Rideshare Writing

Tips, tricks, and stories for rideshare drivers

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Uber Confessions
  • How To Drive For Uber
    • Does My Car Qualify For Uber?
    • Am I Eligible To Drive For Uber?
    • Uber Driver Sign Up Bonus For 2018
    • Essential Items Needed When Driving For Uber
  • How To Drive For Lyft
  • Share A Story

Are Uber Driver Assault Stories Overblown?

By stevebeans Leave a Comment | Last Updated April 18, 2018

As an Uber driver, I often find myself sitting at red lights around a major city and looking to my right or left and still seeing taxi cabs. To my bigger surprise, there are still people in them despite Uber’s super low rates and a very convenient app. I find myself wondering why people would choose a taxi over a rideshare service, so I began occasionally asking passengers what they thought about taxi cabs and their stories are all the same: They’re expensive, “gross”, hard to find, and not trustworthy regarding going longer routes for the bigger fare.

Months have gone by and the stories never change, but I still see people in taxi cabs. Why? It likely has to do with the massive smear campaign that continues to go around social media and even the network news stations where they are very quick to point out a person committing a crime was an Uber driver. In fact, I’ve posted stories about how groups post ridiculous ‘sting operations’ to catch Uber drivers doing things, like a taxi cab group asking drivers for “off the clock” rides or an unaccompanied 17-year-old taking a ride.

Obviously, there are going to be Uber drivers that fall through the cracks and do bad things. Background checks are only good to catch people who have a criminal record and we all know that criminals have to start somewhere. Every single criminal had a clean record at one point in their life, and it was clean until the first crime they committed. There is absolutely no way for any company to completely prevent their employees (or “contractors” in this case) from ever committing a crime. It’s a sad fact of life.

However, because of the complete decimation of the taxicab industry caused by Uber, there are quite a few former drivers with plenty of time on their hands and every reason to be upset. There is an entire website dedicated to tracking crimes committed by Uber and Lyft drivers (you can view that site here if you want). I should note that website was created by the TLPA which is a group for taxi/limo drivers and obviously would have an agenda against the rideshare industry (full discloser: As I pointed out in the very first sentence, I drive for Uber).

Now the big question is: Are the stories against Uber drivers blown out of proportion?

Uber driver Pierre Hugues Louis, of Stoughton, Mass., front, applauds with other Uber drivers following testimony by Uber East Coast general manager Meghan Joyce during a hearing on the regulation of ride handling companies, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015, at the Statehouse, in Boston. Legislation filed by Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker would require all drivers for ride hailing companies to undergo state criminal background checks. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

That answer is always hard to say because any story of an assault by anyone should be highlighted in the media so people can know the dangers of whatever they choose to do. There are stories of people sitting outside of bars and pretending to be Uber drivers to lure in drunk people. Or stories of people hopping in the wrong car because they didn’t check the license plate (numerous people have just hopped into my car thinking I was their Uber driver). Being an Uber driver is much easier to fake than being a taxi as all you really need is a sticker versus a bright yellow car, livery plates, and a plaque on the outside of the car with the taxi number. For that reason, it is very imperative that riders check and double check the license plate number and make sure the car matches the one listed in the app. Also, require the driver to say your name before getting in the car. Those small steps will reduce your chances of being assaulted by a fake Uber driver by like 99.9%.

I can’t speak for how the system was years ago when it first started, by I can say now that both companies (Uber and Lyft) run a pretty extensive background and CORI check on their drivers. In fact, back in 2015, an Uber spokesperson said that around 8% of taxi drivers in Boston who have undergone the Uber background check system actually failed. As someone who drives almost exclusively around Boston and has heard stories about taxi drivers, this is not at all a surprise.

So I’ve established that fake Uber drivers are almost always dangerous and riders definitely need to be diligent about getting into the right car, but legitimate drivers have passed background checks that even some taxi drivers will fail. Uber drivers are also a bit safer on the road as almost all of them are using cars they own, so they easily treat the car much better than a cabbie would some car he’s leasing.

That brings me to my final point: Are taxi drivers less likely to commit a crime?

The short answer is no. In no way is your safety guaranteed when you’re in a car with a stranger whether it’s a bus, plane, train, rideshare, or taxi. In order to prove this, I am going to list a few examples of taxi incidents and likely create a page on this site to counter the smear campaign against Uber drivers (stay tuned for that).

Let’s go through some stories…

  • Chicago woman falls asleep in a taxi and wakes up with driver assaulting her
  • NJ taxi driver arrested for murder
  • 7 D.C. passengers reportedly attacked in taxi cabs over the course of a few weeks
  • California taxi driver detained at immigration check-in
  • NYPD reports there were 24 rapes inside taxi cabs between 2014-2015
  • San Jose taxi driver arrested after assaulting multiple women
  • NYC taxi driver arrested with 900 bags of cocaine and two handguns
  • D.C. taxi driver charged with rape and kidnapping of rider
  • Florida driver accused of rape in a parking lot
  • Portland sexual assault by taxi driver

This was only after about 5 minutes searching and not really doing any advanced searching techniques to find stories that fell through the cracks.

