Firmly in driver’s seat

Thirty-year old Nelson S, after finishing his graduation, landed a job as data-entry professional in Chennai, where he was offered Rs 20,000 every month. “After paying taxes and taking into consideration other expenses, I managed to save only 8,000 or so. A friend of mine from my native place suggested that I try driving for Ola or Uber as there was good money to be made. He drives for them and makes about Rs 40,000 a month. I decided to take his advice. I borrowed some money, invested in second-hand car and have been working as a cab driver for the last one- and- a- half years,” says Nelson, adding that he has  convinced his brother to get into the same profession. 

Jobs in App-based cab services allows the driver to be their own boss and they work at hours convenient to them. Twenty-seven-year-old Praveen P says, “I completed my graduation from New College and I was working as the administrative in charge for an IT company. After working for a few years, I was not satisfied with the growth. My incentives were not happening on time. So I quit my job, bought a car and started plying it as a cab. Now, I am my own boss and I am earning quite well, much better than my previous job.” His impeccable English and dressing- sense helps him earn those extra stars from happy customers.

For those new to the city and who are not familiar with the local language, services by drivers who speak English are a great help. Patrick Rambosson, a French-national living in Velachery says, “Giving directions to some of the drivers have been mostly difficult for me. However, once I a booked a cab and was surprise to hear him speak in impeccable English. He said that he has done his Masters in Finance and does driving in his free time, especially during the weekends. He ends up earning Rs 30,000 every month and that is enough to take care of his expenses. He had an inquiring mind and we even discussed music. He asked me to save his number and call him whenever I needed a cab or any other help.” 

Many students too have taken to driving in order to earn extra money. Amit (name changed on request), says, “My father drives in the morning while I am in college and I drive during the night after I am done with the college. On an average, I take around 10 rides after 6 pm and I work till late. Our income comes to around Rs 60,000, which is way more than what my father earned when was working as a driver for a private firm.”

According to Uber, they have around 4,00,000 driver partners across India. “At Uber, as we continue scaling fast across India--we are looking for new and innovative ways to hire the right talent for various roles. The process is fairly simple, prospective partners are required to sign up online with a set of pre-requisite documents like a driver’s license, registration certificate for a car and police verification certificate, Commercial Driving License with badge, RC book, Insurance, Permit, Fitness, Bank A/c, etc,” says a representative from Uber, adding that they are extremely conscious about recruiting driver partners with valid documents, post the sign up procedure. Once the sign up process is complete, all Uber driver partners need to go through a mandatory soft skills training. 

When asked about the revenue structure, the representative, says, “Driving for Uber is increasingly gaining prominence among people as an unconventional means of earning livelihood. Uber offers an opportunity to become your own boss while earning a lucrative income. The driver partners are mini entrepreneurs and have the flexibility to plan their work day. Uber offers the drivers to have their own custom-tailored working hours and their own earning targets. The revenue model of Uber is designed to help driver-partners optimise their revenue, by providing them every support possible through the day to ensure maximum rides.  The driver partner incurs standard expenses around owning and maintaining his car.”

According to some reports, following the action taken against OLA and Uber’s ride-sharing service in other cities, Chennai is likely to follow soon. Ola Share was launched one year ago and uberPOOL was launched in September last year. These services are popular among passengers as the cost turns out to be much cheaper. The services were questioned in Karnataka owing to safety issues and there were rumours that these sharing services would be shut in Chennai too. However, Uber clarified that they haven’t received any official statement yet. ““Ridesharing products like uberPOOL are the future of urban mobility, helping decongest cities by getting more people into fewer cars and letting riders move around their city more affordably. We are yet to receive any indication from the concerned authorities regarding intent to pause uberPOOL services in Chennai,” said a spokesperson.