Driving for uber
 

Anyone on BE drive for Uber in their spare time? I turn 21 soon (you have to be 21) and i'm debating doing it. Very little overhead to sign up and no commitment/obligation, and some say you can earn up to $500 a week if you do it during peak times (downtown/college/uni areas Friday and Saturday nights). My car would meet the criteria and I enjoy driving so i think its worth a try. Downsides would be drunk people potentially making a mess, although you can charge them a $150 cleaning fee for that. You do also have to pay HST as you are classed as self employed.

Insurance used to be a concern but Uber now provide a commercial policy to alleviate that concern.

I think i'll test the waters on it.

Re: Driving for uber
 

All you can do is try and see if it works for you.

We don't have Uber or Lyft or the like in BC yet.

I thought about doing it though once they are here, but I don't want to fuss with getting a class 4 at the moment, I am not sure the return is worth the investment in a class 4.

Re: Driving for uber
 

In Ontario you just need a class G (regular) driver's license. No requirement for a commericial license. Like I said in the OP, its very little investment to get going, the only thing is a safety inspection on your vehicle, which would probably cost me $100 max, likely cheaper.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Have you seen Taxi Driver? :rofl:

Re: Driving for uber
 

Uber (and all the ride share companies) fail to fully advise you of the costs and obligations of working for them as a contractor.

You need to understand your costs, the extra vehicles costs are more than the gas, the extra mileage will increase your maintenance costs as well as add extra depreciation to the car.

Investigate your insurance policy, here in Manitoba you can only do Uber (or similar) for 4 days per month without added insurance costs.

To be able to claim a tax deduction you will have to keep detailed records of all your vehicle costs for the full year, you will need to keep separate records of business and private klms.

You will need to keep detailed records of your other costs, phone, internet , car washes, detailing after someone vomits in your car etc., to be able to claim a proportion of them against your sales.

You may need to register for GST and keep suitable records.

You will have to do your taxes as "self employed". As well as income tax, pension payments x 2 are also deducted from your income as you have to pay the employer part as well.

You will have to be very lucky to earn minimum wage per hour worked after expenses, often even before expenses, a lot of time is spent sitting in the car waiting and not earning.

Working in fast food will leave you with more in your pocket and a free meal, but it is way less interesting than doing Uber.

It can be fun, just make sure you do your research, Good Luck.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Someone touched on the subject in this thread...

https://britishexpats.com/forum/trai...za-job-925377/

Re: Driving for uber
 

Do they have this service where you are? https://couriers.skipthedishes.com/application

It's basically driving to a variety of restaurants and fast food outlets, picking up the food they ordered, and then delivering it.

Re: Driving for uber
 

They have that here. The coffee shop guy told me that he was sending out a sandwich which cost $6, there was a delivery charge of $8 paid to the driver and an administration charge, paid to the agency of $6, so that's $20 before tip. I ate in.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Uber Eats operates here, along with other food delivery services such as Just Eat and Menu Log. You pay for the food and delivery through your Uber account. I don't know how Uber Eats compares with pricing, but in keeping with the lack of a tipping culture in Australia their website states that tipping is not expected or required. I tip anyway, I don't know how much the drivers get paid but I know it's not a lot.

Re: Driving for uber
 

There are several services here. That reminds me that, when first in Canada, I was turned down for a job as a pizza deliverer - it seemed so unfair, I drive fast, I park wildly, I was willing to do the drugs so as to never sleep. I needed the money enough to be ready to intimidate reluctant payers. I was certainly as irresponsible as whoever they hired.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Jeez DBD, what's the world coming to if you, with all those credentials, couldn't get a gig? :lol:

My husband hates ordering in food, he'd rather go and pick it up. Me, I'm a lazy cow.

Re: Driving for uber
 

When the kids were small we'd order from pizza-pizza, 30 minutes or it's free, we'd set the buzzer on the cooker and wait excitedly in the kitchen. The driver never arrived in 30 minutes. I'd offer a tip but decline to pay and there was always an argument by the end of which the rest of the pizzas in the car would be late. Later pizza-pizza continued advertising 30 minutes or it's free but, once you'd ordered, told you that they wouldn't honour it. That company was about as reputable as Bell Canada.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Just be aware that you will need a commercial carriers insurance, your ordinary car insurance will NOT cover it, there have been a lot of bits on the internet about people geing stopped and prosecuted because of incorrect insurance

Re: Driving for uber
 

Stinking liars :frown:

