4 ms·

Uber CEO aside, is it me or is it weird to ask how on earth that Uber driver lost 97k?

by lai 10y ago

caseyf 10y ago
I figured he was referring to the cost of buying an Escalade for Uber Black driving
- lukasm 10y ago
  Yeah, but how you can lose 97k? Did he crash it on the first day? If the black is not doing great I trade it for a Prius and lose 25k?
  - smileysteve 10y ago
    How does one afford 25k (+ interest)?
- bunderbunder 10y ago
  I bet a lot of Uber Black drivers are really hurting from the fare changes. If the amount of money you get paid as a driver drops below your car payment, and you're upside down on your car loan - seems likely, for a full-time Uber driver - then you're going to be in a pretty tight spot. More generally, I suspect that a big part of Uber getting people to sign on to drive for them full time involved transferring the costs of fleet management to the drivers (at inflated rates, no less, since they have a higher cost of capital, have to pay retail prices for mechanics, etc), without the drivers fully understanding the financial ramifications of that arrangement.
- matwood 10y ago
  Wow. I had to go look it up, and yes new Escalades start in the 80s now.
lsadam0 10y ago
I'm not sure where the argument took place, but in NYC services like Uber have caused Taxi Medallion prices to drop severely: http://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-yellow-cab-medallion-prices-falling-further-2016-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-yellow-cab-medallion-pric... Some operators are losing much more than 97k.
alphonsegaston 10y ago
Maybe from one of the subprime loans Uber was pushing, in partnership with banks that destroyed the economy during the 2008 financial crisis: http://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/6/3/11852940/uber-subprime-auto-loans-drivers-xchange http://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/6/3/11852940/uber-...
neom 10y ago
I had a conversion with a yellow cab driver in NYC who was an uber driver for 2015, said it bankrupt him. I asked him why, he said "because I'm an idiot" - I asked him to elaborate and he said he didn't know basic finance well, and hadn't taken into account what it would actually cost him to drive cab for uber for the year (guy was in his late 50s, immigrated from Egypt 25 years ago). The uber rep who signed him up told him he should expect to make X dollars, that ended up not being true and his costs for insurance, fule, etc etc ended up putting him behind on the year, couldn't afford his mortgage or his car payments so he just declared bankruptcy. A medallion owner I talked to yesterday who was driving his own yellow cab is declaring bankruptcy because uber made his medallion worthless and the bank no longer considers it an asset. All in all it's a fucking mess for drivers yellow cab or otherwise.
- anentropic 10y ago
  Uber is the new sharecropping
- smileysteve 10y ago
  > because uber made his medallion worthless Uber didn't make a medallion worthless any more than regulatory capture made it valuable.
  - neom 10y ago
    Do you know what a municipal bond is? Real question,I want to make sure you understand one basic area of the civic financial ecosystem.
    - smileysteve 10y ago
      Yes... I do... not sure where you are going? Are you suggesting regulatory contracts are always positive? Or randomly pointing out how the tax code has exceptions to encourage investment?

Uber CEO aside, is it me or is it weird to ask how on earth that Uber driver lost 97k?

by lai 10y ago

Uber CEO aside, is it me or is it weird to ask how on earth that Uber driver lost 97k?

caseyf 10y ago

I figured he was referring to the cost of buying an Escalade for Uber Black driving

lukasm 10y ago
Yeah, but how you can lose 97k? Did he crash it on the first day? If the black is not doing great I trade it for a Prius and lose 25k?
- smileysteve 10y ago
  How does one afford 25k (+ interest)?
bunderbunder 10y ago
I bet a lot of Uber Black drivers are really hurting from the fare changes. If the amount of money you get paid as a driver drops below your car payment, and you're upside down on your car loan - seems likely, for a full-time Uber driver - then you're going to be in a pretty tight spot. More generally, I suspect that a big part of Uber getting people to sign on to drive for them full time involved transferring the costs of fleet management to the drivers (at inflated rates, no less, since they have a higher cost of capital, have to pay retail prices for mechanics, etc), without the drivers fully understanding the financial ramifications of that arrangement.
matwood 10y ago
Wow. I had to go look it up, and yes new Escalades start in the 80s now.

lsadam0 10y ago

I'm not sure where the argument took place, but in NYC services like Uber have caused Taxi Medallion prices to drop severely: http://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-yellow-cab-medallion-prices-falling-further-2016-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-yellow-cab-medallion-pric... Some operators are losing much more than 97k.

alphonsegaston 10y ago

Maybe from one of the subprime loans Uber was pushing, in partnership with banks that destroyed the economy during the 2008 financial crisis: http://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/6/3/11852940/uber-subprime-auto-loans-drivers-xchange http://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/6/3/11852940/uber-...

neom 10y ago

I had a conversion with a yellow cab driver in NYC who was an uber driver for 2015, said it bankrupt him. I asked him why, he said "because I'm an idiot" - I asked him to elaborate and he said he didn't know basic finance well, and hadn't taken into account what it would actually cost him to drive cab for uber for the year (guy was in his late 50s, immigrated from Egypt 25 years ago). The uber rep who signed him up told him he should expect to make X dollars, that ended up not being true and his costs for insurance, fule, etc etc ended up putting him behind on the year, couldn't afford his mortgage or his car payments so he just declared bankruptcy. A medallion owner I talked to yesterday who was driving his own yellow cab is declaring bankruptcy because uber made his medallion worthless and the bank no longer considers it an asset. All in all it's a fucking mess for drivers yellow cab or otherwise.

anentropic 10y ago
Uber is the new sharecropping
smileysteve 10y ago
> because uber made his medallion worthless Uber didn't make a medallion worthless any more than regulatory capture made it valuable.
- neom 10y ago
  Do you know what a municipal bond is? Real question,I want to make sure you understand one basic area of the civic financial ecosystem.
  - smileysteve 10y ago
    Yes... I do... not sure where you are going? Are you suggesting regulatory contracts are always positive? Or randomly pointing out how the tax code has exceptions to encourage investment?