Drivers prefer car subscription rather than buy a car for Uber

Written by Elizabeth Barry and originally published on finder.com.au

Uber driver car subscription on the rise

Drivers are starting to cotton onto the benefits of the expanding Uber car subscription market, with a recent finder.com.au survey revealing 11.6% of people would prefer to subscribe to drive a car with Uber. This is compared to the 6.7% of people that said they would purchase a vehicle to drive with the ridesharing platform. While the number subscription enthusiasts of the 1,001 respondents is still dwarfed by the 81.6% of them that said they would use their own car to drive with Uber, it may indicate a shift in the mindset of rideshare drivers. CEO of Uber subscription platform Splend Chris King says he was "not at all" surprised at these results. "People want to drive Uber for a variety of different reasons such as saving for a holiday, paying off a credit card debt, or to earn an income full-time to support their familly," he said.

"Buying a car means you're committing to being a rideshare driver for the long haul, which isn’t for everyone."

It's important to remember that the 81.6% of people that indicated they would use their own vehicle to drive with Uber have a car that meets the eligibility criteria. For example, in Sydney these criteria include that the vehicle is in excellent working condition, is less than 10 years old, has no more than eight seats, is free from cosmetic damage and commercial branding and is a four-door car or passenger van. There are also various insurance requirements to meet as well as the vehicle needing to undergo an inspection. While the eligibility criteria can be stringent, King says it ensures vehicles on the platform are of a certain quality. "Quality cars were one of the main reasons behind customers swapping from a taxi to Uber. However, we know that not everyone has access to a car, let alone one that passes all of Uber’s eligibility criteria," he said. "Rather than buying a second car just for Uber, we're seeing a trend where people are selling their cars, pocketing the cash, and then get on a car subscription plan for rideshare. Because they can drive the subscription car for personal use as well, it often doesn’t make financial sense to run two vehicles."

Splend's most recent addition to its product offerings, for example, lets you subscribe to drive a new

Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid

from $365 per week. With registration and all rideshare paperwork covered, and a wide range of

exclusive partner discounts

, drivers won't need to work many hours with Uber each week to cover this cost.

"When you're behind the wheel of a brand-new Splend car," explains King, "all you need to look after is putting fuel in the tank and ensuring you have a toll tag installed in those cities with toll roads. That’s it. We take care of everything else."

About Splend

Splend makes car ownership easier, more affordable and more accessible for rideshare drivers by building everything they need to earn more, pay less and worry less into one affordable weekly payment. It’s smooth driving, with no surprises and the lowest total ownership cost you’ll find – which is how car ownership for rideshare drivers should be. For more information about Splend, make an appointment and drop by to your local Splend Hub, email us, or say hello on 1800 775 363.