Driving For Uber Or Lyft, A Possibility For Seniors?

Discussion in 'Senior Employment' started by Yvonne Smith, Mar 13, 2018.

  1. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    My daughter has been telling me about using the Uber or Lyft services when she travels instead of having to rent a car unless she needs to do a lot of driving. She said that it looks to her like it might be an interesting way to make some extra money, and after she showed me how it works, I think that it is something that I might like doing.
    I think that it could be a good part or fulltime job for a senior who likes people and likes to drive. The way it works is that when a person requests an Uber driver, Uber sends out a notice that shows where the passenger is at and where they want to go. The driver can then make the decision of whether to take that job or not, and if they choose to do it, then they respond to Uber and let them know that they will pick up the passenger.
    The passenger then sees a little map that shows where the Uber driver is coming from and shows his progress as he drives to your location. The app also has a picture of the driver and description of the vehicle that he is driving.
    You use your credit card to pay for the ride, so you always know how much you will be charged before you ever get in the Uber vehicle, and the driver is motivated to get you there as fast as possible, which some taxi drivers are not motivated to do.

    To be an Uber/Lyft driver, you must pass license requirements and background check, and your vehicle must also meet requirements and be a later model car, depending on the area where you live. In Huntsville, the earliest year you can use is 2008; but outside of Huntsville (or Birmingham) you can drive one as old as a 2002.
    Since you only take the jobs you want to take, you can drive as little or as much as you want, and can stay in areas where you feel comfortable driving. If you do not want to drive in traffic or at night, you do not have to take any jobs during those times.

    If we had a vehicle that was new enough to drive for Uber or Lyft, I think that I would like doing this. I could take short daytime jobs that were nearby, and make a little extra money. It seems to me that this is something that could work really well for seniors who want some extra income and not to be tied down to a regular job.
    When Robin and I went to Seattle , we took Lyft from the hotel back out to the airport to come back home, and I was able to see first hand how well it worked. I don’t think that our driver even knew very much English, but he was a good driver and knew his way around and was comfortable driving in Seattle traffic.
    I was impressed.
     
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  2. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    We use Uber all the time when we're in Washington, DC or Virginia. Typically, our drivers will tell us that they are financing their car by driving for Uber. Most of them drive part-time, but some have told us that it was a full-time job for them.
     
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  3. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    We're having a lot of trouble with Uber drivers in this country. In many cities and towns Uber have had their licence revoked for various illegal practices.. both from the company and their drivers..
     
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  4. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    It's probably happening everywhere just not in the news, yet.
     
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  5. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Since there are so many people who drive for Uber and Lyft, it would make sense that more of them would get the position; and not be qualified for doing it; but it looks to me like they are being pretty strict about who can drive for them, and the restrictions will probably increase until they are getting only good drivers.
    My daughter, Robin, has thought about doing this part time on the weekends, and one of the things that makes it attractive to a lot of people is probably the independence that you have when you drive for one of these companies. It is not like becoming a taxi cab driver where you have to take whatever calls come in, or have to work set hours. You just drive when you want to take a request, so some people would be doing this full time, and other people would just be making a little extra spending money, or making their car payments this way.
    There is a rating given for each driver after every trip they make, so you can report anything good or bad that happened when you were taking an Uber, and then if you want to leave them a tip, you do that from the app as well, so no money ever changes hands between the passenger and the driver.
    This in itself, should make it safer for drivers, because they are not likely to be robbed since they are not carrying money.
     
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  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Pretty much all of our experiences with Uber have been pleasant, and none have been unpleasant. Keep in mind that Uber has stepped on some toes when they came out with a model to allow regular people to compete with the taxi industry so there are people, particularly in the media, who will jump on any negative publicity they can find.

    One of our Uber drivers worked at the Pentagon so he cut past some heavy traffic by going through the Pentagon parking lot at closing time. On his phone display, he can see where other on-duty Uber drivers are in the area, and you could see drivers going on duty throughout the parking lot, as they got off duty at the Pentagon. He said that a lot of the people at the Pentagon drove for Uber, and some of the same ones also drive for Lyft. When they get off from their job at the Pentagon, they do Uber for a couple of hours before going home.
     
