[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

But he gets to sit in an AC Office, Free Internet, Canteen and so on. Fixed timings, goes home every evening and sleeps or watches TV etc. Weekends off, spent watching movies and visiting Malls etc. Very little physical labour and stress when considering what an UBER Driver goes through.

Would like to add some more-
1-Medical reimbursement- this I would say is the most important point considering how expensive the hospital bills are.
2- Employee insurance- The family gets compensated in case of an accidental death.
3- Work Vs personal life balance

If you ask me, I am better off being the office guy, yes sir.

[freedom]

I availed an Uber cab today morning.

Driver was a very nice guy. We got chatting.

He was waiting for a ride since 6 am and mine was his first ride of the day at 8 am. I stay in "city area" and I always see a few cabs lurking around my locality. I don't know why/how he couldn't get a ride for 2 hrs.
He also told me that Uber have cut down their "fixed incentives" and now he will be looking at other options after Diwali. I do remember that Pune Uber drivers got togather and protested at Uber office a week or so back.

He also told me that Baner/Hinjewadi usually has surge pricing in morning and evenings. But many drivers find that if they drive into that area the surge pricing is gone
He was very happy about the good business he got in Hinjewadi on Saturday with good surge pricing! But Sunday was very sober and he could do only 4-5 trips.

As with every business its a mixed bag.

[atul.sxna]

Income or no income, however I would say these platforms have given opportunity to many people to earn a respectable income without getting into unsocial activities.

One such ride, I encountered a well groomed, well dressed, well spoken driver -- upon inquiring he was a factory manager with Godrej in Mumbai, his company gave him the pink slip and after siting idle for 3 months searching for job without any success, this guy came to Delhi -- his wife got a job here -- purchased a car, registered it with Uber and is driving for Uber now.

The point being that at-least he took up something which gives him a decent income to raise his family. I am in Human Resource and when i offered to help him look for a job, he politely refused saying that a job cannot match his monthly income which stands around 90k/month with 8hrs of driving for 22-24 days a month.

The only problem he had with being an Uber driver is that he cannot tell his kid that his father is a cab driver.

That got me thinking of how as a society we are condescending and judgmental. A lot needs to be changed in the mind-set and I hope in the coming generations these traits will vanish and we start treating people as humans and not as driver or a corporate honcho.

[shankar.balan]

In the US last year I came across a sweet african american lady who drove me for a short while in an UBER in Washington. An elderly and well kept Honda CRV (2009 model).
She said she was "moonlighting" because she had just had a baby.
She was a Christian and pretty religious - I appreciated her "thanks" to the "good lord above" so that she was able to buy things for the baby etc.
The trip was some 20 Dollars and I paid it off on my card as usual.
Upon enquiring whether I could leave a small gift for the child she politely said its not allowed but thanked me most appreciatively for the offer.
And she said that with about 12-14 rides a day she makes at least 200 Dollars which very nicely supplements her husband's income and enables them to live a life of dignity.


Then I came across another african american lady in Atlanta who took us to the airport - quite a distance away from where we lived - 80 Dollar Cab ride. She was absolutely jolly and was playing some fantastic Jazz all the way and she also played some brilliant african-american gospel music - hymns and such like. I love that style of singing, it is so vibrant and full of life and real joy! Lovely lady - extremely knowledgeable about the real great Jazz musicians so we had a great time talking about our favourites, like Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington and so on.

Then there was this retired Army Sergeant who drove me in Melbourne. He was a real cool cat. Great fun talking to him. And while I was shopping at one of those outlet stores outside the town, he even volunteered to shut off his Uber phone and await my return in 30-45 minutes in order to take me back to town. Two 27-30 dollar cab rides in total. And he was having a nice time talking about his Army experiences and generally chatting.

The thing is, all these people have a sense of dignity and equality and are respected for the work they do.

Sadly, in India, all cab drivers and similar professions are not considered worthy of that respect nor dignity. We need a fundamental change in the way we respect people for whatever they do.

So what I generally do, is since I ve had good Uber experiences, while I pay using Paytm etc in India, I usually slip the driver a small gift in cash which no one needs to know about - our Indian Drivers are poor. They also have families and kids and needs. Why not give a small 10% above the fare in cash to them? Just as an appreciation for their service...

No harm done in my book!

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Sadly, in India, all cab drivers and similar professions are not considered worthy of that respect nor dignity. We need a fundamental change in the way we respect people for whatever they do.

So what I generally do, is since I ve had good Uber experiences, while I pay using Paytm etc in India, I usually slip the driver a small gift in cash which no one needs to know about - our Indian Drivers are poor. They also have families and kids and needs. Why not give a small 10% above the fare in cash to them? Just as an appreciation for their service...

