# Not for me.



## jackodawhacko (Aug 25, 2017)

After giving uber driving a fair chance and analysis (about a month of driving) I've decided that I don't want to support or be apart of this business practice any longer.

Some personal takeaways from this experience:

1. This isn't worth doing full time. 
It may be the timing but the expenses (especially on your body and your car) vs the income just isn't worth it for me. Sure you can drive long hours, but If I'm gonna drive that long I might as well drive trucks and make way more doing it.

2. Uber doesn't understand the driver/passenger dynamic.
I am guilty of this, but the only reason people use this service is that it's cheap and convenient. If it wasn't cheap then there would be no reason to use it. It's due to this that the quality of most passengers will be subpar. (this is especially true with younger adults/college students) I understand that customer service is king when it comes to competition but to ask an uber driver to go far beyond what the taxi services offer(for 1/4 of the cost) is just ignorant. Customers don't care about the conversation, they only care that they're paying you less. Stop getting it twisted. It's due to this cheapness that passengers perceive uber drivers in a negative light. People will savor a $50 steak, but will easily scoff down a $5 one. This leads me to 3.

3. You're easily dispensable // The floodgates are wide open
To uber, you're just a statistic. I'm quitting but I'll just be replaced by a thousand would be hopefuls. It isn't competitive, but it is overcrowded. It's only getting worse. 


For those who love doing this and driving people around, go be a taxi driver. At least you'd be working for people with fair business practices. For those that have nothing better to do, go back to school.


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## zooyork (Oct 28, 2017)

I concur!


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## Laughingatyoufoolsdaily (Apr 16, 2016)

Well at least the taxi drivers have one thing to thank uber and lyft for and that is the hundreds of thousands of people who now have an intimate understanding of what a thankless job it is to drive a taxi.


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## Cynergie (Apr 10, 2017)

Good for you!

I'm glad you figured out the seedy side of this gig so early in the game. Best of luck in the future.

Adding: If Uber's culture was such that it really cared improving their rideshare stats, mgmt would take a more practical approach to hiring their CS and IT app devs. Hire these employees as intern drivers in the last semester of these students senior year in college. Have them earn a typical Uber salary for 2-3 months just before graduation. That would give them a clear understanding of tech issues the driver base complains on a daily basis about. And especially what CS really means.


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## Chris1973 (Oct 9, 2017)

jackodawhacko said:


> For those who love doing this and driving people around, go be a taxi driver. At least you'd be working for people with fair business practices. For those that have nothing better to do, go back to school.


You are totally wrong about driving a taxi, and working for people with "fair business practices" in that industry. Really shows how you are talking out of your butt and this is all just sour grapes.

So you got deactivated most likely due to a bad attitude and thought this was going to be a full time gig and the answer to all your prayers. Welcome to the club! But why be so bitter about it? Why go out of your way to discourage others and spout BS like working for a cab company is somehow better. Total BS. As an adult you must know how the world really works. Low skill = low pay. We all get what we deserve.


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## retrogirl17 (Aug 8, 2017)

Chris1973 said:


> You are totally wrong about driving a taxi, and working for people with "fair business practices" in that industry. Really shows how you are talking out of your butt and this is all just sour grapes.
> 
> So you got deactivated most likely due to a bad attitude and thought this was going to be a full time gig and the answer to all your prayers. Welcome to the club! But why be so bitter about it? Why go out of your way to discourage others and spout BS like working for a cab company is somehow better. Total BS. As an adult you must know how the world really works. Low skill = low pay. We all get what we deserve.


Low skill =low pay..... what. McDonald's pays more than an x driver when compared the hrs worked. Yes you have to actually work but hey very little depreciation, no insurance, no gas and most of all you know you get an exact rate p/h per check.


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## upyouruber (Jul 24, 2017)

Just like anything in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything. Uber, from a drivers perspective, is no different. Long story short, being a F/T Uber driver has been more advantageous than not for myself. I have learned much about rideshare from day one and continue to do so everyday. Yes of course, I gripe about this and that and then move on. Don't we all? In closing, the one constant I will concur upon is the risk of transporting groups of millenials (3 or more). I do everything possible to refuse them service. A strategy that has so far reaped it's dividends for me.


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## phillipzx3 (May 26, 2015)

Chris1973 said:


> You are totally wrong about driving a taxi, and working for people with "fair business practices" in that industry. Really shows how you are talking out of your butt and this is all just sour grapes.
> 
> So you got deactivated most likely due to a bad attitude and thought this was going to be a full time gig and the answer to all your prayers. Welcome to the club! But why be so bitter about it? Why go out of your way to discourage others and spout BS like working for a cab company is somehow better. Total BS. As an adult you must know how the world really works. Low skill = low pay. We all get what we deserve.


Because not all cab companies are the same, I think it's YOU who should stop talking out of your ass. Ever hear of a taxi co-op? Driver owned and driver operated. In our case, we even own our gas station. At around June or July, our operating costs drop next to zero. Why? Because we take the profits from the gas station (which alot of Uber/Lyft drivers use. Thank you, Goobers) and use it to cover our operating costs. That gives us anywhere from 4 to 6 months of FREE operating costs.

So please tell us again how much you don't know about the taxi industry. ;-)

When was the last time your operating cost for driving Goober was zero.


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## Homelesshenry (May 2, 2017)

Well written and thought out post. Good luck to you sir.


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## Chris1973 (Oct 9, 2017)

phillipzx3 said:


> Because not all cab companies are the same, I think it's YOU who should stop talking out of your ass. Ever hear of a taxi co-op? Driver owned and driver operated. In our case, we even own our gas station. At around June or July, our operating costs drop next to zero. Why? Because we take the profits from the gas station (which alot of Uber/Lyft drivers use. Thank you, Goobers) and use it to cover our operating costs. That gives us anywhere from 4 to 6 months of FREE operating costs.
> 
> So please tell us again how much you don't know about the taxi industry. ;-)
> 
> When was the last time your operating cost for driving Goober was zero.


Never heard of a taxi co-op. Sounds good! Employee owned companies and unions that are not corrupt sound awesome too, but they are few and far in between, and are an exception to the rule, not the norm.

Keep in mind UP has a worldwide audience, so personal anecdotes that only apply to folks in the single digits really aren't all that helpful.


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