan B, C, D, E...........


No way! Have some optimism. Come September they can surely pass another emergency extension. With any luck it will last until the next elections so the Dems can gain a few more seats, and then they can pass a permanent UBI bill so the checks last forever!


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## Young Kim (Jan 28, 2015)

Trafficat said:


> No way! Have some optimism. Come September they can surely pass another emergency extension. With any luck it will last until the next elections so the Dems can gain a few more seats, and then they can pass a permanent UBI bill so the checks last forever!


@Trafficat my beloved brother! Your post made me smile and made my day! I guess I'll be working like a madman for a very long time to pick up the slack! I am happy though for my fellow ants here who can rest and relax. It is a much deserved rest from the madness that is F-UBER!


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## Buckiemohawk (Jun 23, 2015)

My thing is with Rideshare is that one is giving all the responsibilities and none of the leverage. In a cab, I can boot person out instantaneously for a multitude of things as long as I don’t charge them or leave them in an unsafe place. Can’t do that with Rideshare. With a cab I know roughly how much I’m getting paid for where the ride is going unlike Rideshare with of three dollar fairs. It’s ridiculous


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Buckiemohawk said:


> My thing is with Rideshare is that one is giving all the responsibilities and none of the leverage. In a cab, I can boot person out instantaneously for a multitude of things as long as I don't charge them or leave them in an unsafe place. Can't do that with Rideshare. With a cab I know roughly how much I'm getting paid for where the ride is going unlike Rideshare with of three dollar fairs. It's ridiculous


There are pros and cons. What I love about Uber is that I can work a 2 hour shift without eating a 12 hour rental fee, or a 16 hour shift without eating a 24 hour rental fee.


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## somedriverguy (Sep 6, 2016)

ThrowInTheTowel said:


> That is exactly how the free market is suppose to work unless you have zero competition and a upscale version of the mafia running the show but I promise you there will come a day when they all will sit in an empty room and say to themselves, "We probably should of just paid a decent wage instead of all the games."


Part of being a corrupt dueschbag is never admitting you are wrong. Like governor Newsome claiming the first covid transmission occured in a beauty salon. He would rather eat his children on live tv while they are kicking and screaming than admit he was wrong.


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## Young Kim (Jan 28, 2015)

Buckiemohawk said:


> My thing is with Rideshare is that one is giving all the responsibilities and none of the leverage. In a cab, I can boot person out instantaneously for a multitude of things as long as I don't charge them or leave them in an unsafe place. Can't do that with Rideshare. With a cab I know roughly how much I'm getting paid for where the ride is going unlike Rideshare with of three dollar fairs. It's ridiculous


Spot on...


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

Trafficat said:


> Come September they can surely pass another emergency extension.


I'm guessing not if vaccination numbers continue to grow. There will be much less ability to say you can't work due to being afraid of being infected.

Way passed time for Plan B, for those who depended on RS income to get by. UI will end for those who started back in March 2020; just a question of when.


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

Trafficat said:


> There are pros and cons. What I love about Uber is that I can work a 2 hour shift without eating a 12 hour rental fee, or a 16 hour shift without eating a 24 hour rental fee.


In DC, most cabbies are owner/operators and pay ZERO rental fees.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Nats121 said:


> In DC, most cabbies are owner/operators and pay ZERO rental fees.


That's awesome! Not legal in my state. There are a few regional cab companies authorized by the government and generally new companies can never be added because they are a government granted oligopoly designed to protect against competition. Applicants for new companies must "prove" the demand for a new cab company, and meet absurd standards that no one can ever meet without significant amounts of corruption.


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## Nats121 (Jul 19, 2017)

Trafficat said:


> That's awesome! Not legal in my state. There are a few regional cab companies authorized by the government and generally new companies can never be added because they are a government granted oligopoly designed to protect against competition. Applicants for new companies must "prove" the demand for a new cab company, and meet absurd standards that no one can ever meet without significant amounts of corruption.


DC has no medallions. Paying $200 and passing an exam was all it took to own your own taxi.

