Uber Dreaming

Sometimes riders are very excited about Uber. Last night, a rider and I had this conversation:

R: How do you like driving for Uber?
D: It's fun.
R: (Excitedly) I've thought it would be a good way to make some extra money when I'm driving myself places. What's your biggest expense?
D: Gas, so far. I haven't had to repair the car, knock on wood.
R: (With guarded excitement.) What is your gas mileage?
D: About 24 miles per gallon which is why I'd love to get an electric car or a hybrid. They do much better with city driving.
R: (Back to full blown excitement) An electric car would be great! Then you could put solar panels on your roof and really cut down your expenses! California has tons of free sun!
D: (Sarcastically) I'd be rich!!
R: (Slightly hurt) I think it could work!

Excitement about Uber possibilities and the realities of driving a taxi are not always the same. Here is some back of the napkin math on my enthusiastic rider's Uberized dream:

Investment - $43,000
Electric Car (Ford Focus or Nissan Leaf) retail around $28,000 for an inexpensive model.
Solar Panels cost at least $15,000.

Savings -There are none.
(Assuming that the car could be charged 100% by the sun.)
76 mile range on 1 charge saves 3 gallons of gas.
$3.50 per gallon is a $10.50 savings per charge.
$0.13 per mile savings
After 330,769 miles I would break even on the investment. By that time I'd need a new car.

This conversation demonstrated to me just how out of touch many people are with the realities of low wage life. With $43,000 investment I couldn't even afford the down payment on a house and buying a house is the reason I'm driving for Uber. (Ironically, I'd also need a house in order to buy solar panels.) But this dream sounds great because it has entrepreneurial spirit and technology.

Well, I'll keep dreaming of ways to make technology and an entrepreneurial spirit work for me.