"yitznewton" (yitznewton)
01/22/2018 at 08:08 • Filed to: None
2
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"yitznewton" (yitznewton)
01/22/2018 at 08:08 • Filed to: None | 2
| 14 |
I’ve been doing some rideshare driving, partially as a lark, and also to learn how the system works, help people out, meet different sorts of folk. I’ve been renting from Hyrecar since I don’t have an available car which meets the requirements.
Hyrecar is an operational disaster, but eventually I managed to secure a rental, and I’ve done about 40 rides in northern New Jersey as of this writing.
Biggest takeaway so far: all roads lead to Jersey City.
Arrivederci
> yitznewton
01/22/2018 at 08:54 |
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Are you doing this in spare time as additional income, or all the time as primary income?
How much does your rental cost per day?
How many rides to you have to give to cover your expenses and how long does that generally take?
What’s the best story you have from this experience?
DutchieDC2R
> Arrivederci
01/22/2018 at 08:56 |
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To add to his questions: Whats the worst story you have from this experience?
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yitznewton
> Arrivederci
01/22/2018 at 09:32 |
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Right now I’m just trying to break even as I try to figure it out. Renting is a great way to not make any money; I went with a week rental of about $420 after all the fees. I don’t have enough data yet to do a good ROI analysis, but it’s roughly $30 an hour here while actively responding to a ride request. That does not include waiting for a request, or getting back home after you end up in Timbuktu. I haven’t had to do much waiting yet except for Sunday morning, but I have had 30-minute drives back home and can imagine worse.
Not a whole lot of zaniness yet in 40 rides; the most interesting party was two flight attendants with a professional dancer from Barcelona who had been in Disney’s live-action Aladdin movie. Worst so far was a group of asshole high school students who broke the trash receptacle I had in the back of the car. No pukers yet :}
In approximate order of frequency, my riders tend to be:
commuters
high schoolers and millennials going to and from friends / social encounters
routine shopping, e.g. supermarket
airport runs
The commuters thing drives home the point for me, that when Uber finishes eviscerating the industry, they and their ilk are going to have a lot of power over working-class people. And in correlation, public transit here is woefully inadequate.
GLiddy
> yitznewton
01/22/2018 at 09:46 |
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Man, if you’re giving all your money away in car rental fees then you might as well just stay at home and watch TV. If you’re getting other non tangibles out of it, then go for it.
What are the requirements to do this where you are? CDL? Limo License? Commercial Insurance? Business License?
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yitznewton
> GLiddy
01/22/2018 at 09:47 |
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Most places there are no special requirements. To pick up in NYC, you and your car need to be licensed (or whatever) by the Taxi & Limousine Commission.
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GLiddy
> yitznewton
01/22/2018 at 09:52 |
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Can you block out areas where you can’t legally pick up, or does the app handle that? I understand that if you start turning down too many rides then you will find yourself out of work.
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yitznewton
> GLiddy
01/22/2018 at 10:37 |
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The app handles that; Uber (not sure about Lyft) has what looks like a clear onboarding program for folks to get licensed - although the link to the NJ info is dead at the moment :D
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> yitznewton
01/22/2018 at 11:17 |
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Nah you should definitely just uber people in your S2000 lol. And I am sorry you have to drive into Jersey City, that area is an absolute mess. I believe the Pulaski skyway should at least be open soon? Making it a bit easier. How do tolls work for you anyways? Is that billed separately?
ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied.
> yitznewton
01/22/2018 at 12:28 |
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Do you prefer a quiet trip or have some conversation?
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ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied.
> yitznewton
01/22/2018 at 12:28 |
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Boxers or existential dread?
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yitznewton
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/22/2018 at 12:41 |
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Not sure about Uber; Lyft includes it on your income. It gave me $20 for a GWB crossing, which is weird, since it is less than that. If you can do the carpool line without waiting, you can make a nice bonus that way. JC is indeed shite.
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yitznewton
> ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied.
01/22/2018 at 12:44 |
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I like a little convo as long as the passenger is sober :P
Jason Spears
> yitznewton
01/22/2018 at 15:17 |
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At $30 per hour, that’s 14 working hours to pay for the rental. I assume you don’t have to cover maintenance, but you’re still looking at fuel. I’m curious what the break-even point is, and how people make this kind of situation work for them. It seems like it would be very easy for the companies to keep rides flowing while the drivers net very little money.
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yitznewton
> Jason Spears
01/22/2018 at 16:01 |
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It doesn’t really make sense to me if you don’t have your own car, unless you can get a much lower rental than mine. I could probably find $350 per week, but still. The guy I rented from has his own car which he drives in addition to renting this one, which sounds like potentially a nice racket, but also a potential headache with multiple insurance companies when something inevitably happens.