Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • Basics of getting started:
    • Where to sign-up
    • What’s required
      • Vehicle requirements
      • Background checks – what they look for
      • What kind of smart phone device is required
      • What kind of insurance is required
  • Where can I drive? Where can I pick-up?
    • Airports, special events
  • Basic strategy – when and where should I drive to maximize earnings

 

Lets make this starter guide!!!!

 

How the uber system works video!!!

 

Where to sign-up

 

http://ubr.to/1KvItdO

 

What’s required

 

-TO have a valid driving license-no more than 6 points 

-Minimum knowledge of the city from where you are applying for

-Private hire license ( PCO license ) for being able to work as an Uber driver

If you dont have a private hire license you can apply for it: cost will be around £470( for more info: use the contact form )

Driving license has to be 3 years old in order to get the PCO license

 

Vehicle requirements

Preferred - Car no older than 5 years licensed for carrying passengers

 

 

Check:

http://www.driveuberuki.com/ldn_vehicles/

or

http://www.driveuberuki.com/requirements/

 

 

Background checks – what they look for

https://www.uber.com/safety

 

What kind of smart phone device is required?

Any smartphone capable of running the Uber partner app with at least 4Gb of data per month available just for the app

 

Anything between Iphone 5 and 6 or 

Anything between Samsung , HTC, LG , Sony- minimum 2013 top models( like Galaxy S4, Z3, M8. G3), i will advise you trying to get at least 2014 model to have good performance

THese days is very easy to upgrade your contract and to get the latest model!!

 

Or you can always use Uber phone and pay weekly subscription!!

 

What kind of insurance is required?

Commercial insurance, for goods and passengers.

When you go for a quote you will say you need insurance for private hire

 

Where can I drive? Where can I pick-up?

Its entirely up to you as long as you comply with local council rules

 

Airports, special events

There is a rank system for every airport, when you are first on the position you will get the first job

You can check airport arrivals time so you can make an idea about the flux of people landing and from where!!!!

 

You can check special events locations and time table by accessing different website like: www.timeout.com

 

 

Basic strategy – when and where should I drive to maximize earnings?

 Work when is busy, which from 5am to 10 am or 10 pm-2am, if you can start from 5 am to 2pm , is more than enough

Where to stay depends entirely on your knowledge about the city.

 

Good Luck!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very Good points George.

I am new to this, and currently doing my research before I get into Uber driving.

I am based in Brentford, London 20min from Heathrow.

I have recently got my PCO licence and trying to calculate the true car costs per mile. As I will go down the self employed route with Uber X, I am try to determine the profit or loss and if it is viable business.

Any feed back to the following questions will be greatly appreciated and may help many.

Experienced collegues may be able to shed some light or anyone who's has done this exersice before.

1/ Average hours of driving per day?

2/ Average miles mile per day?

3/ Average number of rides per day?

4/ Present car costs per mile (car lease, petrol, Uber fees, car wash)?

5) Future car costs per mile(tyre change, oil change, full service, excess mileage, uber smart phone fees)?

6) Other daily costs( insurance)?

Your feed back will be greatly appreciated, and look forward for any response.

Many thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi there Wolf and welcome,

I am guesssing you want to try uberX, they are very busy, you don't have time to smoke a cigarette

 

 

 

Yes, i will try to answer your points:

 

1- I always work when is busy, which from 5am to 10 am or 10 pm-2am, if you can start from 5 pm to 2am , is more than enough

2- If you make £200 piounds , lets say you have to drive 100 miles

3- depends on your skills and how many hours you work,  you can make even 40 jobs in one day

4-forget about the car cost per mile, with uberX , you drop someone and pick some one else, very few dead mileage

5-imagine if you have your personal car, you still have to repair that car, insurance, service,

6-insurnace depends on different factors, age, no claim bonus, how long pco license

 

 

On short, this is just like any other business, you invest some money so you can make some profit, now depends how much you're willing to invest.

 

FOr example, you work 6 days /week 10 hours, with an average of £200 daily, you get £1000 /week home after uber commission

 

From those 1000 cut the petrol, insurance, service, tax.....insurance should around £50/week, petrol £100 and plus how much money you want to put aside for future service and tax man.

 

£850 every week for 60 hours job that is roughly £3000/month and no BOSS:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So one of the most talked about questions that we see on the forums, is from new prospective drivers asking if they should drive for Uber.

I'm sure most of you would say everything I need to know is on Uber's web site. Well that's actually not the case. Uber will tell you their requirements, but that's no way to make a decision. You need to take many more items into consideration before you make the plunge.

Here are a few items to consider that will prepare you for life as an Uber driver.

1. Take a look at your car

That's right, take a good look at the car you drive, ask yourself would you have a problem getting into it and paying for a ride. Are you prepared for your car to have it's doors slammed, garbage left on the floor, people dropping stuff on the seats. Or better still that 3AM burger making an encore appearance all over your car because the owner couldn't hold it down after a night of tequila shots.

Then there is the wear and tear you will put on it. You will see noticeable increases in your mileage for sure. This could have your car's value drop like a rock.



2. Take a look at yourself

Ask yourself are you of the right mindset to deal with customers. There will be times when you will deal with difficult and annoying people. You will be dealing with drunks, people with flirtatious behavior, and demanding people. Individuals who couldn't give directions to save their life, and in some cases don't even know where they are in their own city. You will need to deal with people who give directions that will expect you to be psychic.

