DRIVER WHO’S AN AGONY AUNT, DJ AND ORACLE

It may be known for its disadvantages as well as its perks but the number of Uber users in Cardiff is continuing to grow. To find out what it’s really like to be a self-employed driver working with the company we asked one driver to spill the beans. The d

How does it work?

Uber works exactly the same as other big taxi companies in that its drivers are selfemployed and pick the hours and days they work each week.

Prices, however, are calculated by the Uber app, with surges calculated by a computer algorithm based on demand.

Our Uber driver can usually be seen driving through the night on a Friday and Saturday, clocking up an average of 40 hours a week.

But while it comes with more freedom than a typical job, Uber drivers also do not get holiday time or benefits such as sick pay.

Uber drivers really do know the fastest route

Like all other taxis, Uber drivers must first get a licence before signing up.

While this varies between local authorities, in general you must prove your knowledge of taxi laws, as well as undergoing an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

In Cardiff you must also take a knowledgebased test. Not for the faint-hearted, this involves memorising more than 170 main routes in the city centre.

When it’s time for the test, you will be asked 15 of these routes and to describe how to get from point A to point B.

Our Uber driver said: “That was probably the hardest part of getting my licence.

“They have set routes you have to learn and it’s like an oral exam. You have to say which route you are on and explain everything along the way and the different turns.”

Our Cardiff driver added: “Then there’s photo tests. There’s about 150 places around Cardiff and you have to say which road you are on.

“You get 15 of each of those and the pass rate is 80 per cent, so when people tell me the quickest way to go I probably already know.”

Between taxi drivers and Uber drivers, though, the licence application process can also prove divisive.

While some companies might require you to have a Cardiff council licence to work in the city, this isn’t the case with Uber.

This means that if you want you can avoid the tricky tests run by some councils but not others.

Our Uber driver said: “A big grievance among taxi drivers is that the majority [of Uber drivers] have Newport licences.

“My brother is training to be an Uber driver and I told him to go to Newport to get his licence as it’s cheaper and easier to obtain.”

It’s no surprise there are growing calls from taxi and Uber drivers alike to set up a national licence scheme.

Prices are based mainly on distance not time

While some routes might seem the quickest or most obvious, they may not be the best for your wallet.

Our Uber driver said: “Sometimes there can be one or two routes and I’ll ask people which route they prefer. Sometimes it would be cheaper to go on one route but quicker to do another.

“Last week I took someone from Atlantic Wharf to Ely. The shortest route is through town but it’s quicker to go straight to the link road and back at Culverhouse Cross. As it’s about three or four miles longer it costs more, as mileage is the basis of the cost.”

You become a DJ as well as a driver

While your priority is to get passengers from A to B, you also have the chance to play your own tunes.

Our interviewee usually chooses to listen to his Spotify playlist. He said: “Generally I have my own music – either BBC 6 music, a Spotify playlist or BBC Radio Wales.

“I have had a few compliments on my music – there’s quite a few comments about it in my reviews.

“Sometimes I let people play music through the aux cord and you get them raving in the back. I had one guy blasting a techno version of Sospan Fach.”

Such leniency with his music has also led our Uber driver to his largest tip to date – £20.

He said: “It was only a short trip from halfway up Cathedral Road to St Mary Street but we had a good chat and were listening to BBC Radio Wales when a ravey song came up. They asked me to turn it up and they had the windows down and were dancing around.”

Detours to McDonald’s are also pretty standard

For most people in Cardiff a 3am takeaway in Chippy Lane is standard at the end of a night out.

But, according to our driver, some customers also have the same thought getting an Uber home. He said: “I do take people to drive-throughs. Often I take them to McDonald’s and they offer to buy me something – generally I just ask for a coffee.

“Usually I don’t mind, , as long as they are not eating it in the car and leaving it, it’s not a problem.”

On one occasion, however, an unfortunate series of events for one customer led our Uber driver coming to the rescue.

He said: “For my last journey on the night of the Anthony Joshua fight I took a girl to Briton Ferry on a 3.2 surge, which is a lot of money. She’d had a bit of a crap night and had lost her friends, so when she asked to go to a drivethrough I bought her a Maccies.”

It can be hilarious but also emotional

While some people might be slightly the worse for wear on a Saturday night, you can also find yourselves meeting people you don’t easily forget.

Our Uber driver said: “I’m used to the weekends – some drivers don’t like it and just work in the days or will go home by a certain time.

“In my opinion people are mostly fine, people are very rarely rude or aggressive. They’re mostly just funny.”

He added: “One guy cracked me up and I was laughing so much I had to compose myself for my next customer. He had this thick Valleys accent and was telling his friends the last time he went out he had gelled his eyebrows.”

On one occasion our Uber driver ended up ferrying people to his own home. He said: “On one New Year’s Eve I picked up two girls and two guys from a house party in Cathays and they said they were going to another house party.

“It turned out the address was my address – I dropped these people off to a house party in my own house.

“I finished at 7.30am and those four were still there, so we had a drink together.”

Our driver said: “Often you become an agony uncle, hearing people’s life stories at 3am. Once a woman was telling me that she had escaped an abusive ex.

“At the end she gave me a hug – it was quite emotional.”

There can also be horror stories

In our Cardiff man’s case, the perks of being an Uber driver outweigh the bad.

He said: “There’s only two people I have had to refuse. One because they were quite aggressive and it got heated and the other time they got in the back with a takeaway and were dripping sauce everywhere.”

Our Uber driver said: “I have pulled over for people to go and be sick.

“Overall it’s a fairly low ratio – only once have I had it that bad I had to charge them.”

On that occasion the customer was left with a £95 bill – £45 for the valet bill and £50 for lost business.

Our driver said: “It was pretty horrible, it was just projectile and got on my shoulder, the car window, side of the door and in the fabric between the seats.”

It turned out the address was my address – I dropped these people off to a house party in my own house UBER DRIVER

Match days are another ball game entirely

We all know how chaotic a match day or big concert date can be in Cardiff city centre.

According to our driver, however, working the busiest dates can be worth the hassle.

He said: “I tend to work big days as they are good money. Anthony Joshua was the most I’ve ever made. On the night of his fight I made £600 in one day as there are so many extra people it causes constant surges.

“Straight after the match I got a 2.7x surge trip to Bath.”

Despite the money, however, there is no denying it can be hard work.

Our man said: “The Anthony Joshua night was chaotic. When you are waiting for people on a Saturday normally you get people knocking on the doors asking for rides but I can’t do that as I’m not a hackney cab.

“That evening I had someone come up with his arm in a sling offering me money to take him to hospital. Another time someone wanted me to take them to Bridgend and when I said I couldn’t he got quite abusive.”

Being an Uber driver is actually quite sociable

Being an Uber driver isn’t as lonely as you might think. In Cardiff the community of around 400 drivers often meets for football, food and the occasional drink.

Our driver said: “It’s a good community and I’ve made some great friends with it.

“[There’s a] WhatsApp group, with about 80 or 90 other people in it. Now there’s two groups – one for general talk and another for information like if there’s a crash.”

Uber also holds events, like Christmas parties, and at Ramadan.

Think about whether it works for you

Our driver said: “Now they have introduced a new rule that after 10 hours driving you are logged out for six hours.” He said: “Overall it works for me. “It allows me to focus on my other projects and I’m earning more money than I was previously.”