2017 – Rideshare Central

8 Uber And Lyft Rideshare Predictions For 2018

December 29, 2017/in Blog/by Dave

Well, 2017 was a wild ride in the rideshare sector. Uber stumbled almost everywhere, while Lyft made significant gains. Here’s a few predictions for the rideshare sector in 2018.

Criminal Charges Will Likely Be Filed Against A Current Or Former Uber Employee

Uber is currently the subject of five separate criminal probes at the federal level. While some of these investigations will likely result in nothing more than a fine, there’s five of them! So, the odds are pretty good that at least one of them will result in criminal charges being filed against someone who used to work for Uber.

Lyft cracks 30% market share in the U.S.

Lyft currently has a little under a quarter of the U.S. market. Given their growth rate versus Uber, and the fact that Uber‘s reputation is likely to continue to suffer through 2018, Lyft is pretty likely to hit the 30 percent barrier. If Lyft is really aggressive when it comes to expanding their user base, 35 percent or higher could be in reach.

Uber Loses Over $2.0 Billion

Uber will lose less money in 2018 then in 2017. The main reason is that if they lose the same amount of money (or more) as they did in 2017 or 2016, when losses topped $800 million, there’s a real risk they will go out of business or be acquired. Now, the current leadership of Uber is aware of this issue. However, it’s very difficult for a large company like Uber to go from losing $3 billion to profitability in one year. Realistically, the most they can probably trim their losses by in 2018 is around $1.2 billion. And to do that would probably require steps that Uber is not willing to take, like firing several thousand employees. Therefore, Uber is likely to lose another $2 billion next year.

Lyft Loses Over $300 Million

Lyft is on track to lose somewhere between $500 million and $600 million in 2017, a significant improvement on 2016. While they should be able to trim their losses further in 2018, expanding their user base and gaining more market share is going to keep them from profitability next year.

Neither Lyft or Uber Go Public

Uber will likely not be in a position to go public at any point in 2018. Their financials will not be strong enough, and they will continue to have at least some massive legal issues hanging over the company for the whole year.

Lyft, on the other hand, could go public in 2018, but will most likely wait until 2019. The reason is simple. In 2019, Lyft has a pretty good shot at reaching profitability. If they can do that, they’ll able to raise more money, on better terms, in an IPO.

Uber Lays Off At Least 1000 Employees

In order to stop losing so much money, Uber is going to have to lay off some employees. And some of those employees are going to be the more expensive ones making six-figure salaries. Looking at the fundamentals that have been released or leaked over the past year, there’s really no way for Uber to go forward at its current burn rate. The company currently loses about a quarter billion dollars a month, which is astonishing. If they keep doing that, they’ll probably be running low on cash towards the end of 2019. So, look for some Uber employees to be getting pink slips next year.

Lyft and Uber Both Raise Pay In Certain Markets, And On Certain Services

Rates on both Uber and Lyft mostly stabilized in 2017. In the last few months of the year, both companies raised some rates on certain platforms in certain markets, while also cutting other rates. Unfortunately, most of the rate hikes will probably be on the premium parts of both platforms, like Uber select and Lyft Premier. So, if you have a nice car, it’s probably a good time to sign up to drive for Lyft or Uber.

Lyft launches an UberEats type service;

The one bright spot for Uber in 2017 was their Uber Eats service, which achieved profitability in about a third of the markets it’s operating in. Lyft needs to increase the number of part-time Lyft drivers and needs to keep existing drivers online longer. The food delivery service is a perfect way to accomplish both goals. It gives drivers way to earn more money when it’s slow out. While this would be an expensive endeavor for Lyft, it’s necessary if they want to remain competitive with Uber long-term. Also, it’s an additonal revenue stream, which they could use.

If you’ve got some predictions of your own, or think these predictions are crazy, let us know when the comments.
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2017 – The Rideshare Year In Review

December 28, 2017/in Blog/by Dave

Alright, here’s the major events from the rideshare sector in 2017.