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  7. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    Yeah, why should there be a semi-monopoly with the taxi service.

    I've seen a lot of independent transportation services available in the city here. Plenty of people need it when they don't or can't drive for whatever the reason. Having to wait on a taxi is a pain.
     
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  8. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    For those who are people persons and really like to drive...I think this would be a good way to make some extra money. :)
     
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  9. Sam Calabria

    Sam Calabria Well-Known Member
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    If you use your own vehicle, almost all your profit is going to go into gas, car repair and depreciation. If you do the math, you wind up making minimum wage at best. I drove back in the 80s. Not Uber, obviously, but plenty similar enough. Definitely not worth it.


    Uber drivers often make below minimum wage, report finds

    Some drivers end up losing money after insurance, maintenance and other costs, according to study raising concerns over labor standards

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/01/uber-lyft-driver-wages-median-report
     
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  10. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I could see doing it in an urban area where not only are you driving relatively short distances, but your next client is likely pretty close to your last drop-off, similar to a taxi cab in NYC.

    -DC has a population density of 12,000/mi²
    -Counties surrounding DC have a population density of 9,000/mi²
    -Virginia's state capitol has a population density of 3,800/mi²
    -My rural county has a population density of 75/mi²
    -Other counties in Virginia have population densities of 5/mi² and less

    Businesses/retail densities (likely UBER destinations) mirror the densities of their regions.

    One would think that those in the urban areas could certainly charge much more to that population than they could in rural areas, while their direct costs (car payment, gas, insurance) would not be much higher, if at all. The economics/profitability are highly regional.

    That being said, I gotta admire this thread's position that the demographic others are trying to get off of the road should actually be out there driving more frequently, carting others around as a vocation. ;)
     
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  11. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    That's not what Uber drivers tell us. I'm not the talkative one, but my wife strikes up a conversation with pretty much everyone she meets and Uber drivers have told us they were able to make their payments on new cars that they couldn't otherwise afford by driving only a couple of hours a day, and others have said they've been driving full-time for years. One of them drove for a taxi service and did Uber during his off hours. Pretty much all of them have said they could never afford the car they have without Uber.

    On our side, our experiences with Uber have always been good. We've only used the service in the District of Columbia area, but they have always arrived promptly, the cars were in very good shape, and nearly all of the drivers have been friendly. None were unfriendly, although one wasn't very interested in talking. I can identify with that.
     
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    Last edited: Jul 8, 2023
  12. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    Wellllllll,
    Alls I know is that I could never be an Uber driver.
    First my smart phone is unreliable. Second I have road rage and can't keep my mouth shut. And third I would have to clean my car more than twice a year.:rolleyes:
     
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  13. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    My oldest daughter drives for Uber between jobs and even part time on occasion. IT can be a decent job, but you must be picky as to where you will go and when. She will not drive at night or in high crime areas. Robbery um not a big issue compared to sexual assault .
    She also has the 360 app, so any of us know where she is when driving for people.
     
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  14. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    If you live in an area where there are enough Uber or Lyft riders to make it worthwhile, I don't see why it wouldn't be a viable option for seniors wanting to make some money.
     
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  15. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    My DIL has started working part time for Uber Eats, which is similar, except that she delivers food instead of taking people someplace. She woks her own hours, and takes the deliveries that she wants, and she said that she can make around $100 a day here in Huntsville, and she said some of the drivers make a lot more than that with the food delivery.
    One of the problems would be delivering to apartments with stairs, at least for a lot of seniors. She said you take the foos right to the door oof the house or apartment; so she does have to climb stairs sometimes.
    With the regular Uber or Lyft, the driver mainly stays right with the vehicle, so that wold not be an issue.

    We have Walmart+ deliver our groceries; but Bobby goes down the driveway and meets the drivers at the road and picks up our groceries and carries them in.
     
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