Testimonial: UberX

Hey all...especially for those of you living in Greater Downtown...I cannot tell you how much you need to try out UberX.

I am not getting paid to say this.

I've been living in Detroit for 5 years now [[excepting the 18 years before college.) When I was in Ann Arbor, cab service was reliable, courteous, and affordable. You could call a cab company, set a reservation, they would call your cellphone when they arrived, and then happily take credit card to close out the tab.

When I moved to Detroit I was absolutely shocked at how incompetent and piss-poor the cab service is.

I would call dispatch, and the people answering the phone couldn't pass even the most basic of modern customer service standards. I would ask how long the wait would be, and they would tell me things like, "well between 20 minutes to an hour". I'd reply saying, "that's kind of a large window of time...are you sure you can't narrow that down a bit?"

"NO. Do you want the cab or not?"
"Ok, I'll take it. Just have them call me when they get here so we know to come down."
"Um, no, we don't do that. They'll beep the horn, and if you aren't there in a few minutes, then they'll leave."

What the hell??

Then if I take the cab, they've pulled sh** like not turning on the meter and then throwing out arbitrary fares, like, "that'll be $10" to go from Corktown to Campus Martius.

"Um, that's BS. I'll give you $5 plus tip. Here's my credit card."
"We don't take credit card."

At every stage in the experience, it's a disaster. I've had friends from out of town come in and say the same thing. It's a total embarrassment, IMHO.

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So enter this company called, "Uber".

You download an app for your phone, and you link it to a credit card. You order a cab from your phone, the company uses GPS to help you name your location, and it sends the data to the nearest driver -- whom you can follow in real time on a moving map -- to see how far they are.

Then when they arrive, you get a text message to let you know. They already have your phone number, so if there's a problem, they call you.

Then since they already have your credit card, you don't need to waste time paying, and all the fares are automatically calculated.

The only problem has historically been that Uber is f-ing expensive. $20 minimums...and at that price, it's tough for me to make it worth it.

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Enter: UberX.

It's the exact same service, except instead of taking a Lincoln Towncar or a Black Navigator, the cars might be smaller sedans. My last two trips were in a Ford Taurus.

And the fares are much cheaper to get around Greater Downtown. Like $5-7.

The last two weekends I've decided to see if I could avoid driving all weekend, and the experience has been phenomenal. When you're factoring in the price of paid parking, plus the pain in the ass of just trying to find parking, deal with traffic, and then the walk from your parking spot to your destination, the $5 starts to look really cheap.

On Friday, for the tree lighting, I got picked up right at my door, taken right to Campus Martius. I hung out there through much of the night, then walked over to Greektown and did some partying. Then I took a ride home at 1 a.m., again with door-to-door service.

On Saturday, I took a trip to the Detroit Opera House for a show, then partied at Detroit Beer Company and closed the bar out. Then UberX'd it home.

Total spent for the weekend was $23.

And when you factor parking costs, plus driving while buzzed, plus dealing with traffic...it was totally worth it.

I'm curious about how others' experience of it and cab companies as well.

I second all of that. Cabs are a horror show and not worth the effort. Regular Uber is a great service but too expensive to use regularly.

UberX is price-competetive with regular cabs, and the quality of the service is in another class. I've complained in here about feeling pressure to move out of Michigan as a visually impaired person longing for better transit, and this service means that I'm likely to stay and fight for it rather than give up and leave.

Sounds pretty damn good.

I hear you about visually impaired. My folks were and so now am I, own a car but have others drive me. Sounds like a good service.

Know how you can tell something is really awesome? The competition and/or the government tries to shut them down:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uber_%2...n_and_approval

Making it easier for customers to shop for and get services? Can't have that!

I second the recommendation of UberX. A group of 12 of us employed them on Saturday night and couldn't have been happier. So many advantages to a regular Detroit Taxi...Cleaner, safer, quicker, easier, friendlier. The iPhone app is great - you see your driver's name, face and current location as you're waiting. It gives you a very accurate ETA based on GPS, and allows you to process payment.