However, there was an exam-cheating scandal in 2009, and as far as I know there have been no permits issued since.

@Another Uber Driver is a veteran DC cabbie and he can provide more details.



Trafficat said:


> government and generally new companies can never be added because they are a government granted oligopoly designed to protect against competition. Applicants for new companies must "prove" the demand for a new cab company, and meet absurd standards that no one can ever meet without significant amounts of corruption.


Erecting barriers to entry to protect incumbent businesses (rent-seeking/crony capitalism) is one of the most corrupt practices govt engages in.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

I keep hearing earnings down due to covid yet I've had some of my best weeks with Ali the full time drivers on the cheese. Last week: 25.5 hours, 63 trips, $982., 252 of that was incentives. 

$38.50 an hour, roughly $32 net is awesome in this area. I'm going to keep running hard till the party is over. Once the cheese stops I won't be able to make half as much.


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## Young Kim (Jan 28, 2015)

Trafficat said:


> There are pros and cons. What I love about Uber is that I can work a 2 hour shift without eating a 12 hour rental fee, or a 16 hour shift without eating a 24 hour rental fee.


A few of the cab companies I worked for like Niles Flash Cab you paid by the miles to your car traveled. If I remember correctly it was 40 cents a mile at night and 50 cents a mile during the day. Therefore, it was just like Uber you could take like two rides and you would still be profitable. When I did a couple of stints for North shore cab the owner would also allow you to do fractional shifts if a cab was available. Driving for a cab was infinitely better than F-Uber.


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

The "economisseds" and their presstitutes in the MSM are calling for a large increase in spending due to pent up demand as a result of covid.

Well, as people have been eating cheese for months, and blowing it like drunken sailors on shore leave in Manila, the pent up demand has already been released long, long, ago. I predict a further extension of the global economic recession and plenty of people needing gig work.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

The sky is falling. The sky is falling.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

Trafficat said:


> There are pros and cons. What I love about Uber is that I can work a 2 hour shift without eating a 12 hour rental fee, or a 16 hour shift without eating a 24 hour rental fee.


There are pros and Cons, what i like about the cab is that I can actually turn a profit driving, with uber I can deal with paxholes, a higher portion of drunken idiots/pukers and can't turn a profit. With a cab there's actually money to made.

The problem with uber , aside from the above, is that no matter how much my wheels spin doing uber the rates are so low i'll never break even. So it doesn't matter how few or many hours I work because the money just sucks so bad. With gasoline on the up climb there's just no point.

However in the cab an extra $5-8 in gasoline won't kill me. That's one extra fare on a 24 hour rental to make the same money.

Guess there arn't pros to driving uber here... hmm...


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## Buckiemohawk (Jun 23, 2015)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> There are pros and Cons, what i like about the cab is that I can actually turn a profit driving, with uber I can deal with paxholes, a higher portion of drunken idiots/pukers and can't turn a profit. With a cab there's actually money to made.
> 
> The problem with uber , aside from the above, is that no matter how much my wheels spin doing uber the rates are so low i'll never break even. So it doesn't matter how few or many hours I work because the money just sucks so bad. With gasoline on the up climb there's just no point.
> 
> ...


Most of these guys work in other areas where you can make money in a few hours. But in central Florida nope and most of Florida


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> There are pros and Cons, what i like about the cab is that I can actually turn a profit driving, with uber I can deal with paxholes, a higher portion of drunken idiots/pukers and can't turn a profit. With a cab there's actually money to made.
> 
> The problem with uber , aside from the above, is that no matter how much my wheels spin doing uber the rates are so low i'll never break even. So it doesn't matter how few or many hours I work because the money just sucks so bad. With gasoline on the up climb there's just no point.
> 
> ...


Maybe not in your area... but in most areas you can turn a profit with Uber. The key is to drive a klunker with no value that gets good gas mileage and to cherry pick rides!


