LUED

Where do you live? In central London, or on the coast - if the latter, then the mileage seems right! However, you could just drop passenger, and wait a while in case another job comes up nearby, instead of moving about. You could also use the set destination to home near the end of your shift.

Addison Lee, Creative Cars, Brunel, etc. However smaller companies, some are one-man band operations, tend to offer better rates because they have long-term regular clients who are willing to pay for a more personal service, though they require trusted decent drivers, and often need to you need to be introduced, and have relevant (advanced) driving/security qualifications.

Need own work and/or work for other exec companies, if you have an exec car, as it's not worthwhile to use it on Uber as you have to take X work as well.

Could be to do with the new change in the price structure for Operator licensing. When, or if it's implemented, TfL will charge Uber £14 per year for each driver, which undoubtedly would be passed onto the driver.

Profit after your costs matter, rather than your turnover. Going by your example, of £15-£18/hour for X, and £20/hour for Exec, I'm sure there's more than £2-£5/hour difference in running a £4,000 8-year old Prius on X, than a brand new £40,000 Mercedes E-class on Exec.

I notice you mentioned Ford Galaxy in your post, as a comparison, which is accepted on UberXL. Just bear in mind, even though the Vauxhall Zafira is a 7-seater, it is not accepted on UberXL, only for UberX (at least in London). https://www.uber.com/en-GB/drive/london/vehicle-requirements/

Certainly designed to keep the competition out. Those medium sized cab offices, will therefore be restricted to 100 cars, and can only accept so many jobs. Bearing in mind that even though though got 100 cars, not all of them will be on the road at the same time - various shifts, drivers on holiday, days off, vehicle problems, etc. So possibly may be about 30 to 40 cars out on the road at any one time? There might be an upturn in the number of the smallest operator licences being applied for one-man band operations, as these companies will turn to these as sub-contractors to pass on any extra work onto, as the booking can then be transferred directly to them, without having to add those with an operating licence as a driver under their own licence.

Unlikely as there's still a distinction in London, with many PH firms having different rates for E and S Class - as it should be as there's a big difference in running costs. However, in the U.S., many markets have UberBlack, under which both E and S-Classes and their equivalents from other brands, fall under.

Maybe. Earnings are irrelevant though, it's the amount of profit you make, which mattters. Going by your figures, I'd reckon it would cost more than £40 extra a day to run a brand new £70,000 LWB Lux car, compared to a 8 year old Prius (I know these are the extreme ends of the scale, but it's perfectly possible). Therefore, an experienced X driver who knows where the work and knows their way around London, will earn more in their 8 year old Prius (who paid cash outright for their car), than the new Lux driver, who has just entered the trade, financed to the hilt, with £1k monthly leasing payments. Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity.

Get stickers on eBay.

Exec passengers don't tend to be chatty at all not even 9 out of 10. Even when I take an Uber I don't tend to chat anyway, I just want to get home!

Most passengers I collect, don't talk. They're usually on their phone, or on their laptop, or talking to their companion, if they've got one. They may just want a silent ride, may not like chit chat, etc. I prefer it that way anyway, better to concentrate on your driving instead. Also if the conversation turns religious and/or political, you'll have to try and remain neutral, whatever your views are, otherwise it won't be professional.

Uber will just respond by cutting prices. Passenger's will just to go whatever's cheapest, and better availability of cars. They may use Taxify when Uber's surges, to get a cheaper ride though, or if the Uber app doesn't work. A few app-based firms have come and gone, such as Drivr and Bounce. Wheely are still around, but I hear drivers are complaining of too much dead mileage, and impossible pick up times.

It's always going to be expensive, for the first year you've hold your private hire driver's licence. First year premiums of between £3,000 and £4,000 are not uncommon, especially in London. I expect it'd be cheaper because you're based in Birmingham? Most people pay in monthly instalments. Even experienced drivers with several years NCB pay around £1,000.

You would insurance to cover you for the hire and reward for the carriage of passengers. You're local authority should tell you how to get your car plated, look on their website, it will be in the same section as your private hire driver's licence.

No idea, there might be 1,000. There's probably plenty registered but don't log on to Uber very often, or at all, as they're often busy with their own work.

I hear about one in ten, to one in twenty jobs are Exec, rest are X. I have never tried doing both, I'm always on Exec only. My car as you see in my avatar is ridiculous to use on X.

X drivers are likely to be make more than Exec anyway, there's more work around, less dead mileage as more likely to get a job in the suburbs. Also much cheaper car to run.

You can change the person/s in charge of the operating licence, and you can also change or add an operating centre to the licence as well, but this will cost £300, and it's £50 to remove an operating centre. To be honest, the cost of a small operating licence is [only] £1488, for 5 years, which is the equivalent of less than £6/week. I would just go and apply for it yourself, you'll get the five years out of it, otherwise, you will have to look for someone willing to sell (and trust you), which you've already done with not much luck, and it is probably expected from the licence owner, that you'll pay the cost of adding and removing the operating centre/s. I understand that the number of operating centre applications is decreasing, week after week, as licence owners are not renewing, but I'd imagine most of them just let them lapse, or simply write to TfL explaning that they no longer wish to be a licensed operator, rather than looking to sell (which is what I would do if I was in a position not to operate anymore), unless they're selling the business as a whole with the operating centre/s included.

Unless Uber takes their commission from tips, then it's not in their interests to introduce a tipping option.

The "premises" as you put is essential, because that's the address where you will receive and take the bookings. The person selling you the licence is not going to let you take the bookings at their premises, so it must be changed, and you will have to go through the necessary planning permission (or proof of exemption). As an example, I could sell my operating licence, when my client retires (or I decide to work for him directly), but the premises on it, is my house, as that's where the bookings are made and records are kept. If I were to sell my licence, then bookings the new licence owner will recieve, will no longer be at my house, and therefore the premesis must be changed.

Hence, the introduction, in my opinion, of having to have a rating of 4.85, over 1,000 trips on X, before you can get onto Exec/Lux. Before, a few years back (me included), you were able to go straight onto Exec/Lux, by passing a simple multiple choice test. Thankfully, a lot of those drivers with low ratings/standards would have left by now, leaving the better (ex X drivers, who are upgraded) drivers on Exec/Lux.

Still too many. What were the number of drivers in Spring/Summer 2012, which was when Uber first started in London? I'm sure it was less than 90,000.

Many former Lux passengers, especially those who used Uber from when it was launched in London, now use Exec, with the exception of the mega-wealthy, but these are rare users, as they would have their own driver, or use a preferred chauffeur company, anyway. I would imagine most Lux drivers use Uber on the side, and have their own clients, and sub-contract from other chauffeur firms as well. If planning to work just for Uber, then, I agree you would earn more by doing basic X, putting the hours in (and previous experience/knowledge helps, too), and with some luck, you would earn more than an Exec/Lux driver, who may receive higher fares, but requests will probably not occur as often as X, and work would mainly be concentrated in town. As well as the typically higher maintenance and running costs of running an Exec/Lux car, over an X car.

Top drivers, will have other work (and Uber on the side)- either their own private clients, or other, better paying firms, who look after their workforce! Those top drivers understand the market alright!