January

Taxi drivers strike at NY airports in response to Trump’s Muslim ban. Uber refuses to support the strike or stop surge pricing. The #DeleteUber Movement begins in response.
Uber settles a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that charged that it misled drivers about pay. The settlement was for $20 million. Uber did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

February

Amit Singhal, Uber’s Senior VP of engineering, resigns because he didn’t tell Uber that he left Google because of a credible allegation of sexual harassment.
Waymo (a Google subsidiary) sues Uber for stealing self driving car technology. The lawsuit is ongoing. Google wants at least $1 billion in damages.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is caught on video being an asshole to a driver.
Sarah Fowler, a former Uber engineer, writes a blog post detailing the pervasive sexual harassment she had to endure while at the company.

March

Uber temporarily halts its self driving car program after one of its vehicles crashes in Tempe, Arizona.
Lyft settles a driver mis-classification lawsuit (employee or independent contractor) for $27 million.

April

Thousands of Uber & Lyft drivers fail new stricter Massachusetts background checks.
Lyft raises $500 million at $7.5 billion valuation.

May

Lyft and Waymo enter into a strategic autonomous vehicle partnership.

June

Uber & Lyft return to Austin after leaving in 2016.
Jaguar Land Rover invests $25 million in Lyft.
After months of pressure, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick resigns.
Uber finally adds tipping as part of its recently lauched 180 days of change.
Eric Holder delivers his report on sexual harassment to the Uber board. It’s scathing.

July

Uber market share falls from to 77%, from 84% at the beginning of 2017.

August

Lyft announces it has doubled the number of rides given in 2016, in just the first six months of 2017.

September

FBI admits there’s a criminal probe into Uber’s attempts to monitor Lyft drivers.
London strips Uber of its operating license.

October

Alphabet, Google’s parent company invests $1 billion in Lyft.

November

Lyft raises another $500 million.
Uber admits it covered up a massive data breach of driver and rider information, likely breaking many state and federal laws in the process.
Softbank offers to invest in Uber at a 30% discount, calling into question Uber’s $68 billion valuation.

December

The Justice Department forwards a letter to the judge in the Waymo v. Uber trial, letting the judge know that Uber may have withheld evidence in that case.
As part of the kerfuffle in the Waymo v. Uber lawsuit, it comes out that Uber is now the subject of five criminal investigations.

Be sure to check back this weekend for our 8 Rideshare Predictions For 2018.

The 3 Things Uber Needs To Do To Win In 2018

December 27, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog/by Dave

Anyway you slice it, Uber has had a disastrous 2017. However, Uber has made significant strides correcting course during the last few months of 2017. Firing Travis Kalanick was a great first step. The 180 days of change program was another (small) step in the right direction. Although the program did not fully regain drivers trust, certain aspects, like finally adding a tip option, were successful.

Additionally, Dara Khosrowshahi, the new CEO, seems to be a vast improvement on Kalanick. Even so, Uber has dug itself such a giant hole, that Mr. Khosrowshahi will likely spend most of 2018 fixing the problems created by the prior leadership team. Between Uber’s massive losses, and all the ongoing criminal investigations and lawsuits, he’ll certainly have his hands full. No need to cry for him though. He stands to make nine figures from this gig.

Anyways, here’s what Uber needs to do if they’re going to have a shot at winning 2018.

Lose Less Money

The first thing Uber has to do is to stop losing so much money. They will likely wind up losing around $3 billion in 2017, on top of the over $3 billion they lost in 2016. Uber is no longer a startup and simply cannot continue to lose $3 billion a year. While they don’t have to reach profitability in 2018, they need to get their annual losses well under $2 billion.

More than that, next year, they need to lose less money at the end of the year (Q4) than they did at the beginning (Q1). This will let investors and the market know that they are on the right track. However, cutting losses is not going to be easy for Uber.