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

Trafficat said:


> Maybe not in your area... but in most areas you can turn a profit with Uber. The key is to drive a klunker with no value that gets good gas mileage and to cherry pick rides!


Kash for Klunkers?


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## Yam Digger (Sep 12, 2016)

Trafficat said:


> Maybe not in your area... but in most areas you can turn a profit with Uber. The key is to drive a klunker with no value that gets good gas mileage and to cherry pick rides!


Not doable in my market. Toronto City Council says the car can't be older than 7 years. Though they were recently talking about increasing it....to 8.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Yam Digger said:


> Not doable in my market. Toronto City Council says the car can't be older than 7 years. Though they were recently talking about increasing it....to 8.


Dang... in my market your car can be 15 years old.


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## JeanOcelot0 (Dec 30, 2020)

bobby747 said:


> Say what you want. I got over 20,000 rides on all platforms. I joined 5 plus years ago. You joined 5 minutes ago. Who really cares what you think.


Well who cares what YOU think either - either than you like to work for peanuts.



Trafficat said:


> Dang... in my market your car can be 15 years old.


Still not old enough for my ride. 



Disgusted Driver said:


> I keep hearing earnings down due to covid yet I've had some of my best weeks with Ali the full time drivers on the cheese. Last week: 25.5 hours, 63 trips, $982., 252 of that was incentives.
> 
> $38.50 an hour, roughly $32 net is awesome in this area. I'm going to keep running hard till the party is over. Once the cheese stops I won't be able to make half as much.


But what was the income after your car expenses?


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

JeanOcelot0 said:


> But what was the income after your car expenses?


As I said in my post, roughly $32 an hour net. At current gas prices my van costs me about 28 cents a mile to operate.


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## Yam Digger (Sep 12, 2016)

Trafficat said:


> Dang... in my market your car can be *15 years old*.


Dang!

If I could do that in my market, I'd buy a 14 year old beater and flog it for 2 years. Then I'd call the junk yard to come and get it.

Wash, rinse, and repeat.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

One way i can imagine... Buy 2 white Toyota Camry Hybrids. One a 2020 that you baby and never drive, the other a 10 year old white Camry POS that's outside the age range for uber.

Then you... "accidently" switch the license plates on the two cars you own.

BIngo bango bongo...


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## JeanOcelot0 (Dec 30, 2020)

Disgusted Driver said:


> As I said in my post, roughly $32 an hour net. At current gas prices my van costs me about 28 cents a mile to operate.


What about the maintenance & depreciation on that van?



Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> One way i can imagine... Buy 2 white Toyota Camry Hybrids. One a 2020 that you baby and never drive, the other a 10 year old white Camry POS that's outside the age range for uber.
> 
> Then you... "accidently" switch the license plates on the two cars you own.
> 
> BIngo bango bongo...


Then you "accidently" [sic] get arrested for car license fraud.  Perhaps you have heard about something called a VIN?


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

JeanOcelot0 said:


> What about the maintenance & depreciation on that van?


By my estimated that's all included. It's a 2009 grand caravan I bought for 5k with 110k miles. 5 cents for depreciation and 5 cents for maintenence should cover it.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

JeanOcelot0 said:


> What about the maintenance & depreciation on that van?
> 
> 
> Then you "accidently" [sic] get arrested for car license fraud.  Perhaps you have heard about something called a VIN?


Nawww.
That's just a mistake.

"I'm sorry yer honer ... I'm stupid and old and I got me two white cars at the same time and I guess I put the wrong plates on the wrong car. Sorry. Won't happen again."

Maybe a fine cause they need the money ... but ... fraud? Naw.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> One way i can imagine... Buy 2 white Toyota Camry Hybrids. One a 2020 that you baby and never drive, the other a 10 year old white Camry POS that's outside the age range for uber.
> 
> Then you... "accidently" switch the license plates on the two cars you own.
> 
> BIngo bango bongo...


Problem is that the new car still depreciates even if you do not drive it.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

Trafficat said:


> Problem is that the new car still depreciates even if you do not drive it.


