Did you know that rideshare passengers in California are paying some of the highest rates in the whole country just to get where they need to go? As an Uber driver for the last 7+ years I’ve seen the rising prices slow down my total trips and cut into my bottom line. When I look at my fare breakdown the biggest thing that sticks out to me is the huge amount of money per ride that goes to covering insurance requirements.
A couple weeks ago I had a Burbank pick up driving to Thousand Oaks, it was a relatively short and easy 32-minute trip. My fare that I got to keep was $44.21 but the total cost for my rider was $76.73. Which means a lot of that extra 32.52 that my rider paid and that I never even see just goes to cover the insurance mandates. Thank god sometimes we make tips or otherwise we would be screwed completely.
Let me give you an example of just how steep these insurance requirements are for my riders. A couple weeks ago I had a Burbank pick up driving to Thousand Oaks, it was a relatively short and easy 32-minute trip. My fare that I got to keep was $44.21 but the total cost for my rider was $76.73. Which means a lot of that extra 32.52 that my rider paid and that I never even see just goes to cover the insurance mandates. Thank god sometimes we make tips or otherwise we would be screwed completely.
I live in Los Angeles and let’s be real, it’s not like other cities. We don’t have a whole lot of amazing public transportation options for people. Which is why for a lot of my customers, taking an uber to appointments or to work isn’t an optional convenience, it’s a total necessity for them to get to their jobs etc.
I started driving with Uber in 2017 as a side hustle. I used to work in restaurants and in the hospitality field. I enjoyed it. I speak five languages (French, Flemish, Lingala, Spanish, and English), but eventually I really wanted to focus on my career—which is comedy. And the only way to focus on comedy was to drive with Uber because I could literally set my own schedule and work whenever I wanted to.
I originally started earning money with Uber for the flexibility, but I’ve stuck with it for the creative freedom it provides me.
One of the best reasons why it’s good to be an Uber driver as a standup comedian is you can still flow with your creativity as you are hustling. You can make your money and have your creative flow going by thinking of routines and bits and jokes while driving. When I talk to my customers, I can get inspired. I connect with people, I make friends doing Uber, I have riders who come to my show after taking a ride with me. I’m very social and it’s great connecting with people.
Unfortunately thanks to these extreme insurance requirements, driving in California lately hasn’t been as good as it should be. I constantly see billboards for lawyers on the side of the highway looking for accidents; it sure seems like the lawsuits are driving insurance costs up even higher.
I can definitely say that with current events, fires, holidays, costs going up, that things have really slowed down. I’ve had to go into my savings. The numbers have changed with inflation and the cost of rides have gone up because of insurance.
I’m hoping that lawmakers in Sacramento can change the insurance requirements so that riding with Uber can remain affordable. I think requiring insurance at a reasonable level would really help my bottom line and help my riders.
Every day I pick up people, we talk about how expensive things are, but people have no other choice but to take an Uber. They have no other transportation options. I’m hoping that the lawmakers can pass regulations that help keep everyone happy and allow them access to transportation.
I love driving with uber and connecting people with their destinations. And because it’s so flexible it really helps me with my comedy career.
But here’s the punchline, if insurance prices stay high, or even go higher, people just aren’t going to be able to afford to ride, and those who rely on Uber the most are going to get squeezed- because they have no other options.
Seriously, sometimes I’ll get a request for a $60 dollar ride, and I’ll look at the fare breakdown and say, “wow, where does all this money go?”
If insurance costs don’t get the last laugh, you can catch me performing next time you’re in LA at some of the city’s A-list comedy venues including The Improv and the Laugh Factor.
