Sidecar Shutting Down Ride And Delivery Service

Sidecar, the on-demand car service in competition with Lyft and Uber, has announced that it is shutting down at the end of this year.  

Last August, Sidecar announced that it was focusing on less ride share services while increasing its efforts to deliver food, flowers and goods to patrons of Eat24 and other on demand product sellers that its network of drivers can transport from store to front door. 

On December 31 at 2pm PT, Sidecar will officially stop offering rides and deliveries.

This may not be the end of Sidecar as in its email to partners the company plans to "pursue other strategic opportunities."  

Drivers interested in being contacted regarding future driving opportunities with our shipping partners, click here. 

Drivers were also provided this email address for addition questions: support@side.cr. 

LAX pick ups becomes a reality for LYFT drivers

LA Mayor Garcetti announced yesterday that LYFT ride service may begin picking up travelers at LAX as of Dec 23 at 8:00 AM

Airport pick ups may only be done in the DEPARTURES area and only 40 LYFT cars will be permitted on the grounds at any one time, according to a Dec 23, 2015 article by the LA Times.

The LA Times reported, "The biggest loser in the rise of ride-hailing could be Southern California taxi companies, which view the airport as their last remaining revenue stronghold." 

Considering there is a far greater selection of taxis permitted in the airport facility people may be more reluctant to wait for an ride-share when they can hail a cab from the curb. 

Drivers are encouraged to know the rules of the airports while conducting business there. Rule violations often result in heavy fines and impound of vehicle.

Not all rider requests may come from LAX.  Drivers may find lots of long rides hanging around the major hotels, car rentals and metro station.

Media bias: "Cab driver pounds on UberX car, dragged 20 metres in Toronto protest"

This video has gone viral on the Web and shows a protesting taxi driver slamming on a Uber driver's car. He is clearly displaying aggression towards the driver yet the media reports he is dragged 20 meters by the driver.

If the protester let go of the door handle he would not have been dragged as the driver was attempting to flee for his safety.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/taxi-driver-dragged-video-1.3357166

This week's board question: Should Uber pay us $15 an hour?

David in Denver posted this in a Uber drivers group on Facebook, "I think us Uber drivers should be paid $15/hr minimum."

My response to this was:
"I make over twice that driving for these TNC services. Maybe you are not driving the right areas. Concentrate on areas which will bring you longer rides like train stations, airport hotels, and cruise ship terminals."

The Uber marketing concept if TNC is short rides around the neighborhood, which sounds perfect for bar hoppers. The last thing a driver needs is an angry incoherent drunk who ends up getting pepper sprayed on YouTube because he refuses to exit the car after not cooperating with the driver.  Also, we don't take kindly to people who drink like pigs and puke in our nice cars.

A driver can make 4 or 5 runs an hour doing short runs about $2.50 each or find a place where longer runs are requested for a much better pay off.

The solution to this is to find a high traffic area with a higher caliber of clients. Los Angeles and Orange Counties are full of these areas.

Union station is good, so are areas near greyhounds terminals and metro stations. For the most part you are going to pick up passengers who are commuting to and from work.  Los Angeles has a cruise ship terminal in San Pedro. When I sit at the Carnival Cruise terminal in Long Beach I am often pinged from across the harbor because there are no drivers there.

These cruise ships often are fully booked and let out the 2000 passengers, one third at a time, for US Customs. So you can expect about 3 hours of service at the Princess Cruise terminal. Many want to go to LAX or Glendale.

Check the San Pedro Cruise ship info site for arrivals:
http://www.sanpedro.com/spcom/cruiscal.htm

Places to avoid, Frat houses, college campuses after 6PM,

Another tip is know the addresses of the good quality hotels where you drive. Park in an area somewhere between 2 or 3 of these and that could earn you a long trip across town.

OC areas to avoid, are CSU Fullerton after 6PM. In my experience CSU Fullerton students are the rudest and worst behaved children you could have in your car.

Places to watch out for:
Inglewood Forum has a UBER/LYFT pick up and drop off area. If you stop anywhere else in the lot you could find a ticket in your mail box.

John Wayne airport has cops that are very eager to fine TNC drivers. Know the rules and make sure you do not pick anyone up in the departures area. Do not park inside the airport but there area lots across MacArthur where you can wait for your pings

National Uber Driver Strike - a "modest kick off "

Many Drivers who belong to the Uber Drivers Facebook site have heard about Abe Hussein's plan to organize a driver walk out during the weekend of October 16 - 18.