But not as fast as it would if you Ubered it


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

JeanOcelot0 said:


> What about the maintenance & depreciation on that van?
> 
> 
> Then you "accidently" [sic] get arrested for car license fraud.  Perhaps you have heard about something called a VIN?


To prove the crime of Attaching Plate or Tag Not Assigned, the prosecution must establish the _following three_ elements beyond a reasonable doubt:


The accused attached a registration license plate or validation sticker to a vehicle;
The registration license plate or validation sticker was not lawfully issued and assigned to that vehicle; and
The accused knew that the plate or sticker was not lawfully issued and assigned to the vehicle.

1. I can freely admit this, it makes my defense more credible.
2. I can _not_ argue this.
3. They have to prove that I KNEW that it was the wrong plate on the car. And guess what? All i have to do is _not admit_ that i knew it was wrong.

And as long as both cars ARE in fact registered and insured the other "crimes" that usually go along with using bogus plates wouldn't be chargeable either. I could infact carry insurance cards showing all of my insured vehicles plate numbers on them. Heck i could have the correct registration for the car in the glove box.



Trafficat said:


> Problem is that the new car still depreciates even if you do not drive it.


Your also not getting the new one puked in and if i drive the wheels off the old one I can replace it for another POS car that's over the hill rinse and repeat. Instead of 50,000 miles a year on the new car i'm burning through a POS every 2 years... and it doesn't even have to be eligible for uber, it can be aged out or completely _unable to pass inspection_.

I had a car i bought new in 2003, it was a dodge neon. I babied that car and drove it in a cold weather state and didn't abuse it. It made 150,000 miles over 15 years i owned. Many of those years i was out of the country.

I had a car i bought in 2010. It was a toyota Sienna, a much more reliable car. It survived... 3 1/2 year and 230,000 miles AS A TAXI.

But yes... if i had 2 Toyota Camry cars and like an idiot put the wrong plate on the wrong car, both are registered to me, both are insured by me, and i had both plate numbers in my phone to look up and tell the cop?

I'd have no problem walking into court and telling the judge..

"Sir... i don't know what happened, I got the license plates in the mail and they must have gotten switched around.. i mean I own both cars and they are both on my insurance."

That sounds like a stupid idiot move to me, not intentional. Except for some very specific and very squirrely thing like using an already aged out car for uber there's no reason to pull this kind of shenanigan's deliberately.

If you do this strategy, you can just keep using new POS cars every couple of years and not even having uber eligible cars to begin with. That's the potential savings right there.


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## Yam Digger (Sep 12, 2016)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> "Sir... i don't know what happened, I got the license plates in the mail and they must have gotten switched around.. i mean I own both cars and they are both on my insurance."


If your lucky, you might get a cop who doesn't recognize that the car is actually an earlier model year since the make, model and colour all match the plate registration.

It might be advisable to take the registration and insurance for the newer car along with you as well to show the cop.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

Yam Digger said:


> you might get a cop who doesn't recognize that the car is actually an earlier model year since the make, model and colour all match the plate registration.


Right. They seem to rarely check the VIN to the registration .. unless they suspect something. 
I got caught with a pistol in my pocket once and gave the cop a permit to carry that had expired TEN YEARS AGO, and he didn't notice. 
Let me leave, with my gun and expired papers. LoL



Yam Digger said:


> ake the registration and insurance for the newer car along with you as well to show the cop.


or a copy.
"Those aren't the right plates? Dayam!" Look surprised.
"Hey I have the other reg to the other white Toyota I own right here. I wonder if they got switched."

You gotta have your rap ready.
Prepare and practice your 'story'.
Cops got bigger fish to fry, it's only 'paperwork snafu'.