If that kind of thing frustrates you just don't do this job. There is a high degree of fake smiles and ass kissing to keep your customer happy to some degree. This is not to say that this is the norm. Most passengers you meet will be genuinely happy. But for the 5% who will drive you crazy you need to exercise a level of cool you may not be accustomed to.

3. Look at your Location

You probably are saying "I'm in a big city, this will be easy"

Well you need to take a few factors before going into this.

a) What are your rates - Look at the current rates in the city for rideshare and do a real life cost breakdown of what you will make for every mile driven. Ask if you will be making money.



B) Do you know your City - Knowing your city is important. If you don't, learn first by driving it before taking passengers. Also know the street rules and restrictions inside the city. they could be different than what you are used to during busy times like rush hour.

c) Know the laws - Just because Uber says you can do it you need to do your own research on the by-laws in your area. Be sure to ensure you are not doing anything illegal. (There is a difference though between being no laws to support and not being legal)

4. Weigh in on the Risks

Be sure you know the risks with driving. You have many things you need to consider.

The biggest and most talked about is insurance. Know what you are covered and what you are not covered for.

There is also the income risks to consider. Rideshares control your income flow, not you. If you have expenses that you are incurring to drive, and the rates are slashed in your area, you may find it hard to make enough to earn a living. We have seen that this happened in many markets. The margins can get very tight in any market, and without a clear understanding or exit strategy you can find yourself in a financial mess.

There are many more risks I'm sure that are not covered here but this is some of the more common ones. And they are big enough that if any apply to you and are not willing to accept the risks the other points won't matter.


There is a silver lining

So for all the concerns out there and things to consider there are some benefits to rideshares. They are new and the cool thing for many customers. Being popular and well liked by the masses is never a bad thing.

One of the big draws is you can make your own hours. Turn on the app anytime you feel like it. Got an hour to kill, make some quick money on the side. Want to work only the busy rush times, go for it. There is no commitment.

The other thing that you will find is you can make a difference in your community. If people have been slaves to the Taxi industry in your area, your contribution could help make change.

And the one thing everyone can agree on is you make some money on your vehicle that does nothing but suck all the money you can throw at it. I. Also you can write off those expenses on your taxes at the end of the year. Something you may not be able to do in your current role.


With all that said everyone needs to do their research. The forum is full of some great information by many members. Most who have been doing this a long time. Take the advice to heart as this will work for some, for others there may be better alternatives
You too can find driving others out there rewarding and profitable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi there...compliments on a great site.

 

May I ask a couple of questions...

 

1.  Penalty points - For fixed penalty speeding offences; am I right in saying that they have a life of 4 years on a licence. I know that for totting up purposes its 3, am not sure what view Uber takes.

 

2. Car - I understand car has to be under 5 years old to join Uber. Does this mean once your in, the car you drive can never fall beyond 5 years old?

 

If anyone can give me a heads up on this Id be very grateful, thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi there...compliments on a great site.

 

May I ask a couple of questions...

 

1.  Penalty points - For fixed penalty speeding offences; am I right in saying that they have a life of 4 years on a licence. I know that for totting up purposes its 3, am not sure what view Uber takes.

 

2. Car - I understand car has to be under 5 years old to join Uber. Does this mean once your in, the car you drive can never fall beyond 5 years old?

 

If anyone can give me a heads up on this Id be very grateful, thanks.

HI there and welcome,

 

1- I know points stay on ur license for 3 years, sometimes every year you get minuus 1 point.

you can not drive for uber if you have more than 6 points!!

 

2- car has to be minim 2010 to be able to join uber and you will be able to use that car this year and next one .

is alwasy better to ask them by email before buying the car, just to have the confirmation!!

 

Hope it helps

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you know about Lyft. Lyft is also a growing startup. They are expanding their team as well as they have a transparent payment system for both User as well as driver. They provide a feature named Lyft Estimator , That allow user to do estimated fare calculation, Before starting their Lyft ride. If you would like to check out user guide for Lyft Estimator then you may watch youtube video at :

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi there. Kudos for the site and all this helpful information all you guys provide.

I m about to start driving uberx. i m planning to rent or lease a car. 

I uploaded my licences on the uber partner system and they are pending review but i havent uploaded the vehicle documents because i dont have them yet.

I would like to know how long does it usually takes to get verification.

Thanks in advace.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cheers for the quick reply and and about the second part of my question which is not clear in my previous post to make it simpler.

First i rent the car and then after uploading the documents i get verification or wait to get verification on my licences and then i rent the car?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi everyone,

I am just awaiting my PCO Licence and looking to get started straight away within the Caterham, Croydon, Crawley area when it arrives, a couple of questions for you all.

1. What company is best to use for rental?

2. What is the average daily potential earning?

3. Is Gatwick Airport a good earner?

4. Is it viable working evenings only alongside a day job or working Uber Full time and quitting the day job?

 

thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great breakdown of how to get started. Top-notch.

On having a strategy, I would add:

Keep an eye on events

  •  Avoid pre-game traffic - On event days, you will find the nearby areas to stadiums will have terrible traffic. E.g North London when Spurs is playing home. Avoid taking trips up to 1 hour before:
     
  •  Target post-event demand - When events finish, there is usually demand or a surge. Park up on a side road and ask pax to come to you. They will be happy to as it saves them time.

    > Here's a Free Newsletter for drivers that shares all the events in London (Sports, Concerts, Conferences), their start & end times and attendance numbers.

    image.png.5e7c573e54606914b6adb9f659a3ac48.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...


×