Uber

by John Ince on May 5, 2018 Leave a Comment

California Ruling Threatens the Gig Economy

Join us for our May YouTube live on Tuesday May 8 at 5pm PT! You can subscribe to our Youtube channel here and be sure to turn on notifications (instructions here) so you know when we go live.

A lot of heavy legal news to get to this week. Senior RSG contributor John Ince covers a recent California ruling that may re-classify drivers, plus how Uber (doesn’t) handle sexual assault accusations and what at least one senator may be trying to do about it.

Are You Keeping Track of Your Rideshare Earnings?

Every 1000 business miles = $545 in tax deductions. That means you have to track your miles and earnings. QuickBooks Self-Employed helps you track all of that quickly.

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by Melissa Berry on May 2, 2018 Leave a Comment

What Do You Think About Uber’s New Rewards Debit Card?

Have you heard about Uber’s new Rewards Debit Card? If not, we’ve got you covered. RSG contributor Melissa Berry will cover what the debit card is, what its benefits are, and if it’s good for drivers. Senior RSG contributor Christian Perea also contributed to this article.

Uber recently announced a new Visa Rewards Debit Card from GoBank. If you’re wondering what happened to the Uber Fuel Card, it turns out that Uber is ditching it for this new debit card.

Uber also has a Visa credit card that is targeted more towards riders but the new debit card will be exclusively for drivers. Debit cards traditionally don’t offer many benefits or rewards, so it’s cool to see a product like this.

Note: You’ll likely be able to get better rewards with a credit card but remember, this product is a debit card! For those who don’t have a high credit score, this debit card may be the only option.

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by Christian Perea on April 18, 2018 Leave a Comment

9 Reasons Uber Is Better For Drivers Than Lyft

Like Uber more than Lyft? You’re not the only one! This week, we’ve challenged senior RSG contributors Christian Perea and Jay Cradeur to explain why they like Uber (Christian) and Lyft (Jay) more than the other service. Don’t agree with Christian today? Check out Monday’s article, where Jay explained why he likes Lyft more.

I have a pretty long history of being critical of Uber and in my 3.5 years of driving, I’ve done 10 times as many trips with Lyft compared to Uber. I favored Lyft a lot not so much because I liked them better, but because I hold a bit of contempt towards Uber for always lowering prices first, deploying upfront pricing first, and overall becoming the epitome of an evil dystopian tech company.

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by Harry Campbell on April 13, 2018 Leave a Comment

Recap of My Live Q&A With Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi

As part of Uber’s new driver app announcement that took place via Live Stream on Tuesday, I was invited to attend the event and sit with Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, afterward to ask a few questions. Yes, I was as surprised as you are that Uber wanted me, a lowly blogger, to hop up on stage and chat with the CEO, but I was flattered at the opportunity and happy to participate.

There were no restrictions on the questions that I could ask, but unfortunately the Q&A was not live streamed. I have included a summary below though of the questions that I, along with other drivers, asked Dara and a paraphrase of each of his responses.

Before we get into the questions though, obviously there was a ton of hype and excitement around this event. Uber sent messages to drivers about a big ‘global announcement’ via the driver app, and since no Uber CEO has ever participated in any type of driver-focused event like this before, expectations were high.

Many drivers bookmarked this event on their calendar and some even pulled over and took a break from driving just so they could watch. But based on the hundreds of e-mails, comments and messages that came flooding in from drivers afterwards, most were extremely disappointed and upset that the announcement was ‘just a new driver app’.

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by Harry Campbell on April 10, 2018 Leave a Comment

Uber is Releasing a New Driver App for 2018

I actually got an invite to sit down one on one with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi at an event in Los Angeles today for a moderated Q&A panel with over 200 drivers in the audience. The session wasn’t recorded but stay tuned for my blog post on Friday to learn about what I asked him!

Over the past week, Uber has been peppering drivers with cryptic messages about a global announcement that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi would be making on Tuesday morning. Since it was a ‘global announcement’, I wasn’t sure exactly what would be revealed, but now we know that Uber is releasing a brand new driver app for 2018. It will take a few months to roll out the app to everyone, but Android users in Los Angeles and Atlanta will get to try it out first.

I was a little surprised that there was so much hoopla over this announcement and, while I didn’t expect a huge rate increase, or an axing of UberPOOL :), I suspect some drivers will be disappointed. As you’ll see below, the new app looks great and will make driving and absorbing lots of information while driving easier, but I haven’t heard too many complaints about the old Uber driver app relative to big pain points like low pay and upfront pricing.

I think the new driver app may have a bigger impact outside of the US, where many drivers are using older Android phones and experiencing poor reception, but I don’t see it improving a driver’s bottom line here in the US anytime soon.

To Uber’s credit, they worked with 470 drivers worldwide to beta test the new app and solicit feedback through in-person group lunches, ride-alongs and one-on-one text message exchanges. And overall, all of that driver input shows. I like the look of the new app and think it does a good job of sharing the most pertinent information but not overwhelming you like the old app sometimes would do.

Uber built some strong momentum with drivers in 2017 with the ‘180 Days of Change’ and is continuing in the right direction with a new driver app, but I think the big question drivers will be asking is, could their resources have been better spent somewhere else, like increasing rates?

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