[su_box title=”Uber’s Losses Can’t Keep Looking Like This” style=”soft” box_color=”#d1a927″ title_color=”#d1274f”]

Source:mahesh-vc.com

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One final thing they can do to trim their losses is to increase driver retention. Most new drivers stop driving for Uber in less than a year. It generally costs Uber over a thousand dollars to sign up and onboard each driver. If they can improve their driver retention rate by say 25 percent, that translates to a sizable dent to their monthly losses. How do they do that? Well, one way would be to improve their overall treatment of drivers. 180 Days Of Change was a start, but many drivers think the entire program was simply window dressing and public relations.

Cut Overhead and Bloat

Uber has massive overhead and is quite simply, a very bloated company. They expanded at a lightning pace, renting office space and hiring lots of employees in pretty much every market they entered. Lyft, on the other hand, was much more frugal as it expanded. They did not open a large office and hire bunch of employees every time they entered a new market. As a result, Lyft is far closer to profitability them Uber.

In order to rectify this, Uber really only has one choice. They need to cut their overhead drastically. The only way they can really do that is to lay off employees and shrink their head count in certain markets. Now, shuttering the money losing Uber Xchange leasing program was a good first cost cutting step. However, Uber needs to do more and replacing all the office lighting with LED bulbs is not going to cut $1 billion in costs. They probably can’t squeeze any more money out of drivers either since they instituted upfront pricing a year ago, and they’re still losing tons of money. The only realistic path towards profitability is to get rid of some employees and sublease the surplus office space.

Settle Or Resolve Most Or All Of The Criminal And Civil Legal Troubles

The final thing Uber must do is to try and resolve or settle most of the criminal investigations and lawsuits that the company is facing. While many of these problems are due to actions taken by the prior leadership, some of these problems are going to continue to trouble Uber through 2018 and possibly into 2019.

On the criminal issues, the best thing Uber can do is to cooperate fully, grovel, expect multiple large fines, blame the prior leadership, and settle with the government.

When it comes to the various civil lawsuits, Uber should attempt to settle all of them within the first three to six months of the year. It may not be possible to settle all of them, but Uber’s brand is currently in the toilet. Until people stop hearing about all the crappy things Uber did under the prior leadership (sexual harassment, data breach, spying on Lyft drivers, etc…), it’s not going to climb out of the toilet. So, they need to resolve as many of these disputes as they can, sooner rather than later.

This is going to be incredibly difficult to do in the case of the Waymo v. Uber lawsuit. Waymo kind of has Uber by the shorthairs and the damages they Waymo wants is in the billions. This is not surprising since Waymo is essentially suing them for stealing critical self driving car technology. Nevertheless, if Uber wants to move forward and go public, they absolutely have to resolve this lawsuit. It’s the only civil action currently going against Uber that can literally sink the company.

Well, that’s only three things: lose less money, cut overhead and headcount, and resolve the various criminal and civil actions. However, each one of those is a major endeavor, and frankly, Uber will be lucky to accomplish one of the three.

However, not everything is so glum for Uber. Both their rider and driver apps are still superior to the Lyft rider and driver apps, and UberEats is doing well. So, as Bill Murray would say, “ They’ve got that going for them… which is nice”.

What do you think Uber needs to do to win 2018? Leave your answer in the comments below.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our 2017 Rideshare Year In Review.

The 7 Things Lyft Needs To Do To Win In 2018

December 25, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog/by Tracy Ballard

Lyft has had a fantastic 2017. They have given double the number of rides that they gave in 2016, and have tripled their revenue. Also, they are far closer to profitability than main rival Uber, and they also still have higher a driver satisfaction rate than Uber. However, Lyft has its work cut out for them heading into 2018. They’re gaining on Uber, but still a distant second.

Uber’s 2018 Will Be Bad, But Lyft Can’t Rely On That

Uber will likely spend much of 2018 continuing to deal with the fallout from their various 2017 scandals. However, Lyft can’t rely on that fact to help increase its market share in 2018. However, there are a few things Lyft can do to win 2018.