Re: Driving for uber
 

One of my part-time jobs is working as a driver for a food delivery service. The day before yesterday I took an order for a hefty double-course lunch to a customer located in an RV Park. I had to wait quite a while in the restaurant for the food to be cooked, and then had difficulty locating the van parking spot, so was a little late delivering and the customer seemed a bit miffed. He was sitting in the van behind a sliding side door which meant conducting a dialogue through a few inches of the opened sliding door. The guy remained seated, and is so grossly overweight I suspect he would have difficulty standing. Now in the interest of pot, kettle, black, I should disclose that I am overweight and the Quack has issued a warning for borderline diabetes. But my RV customer is in the premier league when it comes to fatties.
Then yesterday I receive an order for breakfast consisting of Biscuits and Gravy plus Hawaiian Breakfast (sausage, fried spam , eggs, etc) to go to the same address. When I get to the RV spot, the guy is actually standing to address a fellow park resident who happens to be out enjoying the beautiful morning air, as to where his food is. I deliver his breakfast and observe the front of his van is full of discarded takeaway food containers. This guy appears to be deliberately eating himself to death, and now I feel complicit in this endeavour. If you have visited the US, you will have some idea of the food portion sizes here.

Re: Driving for uber
 

I have indeed visited the US. A client once ate a 32oz steak in front of me.

Re: Driving for uber
 

People are learning the hard way.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/working-an-ext...orth-1.4393999

In BC there is some work around if your doing it 6 or less days per calendar month you don't need to upgrade your insurance, but otherwise you do.

Re: Driving for uber
 

I'm too cheap to pay for delivery, and if I pick up a pizza or whatever myself I can get it fresh out of the oven and home fastest while it's still hot.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Did you know that weed delivery is also a thing? My Son introduced me to the "weed maps" app, I had no idea.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Reliable weed delivery has been a thing for as long as I've known stoners here; around 1990 I guess. Many were worried that legalization would mean loss of convenience but it seems the legal supply doesn't compete with traditional sources.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Fair enough. I don't think doing it 1-2 days a week for 4-5 hours will put that much extra wear on my vehicle that I don't already do by

a) 40km commute each way to work/school
b) driving around aimlessly because there's not much else to do where I live.
c) driving 200+kms to visit friends.

I'm honestly partly looking into it because I enjoy driving, so i'd enjoy it as a side gig. I don't really need the extra money so i'm not going to do fast food or anything else, its just more something to do that can bring in some extra dosh.
Yep, skip is here as well as ubereats.

Maybe in the US. In Ontario, Uber carries a commercial insurance policy underwritten by Intact insurance that covers you, you as the driver only have the obligation to inform your personal insurance provider you are participating in ridesharing. Some providers may choose to raise rates if you inform them, others (like Intact, belairdirect and aviva) include them as standard. Depends on the insurer as some of this is still new.

Yeah, stuff like this is why i'd rather pick people up. With Uber its a 5 min wait and if they don't show you can move on to the next ride and the rider is charged a fee.

American portion sizes are disgusting... I can finish a normal Canadian size portion but not an American.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Death By Cow :eek:

We stopped at a cafe on (I think) 5th Avenue, both ordered club sandwiches. Didn't realise they came with 6 inches of filling, a mound of coleslaw and an avalanche of fries. We could have split one and still had food left over.

Re: Driving for uber
 

That's a high delivery charge. $3.50 is typical here. The tip defaults to 15% but you can adjust it.

But all you're doing is paying the tip that you'd pay in a restaurant to a different person. Getting to the food place and back would likely set you back more than the $3.50 and instead of that $7 beer or $3 coke, drink the same but much cheaper at home.

Where it falls down depends on your order not being as good to eat by the time it's delivered.

We're lucky to have a Chinese and and a Domino's a few minutes walk away. Domino's is great for half price pizzas :thumbup:

Re: Driving for uber
 

A work colleague was a UBER and a SKIP driver for a while whilst she was betweent jobs (her claim to fame is that she UBERED the Barenaked Ladies). She made more money doing SKIP. My daughters Boyf did UBER for a while in Ont, he stopped when he got a new car.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Double check with the insurance requirements.

In Manitoba you have to have additional Ride Share insurance.

In Manitoba UberEats (nor any of the food delivery companies) provide any insurance for the driver, they must have "local courier" coverage if they work more than 4 days in a month.

The big problem is in the gray areas:-

Uber cover you from Pick-up to Drop-Off, who is covering you from the last drop off to the next pick-up, technically you are working during this period off re-positioning.

You have dropped of your passenger, but now need to go and clean the vehicle due to passenger vomit and gas-up, who's insurance is covering you while you do this.

You are always liable, but the insurance companies involved will find every excuse to not pay out, and when you have 2 or more insurance companies involved you could find yourself mired in litigation for years.