I have received emails to sign up as an UberX driver. Don't know why. I thought it was some kind of scam

as a former cabbie, i find this concept interesting, from both sides. i'd be more interested tho to hear testimonials from drivers, on how good it works out for them. yunno, in terms of getting paid correctly, etc.

idk if i like the idea of using my personal car tho. it would have definite upsides, because there is nothing that sucks worse than paying $75 to get your junky cab for the night, only to have it break down and fuck you out of any hope of turning a profit that night. at least i know my personal vehicle isnt ticking like a bomb. but the downside is, my personal vehicle is a small pickup truck, not suited for cab service. even if i had a sedan, i wouldnt feel right without some kind of barrier installed...

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Sample Fares:

Downtown to Midtown: $6-7
Royal Oak to Birmingham: $14-16
Royal Oak to Downtown Detroit: $28-31
Downtown Detroit to Detroit Metro Airport: $42-46

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wow, thats like double what we were charging when i drove [[a mere 2yrs ago)

err, i mean--awesome! heheh


plus a minimum fare / cancellation fee of $5? hell yeah! i might have to get back into cab driving, haha. nothing pissed me off more than getting nothing but $3 fares to the corner store all night...you'd waste more than that in gas just getting to the pickup point from wherever you were when you took the call. and if nobody was there when you arrived, you were shit out of luck. that happened a LOT. sometimes, you would arrive only to see them getting into another company's cab, who arrived seconds before you. real fuckin nice.

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Originally Posted by WaCoTS

wow, thats like double what we were charging when i drove [[a mere 2yrs ago)

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You were charging $3 to go from downtown to midtown? Wow, that's a steal.

I'll tell you what, though, I'd rather pay the $6 and know the fare in advance rather than have some cabbie try to gouge us for $10 just because we look we might have some money.

Plus, the $6 includes tip. On a $3 cab ride, I'd still tip you $2. So for the extra dollar I get top notch service, a GPS tracker for the cab I ordered, and no bullshit from the driver about using a credit card?

Totally worth it.

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Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

You were charging $3 to go from downtown to midtown? Wow, that's a steal.

I'll tell you what, though, I'd rather pay the $6 and know the fare in advance rather than have some cabbie try to gouge us for $10 just because we look we might have some money.

Plus, the $6 includes tip. On a $3 cab ride, I'd still tip you $2. So for the extra dollar I get top notch service, a GPS tracker for the cab I ordered, and no bullshit from the driver about using a credit card?

Totally worth it.

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You could pay half that and ride the DDOT.

Technically this is a jitney service which is against the law due to them being unregulated.

I've used Uber and recently as this weekend UberX for the first time. I do not mind leaving my car in a secure place to take Uber or UberX home. It works great to maneuver around Detroit, especially from Midtown to Corktown and anywhere in between.

I've cabbed it a few times in and around Detroit. Only one bad experience though. But when you need a cab, they are rarely there. And yes, the customer service sucked. With Uber you know when they will arrive, a picture of the driver, their cell number, and how much your fare will be. You are able to split fares and use PayPal. It's a win-win for me.

Didn't see it mentioned anywhere, so it should be noted also that your first 3 rides on uberX in November are free [[up to $30).

http://blog.uber.com/detuberx

I am going to abuse this for my company's holiday party, which is at Motor City Casino. I wasn't looking forward to having to use say, Checker, but now that UberX has rolled out, I will definitely be looking into this for transportation downtown for nights out with the buds.

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Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

You could pay half that and ride the DDOT.

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If you get the DDOT to pick me up from the bar at 1 am and take me to my doorstep, I'll be the first person to sign up.

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Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Technically this is a jitney service which is against the law due to them being unregulated.

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i was wondering about that...but apparently they don't seem to be worried?

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Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

You were charging $3 to go from downtown to midtown? Wow, that's a steal.

I'll tell you what, though, I'd rather pay the $6 and know the fare in advance rather than have some cabbie try to gouge us for $10 just because we look we might have some money.