What does winning look like? Well, if at the end of 2018, Lyft’s U.S. market share is between 35 percent and 40 percent, that’s a win. Lyft’s market share is currently around 25 percent.

The 7 Things Lyft Should Do In 2018

Increase Customer User Base

Lyft’s number one priority in 2018 should be to expand its regular user base. While Lyft was able to double the number of rides it gave in 2017 versus 2016, it’s still lags far behind Uber in regular users. Lyft should consider implementing a points based frequent rider program. A good model they could base the program on is the Starbucks star model. This type of reward system would give Lyft a leg up on Uber in this department because Uber only has a VIP program, that is not available to most of its riders.

Better Incentives For Part Time Drivers

Lyft’s Power Driver Bonuses tend to benefit full-time drivers. Very few part-time drivers are able to satisfy even the lowest level power driver requirements. This gives Uber a significant advantage that results in them being able to put more part-time drivers on the road than Lyft. In order to get more part time drivers on the road, lyft needs to create a bonus that someone who drives 10 to 15 hours a week can hit. So Lyft should create two new types of bonuses specifically aimed at part-time drivers. One bonus should cover rides given Friday through Sunday, and the other bonus should cover Monday through Thursday. Neither bonus should have any peak hour ride requirements. The biggest gripe Lyft drivers have about the current bonus structure is the very high peak hour ride requirements.

Improve The Driver App

Most drivers prefer Lyft to Uber. However, that doesn’t hold true when it comes to the driver app. Overwhelmingly, drivers prefer the Uber driver app to the Lyft driver app. It’s more intuitive, and has a cleaner interface. Sure, Lyft has added Google maps integration to the driver app, which was a strong step in the right direction. They also recently changed how the driver app displays earnings. Before, the app would display total ride payments made by customers. Most drivers found this very unhelpful as they wanted to know what they were getting paid, not what the customer paid. Thankfully, the app now shows a driver their net earnings.

However, the Lyft driver app is still buggier, slower, and has fewer features than the Uber driver app. Lyft needs to embark on a complete redesign of the driver app, while leveraging its strategic partnership with Apple to get some help in this area. Nobody does intuitive user interface better than Apple.

Also, there’s one more minor, but important, change Lyft needs to make to the driver app. Often, when a rider selects a restaurant or hotel as their destination (instead of entering a street address), the driver only sees the name of the place, they don’t see an address. Every single Lyft driver hates this. Knowing the name of a restaurant or hotel doesn’t always help the driver. Lyft needs to change the driver app so that it always displays the address of a destination, not just the proper name of the business. This issue has been the bane of all Lyft drivers for years now, and it’s such an easy fix. Just change it Lyft.

[su_box title=”If John Zimmer (below) and CEO Logan Greene Make These Changes, Lyft Will Rule 2018″ style=”soft” box_color=”#d1a927″ title_color=”#d1274f”] Photo by jdlasica [/su_box]

Improve The Rider App

In addition to revamping the driver app, Lyft also needs to revamp the rider app, again with help from Apple if possible. In addition to starting a frequent rider program, Lyft should also explore adding a payments system to the rider app, similar to what Grab has done in Southeast Asia. The reason for this is that it’s something that Uber isn’t doing that good be a substantial additional revenue stream for Lyft.

Improve Small Business Targeting And Revive Corporate Partnerships

If possible, Lyft should restart its strategic partnerships with Ola or Grab. This may be a tall order since eventually Lyft, Ola, and Grab intend to operate in the same markets. However, when it comes to increasing your user base, every little bit helps, and these types of partnerships generally don’t cost much. Additionally, Lyft needs to do a better job of targeting small and medium sized businesses. A version of the frequent rider program mentioned earlier could also work to entice businesses with less than 500 employees. While doing this might entail hiring additional sales staff, in order to further expand its user base, Lyft has to try things it hasn’t done it before.

