Everybody knows that UberX drivers are getting the shaft from Uber. Do you know why UberX drivers are treated so poorly? UberX drivers are treated so poorly by Uber because we are an expendable commodity. Why are we expendable? Because there is no permitting process, no license, no government requirement that makes us an investment. The upper level cars all make good money, because they are regulated by the CPUC in California. This is why Uber does not care if we come or go. This is why Uber does not pay us a decent rate. As long as we are not protected by the investment into government regulation, UberX will be treated like crap.
What can we do to fix this? We can tell our Mayors, our Senators, and other politicians to lock us into some form of regulation that will stop Uber from taking advantage of us. If you were driving one of the upper level cars for Uber you would have a TCP number, a commercial drivers license, and commercial insurance. You would also get paid a decent rate so you could feed your family, have insurance that actually protected you and the Rider, and would be able to quit waiting for shit to happen that puts you out of business.
The Transportation Authorities for each state need to require good background investigations, and a modified permit for Ride-Hail that either costs a much lower rate than the limousine permit, or is based upon how much the driver drives. Face it, part timers should not have to pay 500.00 to 1500.00 to get a TCP number, and all of us should meet the requirements of having a TCP number. Were we to have a TCP number we could also purchase commercial insurance. Were we able to purchase commercial insurance, we would not need Uber’s insurance (which does not protect us anyway). Were we not to need Uber’s insurance, the $1 Rider Safety Fee would be unnecessary for Uber to collect and could be paid to the driver to pay the drivers insurance. Do you see where I am going with this.
Some drivers with less than adequate credentials may be opposed to any form of regulation for Ride-Hail, but regulation is the only way we can get paid. To become a driver now, anybody with a drivers license, a decent car, and personal insurance can be a driver within a couple days. Uber fills our heads with promises of good paying jobs, tells us we are covered by their insurance, and sets us loose on a community that believes us to be the best thing since sliced bread. But, get into an accident. Have a problem with Uber’s rating system, or any other chicken shit issue Uber fails to protect us from . . . and Uber forgets your name. Nobody talks about this, but were we as drivers to get in a little fender bender and the other driver take us to Court as a Civil Action . . . they very well could own our homes and other possessions the next day, because we do not have adequate insurance coverage. Do you really want to work with a sex offender that is going to attack one of our riders? Do you want to work with less than adequate insurance coverage? Do you really want to work without adequate pay? The only way the UberX driver is ever going to be anything more than an expendable commodity is by government regulation because as long as Travis Kalanick can just pull anyone off the street to replace you, you have nothing.
Today I happened to be driving by the Star Gas Station on Caesar Chavez and spotted an Uber Canopy at the sidewalk with people wearing Uber T-Shirts talking to people stopping for gas at the station. They were soliciting the gas station customers to become Uber Drivers. Uber is going to continue to flood the market with new drivers, taking advantage of these new drivers just as they have us . . .AND CONTINUE TO GET AWAY WITH IT! Regulation people, regulation. . .
<
p align=”center”>DRIVERS JOIN THE FIGHT: https://rideassociation.wordpress.com
US Ride-Hail Driver's Association 