Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an Uber driver in other parts of the world? Today we have a guest post from Angelo, a London Uber driver. Is driving in London as simple as signing up for Uber and turning on the app? Not quite!

As always, guest posters receive $100 for sharing their story with us. Do you have an interesting or helpful story you’d like to share with your fellow drivers? Then fill out this form and we’ll get in touch with you!

London streets have been dominated by the iconic black cab since the late 1800s. For the last 120 years, tourists and Londoners alike have hailed black cabs to get around the busy streets of London. But in recent years there has been a young contender nibbling at their heels. In 2012, Uber launched in London and has gradually grown from a small annoyance for the black cabbies to now, a serious threat.

Becoming a black cabbie has always been notoriously difficult. Taking between 3-5 years to complete, with over 25,000 roads to memorise, ‘The Knowledge’ has been dubbed the hardest taxi test in the world. However, with the emergence of Uber in the last few years, that barrier to entry is no longer there, as almost anyone and everyone can download the app and start picking up rides.

Or so I thought. I decided to become a London Uber driver, and this is my story of what I learned while driving for Uber in London.

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Is Uber a great opportunity to earn money in your spare time, or an engine of exploitation? Senior RSG contributor John Ince shares his thoughts on Uber’s evolution from a personal driver app to a rideshare-scooter-bike and more behemoth. What do you think about John’s conclusion? Is he being too harsh on Uber, or do you agree? Let us know in the comments below. 

Uber has become one of the most fascinating business stories of modern history. You can listen to an interview RSG had with Adam Lashinsky about Uber’s question for domination here, but needless to say, Uber’s has been controversial since day one.

Uber is a company that has gone public and made thousands of employees and early investors very happy people.  While all these newly minted millionaires (or billionaires) are counting their money, over two million drivers will be fighting traffic to help get their passenger from point A to point B as quickly and safely as possible.  For all these millions of drivers, Uber/Lyft have provided income that otherwise would not have been available.

For some drivers, Uber has been a godsend.  It has provided flexibility and opportunity to immigrants who have few other options in this new world.

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Ever have a passenger give you a bad vibe? Ever have a passenger who wasn’t the named person on the account who made you uncomfortable? Do you have to take them? RSG Contributor Gabe Ets-Hokin interviewed one Uber driver with a bad experience and shares some of his own, and tells you what you can do about it.

Maybe something like this has happened to you:

You pick up a passenger, but along the way, she wants to pick up a friend. Once you pick up the friend, you proceed to the original destination, but only she gets out and leaves the second passenger. Even though you’ve ended the ride, the second passenger asks, “do you do cash rides?”

It’s late, you’re tired, and don’t want to argue with the passenger, who says he doesn’t have the Uber app. You agree to take him on what would be a $15 ride, and he shows you a $100 bill.

“Do you have $60?” he asks. That’s a pretty good deal, so you peel three Jacksons from your wad. He hands you the $100, which you quickly make disappear, he gets out.

You get home, kick off your shoes and crawl into bed, exhausted from your 10-hour shift. In the morning, you remember your last ride, and pull the folded-up bill out of your jeans.
It’s fake.

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