Pilot A Food Delivery service In A Few Markets

Another thing Lyft should explore in 2018 is starting a food delivery service, similar to UberEATS. Uber has had a terrible 2017 overall, but UberEATS has actually been a bright spot for the company. Uber operates UberEATS in over 100 markets, and it’s profitable in roughly a third of them.

Starting a food delivery service will help Lyft in a couple of ways. It will make Lyft more competitive in suburban areas where Uber is usually stronger. It will also incentivize full and part time Lyft drivers to stay online during the slower times of day. This will in turn lower overall passenger wait times on the Lyft system.

Explore Advertising As An Additional Revenue Stream (and give drivers a cut)

The last thing Lyft should do is to develop an in-app and in-vehicle advertising program that shares revenue with the drivers. There are already a number of companies that provide rideshare drivers with an additional source of revenue through in car advertising. Lyft should buy one of these companies, integrate its functionality with the driver and rider apps, and give the driver a cut.

I didn’t include raising rates on this list because Lyft, and everyone else in the world, already knows drivers want higher rates.

If you Drive With Lyft, and have some more ideas of what they should do in 2018, leave them in the comments below.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the 3 things Uber needs to do to win in 2018.

Photo by danxoneil

What are Uber Consecutive Trip Boosts and Lyft Ride Streaks?

December 19, 2017/in Driver Advice/by Don Pritchett

A few months ago, both Uber and Lyft began testing a new type of bonus during peak hours. The bonus rewards drivers for giving multiple rides in a row, without going offline, cancelling, or not accepting the ride. Uber calls theirs Consecutive Trip Boosts, while Lyft named theirs Ride Streaks.

How Do Uber Consecutive Trip Boosts work?

Uber will send you an offer (usually by text or in the app) to complete 3 trips in a row between 7am and 9am. If you do, you’ll get an extra $9. The amounts and trips required will vary. The first pickup must occur in the designated boost area. However, if that first trip takes you out of the boost area, don’t worry. The second and third trips will count even if they’re not in the boost area, as long as they’re in a row.

Each UberPool pickup counts as one trip. So, if you’re going for 3 trips in a row, and you accept an UberPool that has 3 pickups, you’ve completed the boost. You’ll be able to see your progress towards your consecutive trip boost goal in the upper right hand of the driver app, when you’re not on a trip.

Visit Uber’s consecutive trip boost page to learn more.

How Do Lyft Ride Streaks Work?

Lyft ride streaks are basically the same as Uber’s consecutive trip boosts. The only difference is Lyft does not allow you to use the destination filter when going for a streak. Uber does.

Lyft will send you a text or message in the app. It will look like this.

Then all you do is pick up the first ride during the streak hour, stay online between rides, and accept each ride until you hit your bonus. As with Uber, each Lyft Line pickup counts as one ride. For more information on Lyft ride streaks, visit their ride streaks page.

The Best Strategy To Complete Streak Bonsuses?

Since you have to accept every ride to complete these bonuses, your strategy options are limited. However, there are some things you can do. Your objective is to do short rides quickly. So, your best bet is to position yourself in an area with a high population density. If there’s an area in your market that’s known for short rides, head there.

Additionally, you’ll want to stick to one platform during the streak time. If you’re going for an Uber consecutive trip boost, don’t go online with Lyft.

Consecutive Streaks To Double Your Bonus

The best thing about streak bonuses is that you can go for multiple streaks to earn even more. So, if you have two hours to complete 3 consecutive rides, and you complete 6 rides in that time, you’ll get twice the bonus!

Why Are Uber And Lyft Offering Streak Bonuses?

Uber and Lyft usually have a reason for the type of bonuses they offer. The streak bonuses have one main objective, which is to keep drivers on the same platform for as long as possible. If you’re aiming to complete a streak on Lyft, you’re unlikely to accept an Uber ride, and vice versa. Streak and consecutive ride bonuses also tend to cut down on passenger wait times during busy hours.

Both companies are also moving away from surge and prime time pricing. In it’s place, expect to see more flat rate bonuses. Uber is actually testing a new surge system that offers a flat rate bonus ($3-$9 usually) instead of a multiple (ex. 2.2) of the fare.