No harm done in my book!

Sir I agree with your first part that in India many professions are considered as poor or associated with lesser dignity and respect. Why stop at a taxi driver. Even a college professor is considered inferior compared to the respect his American counterpart enjoys.

But having said that, most UBER drivers in Delhi are scoundrels these days. In the beginning of these services, most of them were owners of the cabs and they were pleasantly surprised with this new work model which allowed them to make more money and in an easier way by not haggling with the customer and worrying where will the next fare come from.

Now it is just greed that has set in. Due to the boom in this segment, majority drivers have migrates from smaller towns and villages, and not do not know how to drive or keep their car in a good condition. Most of the times they ask me to be a party to some or the other fraud to dupe Uber and extract more money in terms of bonus for the driver. Most of them ask you to make another booking using their cab once you get down at your destination. Or now a days they just ask you to change the destination mid way through your trip. I even argued with one of the cabbies that this way you are only hurting your long term benefits as Uber will stop giving incentives, which is the main reason that they are earning so much. His reply was that who cares and lets enjoy it till it lasts. Honestly after such experiences, I just don't feel like even giving them a rupee extra over the above the fare decided.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Sadly, in India, all cab drivers and similar professions are not considered worthy of that respect nor dignity. We need a fundamental change in the way we respect people for whatever they do.

So what I generally do, is since I ve had good Uber experiences, while I pay using Paytm etc in India, I usually slip the driver a small gift in cash which no one needs to know about - our Indian Drivers are poor. They also have families and kids and needs. Why not give a small 10% above the fare in cash to them? Just as an appreciation for their service...

No harm done in my book!

While I appreciate the sentiment. Most of the cab drivers are rude, drive badly and do not adhere to traffic rules, these make up for majority of the cab drivers.
Having said that, I must say that I have also had my share of excellent cab and auto drivers, these are the people who do not accept anything above the normal fare, but I insist as a token of good service.
Dignity of work is lost among our mindset. Forget cab drivers, I had a tough time with my friends and relatives because I left the IT field to be where I am today. But what they don't realize is I enjoy far better work life balance, flexible work timings, little or no stress at work, option to work anywhere with a laptop, phone and internet, while earning equal or more than my IT counterparts.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Dignity of work is lost among our mindset. Forget cab drivers, I had a tough time with my friends and relatives because I left the IT field to be where I am today. But what they don't realize is I enjoy far better work life balance, flexible work timings, little or no stress at work, option to work anywhere with a laptop, phone and internet, while earning equal or more than my IT counterparts.

After having taken more than 700 trips over an year, I can say that there are lot of good drivers who do not ask for destination, worry about traffic, use mobiles, ask for fake trips. What worries is the volatile business model of Ola/Uber?

[dark.knight]

I don't think ANYTHING about America can be compared with anything about India, I have been wrong before but here is what I feel is the fundamental difference :

Nothing surprises Americans anymore, they are and have been a progressive and well-progressed society for the most part. While I know that they are consumerist and extremely demanding, still a large part of them is about moderation mostly because they are so few of them for such a big nation (1/3rd of India's population for 3 times India's size). They have the right amount of jobs, the right size of homes and overall average out quite nicely when compared to India.

India has always suffered from a "deprive" complex, we know we're backwards and aren't up to par. Everything is a BIGG deal here, UBER arrives and suddenly it's the new messiah of the nation where suddenly hundreds of thousands jump into the bandwagon (literally) to make their fortunes. Americans take things very lightly from what I've seen, nothing impresses them... they just go by the flow, but to us Indians a new loophole of earning or a new profession is like a candy shop to a kid.

Mainly to do with the population for what is, one of the tiniest major countries on earth. The I.T is a big enough bubble as it is, I feel the UBER economy is going to be worse. Bangalore went from about 20k UBER drivers to 50k in under a year (not kidding). As the number of drivers soar, other aspects fall.. for example earnings, rides and financial security.. the only entity resting comfortably on a hammock is that invisible, intangible and unreachable ghost called UBER which comfortably siphons off its margins electronically via every driver.

I've had many rides with very well educated, very polished drivers and enjoyed the chauffeur experience thoroughly.. but I simply do not see this sustaining in the same manner. I strongly recommend that UBER be joined by only those who have no other way out and those who need an income strictly by this method. Bangalore may well end up being the highest UBERED city in the nation, it has its good side but when I'm driving myself, I see the horrors from outside.. I see a cookie that is going to crumble very soon. India overdoes just about everything and tries to play catch-up with U.S, in the end its an ant chasing an elephant.

