lyft and uber

[lamboguy]

lyft is on record with more than 1.4 million drivers in the US, while uber is 3 times the size of lyft, so they probably have about 5 million drivers.

this might explain why the unemployment number is so small now. this is the case of poor people driving around people flush with cash at very low rates.

i am told that these drivers net about $8 per hour after they pay their gas, tolls, and devaluations of their vehicles.

if you live in a large city, these shared rides are great deals. you don't have to own your own cars, fix cars, or pay to park them. often times the price of these rides are less than public transportation if you have 2 people in the car.

still, the best way to travel is on your own 2 feet. you don't pay for anything and you get to keep your body moving.

[kingfin66]

Perhaps even more than Lyft and Uber specifically is the "gig" economy generally.

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/gig-economy

[horses4courses]

Lyft/Uber makes a good second job for some.
The biggest benefit can be a tax deduction for business use of a new vehicle.

[Tom]

I admit I am not up on either, but aren't we penalizing TAXIs and all the regulations they have to meet by allowing these to operate?

And aren't they compromising public safety?

[Suff]

Originally Posted by kingfin66

Perhaps even more than Lyft and Uber specifically is the "gig" economy generally.

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/gig-economy

There's a start up named Oxygen Lending that is making loans using non-traditional credit-worthiness scores. They just took a series A after incubating with Ycombinator.

An uber driver can borrow against the money he earned TONIGHT, instead of waiting for the Uber scheduled disbursement in two weeks.

https://getoxygen.com/

They lend into the cash flow of freelancers by connecting to Venmo, Paypal, Zelle, Uber, handy.com , freelance.com etc.

Many of these people don't have bank accounts, credit cards etc.
The loans are like payday loans , except they're interest free! The member pays a monthly fee , small $6.99 to 29.99 a month.

[Suff]

Originally Posted by horses4courses

Lyft/Uber makes a good second job for some.
The biggest benefit can be a tax deduction for business use of a new vehicle.

No. Its a real job. Uber is in the auto leasing business now. They give you the car and take the lease payment from fares. Its maturing.

[coachv30]

Good side money can be made working UBER down the shore for the summer. You are running your own drunk bus from bar to bar and bar to houses. Trips are short and a lot of them can be made on one tank of gas.

[horses4courses]

Originally Posted by Suff

No. Its a real job. Uber is in the auto leasing business now. They give you the car and take the lease payment from fares. Its maturing.

I'm sure leasing through them is an option.
Likely that most don't go that route, though.

A local guy I heard talking about his experience was saying that
he made good money over the holiday period when our area was
packed with tourists who needed transport on a night out.

He also said that between tax write offs, and money earned,
he has virtually paid off a new vehicle with some part time work.

The universal perk that is always mentioned is being able to set your own hours.

[Suff]

Originally Posted by horses4courses

I'm sure leasing through them is an option.
Likely that most don't go that route, though.

.

Actually I checked for S & G's and they sold their leasing arm to fair.com who acts as their exclusive lease partner.

[davew]

Are not most of the drivers 'independent contractors' rather than employees? I have heard many are making payments in their new vehicles by driving a couple days a week.

[lamboguy]

these are the numbers i would work with

to buy a $25,000 Toyota Camry or Honda Accord would be roughly $17,000 brand new. add $1000 for sales tax and $500 for excise tax. $1200 per year for regular car insurance. $1800 per year for regular maintenance and small repairs like brakes, battery, exhaust, and tires. let's say you drive the car 40,000 miles a year and spend $5000 per year on gas @25 mpg.

the total expenses for owning the car for 5 years would be about $4000 per year. you should be able to earn about $20,000 per year before these expenses for a net of $16,000 working roughly 40 hours per week.

bottom line is you make about $8 per hour before you pay your income taxes and you own a car with 200,000 miles on the clock.

[davew]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

these are the numbers i would work with

to buy a $25,000 Toyota Camry or Honda Accord would be roughly $17,000 brand new. add $1000 for sales tax and $500 for excise tax. $1200 per year for regular car insurance. $1800 per year for regular maintenance and small repairs like brakes, battery, exhaust, and tires. let's say you drive the car 40,000 miles a year and spend $5000 per year on gas @25 mpg.

the total expenses for owning the car for 5 years would be about $4000 per year. you should be able to earn about $20,000 per year before these expenses for a net of $16,000 working roughly 40 hours per week.

bottom line is you make about $8 per hour before you pay your income taxes and you own a car with 200,000 miles on the clock.

Standard mileage rate 54.5 cents per mile will cut your 1099 income down greatly.

Not saying it is great but you still have a nice vehicle for awhile.

[NorCalGreg]

Used to be if you called your local cab company--they would be at your door (or whatever location you call from) within 30 minutes at most.

Now--they don't even show up. No phone call...nothing. The ONLY reason I ever call a cab---Uber and Lyft cannot go to or from any airports.

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by NorCalGreg

Used to be if you called your local cab company--they would be at your door (or whatever location you call from) within 30 minutes at most.

Now--they don't even show up. No phone call...nothing. The ONLY reason I ever call a cab---Uber and Lyft cannot go to or from any airports.

Terrible foreign drivers are part of the failure of traditional cab companies. When I worked for the Charlotte PD they actually had a taxi squad for a while. They worked out of the airport, busting drivers for everything from assault to extortion.

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by Tom

I admit I am not up on either, but aren't we penalizing TAXIs and all the regulations they have to meet by allowing these to operate?

And aren't they compromising public safety?

Certainly

basically it was a 'coup de tat , a putsch

once they had the legislation on their side, they could cross and pillage the economic 'moat' that protected the Taxi industry.




It was a good idea.
What do they call that in business,- if you go through the big schools?

You got Porter's 5-forces;
("IN CROWD and their inner rivalry" "Wannabees/'PotentialEntrants', +those who Buy from In, +those who Supply in, +those who try to Substitute for in.
In this model - Uber/Lyft is the substitute/generic of the In-crowd Taxi/limo).

other models like the 'crazy fischer model';

have '6' forces, with innovation/game-changers being the 6th force, distinct from the substitute/generic models, with the contrast focusing on an actual change in industry power and dynamics.