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I have been using Uber more often lately after smashing my car to smithereens (don’t ask), and to be honest, there have been no problems.

It might only be a matter of time, though, until I encounter a terrible Uber experience, as Moneyweb reports, almost everyone has a negative story about the e-hailing service these days.

The publication notes that quality control has practically flown out the window, especially for Uber in Gauteng, Cape Town, and Durban.

There are stories about drivers arriving in visibly unroadworthy vehicles, cars full of dents and scratches, a refusal to use air conditioning, dangerous driving, unclean cars, petrol warning lights permanently on, and worse still, the odd driver stopping for fuel and asking you to ‘help’ contribute.

While the service reflects the near non-existence of basic service delivery and whatnot in Durban, one must also contend with the many illegal operators in Cape Town who aren’t enlisted in the city’s Uber permit scheme.

Then, some Uber drivers have become increasingly insistent to find out where you are going (by furiously messaging via the in-app messaging platform after accepting the trip) so as to decide if the trip is worth it or not. If they cancel, that leaves you in the lurch, with a negative rating that could impact future rides.

While some drivers do this to avoid treacherous areas, others are doing it to get more bang for their buck – both are totally fair from their point of view.

The bottom line is that some trips are just not financially viable for Uber drivers any more:

If Checkers, with the AA’s help, has proved that it is cheaper to use Sixty60, at R35 per delivery, than to drive 7.5km to and from the supermarket, how on earth can short trips be profitable for drivers?

The AA calculates that the top-selling passenger vehicles cost around R7 per kilometre to run.

That’s not even taking into consideration Uber’s take-rate, which has reached 27,8% in the fourth quarter:

This means that on R1 000 worth of trips that a driver does, Uber takes – on average – R278. But this doesn’t take into account any fixed fees, which means that on shorter trips, the portion drivers ‘pay’ to Uber of each fare could be substantially higher than 28%.

So with running costs and platform fees, an Uber driver is paid a pittance for a quick ride:

And you wonder why your driver arrives in a barely roadworthy, banged up, eight-year-old car (the oldest allowed in this market, according to the platform) …

The problem, according to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) puff piece on CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, is that the company has spent all the time sussing out how the platform works for its riders and less so for its drivers:

Somewhere along the line, Uber has seemed to forget that it operates a two-sided market. The drivers and riders are both important – the former arguably more so. Given its scale, stimulating demand for trips isn’t actually all that difficult.

There’s a lot of work to do to fix the undesirable parts of the Uber experience for riders and drivers in the South African market.

It might mean higher ride rates at some point, which may be lamentable for okes like me who now need the platform for my daily shenanigans, but if we’re honest, the going rates are still totally inexpensive.

Meanwhile, don’t forget, good drivers in safe cars still exist. There just might not be that many of them anymore.

[source:moneyweb]