Uber driving?

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Alex79
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Uber driving?

Post by Alex79 »

Hey, bit random I know, but I wondered if anyone here had any experience or knows anyone who's been an Uber driver before? Thinking about looking in to it to make a few extra quid, I've been driving 20 years and have a clean license, just wondered if anyone has ever done it and if they'd recommend it as a fairly straightforward way of making some money on the side?

Thanks!
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Stanshall
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Re: Uber driving?

Post by Stanshall »

I know a guy (wife's mate's fella) who's moved over to Uber after a good ten years working for a firm. You get better at learning when and where to work to get the best return on your time, he said, but you also have a lot of freedom to fit around your own commitments, family, etc. We live in a pretty rural area where there are only a handful of Uber drivers and a ride into town is a decent earner, and he'll then work there for the night before aiming to get a fare back near home. On the flipside, few people round here use Uber because there aren't many drivers so sometimes he has to drive a few miles out to sit in a better catchment area.

I understand that the main difficulty is the cost of car insurance and maintenance. I understand that you would also need to be driving a saloon car. I've commented a few times that Uber drivers seem to have really clean and smart cars and I understand that it's common for drivers to hire the car.

I've thought about it myself in the past but I do think it requires a bit of a commitment/investment to make it financially worthwhile. I don't mean to put you off, this fella seems much happier than at the firm. Good luck with it.
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Alex79
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Re: Uber driving?

Post by Alex79 »

Oh yeah I didn't even think about the fact I'd need some sort of different insurance. Yeah, seems like there might be a bit of a financial outlay to get going then. It was the convenience of doing it whenever I had a spare evening or afternoon that appealed, but yeah maybe not then! Cheers for the reply :)
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Alex79
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Re: Uber driving?

Post by Alex79 »

Jeepers! Had a look, and Private hire vehicle insurance is costing people anything between 2 and 5 grand per year. For reference I'm currently paying £226. :lol:
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Stanshall
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Re: Uber driving?

Post by Stanshall »

Yeah, sorry to hear that but it's what I suspected. I think this guy is paying nearly three grand but he's used to it, kind of thing. In a similar ballpark, he also did food delivery stuff for a while when he first quit the old job. Seems more suitable for a couple of evenings here and there and guaranteed pay compared to the taxis. Also probably local work and fairly fixed hours. I think Domino's and that are generally looking for full time drivers but he worked for a local pizza place and told them when he was available and they stuck him in the rota.
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Flabyo
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Re: Uber driving?

Post by Flabyo »

The higher insurance is because at some point someone will vomit in your car and you won’t be able to work until you’ve deep cleaned it.
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raisinbman
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Re: Uber driving?

Post by raisinbman »

I did courier services for a while(in this instance you'd probably looking at Uber Eats) because I don't want people in my car, and that was BEFORE the pandemic.

I would also hesitate to drive without a camera because of nefarious minded people who will accuse you of things. Saw a headline about it once.

The courier services and things like Uber are getting pretty cannibalistic, I know uber isn't even looking at the taxi business to proft, but self-driving cars.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, sure, if you have to, but my dad makes it sound like everywhere else, comparable to retail hell stints.

As others have mentioned, the big get in Uber's eyes is you're a contractor, and the risk is on YOU in terms of insurance, etc. That's the gig economy for ya.
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