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## montecristo (Aug 15, 2020)

UberBastid said:


> Everyone must learn this.
> It must be taught in grade school.
> 
> Supply v Demand curve is not hard to understand.


they're teaching other things in the schools now



Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> To prove the crime of Attaching Plate or Tag Not Assigned, the prosecution must establish the _following three_ elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
> 
> 
> The accused attached a registration license plate or validation sticker to a vehicle;
> ...


except... now they have your confession here


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## Retired Senior (Sep 12, 2016)

Disgusted Driver said:


> I keep hearing earnings down due to covid yet I've had some of my best weeks with Ali the full time drivers on the cheese. Last week: 25.5 hours, 63 trips, $982., 252 of that was incentives.
> 
> $38.50 an hour, roughly $32 net is awesome in this area. I'm going to keep running hard till the party is over. Once the cheese stops I won't be able to make half as much.


I drive for Lyft these days. They continually match me with riders who are 10 - 20 minutes away. Cancelling does no good. They keep giving me riders who are miles away and often the trip is a couple of miles. I was lucky today ... picked up a guy at Sacred Heart University and drove him to LaGuardia Airport. Grossed $85 for a 3 hour round trip. Subtract $20 for gas. So now it is $65 divided by 3. Say $20 an hour... not bad, but on the way back my brakes began making a terrible sound. Repair or replace will be somewhere between $200 and $500.

If I am lucky enough to get the $1400, the car gets new brakes and 4 new tires. If not, I am s#*t out of luck.

It's not all bad... I got my first of 2 vaccine shots today. Went very smoothly. After the injection I was walked to a "rest" area and urged to sit for 15 minutes. While I sat, a vaccine volunteer "volunteered" the info that the first shot is a dream compared to the 2nd booster shot. I smiled and said "Honey, I LIVE for pain. I'm a rideshare driver!"


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

Uberdriver2710 said:


>


True story!!


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

Retired Senior said:


> I drive for Lyft these days. They continually match me with riders who are 10 - 20 minutes away. Cancelling does no good. They keep giving me riders who are miles away and often the trip is a couple of miles. I was lucky today ... picked up a guy at Sacred Heart University and drove him to LaGuardia Airport. Grossed $85 for a 3 hour round trip. Subtract $20 for gas. So now it is $65 divided by 3. Say $20 an hour... not bad, but on the way back my brakes began making a terrible sound. Repair or replace will be somewhere between $200 and $500.
> 
> If I am lucky enough to get the $1400, the car gets new brakes and 4 new tires. If not, I am s#*t out of luck.
> 
> It's not all bad... I got my first of 2 vaccine shots today. Went very smoothly. After the injection I was walked to a "rest" area and urged to sit for 15 minutes. While I sat, a vaccine volunteer "volunteered" the info that the first shot is a dream compared to the 2nd booster shot. I smiled and said "Honey, I LIVE for pain. I'm a rideshare driver!"


Guess I have it good here. I am able to play both companies off each other and business is very strong at night. No way I'm going more than 8 or 10 minutes for a pickup unless I'm in the middle of nowhere. There's a shortage of drivers here and I'm grabbing what I can while I can. By summer time college students will be gone and business will die.



Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> To prove the crime of Attaching Plate or Tag Not Assigned, the prosecution must establish the _following three_ elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
> 
> 
> The accused attached a registration license plate or validation sticker to a vehicle;
> ...


I love it, ingenious way to drastically lower expenses. The only issue I see (because the moral ones don't bother me) is insurance. Uber/ Lyft insurance will figure out pretty quickly what went down if there is an accident and I could see them trying not to pay it. A small risk but one nonetheless.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

Disgusted Driver said:


> Guess I have it good here. I am able to play both companies off each other and business is very strong at night. No way I'm going more than 8 or 10 minutes for a pickup unless I'm in the middle of nowhere. There's a shortage of drivers here and I'm grabbing what I can while I can. By summer time college students will be gone and business will die.
> 
> 
> I love it, ingenious way to drastically lower expenses. The only issue I see (because the moral ones don't bother me) is insurance. Uber/ Lyft insurance will figure out pretty quickly what went down if there is an accident and I could see them trying not to pay it. A small risk but one nonetheless.


Yes.
It is pretty good thinking.

Risk is very low of even getting caught.
And even lower of any meaningful punishment IF caught.

