Driver Safety By Amanda

 

Driving for UberX, I removed my personal valuables such as engagement ring, wore nothing loose around my neck like scarf, tie or necklace, did not carry my handbag but I got a new smaller wallet for driving that I could secure on my person. They don’t teach you that at induction.

 

____________________________________

 

'Uber TOO RISKY, Pay is STILL TERRIBLE so I'm OUT!' By NotXcited from Melbourne, on uberpeople.net 

 

I am a 45yo Australian male, self employed for over 20years (but lately not been going so well), a wife that works part time and 3 children aged between 11 & 15, living in outer eastern Melbourne. Prior was ADF.

 

I was attracted to Uber mainly by the flexibility so I could still carry on in my business when I got some much needed work. I am fortunate enough to have taken my very nice late model vehicle out on the road to do Uber.

 

Riders in almost every ride commented on my vehicle, adding similar comments in my reviews along with my service and personality etc. I had the occasional rude, obnoxious, vulgar or intoxicated rider however all in all I found riders to be very pleasant and it was my pleasure to get them safely and promptly to their desired destination.

 

I'd have to say that overall, Uber Riders are ok. In most instances they are tech savvy, professional, educated and intelligent people. Culturally mixed which is wonderful, generally chatty with a gender ratio of close to 50/50, aged mostly between 22 to 55. Most of whom I might add have a far greater disposable income than myself.

 

I like many of you, understood from my single face to face 15min meeting with Uber (Richmond, Melb.) was of the very firm belief that "should my vehicle, my riders, myself and other property and people would be well protected by Uber should my own insurer not come to the party". I also was of the understanding that UBER VALUED ITS UBER PARTNERS (drivers) with the potential to generate a good return for the driver being Uber's equal top priority to providing the rider a clean, safe, reliable and affordable service.

 

But how wrong was this impression and verbal surety! Uber are worse than our politicians.........and that's saying something! They dabble around the questions posed to them via email, never giving a direct and firm response about ANYTHING.

 

They continually rip drivers off with price decreases, despite the so called 10% increase today (which is not 10% but rather a smoke screen), they can not and will not assure drivers in writing about their insurance back up policy and from what I have read and researched 'the driver is on his/her own if an accident unfortunately occurs', the minimum trip rate of $6 is SLAVE LABOR while the base/time/km rate is too low to make even a humble profit.

 

The surge is also another contentious issue that I question with its authenticity of operation. In other words 'I think it is dodgy'! Uber seems to be signing up more and more drivers at a RAPID rate, many of whom are dirty, smelly with not such nice vehicles and speaking limited english. The very driver the riders are trying to avoid by not using the accredited taxi service.

 

It boggles me that Uber are doing such a thing as it seems to contradict Uber's own goals. Alas, it is only money that Uber has in its vision, not riders, drivers or a superior rideshare service.I do expect in times to come that Uber won't survive, being a short lived craze, especially here in Australia it seems.

It can't survive if it continues down this path as the tech savvy, professional, educated and intelligent people will turn away.

 

IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING DRIVING FOR UBER then by all means give it a go. I did and I enjoyed 98% of it. Great meeting other people and great driving here and there BUT I wanted to, and needed to MAKE SOME MONEY. I've done my time, done the sums, done Q&A and done my own research AND NOW I AM DONE WITH UBER. The $$ and the risks are just not worth it for me.

 

To conclude, Uber won't change but they should increase fares by at least another 20-25% on top of todays so called 10% increase. There are a few good , smart people on this forum such as SDA who are trying, working and campaigning hard to see that Uber looks after its drivers. If you're going to continue to Uber then support these people and stick with them.

 

The introduction of GST is a pain and a costly administrative process for the driver but drivers must obey tax laws. It would be so much easier and cheaper for the driver if Uber did charge and collect the GST but they won't so drivers must. The ATO is correct in applying the GST to the full fare before commissions and other fees are paid. That is how it works.

 

Uber benefits more and they know that so they will never 'really' dispute it on the drivers behalf. Uber is just another o/s company avoiding paying tax in Australia because they can and don't care about Australia.