Plus, the $6 includes tip. On a $3 cab ride, I'd still tip you $2. So for the extra dollar I get top notch service, a GPS tracker for the cab I ordered, and no bullshit from the driver about using a credit card?

Totally worth it.

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yeah my meter started at $2.50 if i recall. so short trips often were in the $3.50-$6 range. and most of the time you did not get a tip from the cheap-asses / broke-asses who ride in cabs. or if you did, it was a chinsy "keep the change" type of tip. then again i rarely had to drive downtown/midtown; i was on the west side mostly.

so to sum up, i like the fact that these guys have rolled a tip into their fares. they probably did that knowing how poorly most people tip cabbies in general.

I downloaded the app a while ago. I guess that was when all they offered was the black car service and I didn't find it very appealing. But with UberX and the lower fares, it seems hard to pass up. I'll definitely have to try this soon!

Having been a loyal Uber user in nearly every city I visit, including moments when the ole' MTA is shut down en route to Brooklyn -- it's a fantastic service that is sprouting up other similar offerings. Lyft, Sidecar, Hailo etc. are all disrupting a poorly constructed market, and I've always sensed that places like Detroit [[or Pittsburgh, Cleveland, etc.) with poor taxi coverage will benefit most from the service.

I wouldn't be surprised if you see one of the ride sharing services trying to establish a presence in the metro area in the near future.

What kind of background checks do Uber and UberX run? I can't think of any greater source of people to roll than people who drunk hail an unregulated cab service. And what's your recourse?

- These services basically take the position that they their drivers "use their technology" and that they are not responsible for robberies and assaults. California is the one place that so far has required these companies to carry their own liability insurance - but it has also through regulation essentially converted these companies into conventional cab companies.

- In Michigan, these run on someone's personal insurance - which may deny coverage based on commercial operation of a personal vehicle.

- And in a town where people routinely commit insurance fraud and cancel policies right after they show the proof to someone, you're taking some huge chances.

Whatever you think of these services as a consumer, the social statement it makes is that people are so broke that they would use their free time [[and incur risks - assaults, puking in your car, robberies) to supply rides for these prices. Calculate the trip times and then tell me this is a job that pays more than $10-12 an hour.

I'm no fan of conventional taxis, which around here are pretty poor. But then again, I'm not really into binge drinking.

HB

^^Those who have used it may chime in and offer more than I know, but when I registered for Uber, they got my name, address and credit card info. No money changes hands. I think that's one reason it appeals to their drivers. I'm pretty sure you can't "hail" one either. That's probably one thing that keeps them [[just barely) this side of the law.

Here are just three guys using Lyft. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNM7Z7hir_I

Whats up with the pink 'stache?

I definitely used UberX all weekend, both for a date and for when my cousin was in town, and I cannot express how great it was to pay under $30 cab fare to be carted from Midtown/Woodbridge to downtown and back. The drivers were a blast and honestly could not have asked for more. Seriously, if you ever want to get silly and be safe, UberX will help you do that while rolling on a budget.

I could be wrong, but having been recruited as an UberX driver, I was told the minimum fare is $10. Also, tip, if desired, is NOT included in the fare. The benefit for Uber, the passenger and the driver is that it's a cashless transaction and you know it's somewhat secure. The disadvantage for the driver is that it's a cashless transaction, Uber takes 20%, and with no cash, there are not many tips. Tip money comes in handy when you are washing your vehicle, supplying your own GPS, etc. Regarding puking in car, damage to car. Uber does have a policy that if there's a problem with a fare damaging the vehicle, you report it and I assume they contact the customer and if they don't agree to arrangements, tack the cost of repair/cleaning onto the credit card used for the fare. Interesting reading about this.