Have you received a streak bonus offer in your town yet? If so, let us know in the comments.

Uber Teams With Blackberry To Save Its Floundering Southeast Asia Operation

December 18, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog/by Dave

Uber’s troubles in Asia are well-known. The company blew over $1 billion in China trying to compete with Didi. Eventually, they sold out to Didi. In almost every other Asian market, Uber lags behind a local or regional competitor. In India, Ola is beating Uber. Grab, a Singaporean company, has been eating Uber’s lunch across Southeast Asia.

Uber has now made it’s first big move to reverse its fortunes in the region. You can now order an Uber from BBM, the Blackberry chat and video app. This may seem strange, since in the U.S., almost no one uses a Blackberry anymore. But, many people outside the U.S. do use Blackberry’s messenger app on IOS and Android devices.

In fact, about 190 million people use the BBM app in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. In Indonesia, (population – 260 million), BBM is the most popular chat app in the country. The app is present on almost ninety percent of the Android devices in the country.

BBM Is Crucial To Uber’s Plan In Indonesia

Indonesia is also a huge rideshare market and home to the fastest growing internet market in the world. The country is already the largest rideshare market in Southeast Asia, with over $1 billion in rides completed this year. By 2025, the Indonesian rideshare market will approach $6 billion per year.

[su_box title=”Indonesia Is The Largest Rideshare Market In S.E. Asia” style=”soft” box_color=”#d1a927″ title_color=”#d1274f”]

Photo by Tokuriki[/su_box]

In all of Southeast Asia, Uber is playing second fiddle to its rival Grab. In Indonesia though, Uber not only lags behind Grab, but also Go-Jek, a local rideshare startup. Since Indonesia represents about 35% of the S.E. Asia rideshare market, Uber desperately needed to make a move.

Integrating Uber with BBM gives Uber a chance to gain some traction in this important market. Approximately 80 million users in Indonesia will now have easy access to an Uber through the BBM app. However, it’s still a big question if this will help Uber make a dent.

Can Uber Compete In Indonesia, Or The Rest Of Asia?

So far, the answer is a resounding no.

In almost every Asian market, Uber has been flat out beaten by competitors who better adapted their services to the local area. Both Didi and Grab offer in-app translation in many markets, while Uber does not. Didi, Grab, and Ola also began accepting cash much earlier than Uber. Many analysts think Uber’s main mistake was trying to push a business model that was originally designed for wealthier markets. Whatever the cause, these errors have cost Uber dearly. While they are the leading rideshare company in the U.S., Uber currently does have above a 30% market share in any country in Asia.

In Indonesia, Uber’s situation is even worse. Grab and Go-Jek already have a combined 90% market share or higher. Uber is far behind in third place. While the Blackberry partnership is a step in the right direction, it’s probably too little, too late. Ridesharing has been available in Indonesia since 2012, and Grab and Go-Jek are just too far ahead. What Uber is trying to do now is akin to if Sidecar (remember them) decided to relaunch in the United States today by integrating with WeChat. Nice try, but it just wouldn’t work.

Photo by Lavinia Elysia

6 Things You Should Know Before You Start Driving For Uber or Lyft

December 15, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog, Driver Advice/by Tracy Ballard

Driving fоr Uber or Lyft seems like a pretty easy wау to mаkе ѕоmе extra mоnеу, but there аrе a handful оf factors that mаkе it mоrе соmрlісаtеd than you might еxресt.

Many Uber and Lyft drivers do make a good living driving people around. Whether you’re considering driving full-time, or only part-time on top of your main job, it’s important to keep in mind that there’s more to driving for Uber or Lyft than just signing up, getting approved, hopping in your car and driving people around. Here are six things to keep in mind if you’re thinking about becoming an Uber or Lyft driver.

