"I did a ride the other day, and she said she paid $102 for a 40-minute ride. I got $25, and that’s because I had a $5 bonus!" said Lyft driver Debora Williams. "It’s just ridiculous."
Come on, cut out the middle man. They're providing nothing of that value.
But when I am putting a friend in the car to get them home after a night out or have too much luggage to keep it in the back seat? Liability, even with limits, goes a long way
And how precisely does having an app any rando can download provide any safe guards? I can assure you their background checks are pure PR. These drivers are not employees, according to the company. What do you think happens when a driver assaults or robs someone? What makes you think that criminals wouldn't just steal a phone from a driver and use that to get victims? The app provides no security other than theater.
Medallions specially are used in several large US cities. Transferable licenses are used in a great many other places. Non-transferable licenses in almost all of the rest of the world. Sanctioned taxis are highly regulated even in places that are otherwise quite dangerous.
So heres the problem. If you made this every hour consistently that would be like $37.50 an hour or about $78k a year. But you likely wouldn't have a ride back to the airport and $78k a year is probably shit pay given house prices and cost of living in Atlanta. And this isn't taking into the fact that you are destroying your car with all the wear and tear.
I have a close friend who drives for Uber and he treats it like a game and is very selective about when he drives and rides he accepts since this isn't his primary job. It's the only way to do this. Otherwise you’re just making lots of money for Uber.
Here in TX, I have to either drive 45 minutes across town or take a bus on a circuitous hours long drive to the bus terminal to then get on a bus that goes the rest of the way, also in a circuitous hours long trip. Utilizing mass transit here eats most of the day. Oh, and it is over a half hour walk to the nearest bus stop on roads with no sidewalks.