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Originally Posted by BillyBBrew

I could be wrong, but having been recruited as an UberX driver, I was told the minimum fare is $10. Also, tip, if desired, is NOT included in the fare. The benefit for Uber, the passenger and the driver is that it's a cashless transaction and you know it's somewhat secure. The disadvantage for the driver is that it's a cashless transaction, Uber takes 20%, and with no cash, there are not many tips. Tip money comes in handy when you are washing your vehicle, supplying your own GPS, etc. Regarding puking in car, damage to car. Uber does have a policy that if there's a problem with a fare damaging the vehicle, you report it and I assume they contact the customer and if they don't agree to arrangements, tack the cost of repair/cleaning onto the credit card used for the fare. Interesting reading about this.

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Uber is $10 minimum. UberX is $5.

Tips are not expected....not because it's a cashless transaction...but because the driver keeps 80% of the fare, which is very competitive compared to most taxi companies.

I don't know if Uber will survive in its current form 5 years from now. But I can definitely see a scenario where Uber either rents or sells the technology to other cab companies.

Honestly, I don't really care which cab company drives me around. If I can hire them with a phone app, track the driver en route to my house, and then pay the driver with the credit card already on file? I'll hire them.

I have a few trips with UberX under my belt now, and all I can say is that it's miles ahead [[pun) of a regular cab. I love the certainty of knowing just how far away in distance and time your ride is and not having to exchange cash. If the driver is unsure of exactly where you are [[one pickup was in the RenCen), they call you. No more having to wait outside a restaurant for your cab to show up, not knowing if they were even coming.

One downside is last Sunday morning no cars were available. But getting regular cabs on Sundays is not easy either, especially when its snowing. I called Checker and was on hold for several minutes. Eventually, I tried Uber again, and a car was available. Other downside is that they don't take reservations for a ride ahead of time. But again, the alternative is a regular cab, and having a reservation with them is no guarantee that they'll show up.

You are correct DTGuy. I had the wrong rates. I did some research last night and confirmed it today. I will not be driving for UberX. By the time I figure my tax liability, their 20%, and mileage driven that's Uber related [[fare miles and deadhead miles) there's no money to be made. Tack carwashes and whatnot onto that and it's definitely not worth it. I figured I could put a little bit of money into my pocket [[and not just into my car's) with the Uber fares, but driving a Buick Lacrosse for UberX is just not worth it. BTW, back in the 90's when I was around cabs a lot, you could lease a cab for 12 hours for $48. After you paid the lease and your gas used, the rest of the money was yours, including tips. [[I could be wrong, but this is how I recall it being) I don't think that using ones own vehicle, if you want it to stay nice and not a piece of shit like most cabs in Detroit, leaves much room for profit with UberX, especially when tips are strongly discouraged. I think, in my case, the tip would have been the deal breaker. If Uber did not discourage tips and just left it at "Tips are at the rider's discretion and are not required" I might have considered it.

Big ups to Uber. Use it in NY/NJ and was excited to hear of its Detroit expansion. Will give its Detroit crew some work ASAP.

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Originally Posted by BillyBBrew

You are correct DTGuy. I had the wrong rates. I did some research last night and confirmed it today. I will not be driving for UberX. By the time I figure my tax liability, their 20%, and mileage driven that's Uber related [[fare miles and deadhead miles) there's no money to be made. Tack carwashes and whatnot onto that and it's definitely not worth it. I figured I could put a little bit of money into my pocket [[and not just into my car's) with the Uber fares, but driving a Buick Lacrosse for UberX is just not worth it. BTW, back in the 90's when I was around cabs a lot, you could lease a cab for 12 hours for $48. After you paid the lease and your gas used, the rest of the money was yours, including tips. [[I could be wrong, but this is how I recall it being) I don't think that using ones own vehicle, if you want it to stay nice and not a piece of shit like most cabs in Detroit, leaves much room for profit with UberX, especially when tips are strongly discouraged. I think, in my case, the tip would have been the deal breaker. If Uber did not discourage tips and just left it at "Tips are at the rider's discretion and are not required" I might have considered it.

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A Buick Lacrosse is a pretty decent vehicle. Wouldn't it qualify for Uber? The fares [[and therefore, your pay) are almost twice as much.

Apparently it doesn't. I did ask about regular Uber. I'm sure that it not being black would be the first issue. But it's every bit as nice as a Cadillac or Chrysler 300 in my opinion.

