At Least They Are Looking for Drivers

Guest Post by Eric Peters

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Lyft is looking for drivers – a tonic thing to discover at a time when it seems as though every effort is being expended to do away with them.

The ride-hailing company just announced it will be “partnering” with used car dealerships with the aim of helping prospective Lyft drivers find an acceptable car to drive.

Lyft will pay a finder’s fee to these dealerships for successful references – i.e., people who end up becoming Lyft drivers – and help them finance the car, too. This latter will be done via direct garnishing of the driver’s Lyft earnings, which will be transmuted into car payments.

Probably, this will be done on the Payday Loan model – which is based on the Vinnie-in-the-Alley model, which is the loanshark model. Exorbitant interest designed to keep the customer on the hook – and in hock – for as long as possible.

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One issue with working for a ride-share company (whether Lyft or Uber) is that many of the people seeking such work are – if not poor – then not far from it. They lack resources. And they either don’t have a car – or they have a too-old car. The ride-sharing services generally require their contractor drivers to possess a vehicle that’s no more than a certain number of years old  – and has no more than “x” miles on the clock –  ostensibly for general liability reasons.

They don’t want to expose themselves to lawsuits arising out of wrecks attributable to worn out machinery. That’s reasonable enough. Of course, it would also be reasonable to simply require that a prospective Lyft driver’s car pass a mechanical inspection to determine its roadworthiness. This would aruably be more reasonable than arbitrary age/mileage cut-offs. A 15-year-old car with 110,000 miles that has been maintained properly and which is in great shape is a safer ride than a thrashed but three-year-old car with near-bald tires,  iffy brakes and “only” 50,000 miles.

But because it is arbitrary, it’s a Catch 22 for the prospective Lyft (or Uber) driver. Most are either young and doing this as side work or they are in a pinch and doing it because they have to. Put another way, most don’t have newer cars because they cannot afford to buy them.

So how can they afford to finance them?

About two years ago, both Lyft and rival Uber announced plans to facilitate the financing (the leasing, actually) of new cars. But the Catch 22 reared its head. Leased or not, new cars cost too much to buy if you’re making Lyft/Uber money.

And the same goes for newish (and low-miles) used cars.

A rough working analogy would be a requirement that to work at McDonald’s one must come to work every day in a pressed Brooks Brothers suit with matching Bruno Magli shoes.

McDonald’s, in its wisdom does not insist upon such a thing.

Why Lyft insists upon a similar thing is enigmatic. Unless, of course, the object is to chain as many drivers as possible to debt servitude.

A much better option would be to cut out the middleman entirely.

Lyft and Uber, that is.

We are told this is a free country. If so, why shouldn’t a person be free to offer their services as a driver to anyone who freely wishes to pay for those services? Why is it necessary to get permission to do so? And to only be allowed to do so under certain conditions not prescribed by the person interested in hiring a driver but by a disembodied entity – “the government” – which somehow acquired parental supervisory powers over grown men and women, who never consented to this?

It is extremely odd. Well, it is odd if we begin with the idea that we live in a free country.

Of course, we don’t live in a free country. The evidence for this claim is all around us. The fact that a person can be punished for “illegally” using his own vehicle to provide transportation services to people who wish to pay him for his services is probative. That it is necessary to indenture oneself to a company such as Lyft or Uber (or a traditional taxi company) in order to be allowed to perform this service, under their terms and conditions – and not otherwise.

Not as a free man, an independent operator – but only as a worker drone. 

People – some people – will cry that “the government” must regulate economic activity between individuals, contrary to their consent – for their safety. This is obnoxious in the extreme but has been commonly accepted by a society full of people who embrace both servility as well as its imposition on everyone else.

Hailing a ride would be much less expensive – and much more profitable for the driver – if anyone who had a serviceable car could freely use it to transport people who wished to be transported by it, without having to fear being ticketed, impounded, fined, hoosegowed.

It would certainly be much freer – for all concerned.

