Chance at making easy money
Published on: Thursday, June 23, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: BECOMING an Uber driver is providing many the prospect of being their own boss or as an additional means of easy income since all one needs is a vehicle and to register as a member.For instance, BJ Rudy made an additional RM1,080 ferrying customers in three weeks in the State Capital with his Proton Exora after office hours. The money was good to cover the rising cost of supporting a family in the city. The new income came after he signed up as a driver with Uber and made RM50 on his first driving assignment the next day.
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BJ is doing this in his free time so that it doesn't conflict with his day job. "The number of riders (passengers) is growing," he said. "My friend who is doing it full-time at present is making RM700 a week," he said. But opposition over the rising popularity of Uber is growing among taxi drivers as the government scrambles to regulate Uber and other ride-hailing apps. These concerns largely have to do with safety and whether Uber has any system and whether the drivers are trustworthy or have any criminal record.
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Still, the entry of Uber in May has been fast gaining traction, said BJ, especially among students of higher learning institutions who want to commute safely on much cheaper rates than services provided by local taxis. According to him, Uber charges around 95 sen per km and 25 sen a minute if the drivers are made to wait for their passengers, which is a fraction of what many taxi drivers charge their passengers on a single journey.
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A ride from Kota Kinabalu to Shangri-La Rasa Ria in Tuaran for example will cost a passenger only around RM20 compared to RM60 to RM80 by normal taxi drivers. Unlike taxis, drivers do not carry out cash transactions. Everything is paid for via credit card. "It is Uber which handles the payments to the drivers and a portion of this goes to maintain our vehicles," he pointed out. Working parents can also be assured if they hire Uber to pick up their children from school as the driver's details including a photo fit is made available to the app user to track down. "Such feature also makes it easy for the app user to contact the driver if they dropped or lost their belongings inside the car," he said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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