BBB, I've been in a couple of Toyotas and the last one was some kind of pickup with a front and back seat cab. I would think your Buick Lacrosse would match those.

As for tipping, I was under the mistaken impression that a tip was factored into the final fare. I may have read something elsewhere about the service that gave me that impression and when you sign up and enter your preferences they do ask you to set your default tip rate. But after I looked closer, apparently that only applies to the Uber Taxi service which I guess is a fully regulated taxi service, and I don't think it's available in Detroit. But I don't know that I have seen anything from Uber that discourages giving the driver a cash tip. I wonder what the other folks on this thread that have used the service have done? Do you give an extra cash tip?

And finally, from what some cab drivers have told me, they pay about $30 more for their lease than you recall from the 90s, or about $75-$80. I would think that's a pretty big nut to crack before you break even for the day. I've also heard that some drivers get "preferential" treatment from the dispatchers, so if you're not willing to play the game, you may have to do a lot of cruising or waiting in line at taxi stands. Factor in the huge security issues of not knowing who's hopping into your cab, wouldn't that balance the scales for you a bit?

I generally don't tip since it is included in the fare. I'll throw a bit extra their way if they have to deal with something extra [[making a few stops, cleaning up after me or my friends, dealing with someone who is being a dick, etc) though.

My one uberX ride, the driver said he took a wasted guy from like Detroit to Novi and the guy gave him a huge tip, even though he reassured him multiple times that tipping was considered part of the payment.

I just figured I'd try to pick up some extra money. I enjoy driving, live close to downtown and have a decent vehicle [[that I'd like to keep that way). They say an average fare from downtown to midtown is $6-$7. Figuring it at $6, this is how I broke it down. $6 less 20% [[for Uber) = $4.80. $4.80 less 30% [[Tax liability, being conservative) = $3.36. $3.36 less $3.92 [[7 miles, 2 miles plus deadheading miles) for wear/tear on vehicle at $.56/mile IRS rate leaves me in the hole. I have made nothing for my time, there's no guaranteed person going somewhere from Midtown, and so far as I know, wear and tear doesn't include car washes, the suggested cold water Uber wants you to provide, etc etc. Add in that I priced snow tires for my car and they came out to be $1,250. Maybe if I had a vehicle with a cheaper replacement cost. Most cabs are worn out pieces of junk and are maintained just enough to keep them road worthy in my experience. I do not plan to maintain my car to that standard and therefore, my maintenance and upkeep costs would be significantly higher. I appreciate the thoughts and opinions. I thought long and hard about this. If the rates were Uber rates and not UberX, I think I could make it work, but not on UberX rates.

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Originally Posted by BillyBBrew

I just figured I'd try to pick up some extra money. I enjoy driving, live close to downtown and have a decent vehicle [[that I'd like to keep that way). They say an average fare from downtown to midtown is $6-$7. Figuring it at $6, this is how I broke it down. $6 less 20% [[for Uber) = $4.80. $4.80 less 30% [[Tax liability, being conservative) = $3.36. $3.36 less $3.92 [[7 miles, 2 miles plus deadheading miles) for wear/tear on vehicle at $.56/mile IRS rate leaves me in the hole. I have made nothing for my time, there's no guaranteed person going somewhere from Midtown, and so far as I know, wear and tear doesn't include car washes, the suggested cold water Uber wants you to provide, etc etc. Add in that I priced snow tires for my car and they came out to be $1,250. Maybe if I had a vehicle with a cheaper replacement cost. Most cabs are worn out pieces of junk and are maintained just enough to keep them road worthy in my experience. I do not plan to maintain my car to that standard and therefore, my maintenance and upkeep costs would be significantly higher. I appreciate the thoughts and opinions. I thought long and hard about this. If the rates were Uber rates and not UberX, I think I could make it work, but not on UberX rates.

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Well I think you're on the right track, but I'm unconvinced about the math.

You generate $4.80 for the average fare after paying Uber their cut. We agree on that part.

