Uber To rent cars straight away To UberX Drivers

Uber has all however cornered the journey-hailing trade, clocking 1 million rides a day in some markets. The demand is clear, and the next natural step for the corporate, introduced Wednesday, is to scale back the barrier to entry for prospective Uber drivers by using rejiggering its leasing software.

In a blog put up, Uber published a brand new pilot application, Xchange Leasing, during which the corporate can hire cars straight away to its UberX drivers. until now, Uber had worked with automakers like general Motors and Toyota to hire automobiles to its drivers, giving them a reduced deal on month-to-month payments. in step with Uber, a significant portion of the one hundred sixty,000 UberX drivers within the U.S. have used this system:

We launched our automobile solutions application 18 months in the past in line with comments from potential driver-companions who needed to join the Uber platform however didn’t have get entry to to a qualifying uberX automotive. considering then, just about 20,000 drivers have participated in the program and together taken dwelling over $200 million greenbacks driving with Uber.

We’ve learned rather a lot—about when and the place folks drive, small print about their automobile desires, and how we will join partners with choices that work best for them. there may be a variety of variability in how drivers use Uber, from the explanations they force to the amount of time they spend on the platform. but one factor is apparent: the key to flexible revenue is flexible financing.

the new initiative eliminates the middleman: Leases are issued and overseen with the aid of an Uber subsidiary, and target Uber drivers specifically, offering unlimited mileage, events repairs, and the flexibility to return a automotive after simply 30 days with little penalty. (in keeping with Re/code, the termination rate is $250.) Drivers also have the choice of leasing used vehicles.

Uber is at the moment providing Xchange Leasing in California—namely l. a., San Francisco, and San Diego—in addition to in cities across Georgia and Maryland. the corporate is partnering with extra auto manufacturers, and is also testing out a weekly automotive condo option in Atlanta, Dallas, and Nashville.

Re/code factors out, alternatively, that Xchange Leasing continues to be pricier for drivers than leasing directly from a dealership, although Uber bargains greater comfort and accessibility:

Uber’s new leasing phrases nonetheless aren’t an ideal deal compared to going straight through a dealership. A driver leasing a 2013 Toyota Corolla, for instance, can be paying about $385 a month thru Uber, while they could hire a 2015 version car for $159 a month directly from the dealer. The upfront price is greater, on the other hand, and breaking the hire would incur larger penalties.

moreover, Uber lets in folks with low credit score to hire a car, folks who may no longer be able to rent instantly from an auto vendor themselves.

[via Re/code]