Slashdot Mirror
Uber South Africa Launches $500 a Month Car Lease Which Includes Replacing Tires
An anonymous reader writes: Taxi hailing platform Uber has experimented with vehicle financing schemes around the world this year: it launched a pilot program for car loans in three US towns in the summer and had a two year relationship with Santander too. It's South African arm has gone one step further, however, with an official vehicle leasing — rather than purchase — scheme backed by local lender Wesbank. For about $500 a month which covers the car, maintenance and even tire wear, drivers get access to a mid-sized sedan. Hertz and other car hire firms are also joining in with similar schemes to boost the number of Uber drivers in the country.
...everything they need to do their. jobs.
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Ex-taxi driver here (late 80's). The oldest taxi I ever drove was 5yrs old and had 1.2 million kilometers on the clock, even the door hinges on the passenger side had been replaced more than once. The average 24/7 cab in Melbourne racks up about 1000 km/day, (if you have more than one cab) the cheapest way to keep them on the road is to buy a late model sedan at a government auction that has ~100K on the clock, and have your own workshop and mechanic. A new car warranty is virtually pointless, if you buy a new car with a 100,000km warranty, the warranty will expire in the first 6 months. If you don't have a workshop and mechanic then you will be paying close to retail prices to maintain it.Of course with 1M+ km on the clock, the resale/salvage value is virtually nil.
Leasing it for $500/mth including tyres and maintenance would be a bargain if it was $AU in Australia. However the idea is not new, open any newspaper to the "help wanted" section and you will see dozens of adverts attempting to sell/lease three ton courier trucks with a "guaranteed income".
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
It's an interesting story because it means getting Uber cars on the road in places they haven't got to yet. I live in one of those places so I hope it works out and they come to me.
It has to be risky for Uber, I'm imagining that Africans who want to be Uber drivers don't have much in terms of credit scores.
For the kind of cars i drive, $500 would buy me a replacement car every month.
(1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
But I guess the biggest point here is to ask what relevance this whole thing has to Slashdot?
I get down-voted every time I ask questions like this... :(
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
Time to finally finish my Johnny Cab bot and sign him up as an Uber driver! Along with the Go Pros to capture the terrified looks on the vict^H^H^H^H riders' faces.
"Hellua day, huh?"
Taxi hailing platform Uber. . .
So Uber is admitting it's a taxi service but doesn't believe it has to abide by rules for taxi companies, nor do its drivers who don't have a business license or insurance to protect their passengers.
Good to know people can make up whatever shit they want. I think I'll open a theme park, with blackjack and hookers, and call it recreation sharing. I'll make a ton of money since I won't have to worry about paying taxes or dealing with any ridiculous licensing or permits.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower