What do you guys think of Uber's threat to leave Houston

Growing up it was always ass, gas, or grass.

 

But will they make it that long burning through so much cash? Truly driverless cars aren't right around the corner in my opinion.

 

They don't advertise for riders because there is already more demand than they can meet, which is why they're currently advertising for drivers. And if you're a driver the last thing you should want is for them to limit the number of drivers because that will have a direct impact on the demand for the service. The problem with Uber right now is that they have no control over the working hours of their partners and most them do not want to work during the slow hours when rides are still very much needed.

If you limit the number of drivers then they will only work during the prime hours and turn their phone off before the 2 am surge has time to hit. This leaves many people without transportation which is bad for the city of Houston because many of the cab companies are already super unreliable or won't accept rides from the suburbs.

 

right, the worst kind of job. fare is cheap and 40% goes to Uber while driver who pays for gas and mileage gets 60%.

 

Funny.

 

Rideshare or ride rideshare?

 

Just curious. Do you or have you driven for UBER? Because this response leads me to believe you have not.

 

I'm pretty sure there are MUCH worse jobs out there than driving around at your leisure and being paid for it where you get to work when and if you feel like it. I don't think anyone could expect to make a ton of money being a discount cap driver without all the BS that goes into being a real cab driver.

 

"I'm all about local control until they do something that I don't agree with."

This is the siren song of our current State Legislature. I hope you're cool with the rest of their plans, although I doubt you know what they are.

 

No, but I have been using the rider app for several years now. I even have a driver that I've met through Uber whom I recently began doing direct business with so they don't have to pay the 25% or 28% commission on the fare. One of the reasons why I like to use this driver so much is because I know he will always answer his phone and be available, even if its 4 AM on a week night. Even If he can't make the trip he will find someone who can and send them my way.

Why do I do this? Well, because lately Uber has been super unreliable when it comes to finding rides after midnight where I live (Spring, Woodlands area). On some nights you can't even find an uber black or uber select available. It used to be nearly automatic about 2 years ago and I never had any problem finding rides even at late hours. It's only within the last year that it's grown increasingly difficult and I've heard the same news from a lot of the people I go out with.

The demand is there for trips, especially at 2 am when the bars and clubs are closing but for whatever reason that demand isn't being met which means Uber needs to increase the number of drivers.

 

I'm a bear on Uber personally, this is a good article explaining both sides:

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/growth-vs-profits-ubers-cash-burn-dilemma/

I think Uber will run at of cash (investor confidence) sooner than it can turn a profit. Amazon certainly was successful putting growth over profits, but I think what would make Uber profitable (self driving cars) is further away than people think.

 

Good article, and frankly I'm amazed Uber even offers services in places like Russia and China where they're likely losing a **** ton of money. It would seem to me like they should focus more of their efforts on improving their services in the markets where they actually stand to profit more and ditch the ones that are not business friendly, maybe revisit them if once they change their policy.

 

Hey thanks for the perspective!

(Warning: Long rant...proceed with caution. )

I've been driving for about 7 months now in a smaller city not in Texas. It is a new service here so I speak from the experience of a driver in this particular circumstance but can also point to many other drivers throughout the country who I have seen blogging or sharing similar experiences in their own markets.

With that being said, let me address you on some particulars.

First, whether UBER needs drivers in a particular location or not, they hire drivers. It is their business model. They. never. stop. hiring.

Ever.

There could be literally hundreds of drivers in a small city of 100,000 residents...they keep hiring. Period.

Drivers get fewer rides. ~ What does this do to drivers? Over time, it decreases their pay. It is a mathematical certainty. Now yes, UBER hires because the churn is high among drivers but think about it...if you saw your pay decreasing steadily over time for the same number of hours worked, you might also want to work less too. In other words, hiring drivers without regard to the effect this has on current drivers helps create the supply/demand issue you are talking about. Hiring drivers like they do pushes out the existing drivers who are fed up. In short, UBER helps to create their own driver supply issues. Of course if UBER advertised for riders, perhaps drivers wouldn't feel the pay hit as harshly. But they don't.

