Uber

by John Ince on December 10, 2018 Leave a Comment

Uber IPO 2019 – 4 Ways Uber is Preparing for The Big Day

Join us for our December YouTube live on Tuesday December 11 at 4pm 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.

Although Uber hasn’t announced a date for its IPO, it’s widely expected to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019. How will Uber’s IPO go and how will it affect drivers? It depends on a variety of factors, which senior RSG contributor John Ince outlines for us below.

Uber hasn’t specified a date for its 2019 IPO, but a keen sense of anticipation is growing both within the investment community and the ridesharing industry for what is shaping up as an epic event. Some have speculated that Uber’s IPO may be the biggest in history and the Wall Street Journal has thrown out a number of $120B as a likely starting place for a company evaluation in an IPO.

Uber isn’t resting on its laurels while it’s in “build up to IPO mode” right now, either. Let’s take a look of what Uber is doing to prepare itself for this major event. I see four key areas of attention for Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and his crew.

Track Your Miles for Free with Stride Drive

Smart drivers know they need to track their mileage from start to finish. Stride Drive is a free app you can use to track your mileage, which will help you save money at tax time.

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by Harry Campbell on November 7, 2018 Leave a Comment

Everything Drivers Need to Know About Uber Pro

Last week, we covered a new program Uber has rolled out to some drivers across the country called Uber Pro. Now that some drivers have been driving under Uber Pro for a week, we wanted to provide an update on everything we’ve learned about Uber Pro from drivers currently in the program who provided us with screenshots and their perspective on the roll out so far.

Are you a driver in the Uber Pro program? Reach out to us and let us know your thoughts! We’re planning on covering Uber Pro in the coming months to see if it’s living up to its hype – or not.

Thank you to all of the drivers who submitted their initial thoughts (and screenshots) on Uber Pro!

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by Jay Cradeur on November 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

Uber Pro – New Rewards Program Helps Drivers Be More Successful

Uber is releasing a new way to reward drivers with increased earnings and discounts on everything from gas to college tuition. This new program is called Uber Pro, and today, senior RSG contributor Jay Cradeur breaks down how this new program works and how it will help drivers earn more.

Uber Pro

I count myself among the thousands of driver who feel undervalued, under-appreciated and underpaid. While Uber and Lyft have paid lip service to appreciation of their drivers, very little has changed in how much we are paid or how much we are recognized.

Recently, I sat in on a presentation in which Uber unveiled their new Uber Pro program in an effort to remedy many of the issues and complaints rideshare drivers experience.

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by John Ince on October 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

Are Uber Drivers Employees? Cloud Looms Over Rideshare Industry

As drivers, we are expected to do a lot of things for our “job.” While we can choose the hours we work, pay can be inconsistent and some drivers are incentivized to drive at hours they may not prefer, all for the lure of extra pay. So what does this actually make drivers – true independent contractors, or something else? Senior RSG contributor John Ince tackles this question below.

If you’re interested in signing up to drive for Uber, Uber Eats, Lyft, Postmates, or Doordash, click here to sign up

Should Uber & Lyft Drivers Be Employees or Independent Contractors?

A cloud hangs over the entire ridesharing industry. It’s a legal cloud of ambiguity as to what exactly drivers are. Are drivers independent contractors as Uber and Lyft would have the world believe? Or are drivers employees – as two important legal bodies have ruled within the last six months? Further adding to the confusion, Recently, the 9th Circuit of San Francisco ruled that a major lawsuit on this issue could not proceed because driver’s signed away their rights when the signed up to drive for Uber and agreed to arbitration on these issues. So the issue remains in legal limbo and likely will for the foreseeable future.

It’s a legal issue that affects everything in this new space called the gig economy. Labor advocates argue that this gig labor development has set back labor rights fifty years. Those on the other side argue that it’s brought flexibility and income opportunities to countless people that otherwise would be wanting.

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by Harry Campbell on September 12, 2018 Leave a Comment

Why Are So Many Drivers Having Trouble with Background Checks?

Over the past few months, we’ve heard from numerous drivers who were running into problems with the Uber background check. In some cases, new Uber drivers were experiencing issues getting approved, but for the most part, a lot of the issues we’ve been hearing about stem from the updated annual background checks that Uber is now running on existing drivers.

There’s never been much transparency with this process, and I’ve always disliked the fact that drivers have no idea when these checks are going to be run, what Uber is looking for and what the appeal process is, if the check turns up something that disqualifies you from driving.

You Can Fight Back If Your Background Check Is Inaccurate

If you think you’ve been deactivated or rejected as a rideshare driver due to an error in your background check, It’s important to remember that you are entitled to an accurate background check as part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Losing access to your ability to pay your bills as a result of such an error may entitle you to having your lost pay reimbursed. We recommend getting a free consultation and speaking with the Consumer Law Firm of Francis & Mailman, P.C. in order to make sure that you are fairly compensated.

Earlier in the year, we documented Jay’s experience getting accidentally deactivated from Uber for 6 weeks due to a simple clerical error. If a false positive can happen to a driver with 20,000 rides under his belt and a 4.9 star rating, it can happen to anyone.

Fortunately, Jay was able to drive for Lyft during that down time (and he actually hasn’t driven for Uber since), but it was a real PITA getting straight information from Uber and Checkr (the background check company).

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