Maybe a more realistic view of the trade comes from this Uber driver.
Uber driver speaks out about impact of coronavirus lockdown
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bris ... ct-4071356
An Uber driver from St Pauls has said he is beginning to feel the financial impact of Covid-19 on his career. Muuse Mahamood, 35, has been an Uber driver for several years but has been struggling recently.
For the last couple of weeks, a large number of businesses which would be Uber destinations have closed their doors, to comply with the government advice of social distancing. And this has had a knock on effect on those who are working in the gig economy and are self employed. Restaurants, clubs, gyms, pubs, cinemas - the list goes on - and these are all businesses which naturally bring in an income for Uber drivers.
Bristol has gone from being a vibrant city which is full of life, to empty streets and businesses having their shutters down. This has left taxi drivers like Muuse with a decline in customers. But also left them being front line workers - having customers coming in and out of their cars.
Until four weeks ago, he was still working like normal, but realised there were barely any customers using the service anymore and now rarely logs on. He recalls recently trying to have a look on the booking app to see if there were any jobs available, only to be faced with the reality the streets were empty and the use of Uber had quietened down greatly.
He said when he would go on a shift, it was “very worrying” for him. He lives with his three children, aged 12, 9 and 7, and his wife, so he tried to avoid taking on bookings as much as possible in order to diminish the spread of coronavirus into his household.
Muuse said: “It’s so frustrating at the moment. “Recently I was reading a news story about an Uber driver who had died in London and it broke my heart because I know Uber drivers who are still currently working are really struggling. “I hardly ever go into work because I have children so I have to think twice.”
Muuse said adding to his anxiety was the lack of “support” from Uber, he claims. He said whilst he was still working for Uber a few weeks ago, he wasn't provided with any PPE . He said "we're front line workers, who should be protected."
The latest Uber guidelines from April 16 state: “We are providing free sanitation products to make it easier to clean and sanitise your car between rides, if you should choose to continue taking trips at this time. “To make sure there is enough stock for everyone, we are rolling out sanitation promo codes in batches. You’ll receive an email from us in the coming weeks with instructions on how to order.
“We’re also planning to provide protective equipment supplies in the coming weeks, and will let you know once these items are available.”
The Uber guidelines said the company is providing drivers with over one million free PPE items to drivers using the Uber app in the UK, including masks and they're directly reimbursing drivers using the Uber app if they choose to source the required PPE themselves. Drivers are independent contractors, but they are able to access additional support and benefits. Any driver diagnosed with COVID-19 will be able to claim up to £1,225 in financial assistance.
Along with the worry of contracting the virus through taking rides, Muuse is also beginning to feel the financial impact of coronavirus on his life. He said: “Financially - as someone who is self employed I’m really struggling and I’m just using what I’ve got saved up, which is what many others who are self employed are doing. “It's really, really hard.
“Because there’s no work, there's no money coming into my bank. But, before this I would be earning daily.”
Under the self-employed support scheme, millions of self-employed people will receive a cash grant from the government worth 80 per cent of their profits over the last three years, for up to three months, and up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.
Despite Muuse potentially being eligible for the government’s self employment package, he worries about how he will be able to support his family until the package comes into play in June.
Being an Uber driver, he meets a range of people day to day and said he misses the social interaction he would have with customers. “Before everything turned sour, it was a really good job. “The reason why I chose to be a taxi driver is because it's good when you have children as you can be flexible with hours. This meant that I could pick them up from school and run any other errands I needed to.
“When you’re working a 9-5 job you have to provide sick notes or book holiday, but as a taxi driver, there’s so much flexibility. “I also enjoyed the social aspect and meeting new people.
“It was a good experience meeting different people, although I’ve heard from many taxi drivers that customers would always ask them about their ethnicity. “The first thing they’ll ask you is ‘How your day’s been?’, then, ‘Where are you from?’. Then they say ‘How long have you been in this country’ and then it's followed by ‘Africa’s a good country’. Every single time,” Muuse recalls.
Muuse said conversations between him and customers became infrequent when he was still taking bookings His last job was driving someone to the BRI, which he said left him feeling apprehensive. Muuse said: “At the moment it’s really quiet. “I tried to log into the system a while back as I wanted to do a short shift and nothing was coming through.
“I only had one job within a few hours. It was someone coming in who was going to the BRI and I was instantly panicking when I realised.”
A spokesperson for Uber said: “In these difficult times, we believe it is the right thing to do to support any driver who uses the Uber app. "Active drivers diagnosed with COVID-19 or asked to self-isolate by a public health authority will receive financial assistance for up to 14 days.
"This is in addition to free AXA insurance protection, which covers sickness, injury, maternity and paternity payments for all drivers in the UK. "Uber has also introduced measures to ensure that every driver can access the PPE they need for free to drive safely on the Uber app, if they choose to do so.”
Financial support will be provided through their vehicle providers: Otto Car, WeFlex, Splend, Toyota and PCO rental who have offered to support drivers in need by temporarily reducing the weekly payments on their vehicles they use for their businesses. They will review this on a case-by-case basis.
They have also been working with their selected PHV insurance providers: Haven, Inshur, Zego and Nelson to ask if they can reduce the overall cost of maintaining insurance on the drivers vehicles.
|
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