1. Auto Insurance Can Be a Sticky Situation

Regular personal auto insurance policies dоn’t offer соvеrаgе іf уоu’rе using your car аѕ a taxi оf sorts. Insurers consider driving for Uber or Lyft a commercial activity, and regular policies don’t cover that.

Uber and Lyft both provide some coverage. However, the deductibles are very high ($1000 on Uber, $2500 on Lyft). Additionally, much of the coverage is contingent, and often only kicks in if your personal insurance doesn’t provide coverage. Many will find this coverage level fine and dandy, but there’s an additional issue. Neither Uber or Lyft provide collision coverage when you’re waiting for a ride request, and many drivers think their personal policy will cover anything that happens during this time.

What’s the problem here? Thе рrоblеm іѕ that when you file the incident rероrt with Uber, they’ll call your insurance company first to check if you have comprehensive and collision coverage, and when your insurance company finds out that you were driving for Uber at the time of your accident (or that you’re driving for Uber, period), they’ll likely drop you like a rock and cancel your entire policy with them for violating the policy terms. It turns out that most insurance companies don’t like it at all if you drive for Uber or Lyft and don’t tell them.

Even worse, if you insurer cancels you, this саn make it a lоt hаrdеr tо find a new insurance company without paying a much higher premium. Getting dropped by an insurance company is a lot like your credit score taking a dive. It makes insurers see you as a higher risk ongoing.

Rideshare Insurance Can Solve The Insurance Issue

So, what are your options? There are a few insurers who won’t cancel you if they find out you’re driving for Uber or Lyft. However, those companies will not cover anything that happens while you are driving for Uber and Lyft. Luckily, many insurers now offer rideshare insurance policies or a rideshare endorsement on your personal policy. However, your available rideshare insurance options will depend on which state you plan on driving in. If you live in a state that only has one or two companies that offer rideshare insurance, the cost will likely be a bit expensive. In most states though, you can generally obtain rideshare coverage for between an extra $5 – $20 per month.

To find rideshare insurance options in your state, be sure to check out our rideshare insurance page. It contains up to date info on which insurers offer coverage in every state. Also have a look at our Rideshare Insurance Guide which explains Uber and Lyft coverage in more detail.

2. Lyft Takes 25% of Fares, Uber often takes more

When it comes to driver pay, Lyft takes 25% of the fare plus a booking fee. The driver gets the rest plus any tips. Uber used to have the same system, but with the introduction of Upfront Pricing, that changed. Uber drivers are now paid a certain rate per mile, and per minute (rates vary by city). What the passenger pays is no longer related to driver pay on Uber. This has led to a situation where Uber may only take 10% of the fare on one ride, but 70% (no joke) of a fare on another ride.

Understandably, this has led to a high level of consternation among Uber drivers. A number have reacted by driving more Lyft. In certain markets, this has worked out well as Lyft is much busier now than they were a year ago. However, Uber is still busier than Lyft in some of the small and medium sized markets. This makes it difficult to only drive Lyft in some of those markets. In most larger markets, drivers can usually make the same amount on Lyft (or more) as they could on Uber.

3. No Tax Withholding

If you drive, you’re an independent contractor, so there’s no withholding and you have to pay 100% of the taxes owed on your rideshare income. Yоu’ll receive a 1099 when tax ѕеаѕоn approaches, instead of a W-2.

Thankfully, if you drive Uber or Lyft, you can usually minimize or eliminate any taxes you owe by tracking your mileage and expenses during the year. Be sure to consult our rideshare tax guide, and to talk with an accountant about your options.

4. Your Cаr Muѕt Be Nеwеr and Have Four Doors

If you’ve always wondered why уоu only ѕее Uber and Lyft drivers with relatively nеw саrѕ, that’s bесаuѕе Uber and Lyft both require cars to be somewhat new. In most markets, your car must be a 2005 model or newer (some markets are 2006 or 2007). Also, the car must have four doors, so you’re out of luck if you drive a coupe. Another thing to keep in mind is that to qualify for certain bonuses on Lyft, the vehicle must be a 2011 model or newer in most markets.

