Posts by BenWilson
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to Hilary Stace,
Thanks Hilary...been flat out on my non-Uber life for a couple of hours. Will try to address questions for a bit.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to Hilary Stace,
How do we link that?
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to oga,
Do you have the complimentary bottle of water thing in NZ?
I do it myself, but there's no Uber policy about it. My wife talked me out of being el cheapo and just filling used bottles myself, so I buy them in bulk as a deductible expense. Surprisingly few people take up the offer, but those who do are usually extremely appreciative. It's a very low cost way of improving the ride experience.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to Eediot,
Well people, I'm gonna hit the road now. Replies will be intermittent at best, I hope, until tomorrow.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to Martin Brown,
There's a lot to like about it. I was a convert after the first ride. Like most riders, I was concerned about how it was possible for the income to be reasonable when the prices were so low. But the drivers told me it was because they got a lot more work, that it was efficiently organized, I could see it was at least possible. And absolutely there are many points on which it is clearly a far better service than a normal cab, aside from price.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to James Green,
There is so much to like as rider.
And as a driver! I want it to stay that way.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to Martin Brown,
yet I’ve spoken to a couple more recently who reckon their turnover has increased since the drop. Go figure.
Yes, I'd kind of like to leave off the discussion of the fairness of the rates and what it will mean and focus on the compliance side here. But rest assured, I will get to that! There is a great deal to say.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to Ritchie Sims,
I took out full commercial insurance, with YOUI, who have experience in dealing with Uber drivers.
As for licensing, yes, you have to change the category to a commercial vehicle, and then get a COF. They're a little bit more expensive, but it's not much, really. Getting the vehicle to comply to the COF might be, depending on your vehicle type. Hatchbacks need a decent luggage barrier, although I hear that luggage straps might be OK instead. An 8 seater van pretty much has to have the door seat removed, because there is a minimum gap in front and behind the seat to the door, required.
Uber also requires the vehicle to be less than 10 years old.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Finally, they could go to Uber with a search warrant – they have offices here?
Good luck with that! I only know where the room that they sign people up in is. Where the rest of their NZ infrastructure is, is anyone's guess.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to Dan Salmon,
Proper police checks and so on, yes. Which Uber also did, until last week. Most Uber drivers today are still compliant, by a big margin. But this could be rapidly changed. I understand that it’s getting as high as 20 new drivers a day recently because the compliance drop has removed a major barrier to entry. If there is a will to stop this, and preserve the compliant Uber that we had until last week, it has to happen right now.
I feel for the new guys. They’re not getting all the facts. They don’t understand the massive fines they could receive. More scarily, they don’t understand that insurance companies will not pay out for them on their non-commercial insurance that Uber is apparently allowing now. They’re literally being sent out to the slaughter.
I can’t account for all taxis, but I’m not aware of any that keep a full recorded track of all their vehicles rides, apart from Uber. On this, Uber is exceptional, extraordinary, and awesome. I want them to keep working here. Legally.