This idea that such would be “unsafe” presumes general stupidity, including disregard of one’s own personal welfare – and actually encourages precisely those things by taking due diligence out of the hands of free people and putting it (ostensibly) into the hands of this thing called “the government,” which necessarily cares a great deal less about our safety than we do, as we are the one most affected by threats to the same.

Meanwhile, fostering a pathetic dependence on this thing called “the government” to do the things we ought to be doing for ourselves, which act encourages the very due diligence that government discourages, by taking it upon itself.

But at least Lyft is still looking for drivers – and that’s something.

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Wip
Wip

Well, what can be said? Those who are in a position to change things for the freeer don’t because, somehow they benefit from it.

Rent seeking vs. those who are regulated and left to pay the tab by way of taxes, fees, fines, licenses etc.

The system isn’t rigged in any way shape or form. It’s just that you’re worthless scum because some group of people somewhere are able to make decisions that eliminate choices.

Dutchman
Dutchman

This is a scam – the drivers probably won’t make more than minimum wage.

You have gas / depreciation / repairs / tires / extra insurance / credit card processing fees / sales tax / need to pay your own FICA . I don’t believe Lyft gives the drivers any benefits – like vacation / 401K / health ins.

To top it all off – they take 20% !!!

Bob
Bob

This reminds me of when I was living in Orlando, but in the process of relocating to Texas. I explored the possibility of renting my house to vacationers — it was in a great location, 10 minutes from the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, with an enclosed pool, 4 bedrooms, etc. It could have paid for itself, BUT not so fast! There are an enormous number of rules and restrictions on homeowners in central Florida designed to keep them out of the ‘hotel’ business. Restrictions, taxes and fees made this an impossible dream. I doubt Air B-N-B has made much of a dent in the central Florida ‘criminalization’ of house rentals. Disney, Marriott, Hyatt and all their business cronies are corrupt as they come in buying local politicians and writing sweetheart laws to entrench themselves.

Anonymous
Anonymous

So do we need more or less regulation of Uber and Lyft?

Stucky

A review from some Lyft driver in CA

—————-

Everything I wish I knew before signing up to drive; all of these lessons from my experience driving for over 2,000 rides while maintaining the elusive 5-star average:

1) To make a living with Lyft, expect to work 50+ hours a week if you need to make a living doing it.

2) You can’t beat the flexibility; total control if you don’t need the money, but if you do, expect to be working specific hours.

3) Nearly every bonus they offer is tremendously difficult to actually achieve.

4) The bonuses got progressively worse (lower payout for more work) and harder to achieve.

5) Most of your time will be spent waiting except on weekends.

6) Speaking of which, I hope you don’t like doing stuff on the weekends besides driving.

7) Support? lol, that’s cute. Support is virtually non-existent and when you do eventually hear back from them, it often does more harm than good. I could tell you several stories about the incompetence of the “support” team, unfortunately.

8) The passengers are the best part about the job. If you don’t like talking to people, you probably won’t like this job.

9) Your health will decline. “Sitting is the new smoking” is very real. I used to be pretty flexible as well and can no longer touch my toes due to long hours spent sitting and the fact that I had to work such long hours just to make ends meet.

10) Before taxes, I averaged maybe $12/hr towards the end, and I live in LA. A couple years ago was much better but it progressively got worse and worse until recently when I stopped. The bonuses used to help a lot, but as aforementioned, they’ve gotten considerably worse. Factoring in the cost of owning a car, it’s not worth it. [Stucky Note: It seems he’s calculating $12/hr BEFORE car expenses. Wow!]

Stucky

This “job” sounds like a fucking nightmare!

————–

Here are 11 things to know before signing up to become an Uber or Lyft driver:

1. Your actual earnings may be less than advertised. Although an Uber study in early 2015 said its drivers in 20 cities averaged more than $19 an hour, a Buzzfeed survey found Uber drivers in Denver, Detroit and Houston earned less than $13.25 an hour after expenses in late 2015. In Detroit, they brought home just $8.77 an hour, on average.

A 2016 NerdWallet study of 14 of the largest Uber and Lyft markets found that in order to achieve an annual income of $50,000, Uber drivers must provide 60 rides a week, on average, and Lyft drivers need to offer 84 rides. On average, NerdWallet found, drivers around the country make more per trip with Uber than with Lyft.