Where I question your methodology is that you subtract out the 30% rate you pay the IRS [[which I think is a reasonable rate)...leaving you $3.36...but then you subtract out $3.92 in reasonable wear and tear on your car afterward.

I think the arithmetic is right but the sequence of operations is wrong.

I'll let some accounting professionals chime in here, but if you're generating $4.80 after paying Uber, you should subtract out the $3.92 in wear and tear BEFORE calculating the taxes, not after. Why? Because the IRS wear and tear calculation is deductible expense that's fundamental to running your business. The IRS wants to tax your net income, not your gross revenue.

So you generate $4.80, but you subtract out $3.92 before you report taxable income, meaning you're only getting taxed on $0.88.

At 30% -- 25% fed plus 4.3% state -- [[which would only be that high if you're generating $72,000 in joint income prior to working for Uber), you're paying less than 27 cents in taxes.

So now you're getting $4.80 per fare minus 27 cents in taxes = $4.53 per fare. 5 of those in an hour isn't bad money.

Is it worth it for you? Maybe not. Maybe yes.

The snow tires is a capitalized expense, not an operating expense, so you technically need to spread that cost out over the entire life of the tire. And, arguably, if you were already buying snow tires anyway, is it really an upfront expense?

Look, I have no stake in Uber, or in you driving for them. Is it good money? Like anything else, it depends on your alternatives. Am I going to quit my job as a financial planner to drive Uber cabs all night? No.

But if I had a reasonably nice car that wasn't too expensive to maintain plus really good gas mileage, it's not a total ripoff, either.

Very valid points. I did do some basic googling about what expenses cab drivers who use their own vehicles can write off, seems to be that you can't do the standard mileage deduction, but things like insurance are eligible.

I can probably make it throught the winter with the tires that are on the car, but if I was driving other people around, I would prefer not to. Unfortunately it came with slicker low profile freeway tires [[touring package)

I can relate to the scenario you've laid out, but unless I'm missing something, the actual operating expenses still have to be paid out of the remaining $4.53/fare. Not sure how much that would actually leave for my time, which is the whole point. I would much prefer to drive for UberX, but if I made more money working part time for McDonald's and didn't wear out my car in the process, it would make more fiscal sense.

The other issue is: Is there the volume to support 4 fares in an hour. I'm still thinking about giving it a try, but I will talk to my accountant and see about what's deductible and what isn't. I appreciate the input.

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Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

Well I think you're on the right track, but I'm unconvinced about the math.

You generate $4.80 for the average fare after paying Uber their cut. We agree on that part.

Where I question your methodology is that you subtract out the 30% rate you pay the IRS [[which I think is a reasonable rate)...leaving you $3.36...but then you subtract out $3.92 in reasonable wear and tear on your car afterward.

I think the arithmetic is right but the sequence of operations is wrong.

I'll let some accounting professionals chime in here, but if you're generating $4.80 after paying Uber, you should subtract out the $3.92 in wear and tear BEFORE calculating the taxes, not after. Why? Because the IRS wear and tear calculation is deductible expense that's fundamental to running your business. The IRS wants to tax your net income, not your gross revenue.

So you generate $4.80, but you subtract out $3.92 before you report taxable income, meaning you're only getting taxed on $0.88.

At 30% -- 25% fed plus 4.3% state -- [[which would only be that high if you're generating $72,000 in joint income prior to working for Uber), you're paying less than 27 cents in taxes.

So now you're getting $4.80 per fare minus 27 cents in taxes = $4.53 per fare. 5 of those in an hour isn't bad money.

Is it worth it for you? Maybe not. Maybe yes.

The snow tires is a capitalized expense, not an operating expense, so you technically need to spread that cost out over the entire life of the tire. And, arguably, if you were already buying snow tires anyway, is it really an upfront expense?

Look, I have no stake in Uber, or in you driving for them. Is it good money? Like anything else, it depends on your alternatives. Am I going to quit my job as a financial planner to drive Uber cabs all night? No.