The reason I am posting this article is that as an Uber driver, I am tired of being associated with bad behavior by some rotten eggs. I am also tired of watching taxi groups join Uber Facebook groups and post anti-rideshare propaganda for reasons that I’ve yet to understand (do they think people will quit driving for Uber?). I really don’t want to trash on taxi drivers as the vast majority are also hard working people just looking to support themselves and their families, but rather than spread bullshit on rideshare companies, perhaps they should look inward and realize they have quite a bit of blame to take for their own demise.  Trying to scare people away from Uber into the arms of taxi drivers is not working nor will it ever work.

Filed Under: Lyft, Rideshare Stories, Uber Tagged With: lyft, rideshare, uber

New Spending Bill Adds $100 Million To Research Self-Driving Cars

By stevebeans Leave a Comment | Last Updated March 23, 2018

self driving car research

Autonomous vehicles have been in the news quite a bit lately as one that Uber was testing recently struck and killed a pedestrian in AZ putting a temporary halt to their program. Details of that story are still coming out as the latest report show the safety driver looking away from the road for about 5 solid seconds before striking the woman (which was preceded by about another 4 seconds of looking away). In the footage released from the accident, she was looking away from the road for roughly 9 of the 12 seconds on display.

While that news was unfolding, the US Government was putting together their spending bill and one part that was not mentioned much was $100 million dollars that will be invested in autonomous vehicle research.

Out of that $100 million, the spending breakdown is as follows:

  • $60 million will go “to fund demonstration projects that test the feasibility and safety” of these vehicles
  • $38 million to U.S. agencies to conduct research into self-driving cars, including cyber-security issues
  • $1.5 million to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the impact of self-driving vehicles on U.S. employment
  • $500,000 not listed in the report. I assume it will go to the bank account of someone who wrote the spending bill  (sarcasm, slightly)

I understand that people are going to wonder why our tax dollars are going to private industries that are sure to take jobs away from millions of people, and it’s hard to blame you. Companies like Uber should be the people spending the money to demonstrate the “feasibility of safety” of these vehicles.  I’d rather most of the money go into researching the cyber-security aspect and the potential impact on the economy, but I’m not making the decisions.

These companies are almost certain to put the cyber-security aspect on a lower priority as that slows development and delays these cars making money for them, but in the wake of recent news of Russia being able to hack into our power grid, cyber-security should be one of the top issues if we’re going to be putting millions of driverless cars on the road. These cars open another door that could leave us paralyzed if our enemies are able to hack into the system, so hopefully, this is 100% secure before they’re released on a mass scale.

A mere $1.5 million will go to the research of how these cars will impact the economy, but I guess that makes sense considering I could tell you how it’s going to impact the economy for free. It’s going to put millions of people out of work. Case closed.

People who drive these cars are obviously going to be hit the hardest, but let’s not forget that this will impact places like auto body shops, insurance companies, and a lesser scale even auto repair shops. The more of these cars get on the road and our cars off the road, the less likely the chances of accidents, stolen cars, and preventable costly repairs due to routine maintenance being performed regularly.

Filed Under: Lyft, Lyft Stories, Uber, Uber Stories Tagged With: lyft, rideshare, uber

Taxi Drivers vs Uber Drivers – The Fight For The Roads

By stevebeans 1 Comment | Last Updated February 28, 2018

It is no secret that taxi drivers are not a big fan of Uber drivers. There have been stories all over the internet about how cabbies have been screwed because they bought some medallion for like a million dollars that are now barely worth the price of the metal because of what Uber did to their industry. I even gave a ride to a former taxi driver who refused to take Uber but his brother called one for him and that was his only ride home.I felt bad for the guy because he sounded like a really nice guy with a good head on his shoulders. He had a fleet of three cabs that he’d rent out to drivers and was likely doing really well for himself. With the rise of Uber came the fall of tiny cab companies and even some larger ones. It’s a sad situation for all involved – except for Travis Kalanick who is officially part of the 3 comma club after selling over a billion dollars worth of his Uber shares recently.

(side note – Picture Travis as Russ Hanneman from Silicon Valley. Now that’s all you’ll see when you watch that show)

That leads me to my main story which is a video that has been circulating the internet a little (at least in the rideshare world) of Uber drivers being “exposed” as they accept rides for cash which is illegal because of insurance reasons. I’m not a lawyer, but it’s illegal because driving someone around for money requires the protection of a livery license or the insurance that rideshare companies provide. I’d guess that means all those people driving their friends around for gas money are screwed if caught? Again, I’m not sure on the legal aspect of it, I just know you’re not supposed to accept rides for cash just like you’re not supposed to jaywalk. Rules and rules, and I’m sure if the crossing guard industry had enough bitter people out of work due to crossing signs, they would create videos similar to this…

Some dudes ran around begging Uber drivers to give them off-the-clock rides to some place for around $100 or so and feel they scored a jackpot when they hit on the drivers who accepted. Now, if you actually watch the video, you’ll see that a few of the drivers seemed really apprehensive about it but felt bad because the guy was stranded without a phone in the cold. Does that make it alright to break the “law”? I’ll say no, but I’m also not going to be angry at the guy for taking a $100 for a ride somewhere. If you’ll notice, they all quoted around the same price because they went by the app estimate or previous experience when they could have tried to rob the guy out of 2-3x as much because of how desperate he appeared.