It really is a mine-field and its why in Manitoba additional insurance in mandatory.

Re: Driving for uber
 

At the risk of seeming to defend an unpopular industry, the insurance companies have always shat themselves at the risks involved in "private hire", they'd sooner insure Suge Knight's trucks. They've been in the game a long time and it's a competitive industry, so one can reasonably suppose that, if they won't touch a risk, there's good reason. I haven't looked at Uber specifically but, in general, minicab drivers are rushing, they're paid more for fitting in more jobs, in cars clapped out by mini-cabbing and paying little attention because the passengers are vomiting, drinking/doing drugs, smoking, having sex or waving guns about. The driver tends to be distracted. If the companies offer a policy, of course it will have iron clad escape clauses in the same way as a life insurance policy for a parachutist.

Re: Driving for uber
 

In BC they are still setting up ride hailing and none of the companies are operating yet, but BC is making the ride hailing companies buy blanket policies to cover drivers and passengers through ICBC. Ensures all ride hailing drivers and passengers are covered during the ride, and eliminates having to deal with individual drivers policies, the claims would all be made against the ride hailing companies policy.

Collision and comprehensive may have to be bought by the driver though if their ride hailing company doesn't buy it as it is optional.

From the time a driver accepts a ride and is enroute until the ride is ended in the app, the drivers personal policy wont be applicable.

Re: Driving for uber
 

This is exactly how it works in Ontario.

https://www.uber.com/ca/en/drive/insurance/

It even covers the "in between" that Realtor was mentioning.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Re: Driving for uber
 

:ohmy:
Oh no! So sorry to hear that - hope your son is ok - and that the idiot driving the uber gets the book thrown at him!

If your son is unable to work for a few days - and/or his bike is damaged, do put in a claim against the driver and his insurance.

Hope he's not too sore.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Sorry to hear about your son's accident - it's horrible when something happens to our kids (including our adult kids!). I'm glad he escaped without serious injury.

Re: Driving for uber
 

Thank you. He's resilient that one... He was more upset about the damage to his bike. He'll be back on the roads today I'm sure. Nothing like that seems to phase him... He will be making a claim for damages to his bike. Hopefully he gets more than enough to fix his bike but who knows. I guess he will also have to go to court as a witness to the drivers stupidity...

Re: Driving for uber
 

That's terrible, sorry to hear that... I don't plan on hitting anyone :lol:

Re: Driving for uber
 

Hopefully this particular driver had no intention of hitting anyone...

Re: Driving for uber
 

As an update to this thread - I turned 21, called my insurance and am able to do UberX/Lyft with no change to my premium, and covered by Uber/Lyft commercial insurance while using the app. Completing the signup process as its free and will see what happens :)

Re: Driving for uber
 

May as well see what it's like, can't hurt to try.

We just got Uber a week or so ago, still not many cars on the road though, but then it requires extra licensing and insurance here so no real surprise, can't just sign up and start working quickly. If our car was younger, I would more seriously consider getting the licence and trying it, but doesn't seem worth it as our car will be too old in about a year so would be pretty short term thing.

Re: Driving for uber
 

A city councillor from Maple Ridge said it cost her about $500 to comply with the regulations, including the Class 4 license, a medical exam and a safety check of the car. She also said that getting the license included studying an almost 300 page book which was more applicable to larger vehicles.

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-...rived-in-metro

Re: Driving for uber
 

Yes they didn't make it easy to be a ride hailing driving here. If we had a brand new car, I would consider it more seriously, but our car will age out within the next year and some change so not worth it nor do I even know if a Mazda 2 would even be approved, its 5 seater but not exactly roomy...ha ha

Re: Driving for uber
 

My car is a Ford Focus, so similar size, and the racing bucket seats in the front aren't the most comfy for everyone, but it qualifies :) it is younger though.

Ontario doesn't have any regulations like what you're describing in BC. The only cost to me is ~$60 for a Safety Standards Certificate from a mechanic.

Too bad the barrier to entry is higher in BC, it would probably be a great way for you to make some extra money.

Re: Driving for uber
 

The taxi lobby is strong in BC, it's why it took so long and why the barriers are there, the government has to try and keep peace with the taxi lobby, who is fighting for an injunction in court and one city Surrey is setting up drivers to fine them for not operating with proper business licence, but is refusing to issue said business licence. Other city's like Vancouver issued the business licences quickly. But Surrey has a large population of taxi drivers living there.

The barriers pretty much remove Uber as being a casual extra income type job to a one where only those dedicated to making it a full-time gig are going to do it, pretty much removes the casual p/t driver doing it for extra cash.