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There are a LOT of drawbacks with CURRENT electric vehicles that make them unsuitable for ridesharing as an income source.
Note I did say CURRENT vehicles and ridesharing as an income source, meaning the future is coming just no yet suitable for serious ridesharing types.
The problems are these:
1: Charging 3 or more times a day equates in a lot of downtime, when Uber's are jocking for position or need to pickup established customers at certain times etc.
2: Battery replacement. Most are warranted for apx 120,000 miles but begin to hold less charge, and thus even more downtime. An average serious ridesharing driver can do 80,000-100,000 miles a year. Reported replacement batteries anywhere from $15,000 -$30,000.
3: Tires on EV's are currently very thin threaded. Drivers of EV's report having tires changed every 20,000 miles! Thats about every two months if ridesharing full time.
4: Damage or repairs, most can't be done locally yet and have to go back to factory.
5: Paxen are animals. EV's tend to have cheaply built things like windows and door handles that easily break. It's because they are trying to save weight thus use thinner, lighter, less durable materials.
6: Cost to entry is high. MIT did a study on ridesharing for a living and don't recommend it, but if you do, only spend $20,000 for vehicles due to the low pay (after costs) and the high mileage one puts on them and the accident factor being much higher driving full time over normal driving.
So even though one may save money on fuel with an EV, it's not good if you can't make any money.
There is another downside with driving too much like ridesharing all day for profit. Accidents, cosmetic damage and tickets. Try as you may your going to have to deal with these issues.
Also one can tend to get, with proper maintenance, about 300,000 miles out of a vehicle before a major repair makes it not worthwhile. .My truck has 450,000 miles (350,000 for Uber) and is 8 years old, can Uber with it another 7 more years. Not bad for $20,000 investment.
What needs to improve for EV's before they can be considered for ridesharing for profit.
1: Quick charge, longer range batteries. (500-800 mile range). Quick charge meaning just as fast as filling a tank with gas. A lot of the fragile and annoying things about EV's, their thin tires, the lousy air conditioning, the thin windows, the regenerative braking, likely will go away with battery improvements.
2: Local repairs with local parts and batteries.
3: Gas stations also have quick chargers.
4: Cost to entry reasonable, $30,000-$40,000 new with a supply of used at around $20,000 to meet low pay ridesharing gives. That they can last for 15 years that Uber allows. Thus matches ICE vehicles and beats them on lower fuel costs.
So not anti-EV, who wouldn't want to save on fuel? Just pointing out facts and letting you know in case your considering.
It's not all roses yet. Almost.
Note I did say CURRENT vehicles and ridesharing as an income source, meaning the future is coming just no yet suitable for serious ridesharing types.
The problems are these:
1: Charging 3 or more times a day equates in a lot of downtime, when Uber's are jocking for position or need to pickup established customers at certain times etc.
2: Battery replacement. Most are warranted for apx 120,000 miles but begin to hold less charge, and thus even more downtime. An average serious ridesharing driver can do 80,000-100,000 miles a year. Reported replacement batteries anywhere from $15,000 -$30,000.
3: Tires on EV's are currently very thin threaded. Drivers of EV's report having tires changed every 20,000 miles! Thats about every two months if ridesharing full time.
4: Damage or repairs, most can't be done locally yet and have to go back to factory.
5: Paxen are animals. EV's tend to have cheaply built things like windows and door handles that easily break. It's because they are trying to save weight thus use thinner, lighter, less durable materials.
6: Cost to entry is high. MIT did a study on ridesharing for a living and don't recommend it, but if you do, only spend $20,000 for vehicles due to the low pay (after costs) and the high mileage one puts on them and the accident factor being much higher driving full time over normal driving.
So even though one may save money on fuel with an EV, it's not good if you can't make any money.
There is another downside with driving too much like ridesharing all day for profit. Accidents, cosmetic damage and tickets. Try as you may your going to have to deal with these issues.
Also one can tend to get, with proper maintenance, about 300,000 miles out of a vehicle before a major repair makes it not worthwhile. .My truck has 450,000 miles (350,000 for Uber) and is 8 years old, can Uber with it another 7 more years. Not bad for $20,000 investment.
What needs to improve for EV's before they can be considered for ridesharing for profit.
1: Quick charge, longer range batteries. (500-800 mile range). Quick charge meaning just as fast as filling a tank with gas. A lot of the fragile and annoying things about EV's, their thin tires, the lousy air conditioning, the thin windows, the regenerative braking, likely will go away with battery improvements.
2: Local repairs with local parts and batteries.
3: Gas stations also have quick chargers.
4: Cost to entry reasonable, $30,000-$40,000 new with a supply of used at around $20,000 to meet low pay ridesharing gives. That they can last for 15 years that Uber allows. Thus matches ICE vehicles and beats them on lower fuel costs.
So not anti-EV, who wouldn't want to save on fuel? Just pointing out facts and letting you know in case your considering.
It's not all roses yet. Almost.