Here is where it gets interesting, not at all surprising, and actually a bit sad. When they flashed their logo for Ride Safe World at the beginning of the video, I thought I would need to do some serious digging to see who these people were just so I can understand their motive behind the video. Are they really concerned about people “riding safe” or are they a few butthurt taxi drivers looking to bust balls. It turned out to be the latter which was confirmed by their profiles at the website.  Here is the list of experience for the contributors to this site…  (names redacted because I don’t want to deal with bullshit)

  • xxxxx spent three years working as a cab driver for green cab of Madison from 2013 to 2015.  This eventually put him on a collision course with Uber and Lyft.
    In early 2014 xxxxx began advocating for taxi companies and the victims of rideshare companies.   In 2015 xxxxx quit the taxi industry to focus on ending the fraud and suffering caused by fraudulent rideshare companies and other “gig” economy scams.
  • xxxxx is a driver with ‘city cab’ in Dover Delaware, USA
  • xxxxx is A driver with Yellow cab of Green Bay Wisconsin
  • xxxxx hails from Syracuse New York.  A local Taxi Driver and Owner of blahblahblah

That’s right, folks. Four for four here. Every person listed on their “about us” page is a current or former taxi driver with the main dude even admitting he was on a collision course with Uber and Lyft.

I’m not quite sure what their end game is here with videos like this. Perhaps they plan on exposing every single Uber driver in the country to get everyone fired which will bring the taxi industry back? I would think they could spend more time trying to expose the taxi drivers that give their industry a bad name which encourages people to use cheaper services like Uber, but I’m just a blogger so what do I know?

Filed Under: Lyft, Lyft Stories, News Stories, Uber, Uber Stories Tagged With: lyft, taxi, uber

Feelin’ Tipsy – California To Crack Down On Rideshare DUIs

By stevebeans Leave a Comment | Last Updated January 9, 2018

In today’s version of ‘news that should already be common sense’, California is getting tougher on rideshare drivers who like to drink a few before hitting the road.

Seriously

No, I am not upset at the news. Good on California for making a law about something that should already be obvious, but apparently that’s what we need to do these days. According to this article, starting July 1st, 2018, rideshare drivers who have a blood-alcohol level of .04 or higher will face DUI penalties when a passenger is in the car.

The current law is that you can drive with a blood-alcohol level of .08, which to me as a non-drinker means nothing. I’m going to assume that’s probably a beer or two or something depending on your height and weight, but it really becomes irrelevant as a rideshare driver. Let’s be honest, if you are out at the bar and have a few drinks, you should be calling Uber, not turning on your app to drive people home! I don’t personally have many rules for my Uber drivers when I’m a passenger, but one of them is to get me home safe and the other is to not smell like alcohol. It’s pretty simple.

While I’m on the topic, now that I have a blog, I’d like to put this out there so it can hopefully gain some traction. I think rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft should add money to their drivers’ accounts based on how much you drive. This means if you are a full-time Uber drive for instance, they will credit your rider account with enough money to take a $10-15 ride home every so often (part-timers get credit, too. Just not as fast obviously). To not only show their gratitude for the people who are wearing down their cars for them, but as a good PR move. Think about it. Uber and Lyft love to brag about driving drunks home, so why not also brag about how they make sure their own drivers are taken care of under the rare situations they need a ride somewhere?

I mean this company tosses out all these promos and gimmicks to get drivers to stick with their platform. It would only make sense to incentivize it enough where they stick to them as riders as well.

Filed Under: Lyft, Rideshare News, Uber Tagged With: dui, lyft, uber

Recent Posts

  • Should You Buy A New Car To Uber With?
  • Breaking Down The Rate Change For Drivers
  • Driver Breaks Uber Rules – Was He A Target Because Of Politics?
  • Scumbag Rhode Island Airport Bans Uber Driver Pickups
  • Uber Confessions – Shut Up And Enjoy The Ride

Categories

  • Earnings Report
  • Express Pool
  • Lyft
  • Lyft
  • Lyft Stories
  • News Stories
  • Opinion
  • Passenger Stories
  • Rideshare Advice
  • Rideshare News
  • Rideshare Stories
  • tips
  • Uber
  • Uber
  • Uber Confessions
  • Uber Stories

Copyright © 2019 · Outreach Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in