[shankar.balan]

In a way I can understand. I used two OLA Cabs yesterday. Both the chaps were yakking away on their mobiles throughout till I asked them politely to stop doing so since they were putting the car and our lives in danger.
Both complied, I am glad to say.

But yes, these chaps are not well educated and most of them are just doing a job to earn a living and are not particular about rules and regulations and safety etc while driving.

Sad.

[RSR]

I've used Uber, Ola and Utoo extensively, Uber a bit more than the other two. Of the three, I found the business model of Uber & Ola to be similar in many aspects.

Utoo seems to follow a business model that's a bit different - no surge pricing, no cash incentives for drivers, no cars without atleast a driver airbag, fewer cars (& drivers!) on the platform instead of trying to sign up everyone they can etc.

It's good that Utoo seems to have learnt from driver-partners' discontent with the other two larger app-based aggregators, and are looking to attract drivers by offering something more - easier home ownership.

Aircel founder C Sivasankaran has now come up with the idea of promising home ownership for drivers as the incentive for high performance. Backed by billionaire investor Ajay Piramal in his new venture UTOO, Sivasankaran thinks to take on the likes of Ola and Uber, one need to focus on the prosperity quotient.

He believes that owning a house has been the tallest peak to scale for cab drivers.

...

Coming after the promise of not deploying cars without airbags and building a model that shuns surge pricing and cash incentives, the home scheme arrives to bolster the supply of drivers.

Till now UTOO has purchased 200 flats in a project in Perambur in suburban Chennai from builder Arihant Group as its first expenditure. The city’s peripheral areas like Old Mahabalipuram Road, Ambattur, and Porur are filled with huge unsold real estate inventory. More residences in the Rs 15-25 lakh range will be bought in those areas.

https://mybigplunge.com/mybigplunge/...ent-with-utoo/

If easier home ownership works well as an incentive to attract driver-partners, then that's a good thing as at least some drivers will migrate from Uber & Ola to Utoo.

I like the fact that Utoo's business model is simpler (no surge pricing, no cash incentives-based model) and more importantly, the fact that all their cars have at least a driver airbag in them (I've seen Datsun GO+ T(O), Toyota Liva & Etios and Nissan Sunny & Evalia).

However, I'd like them to attract some more drivers to their platform so that the average response time for Utoo begins to match those of Uber & Ola. At the same time, they should be very wary of signing up everyone they can (like Uber & Ola), for it could bring down the average income per driver per day, and hence lead to discontent. They need to strike a fine balance - sign up enough driver-partners, but not too many of 'em!

[ashishy]

Anybody know how the payments work for Uber?

There are various pointers I'm trying to clarify for myself:

- Minimum Guarantee
- Payments based on number of trips with fixed remuneration or
- payments is commission based on actual earnings, a percentage

[revtech]

Originally Posted by ashishy

Anybody know how the payments work for Uber?

There are various pointers I'm trying to clarify for myself:

- Minimum Guarantee
- Payments based on number of trips with fixed remuneration or
- payments is commission based on actual earnings, a percentage

no minimum guarantee any more.

payments based on number of trips aren't really feasible any more unless the driver drives for more than 14 hrs a day.

payments are made per trip where uber keeps 20%.


Rev

[condor]

Spoke to a cabbie recently, who was driving an Innova we had hired. He being in the line, had picked up a Etios Liva, but did not find it profitable. He said he just pushed the car into service into the operator who he was working for. ( He continues to drive the Innova).

[SmartCat]

The economics of being a cab driver in Bengaluru
http://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/e...engaluru-34690

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

The economics of being a cab driver in Bengaluru

Sorry but I find the 2016-18 Uber / Ola figures slightly off the mark. In Mumbai at least, despite the falling incentives, one can comfortably make decent living if driving someone else's car or a good living driving your own car in Uber. One reason I could think of is the low adoption of CNG in Bangalore. In Mumbai most of the cars are CNG while in Bangalore primarily the cabs are diesel.

We have 3 cars in Uber (close family included), and we are willing to pay drivers top money for honest work. But sadly, these drivers are the worst people I've encountered. This might sound like a rant, but to be honest, after about 3 years, I now understand why Uber is investing into autonomous tech. We might have gone though 30 drivers easily amongst the 3 of us.

Today, our cars are covering approx 1,500 km a week each and 10 hrs daily duty time (including breaks, fuel up times etc.) for 6 days a week. Some also run in 2 shifts and drivers are making anywhere from 5-8k every week.