Hussein is a former driver, possibly deactivated by Uber, who has taken on a passion to increase fares and include tipping in the Uber rider app.

Many drivers agree that fees need to be increased and tipping should be added but not many drivers seemed to climb on board with the walk off.

In San Francisco there was a handful of drivers who showed up to to the Bay Area Uber office to protest but consumers never really notices a drop in the availability of cars or an increase (surge) in prices.   This according to a Oct 16, 2015 article by Fortune.

I am working this weekend and in my travels around the Los Angeles area found many drivers between the LAX area and Long Beach. Last night I even took an Uber home from my other job and the driver knew nothing about the strike.  There were a few dozen cars in my area and I only had to wait a few minutes for my ride home.

Photo take Friday 10/16/15

Photo Take Saturday 10/17/15

If drivers want tipping in the app they should alert every passenger to request that Uber includes that in the app. Uber does listen to criticism from riders, considering how easy it is to for them to deactivate drivers who perform less than 4.6 star service. Perhaps that should be the vehicle divers should use to modify the system.

Uber Raises Safe Ride Fee

This came in over the weekend:

What this means is that the passengers will be paying the new increased fee and it will not affect the driver's income.

Uber driver assessed $2,500 fine for ride solicitation

A word to new drivers, especially in large metropolitan areas. The police are out to get you with under cover tactics. Knowledge, understanding and following the rules in the area where you work is vital.

In LA cops are posing a frantic parents in need of a ride to get to the hospital. They flag and offer the driver cash and then bust him for accepting the cash.  NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED!

Source: LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

By Richard N. Velotta
Las Vegas Review-Journal

The first transportation network company driver to be disciplined by the Nevada Transportation Authority was assessed a $2,500 fine at a hearing Tuesday for offering a ride to a plainclothes enforcement officer while not operating on the Uber platform.

Transportation Authority Commissioner Keith Sakelhide, serving as hearing officer in the matter, assessed the fine to Kelil Ebrahim, who spoke through an interpreter for most of the hourlong hearing.

Earlier, Ebrahim had asked Sakelhide for a delay in the vehicle impoundment hearing so that he could hire an attorney to represent him, but he reconsidered that Tuesday morning request and appeared without an attorney later in the afternoon.

Sakelhide could have assessed a fine as high as $10,000, but issued the fine of $2,500 recommended by Deputy Attorney General David Newton. Ebrahim asked for a lower fine, but Sakelhide left it at $2,500 because he said he felt he should have known the regulations for transportation network companies. Ebrahim also has worked as a taxicab driver for the Frias Transportation Group for seven months.

The Tuesday hearing was for the violation of regulation for the unauthorized use of a vehicle as a limousine and had to be conducted within 48 working hours of the incident because the vehicle was impounded. Ebrahim will have a second hearing and could face more fines on Oct. 21 for allegedly violating a regulation for operating as a common carrier without a certificate.

When Ebrahim was cited Friday, it was the Transportation Authority enforcement staff's first time out looking for drivers working off the platform.

According to a report filed by enforcement investigator Rachel Martines, Ebrahim's gray Toyota Prius was spotted in a bus loading zone at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood just before noon Friday. The driver asked the officer, "You looking for a ride?"

After acknowledging he was an Uber driver, the officer said she didn't have the Uber app on her smartphone and had no credit card.

The driver responded, "Well, that's OK, I can still take you." When asked what the cost would be, the driver responded, "I can do it for $20. Get in."

In testimony Tuesday, Ebrahim said he had received a ride hail on the Uber app and was trying to confirm whether the woman was his customer.

He also testified that he did not realize that he could not operate off the platform.

In a telephone interview late Tuesday, Uber spokeswoman Kayla Whaling said after the action by the Transportation Authority, the driver would not be allowed back on the Uber platform.

She said based on the number of rides Ebrahim had performed while on the Uber platform, it was clear that he understood the procedures. In addition, all of Uber's contracted drivers are required to accept the terms and conditions of the application in an emailed check-off box accompanying those terms.

The Transportation Authority has a database of drivers working for transportation network companies that can be used to prevent violators for working for other companies.

Ebrahim, an 11-year resident of Las Vegas, speaks Oromo, an Ethiopian dialect. An interpreter translated his testimony in the Tuesday hearings.