Uber driver: the new job option in Mexico
Uber says that until January 2016 its 40,000 drivers earned US$4.8 per hour in average.
Uber, an online transportation network company, has become the new job option for 40,000 people in Mexico.
The first requirement is that the driver or owner of the car is registered as taxpayer. The car must have a four doors, radio, air conditioning, full coverage insurance and be at least 2008 model, while drivers have to take driving, antidoping and psychological tests and prove that they have no criminal record. They must also pass a personal interview and, of course, have a drivers license.
A week later the applicant receives an email if he/she is accepted and is given a smartphone with the Uber app installed.
Uber drivers are their own boss, i.e., their income depends on how much they work.
Uber says that until January 2016 its drivers earned 90.23 pesos (US$4.8) per hour in average. For 60% of them driving is their only source of income, 40% were unemployed before becoming an Uber driver and for 70% of them, this is the first time that they are part of the formal economy.
Éric Paz, a former police officer, makes about 6,000 pesos (US$319) a month. He admits that he could be making twice as much, but he is only an Uber driver in his free time, the rest of the time he works in his private business.
Paz, 41, being an Uber driver is not too different from his previous job: “You have to be alert and drive around the city,” he explained.
According to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute (INEGI), the capital city has 7 million registered cars circulating in the metropolitan area. For those who have a smartphone with internet connection and a credit card, getting from point A to B it is as simple as clicking on a satellite image.