 

Remember though, that you only need to tender a tax receipt to a rider that incurs a trip over $82.50, and even then you only have to provide if they ask you for one. So carry a small receipt/tax book and include your ABN and keep a copy for your quarterly BAS lodgements.

 

I'll stick around on this forum for a few days or so but until then IF YOU'RE GOING TO DRIVE BE CAREFUL, THE RISK IS HUGE ! Oh, the MONEY, IS NOT ENOUGH TO GET Xcited ABOUT. Good Luck.

 

____________________________________

 

 

 

'Finish with Uber' By GermanGuy from Brisbane, on uberpeople.net

 

 

Hello,

last weekend were my last days for this pretentious company. I quit for the obvious reason after 2 long month. 

I gave back my device in the Hendra office, and I tried to play cool. But as I waited and I saw that 5 people sat there and waited for their info session and this boyish Uber prick asked me why I stopped driving for them. I said to myself "at least give a warning to these poor bastards".

 

So I started ranting on Uber loudly. The Uber boys just looked down ashamed to their laptops. And the Uber girl came out of her office. Was really funny to see their faces. I also told them to get on this forum and dont take the Uber lies for granted. That they take advantage from desperate people including me.

My conclusion for Uber driving:

 

Too risky, not enough money. 90% good and funny customers and 10% trash. My ratings dropped in the last weeks, because I started to told the truth to everyone who asked me about Uber.

But the best joke came from one of Uber boy: "There are 2000 happy Uber driver in QLD." Still laughing about this one. By

My hope is that at least I could make some people rethink their attitude to Uber.

Thanks for all the support from this site [uberpeople.net]

 

 

____________________________________

 

 

'Risks of being an Uber X driver in NSW' By Hostertully From Sydney, on uberpeople.net

 

 

I'm a relatively new driver (1 month in).

Whats dawned on me over that time is that my Uber X activities are opening me up to a huge amount of risk.

2 main risks that I want squared away are:

* "Ridesharing" to be legally recognised. RMS in no uncertain terms deems Uber X to be illegal under the current laws. No doubt this will take some time for new laws to come in. Uber are playing a 'pugnacious' game out here, and a part of me commends them, as the current laws will not change without an agitator like Uber shaking the tree. I wish Uber good luck with that. Until then, despite what Uber told me at my onboarding session ("Uber is not illegal, it operates in a grey area of the law.. etc"), I deem my Uber X activities to be in contravention of the current laws. Couple this with the RMS coming out and saying they'll ramp up enforcement activities against 'ridesharing' drivers, makes it highly risky. Sure Uber have been covering fines etc, but I don't need to be sweating over Uber's discretion on whether they'll back me or not, if I end up getting caught in a sting. Nor have my photo posted all over SMH..

* Insurance. Uber X asks for a certificate of insurance to be presented before becoming a driver. Mine is a personal comp. insurance, which CLEARLY does not cover my Uber X activities. I've not declared this to my insurer. Yeah I know I'm obliged to. Essentially I'm not covered, and will need commercial insurance, and probably public liability insurance.

Wouldn't it be great if there was an insurance product developed specifically for part time Uber X drivers? Where drivers could nominate the time and days they want to be covered for Uber X activities, and could be an add on insurance to sit along side personal Comprehensive insurance?
I hope there's an enterprising underwriter working on this right now.... Could be huge.

But anyway, I am probably going to sit out Uber X until the laws change in favour of it.

Which is a damn shame because I did enjoy the work itself. Met some cool people, was a fly on the wall, saw bits of Sydney I've never been to, and got to learn Sydney streets a little better..

Pay wise, you won't make $30/hr NETT. In my case it was about $11/hr NETT due to my tax bracket. I'd still do it for that pay if the service I was providing was legal, and not just legal according to Uber.

And I'd still do it even if I had to do a BAS and remit GST to the taxman.

I am sad I have to give it up, and about 20% of me still wants to continue. But rationally thinking, giving Uber X a pause is the sensible thing to do, until my 2 main risk items are cleared away. As soon as that happens, I'll be back terrorising the streets with my 5 star service with all the free mints and bottled waters I can muster.

 

 

More good advice for new drivers on this forum at uberpeople.net