Drivers make less per ride. ~ UBER in its attempts to win the market share battle with cab companies and rideshare competitors like Lyft, Fasten, and others has entered into a price war. Lowering rates and introducing low cost options like UBER Pool may seem like great ideas to consumers ( who doesn't like lower prices?) BUT also actually helps lead many drivers to give up driving. Remember, drivers bear the full brunt of the costs associated with driving. Fuel, upkeep, car washes, maintenance, rideshare insurance, registration, car payments, vehicle depreciation, bottled water and other expenses rarely go down and often times go up over time. With shrinking margins to be made, UBER pushes many drivers out of the market in this manner as well. I figured out I make about .66 cents (gross) per mile driven. Once my expenses are factored in, Its not lucrative in any sense.

Drivers make even less per ride. ~ UBER takes the highest % of fares of all its rideshare competitors...25%. In addition to this, UBER also charges fees associated with the riders final cost but which drivers never see any part of. In reality, the driver only sees about 65% of the fare you pay. (By the way, UBER only 1 year ago was taking 20% of the fare (not counting fees) and was very selective in which drivers were grandfathered into that %. Most--like me--didn't get the better % despite being signed up for over 2 years waiting for them to start service in my area.)

Drivers rarely are tipped. ~ UBER frowns on tipping. Their stated reason for this is "cost certainty" to their riders and "convenience". While their is some truth to those arguments, the real reason for UBER to downplay tipping is simply this. They don't get a cut of any tip. And because tipping drives up the cost of the overall fare to the rider AND UBER itself gets no benefit...they created the "no tipping" model. Essentially, they discourage tipping in order to create more rides for their company but do so at a cost to every one of their drivers. Another thing that angers drivers...and...encourages driver turnover.

Drivers are supposed to be "Partners". They aren't. ~ UBER customer service is awful. Like really, really, really bad. For riders and drivers alike. I am so fed up with it in fact, I do not attempt to use it under any circumstances anymore. At best, you get canned responses. At worst, you get ignored.

RE: Your "personal" driver. I have mixed feelings about that from a driver perspective. On the one hand, I get why you and your driver do it. Both of you benefit from cutting UBER out and since I think UBER is doing a rather poor job with its driver "partners" in one sense, it's almost like they deserve to be cut out. On the other hand, to drive for UBER, you make a promise not to do that. And if UBER finds out, they will cut you off immediately and no more UBER driving. I like to stand by my word, and will not break my it even to make more money. Moreover it doesn't feel right in that cutting "side deals" is unfair to my driver brethren who do follow the rules and would like that ride too. I guess I'm old fashioned.

RE: Late night rides. I get it...we all want to know we can get a safe, quick, cheap ride home late at night most of all...especially if you plan on consuming adult beverages.

Having said that, it's not surprising in the least it's hard to find drivers in Houston at that late hour. Given the facts above I've already stated, most full time drivers have given up on UBER. Its simply not profitable for them. For part time drivers, they have other jobs and have to sleep. So they don't drive much late night either. Factor in the obnoxious drunks, the puking kids, the begging to go through the drive through and the mess they make, not to mention the simple safety factor its no wonder it's hard to find a ride. What does UBER do about this though? You would think they would offer incentives to drivers to work those hours. But....they don't. And so the supply/demand issue you speak of occurs.

TL;DR ~ UBER's driver supply issue is one of their own making due to greed, incompetence, and a poor business model that long term is not sustainable. Of course, they don't plan on it being sustainable because of their strategic plan to move to driverless vehicles. Given the recent news they are being sued for stealing from Google's parent company that long term plan is also in jeopardy.

 

I'm in Austin and took fasten. I sucked and was like a cab. The car was dirty and smelled like smoke and the driver was very slow.

RideAustin is like an Uber copy and was better.

 

It sounds like Uber doesn't care about the drivers, but Uber keeps hiring drivers who don't know any better, thus they aren't incentivized to care about their drivers. The consumer wants cheap rides. Seems great to me. If you're smart enough to realize it isn't a good investment to drive for Uber just don't do it.