Your car muѕt аlѕо nоt hаvе аnу cosmetic dаmаgе оr mесhаnісаl іѕѕuеѕ. Thіѕ isn’t a requirement реr ѕе, but іt could аffесt your driver rating if a passenger is put off by those squeaky brakes.

5. The Approval Process Can Take A While

When you sign up to be an Uber or Lyft driver, you’ll need to pass a background and driving history check. These can take anywhere from a day to several weeks. So, if you want to start driving for some extra holiday money, you should probably sign up soon.

Join Lyft

Join Uber

6. Your Car Maintenance Costs May Gо Uр

You probably know that you’ll be spending more on gas when you start driving for Uber or Lyft. However, you’ll likely need to get oil changes more often, and you may need to get parts replaced more often than normal. This is to be expected given that you’ll be putting more miles on your car than you normally would.

My advice? If you plan on driving for Uber or Lyft, it’s a good idea to find a good qualified mechanic. Also, be sure to check out our page on How To Keep Your Maintenance Costs Low.

As you can see, while it’s not quite as simple as just signing up and getting on the road that day, it’s not overly complicated either. As long as you can pass the background and driving record check, you should be able to get on the road in about a week or so. In general, Uber’s approval process seems to move a little quicker, but that’s not always the case.

While you won’t get rich driving for Lyft or Uber, most experienced full-time drivers have no trouble earning $1,000 or more per week. Part-time drivers who drive during busy hours can usually make $20 per hour (caveat:depends on the market) or more. In any case, if you keep the above information in mind, you should have no trouble driving profitably.

If you’re interested in becoming a Lyft or Uber driver, be sure to check out our pages that explain the Lyft Sign Up Bonus and the Uber Sign Up Guarantee.

Photo by Laboheme6

Confirmed: Uber Is The Subject Of Yet Another Criminal Investigation

December 14, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog/by Tracy Ballard

Uber is already the subject of four separate criminal investigations, and now we know there is a fifth investigation.

Recap Of The First Four Uber Criminal Probes

First, the DOJ is currently investigating Uber’s use of its Greyball software tool. This is the tool which Uber used to hide its vehicles from law enforcement officials.

Second, the feds are whether Uber violated price transparency and anti-discrimination laws related to its Upfront Pricing Model. This probe is looking at Uber’s tools Cascade and Firehose. Cascade is the tool Uber uses to set fares based on time, mileage and demand. Firehose is the tool Uber uses to charge passengers an upfront rate. Used together, these tools may violate Federal pricing discrimination laws.

Third, there is the federal bribery probe. It’s investigating how an Uber executive obtained the medical records of a woman raped by an Uber driver in India.

Finally, the fourth probe involves Uber’s use of its Hell software, which it used to track Lyft drivers.

The Fifth Uber Criminal Probe

The latest criminal probe involves the Uber v. Waymo (Google) lawsuit. Yesterday, Judge Alsup unsealed a letter from the Department of Justice that caused him to delay the start of the trial. The trial was originally supposed to start on December 4.

The letter offers confirmation of this fifth criminal investigation. It also alleges that Uber used “non-attributable electronic devices to store and transmit information” and that they could have used such devices to steal intellectual property.

From the letter (full letter at link):

Mr. Jacobs further stated that Uber employees routinely used non-attributable electronic devices to store and transmit information that they wished to separate from Uber’s official systems. He surmised that any wrongfully-obtained intellectual property could be stored on such devices, and that such action would prevent the intellectual property from being discovered in a review of
Uber’s systems.

What Does It All Mean?

Yikes, that sounds like Uber could have deliberately set out to steal Waymo’s self-driving car tech. Uber also could have taken significant measures to cover its tracks. There’s a distinct possibility that some former Uber executives may be facing some jail time. There’s also the matter of the massive Uber data breach, which is already the subject of some state and local probes. Don’t be surprised if the feds open a sixth Uber criminal investigation about the data breach.

Archive for year: 2017