Exactly how much you’ll make depends largely, of course, on how many hours you put in behind the wheel. Uber says 80% of its “partners” drive fewer than 35 hours a week in its 20 largest markets; more than half drive one to 14 hours.

But regardless of how much you’ll work, be sure to take into account the expenses you’ll incur — maintenance, gasoline, repairs, insurance and taxes — and the commission Uber or Lyft will take. Uber keeps 25% of drivers’ fares; Lyft takes 20 to 25%. (In its Uber analysis, Buzzfeed assumed driver expenses equaled 25% of their gross pay.)

As an independent contractor and not an employee, you’re responsible for most of your auto expenses — including both the employer’s and employee’s half of federal self-employment taxes. Both Lyft and Uber, however, provide up to $1 million in liability and uninsured motorist coverage if anything happens when you’re in “driver mode.”

2. It may pay to drive for both Uber and Lyft. Many drivers do because they find that sometimes one service offers better rates than the other. The New York Times recently wrote that Lyft had “cultivated a reputation for being more driver-friendly” than Uber.

3. You’ll want to be familiar with “peak” hours where you live. That’s when you’ll earn the most per hour, because Uber and Lyft raise their rates for customers then. Uber calls this “surge pricing.” Lyft calls it Prime Time. Typically, peak hours tend to be late at night or early in the morning — sometimes very late at night or very early in the morning — especially during concerts, sporting events, festivals, conventions, trade shows and such.

Late-night passengers needing to get home from bars present of a higher risk of getting sick in your car, however. Uber and Lyft will help cover your cost of getting the car cleaned if that happens.

4. Being an Uber or Lyft driver probably won’t be lucrative enough to represent your main source of income. Consider it supplementary, especially if you live in a smaller market, can’t spend all day in the car or can’t drive at “peak” hours every day.

5. Finding a local Facebook group for Uber and Lyft drivers can help you make more money. If there is such a group, you can get a lot of good information about where and when to earn the most as a driver.

6. It pays to know your area. Rod Bustos, 52, of Augusta, Ga., drove for Uber for a year and said it really only paid off for him during Augusta’s Masters golf tournament and the Augusta Beer Festival.

If you live in a small city or in a rural area, don’t expect a lot of business except during events like festivals and such.

7. Make sure you can endure the rigors of the job. Said Sandra Lutz-Rodriguez, 52, of Portland, Ore., who drives for Uber and Lyft (and says Uber keeps her busier): “Prolonged sitting can, and will, be hard for some.” Anyone who’s gotten out of the driver’s seat after a long road trip knows all about the stiffness in the legs and back that comes with that.

8. Plan to keep your car clean, inside and out, at all times. This could mean weekly detailing and daily trips to the car wash.

9. The work-life balance onus is on you. Being an Uber or Lyft driver allows for a lot of flexibility, since you make your own hours. That also means that avoiding exhaustion and staying healthy is up to you.

10. Lyft builds customers’ tips into its app; Uber generally does not. But Uber customers can tip drivers in cash; its customers must pay for rides with a credit card. New York City officials just proposed rules to require tipping as an option and California’s legislature is considering a similar law.

11. Finally, don’t become an Uber or Lyft driver if you’re not a “people person.” Passengers rate their experience with their drivers, so if you come off as dour or angry, this could negatively affect your rating. That, in turn, can determine whether you’ll get the call to pick someone up. My niece, who uses Uber all the time, only calls for drivers with perfect ratings. She’s not the only one.

C1ue
C1ue

I rode with a Lyft driver, he told me the car is actually owned by Lyft. This isn’t the first time I’m had such a driver, the first time was 3 months ago or so.
However, this driver was not pleased because his requirement in order to not have to pay for the car was raised from 75 to 150 rides per week.
To give you an idea, ride share averages around 2 ride per hour.
Indentured servitude by any other name…

Morongobill
Morongobill

They never would have succeeded with the Montgomery bus boycott if these rules had been in place then.

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