A lot has happened since this article was written. The bottom line is if You want to rent a car to drive for Uber or Lyft it needs to be approved by them so unless they gave You a list of approved third party rentals then DO NOT do it. But be careful even on the ones that are approved by Uber and Lyft, for instance, in Las Vegas LYFT has a program with Hertz that is very unadvised to use because of cost and because of insurance. The deal in Vegas requires that You have the LYFT app on at all times or You will not have insurance coverage. So You think okay, I will leave it on but just not answer my call if I am heading Home for the night, right? Wrong! If You do not accept 90 percent of Your calls You will not qualify for the minimum guarantees so it would make it impossible for You to make a profit. Things change and that was the case when they first started the program but be sure that the insurance situation is fully understood before You sign up. YOUR insurance will definitely not cover You unless You have commercial insurance which is at least double what You pay for personal insurance. These companies try to sign You up and get You on the road asap but You need to slow them down and make sure You understand every single word of the contract.
If You are driving Your own car and Your insurance company does not know it, You might not be covered if You get in an accident. The first thing they ask these days is “Are You driving for rideshare?” If You lie, You could be charged with insurance fraud and go to jail and minimum wage is not worth the risk for jail time. So be up front with Your insurance company and ask what it will cost to get the coverage that You need.
There is a company with a really stupid idea that has been reportedly renting cars to ride share drivers. The name of the company is HyreCar and be warned that Uber or Lyft will not allow You to drive these cars because they do not belong to You and are not on record as the car You will pick up riders in. The story was written by an idiot that does not know how the ride share industry works. Here is what they wrote:
post from money.cnn
The setup is similar to RelayRides, which lets regular people rent out their cars when they’re not using them. However, that startup is targeted more toward leisurely drivers — people who want to run errands or take short trips.
The HyreCar owners tend to rent out cars for longer periods of time, like weeks or months. One driver has rented the same car for more than three months.
“We focus on helping unemployed/underemployed and lower income people obtain work,” said HyreCar co-founder James Ruhle.
Ruhle says in San Francisco, an Uber driver can take home around $200 for a full 8 to 10 hour workday, after gas and commission. He or she can probably find a suitable vehicle for around $40 a day on HyreCar, where owners set the prices (which range from $15 to $200 a day).
“Using HyreCar gives a flexibility to meet people’s financial position. If they can’t afford a subprime lease, don’t want the contractual obligations or don’t want mileage caps … HyreCar provides a solution,” said Ruhle.
Since it launched in December, the company has signed on 700 cars, primarily in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. The rental cost through HyreCar includes liability, collision and comprehensive insurance. The company is currently working on getting an additional $5 million policy for catastrophic events.