But if I had a reasonably nice car that wasn't too expensive to maintain plus really good gas mileage, it's not a total ripoff, either.

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Originally Posted by BillyBBrew

I can relate to the scenario you've laid out, but unless I'm missing something, the actual operating expenses still have to be paid out of the remaining $4.53/fare. Not sure how much that would actually leave for my time, which is the whole point. I would much prefer to drive for UberX, but if I made more money working part time for McDonald's and didn't wear out my car in the process, it would make more fiscal sense.

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I agree with that sentiment. It's a big question mark because we don't know how many fares you'll get, and we also don't know your tax bracket. Still thinking that it'll likely be more like 10-15% or less unless you're making beaucoup bucks.

...in which case you're making beaucoup bucks.

One interesting suggestion, if I may, download Uber and take the service yourself. Spend the 10-minute cab ride asking actual drivers whether or not they do enough volume to make it worth it.

As far as tax bracket goes. I work full time for the railroad, so, while I don't make nearly the $72,000 you mentioned, I am in the 25% tax bracket. That said, as a city resident, there's also city taxes to pay as well.

I hadn't thought of trying to get an UberX ride and see what they thought. I still would much rather drive part time and choose my own hours, than flip burgers. While it may seem like I'm making the big bucks, I take a larger hit with Railroad Retirement, as opposed to Social Security, and I'm paying cost sharing on my benefits. I figured out that I bring home roughly 50% of my gross income and it's not quite enough for a single person to live on comfortably. I appreciate the help and advice.

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Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

I agree with that sentiment. It's a big question mark because we don't know how many fares you'll get, and we also don't know your tax bracket. Still thinking that it'll likely be more like 10-15% or less unless you're making beaucoup bucks.

...in which case you're making beaucoup bucks.

One interesting suggestion, if I may, download Uber and take the service yourself. Spend the 10-minute cab ride asking actual drivers whether or not they do enough volume to make it worth it.

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Originally Posted by BillyBBrew

I hadn't thought of trying to get an UberX ride and see what they thought.

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By all means, do this. Just for my own curiosity, I've been asking the drivers if they like working with Uber. They have all been very positive [[and optimistic). Most were quite new, which makes sense since they just rolled out UberX in November. They don't have any set or assigned hours either. When the mood strikes, they just turn on their app and wait for a ride to get assigned to them.

Other than doing what you must to meet Uber's standards [[extra insurance, for one), I don't know if there's much of a commitment. Say you don't like it in a couple of weeks, just opt out.

A potential downside to Uber was brought to my attention by a fellow DYesser I had the pleasure of meeting in person last weekend. Apparently, Uber has a practice of implementing "surge pricing" when the supply of Uber drivers cannot keep up with demand of waiting passengers, as happened during a recent New York City snowstorm. It's gotten a lot of flack from upset passengers and the media and has put the Uber CEO on the defensive:

In New York, Uber’s price surge isn’t a problem. Other cities might be different.

However, in another Washington Post blog two days later, this writer defends the practice:

Uber’s surge pricing is totally logical and fair. So why do people hate it so much?

When I first heard about surge pricing, I thought it sounded a bit like bait-and-switch. I wondered why Uber, which is so tech-savvy and transparent about their fares, would soak their customers without their knowledge. But, as the second blog points out, Uber does make it very clear BEFORE you agree to the ride, that surge pricing is in effect.

From what else I have read, they don't invoke surge pricing often. New Year's Eve, as you would expect, and the NYC snowstorm were the only specific times I read about.

Another article published a few days ago goes so far as to quote Uber's advisory that surge pricing would be in effect New Year's Eve, complete with a chart showing when Uber predicted rates would rise and fall.

As for the transparency issue, that article also has a screen shot of the warning Uber gives when surge rates are imposed, and the fare that would be in effect if you agreed to the ride. Seems pretty clear to me:

Previewing Tonight's Uber Surge Pricing Schedule

I can live with this. Since the driver keeps 80% of the fare, I don't read this as a money grab by Uber, but an incentive to get more drivers on the road when demand warrants it.