Driving for Uber, Is it Worth it or Worth getting hurt? (Calabasas: car insurance, crime)

[bronypride]

For those who drive Uber, is it worth it? Do you make a lot of money? Like 100 a day or 300 a week? News reports have been reporting on crazy Uber drivers, some drivers getting stabbed, shot, etc. I asked my parents if I could drive for Uber, but they don't think it is a good idea. What do you think?

[TurcoLoco]

I heard from a co-worker who did it couple of years back. He claimed to be making $1000+ on the weekends alone. Another discharged marine guy I know claimed to be making "sweet" money, again on the weekends but both were capable guys and doing it on the weekends and working the ritz areas.

If you are thinking about doing this in not-so-desirable areas just because it is close to where you live, might not be that lucrative. Also, for a female or a smallish, girl guy, I'd say the chance of a problem increases quite a bit since you are likely to be picking up bunch of drunk and/or disorderly characters on weekend evenings.

Also, I am hearing, much like eBay, Uber's gotten greedier, taking a bigger chunk and paying less to drivers than before.

[adr3naline]

I know a handful of people driving for Uber/Lyft to make extra cash. Most of them are small women, believe it or not. Those women say they have some weird encounters and a healthy dosage of being hit on, but haven't had a run-in with trouble. Yet, at least.

Both Uber and Lyft prohibit drivers/riders from carrying weapons. So drivers have little to defend themselves from the inevitable troublemakers. Just something to consider.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

I know a handful of people driving for Uber/Lyft to make extra cash. Most of them are small women, believe it or not. Those women say they have some weird encounters and a healthy dosage of being hit on, but haven't had a run-in with trouble. Yet, at least.

Both Uber and Lyft prohibit drivers/riders from carrying weapons. So drivers have little to defend themselves from the inevitable troublemakers. Just something to consider.

Yet, being the key word.

I wouldn't do it. I know someone who was doing it and he is a big guy, not the type of person you would want to mess with. Well he had a young woman who started hitting him in the back of the head(yes she was drunk) while they were driving on the freeway no less. He stopped being an Uber driver.

How about the wear and tear on your car? Get a server job on the weekends.

And no one seems to have a clear answer on how it impact your car insurance, I don't see how you can use your car for a taxi cab, you get in an accident and if your insurance company hasn't been made aware you're doing this(and raising your rates), how they will cover you? I don't believe they have to.

[Pennychaser11]

I tried driving for Lyft for two days. Not worth it at all. I mean if you have no other income I may think about it as a short term solution. If you're a FT student and need some extra cash you may do it part time but not as a primary source of income. I've heard when Uber was new, drivers were making a lot of money but not anymore. Too many drivers and too many rate cuts don't justify working for them.

[Big-Bucks]

I know someone who is an Uber driver in LA. He's ALWAYS complaining about how he barely makes enough to get by. He often complains about how the Uber market has become glutted with too many other drivers. And Uber just keeps advertising for more drivers.

He also rents a nice Lincoln Towncar -- doesn't own his own car. The only reason he keeps doing it is because he gets fired from every job he gets.

I think the deal with Uber is that you want to be the guy who owns a fleet of cars and hires drivers to work for you.

[Dunbar42]

At the current rates it's very hard to make money. A few years ago the rates were considerably higher so it was easier to make money. Also, Uber takes 25% from new drivers when they only previously took 20%. If you do it as a side gig on the weekends you can make some decent cash on the side if you work the peak hours.

[nightlysparrow]

Why not just work from low-crime neighborhoods? If you could beat the Roadrunner Shuttle rates to LAX from them, you'd make bank. Example: Calabasas to LAX is $51.00 on RR van, $130.00 for cheapest town car.

[SpaceMonkyPunks]

Originally Posted by Big-Bucks

He also rents a nice Lincoln Towncar -- doesn't own his own car.

Is he skirting the rules? Last I heard that was strictly not allowed.

OP, was also going to mention the high cost of car maintenance makes it not worth it, IMO. You have to own your vehicle, it can't be too old or "junky", and you have to pay for all of the maintenance and wear and tear.

[Lockdev]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

I know a handful of people driving for Uber/Lyft to make extra cash. Most of them are small women, believe it or not. Those women say they have some weird encounters and a healthy dosage of being hit on, but haven't had a run-in with trouble. Yet, at least.

Both Uber and Lyft prohibit drivers/riders from carrying weapons. So drivers have little to defend themselves from the inevitable troublemakers. Just something to consider.

In areas where they are legal to carry, I'm pretty sure that a lot of them carry concealed. They'd be stupid not to, "policy" or not.