Uber to Resume in Calgary December 6 2016

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Geordi

- Wear your seatbelts! Are you crazy?! You're riding in a possibly uninsured vehicle!

Appreciate the info and perspective, but good lord man shouldn't this sentence tell you that you shouldn't be doing this? I get that Uber is trying to make this 100% legal and claims to have your back, but I would be scared as hell to be in your position, despite the chances of it happening being quite low.

Having an auto insurance claim denied in the event of a large dollar claim is one of the few ways you can get hit with a life destroying lawsuit without malice in this country, and this potentially puts you in line for that if something goes wrong. At least you stated you won't be driving in the winter due to this, but still.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Geordi

Edit: And again, I am driving late at night on weekends which are peak times. The wait between rides is very high during the day from what I hear.

This is the crux of the issue. It seems that this city needs X taxis during the day, and 5X taxis at night on weekends. The existing licensing system wasn't flexible enough to handle that variance, and vested interests resisted reforms that could have made it more flexible.

It seems perfectly sensible to me that driving a cab should be mainly a part-time job.

[Geordi]

Yes, it is certainly a risk. Like anything else, How big is the risk is the question that I guess potential passengers and drivers must ask themselves before using the service.

Originally Posted by jayswin

Appreciate the info and perspective, but good lord man shouldn't this sentence tell you that you shouldn't be doing this?

[TSXCman]

Originally Posted by V

Maybe he meant it cost a dollar after the promo.

This. Thanks

[peter12]

30 bucks an hour before expenses. So let's say 12-17, when all is said and done?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Geordi

$30 in gross fares. That's before gas, maintenance, vehicle depreciation, taxes (yes I will declare the income) etc. I'm not sure the toll this will take on my car so I'm not sure what I will net out at.

Edit: And again, I am driving late at night on weekends which are peak times. The wait between rides is very high during the day from what I hear.

With no depreciation 10 cents a km is about right for maintenance. So that would be the minimum if you are driving a sub 5k car. Depending on how new the car is another 10-30 cents or so of depreciation would need to be factored in.

I wonder if an insurance company could offer a per km based insurance charge. It shouldn't be more than 10 cents per km.

[Geordi]

I got my pay statement back from Halloween (they apparently hold back the expensive fares to verify them). I made about $45/hr. I could have chased surge pricing a little bit more, but even with that I'd say $50/hr is probably the top end of what you could reasonably make a night. They say Halloween is the 2nd busiest day of the year and it had almost back to back fares for most of the night. I also drive a very fuel efficient and low-maintenance hybrid, so I'm likely your best case scenario for earnings.

You mathematical geniuses can figure out my net if you want. I don't think anyone is going to be rich driving Uber, but I'm pretty happy to have made cash instead of draining it sitting at home eating pizza and renting a movie.

[Tron_fdc]

Anyone know if I can send an Uber car to pick someone up?

Kind of curious if I could use one to grab the wife or something. Kind of like calling a taxi for someone else?

[Ozy_Flame]

Have taken Uber a few times in Calgary now, generally pleased with the service. However, I need to ask - when the app indicates that the driver is "arriving now" and has the exactly location of pickup wrong, does the meter start to run? When exactly does the meter start to count in this situation? I feel like I was overcharged a bit because the guy couldn't find my house for 5-10 minutes and the "Arriving now" thing was constantly warning me.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Anyone know if I can send an Uber car to pick someone up?

Kind of curious if I could use one to grab the wife or something. Kind of like calling a taxi for someone else?

have your wife set up her own account. then you can use your referral code for her.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Zethrynn

There is demanding inspections on every other commercial vehicle on the road so why should über be any different? Unless you don't think they are a commercial vehicle I guess.

There should be on every vehicle, really.

[username]

Originally Posted by Geordi

You mathematical geniuses can figure out my net if you want. I don't think anyone is going to be rich driving Uber, but I'm pretty happy to have made cash instead of draining it sitting at home eating pizza and renting a movie.

This statement pretty much sums up what Uber set out to achieve. It was never intended to replace full time jobs, more just put some extra spending cash in a drivers pocket.