I like your idea of keeping both registrations and insurance papers in both vehicles; it shows that you have no 'knowledge of wrongdoing' by trying to hide anything.

I can see it playing out on the side of the road: "Here's all my paperwork officer, can you show me where I screwed up?" 
"Yea, I'm going to write you a fixit ticket and let you figure it out with DMV."


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## oldnavyht3 (Jul 17, 2019)

ABC123DEF said:


> It was life-changing money. It changed their lives for the better?
> 
> 
> It was said that a lot of drivers actually made pretty decent money by recruiting other drivers - way back in the day.


Yeah I remember "back in the day" when drivers were bragging about passing out cards and referring new drivers to make money. A month later they were crying like japanese porn stars about the extra competition and the money they were not making anymore.


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## Young Kim (Jan 28, 2015)

Disgusted Driver said:


> Guess I have it good here. I am able to play both companies off each other and business is very strong at night. No way I'm going more than 8 or 10 minutes for a pickup unless I'm in the middle of nowhere. There's a shortage of drivers here and I'm grabbing what I can while I can. By summer time college students will be gone and business will die.
> 
> 
> I love it, ingenious way to drastically lower expenses. The only issue I see (because the moral ones don't bother me) is insurance. Uber/ Lyft insurance will figure out pretty quickly what went down if there is an accident and I could see them trying not to pay it. A small risk but one nonetheless.


It is pretty ingenious and clever. It could actually work!


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## uber_trooper (Apr 16, 2018)

I recognize the article is speaking about the safety net that gig workers have received as a basis for the shortage but this has not been life-saving money. It’s simply been a means to an end. I won’t be back unless the driver pay increases and it amazes me that’s not a consideration for Uber, et al. When I started driving six or seven years ago it was a sustainable enterprise. Now after all of the pay cuts and incentive slashing over the years, hardly breaking even is reason enough to find better employment elsewhere and never look back.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

So...

I'm over here in _Dinosaur Land_, helping my buddy bake and sell his cookies at his store...

Like 5 times in the last couple of weeks i've basically had the cookie shop down early because there's so few Door dashers and uber Eats suckers that they end up shutting off our delivery... they literally take the store and drop it to "pickup only"

Last night I literally cleaned up the last 2 hours while I prayed for a walk in and 5 minutes after closing I was gone and out the door after arming the Magical security spell.

What changed from february?

Gas prices?

Yeah gas has gone up a lot since Biden took power, i thought that there was no real "floor" that these guys would stop driving in, But i think with the rising gas prices they might finally have started throwing in the towel.

PS gasoline is about $2.59 a gallon in Dinosaur land.


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## JeanOcelot0 (Dec 30, 2020)

Disgusted Driver said:


> There's a shortage of drivers here and I'm grabbing what I can while I can.


Come September, when the CHEESE runs out, the supply of drivers will explode.


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

oldnavyht3 said:


> Yeah I remember "back in the day" when drivers were bragging about passing out cards and referring new drivers to make money. A month later they were crying like japanese porn stars about the extra competition and the money they were not making anymore.


Yep. A lot of us - even back THEN - knew that selling your soul by recruiting your own competition for some fast quick money wouldn't be the best long-term decision. The net can only be cast so wide, and there are only a limited number of fish to catch.


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## Retired Senior (Sep 12, 2016)

As Texas freeze gas bills come due, cue up the lawsuits | Fox Business
[HEADING=2]"The spice must flow." ― Frank Herbert, Dune I[/HEADING]
And gas certainly has NOT been flowing that well here in the Greater Bridgeport Ct. area. A gallon of regular now costs about $3 a gallon. Many gas stations have yellow bags over some of their hoses and pumps.

Lyft is playing games at the driver's expense... accept 1 ride and then get switched to another with the note that the ride is a scheduled pick up, and pick up time ended 5 - 10 minutes ago!

Very few Lyft drivers left in Fairfield and New Haven Counties.


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## Mole (Mar 9, 2017)




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