 

Well, for as many drivers as you seem to think they're hiring it would seem that none of them want to work during non peak hours. At least this has been the case in my area lately.

I do agree that the business model needs to be adjusted to perhaps incentivize drivers to work later and so that riders can be allowed to leave a tip for the driver through the app when they rate the driver.

My point earlier was that the reliability of finding a ride is pretty key for most riders. If we constantly find it difficult to find transportation through Uber then we start using other services which only hurts drivers like yourself even more. I think Uber notices these kinds of trends when demand isn't being met at certain hours and in certain areas which only encourages them to keep adding more drivers to the network. I understand your point about not wanting to work late because you have to deal with drunks, kids, drive thru (lol), mess, etc but that's kind of what you signed up for when you decided to become a transportation provider. Taxi drivers have to work around the clock most of the time and have been doing it for years.

 

Mostly correct. A couple of caveats.

-Many, many "partners" have indeed stopped driving UBER.
-Uber advertises "partners" can make up to $35 an hour driving. There are VERY few places this can happen and even in these places, very rarely.
-Driving for Uber requires spending money up front in the form of vehicle inspections and extra ride share insurance.
-In cities where Uber is new people have left jobs to become a "partner" unaware of Uber's policy of flooding the area with more "partners" and because of misleading advertising of earning potential.
-Some "partners" entered into leasing agreements for Vehicles to drive based partly on Uber's misleading claims of income potential.
-Uber changes the rates they charge riders (generally lower) with no consultation or warning to their "Partners".

So unfortunately, in some cases its not as easy as "just don't do it".

 

I find your perspective interesting. I rarely hear complaints from my riders in my area that UBER isn't available for them when needed. I WISH THAT WAS THE CASE FOR ME! I would be driving as we speak and not writing this post.

Obviously, different markets (and different amounts of time the market has been in existence) have different supply/demand issues. My point in replying was to give you a drivers perspective on why you might be finding it difficult to get drivers. Essentially, what it comes down to is it's not worth the time for drivers in your area for the reasons I listed earlier. It is ultimately up to UBER to equalize the supply/demand equation to keep both riders and partners satisfied. In essence, partners are just as much a customer as a rider is. UBER so far chosen the "quantity" over "quality" mass hiring approach. Is it working? My guess is based upon both your frustrations and mine with UBER...they have some work to do.

 

Cab companies also use the quantity over quality approach, so this is nothing new. Since you're an independent contractor its basically up to you to decide how to work and where to work. Cab drivers have to hustle to make out good for a week and such is the same for Uber drivers. It's not a 9 to 5 type job and I think most people who are new to it have the mindset that they can work when they want and still make good money which causes them to drop out after the first few weeks, or they just do it part-time.

I feel for you, though. But, like I said in my first post on this topic, if you're smart you will try to find customers through Uber and get them to start using you outside of the network to avoid the shitty commission they take out of it. If you get enough customers like this then you can build your business off of them and only use Uber to supplement the rest. This is probably why Uber will continuously add more drivers because I imagine there are a lot of people doing exactly this.

 

I worked for Uber part time when they first came to San Diego about 5 years ago. When I was hired, (when they actually interviewed people), I was told I'd get 90%. When I was paid, I found out I only got 80%. The rates were fairly high then, so you could actually make a little bit of money. About 5 or 6 weeks later, they cut the rated by 37%, which meant my pay was cut by 37%. Shortly thereafter, they reduced the rates by another 10%, which cut my pay by another 10%. Meanwhile, they were advertising the tip was included for the drivers. There was no top included for the drivers. None. Not once. Not a penny. I haven't read much of this thread, but my advice is, unless you are desperate for very short term cash flow, don't waste a second of your life considering working as a driver for uber. If you use the service, tip the driver, because they aren't making crap after mileage, maintenance, and depreciation. Additionally, based on what I've read recently, their corporate offices are horrendous work environments for women where sexual harassment complaints are frequently ignored. The company provides a nice service for the customers, but is absolutely terrible to it's employees. If there are no other options, I will use Uber, but otherwise, I give my money to someone else when I need a ride. Screw those a$$holes.