[Geordi]

No, the driver has to swipe right on their phone the "Begin Trip" button. They could do it before they picked you up, but you also see the route they took as soon as it swiped in your app after the ride. If you see them driving in circles at the start of the trip they started it early. Email support@uber.com if that's the case.

The arriving now just comes up as soon as the driver gets close to your pin. But as I said before, your Pin and where you are actually standing might not be the same. Stand next to your pin!

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Have taken Uber a few times in Calgary now, generally pleased with the service. However, I need to ask - when the app indicates that the driver is "arriving now" and has the exactly location of pickup wrong, does the meter start to run? When exactly does the meter start to count in this situation? I feel like I was overcharged a bit because the guy couldn't find my house for 5-10 minutes and the "Arriving now" thing was constantly warning me.

[Geordi]

Absolutely. Lots of people have done that. Just put the pin where you want the driver to pickup. Remember though the driver will be looking for your name who owns the account so tell your passenger to make sure to let them know who you are.

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Anyone know if I can send an Uber car to pick someone up?

Kind of curious if I could use one to grab the wife or something. Kind of like calling a taxi for someone else?

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Geordi

Absolutely. Lots of people have done that. Just put the pin where you want the driver to pickup. Remember though the driver will be looking for your name who owns the account so tell your passenger to make sure to let them know who you are.

Thanks for your thoughts and perspectives as a driver. It's good to hear that the vast majority of people are friendly and treat you well.

I haven't taken a taxi since Uber was introduced a few weeks ago and couldn't be happier.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by gasman

I just had a vulnerable sector check done by cps so that I can volunteer at my kids school (elementary school). There were no fingerprint scans, in fact I did the whole thing from my computer in the comfort of my living room, on the cps website.

When CPS does a vulnerable sector check, if 2 of the 3 following items match any known offender, you are required to get fingerprints done.

1) Initials
2) Birthdate
3) Sex

This means the vast majority of men who get a check done will have have to be fingerprinted. The good news, is since they moved the fingerprinting to the McKnight office, it is a much smoother process. When it was downtown, it was murderously bad, but now you just show up with an appointment, do your stuff and you are out in 20 mins.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Rathji

When CPS does a vulnerable sector check, if 2 of the 3 following items match any known offender, you are required to get fingerprints done.

1) Initials
2) Birthdate
3) Sex

This means the vast majority of men who get a check done will have have to be fingerprinted. The good news, is since they moved the fingerprinting to the McKnight office, it is a much smoother process. When it was downtown, it was murderously bad, but now you just show up with an appointment, do your stuff and you are out in 20 mins.

Can you help an idiot out here? How do any of those three things mean anything in relation to anything?

[Tron_fdc]

Next question.

I live in Okotoks, and on Friday night I couldn't get a car to pick me up (none in the area) so I took a cab into the city.

Can I pay someone extra to come get me??

[Tron_fdc]

I ubered for the first time on Friday. My thoughts:

I couldn't get a car in Okotoks around 930PM, which I guess was a little annoying. I was watching the app waiting for the wife to get in so we could leave, and literally 5 minutes from when we were ready all the cars in the area suddenly disappeared. I assume they got picked up? I guess you can't time call a car?

We ended up taking a cab into the city, and it was the Okotoks cab companies POS 1999 Ford Aerostar. What a total junker. $75 to get where we were going, and it took 25 mins just to show up.

At 2AM I requested an Uber car, and within 30 seconds my fare was picked up. Driver arrived 5 minutes later in a brand new Toyota Corolla. $40 fare back to my house, which was SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than the cab. I was loaded and pretty excited, so I tipped the guy a little more than I should have, but I was really happy with the service.

If I'm in the city I likely won't EVER take another cab. I couldn't believe how easy it was to use, vs a 2AM cab call who half the time won't show up. I'm already planning trips home after hockey games, and factoring it into my season ticket cost!

[Zarley]

Tried Uber on Halloween night as (surprise, surprise) there were no cabs to be had in suburbia. Had a great experience, likely won't take a taxi in this city again.