What: Via is a ridesharing service, a la “Uber Pool,” that operates in a handful of major cities, including Washington, D.C. and New York
Expected pay: $30 – $40 per hour
Husl$core: $$$$
Where: New York, Chicago, Washington D.C.
Requirements:
- New York TLC license
- In other cities, a valid driver’s license
- A black, dark grey or dark blue vehicle with leather interior. If you don’t have one, Via will help you lease one.
- The site recommends larger cars, since you make more when you transport larger groups. Here’s their list of recommended vehicles: https://nyc.drivewithvia.com/recommended-vehicles/
Review:
When Via launched, it was promising drivers $30 an hour for picking up passengers in Manhattan along a set route, like an exclusive city bus. The idea was that you would fill your car by picking up passengers all along the route. Each passenger would pay only $5 to $7, but assuming you took 5 people and were able to complete two trips, the service would make $50 and you’d make more than you could earn driving for Lyft or Uber.
Since then Via has also started a “Flex Mode” payment plan, where drivers will get $2.55 base, plus 35 cents per minute, plus $1.75 per mile. If you add that all up, it would appear that a driver who traveled 10 miles over the course of one hour would get $41.05. Sounds great, right? There are a couple of big caveats.
First, you need a big and elegant car, so you will be spending more on gas and, probably, car payments. Via also doesn’t provide supplemental insurance (Uber and Lyft do); and doesn’t support tipping. But the biggest catch is that Via has yet to catch on, and only seems to work during rush hours when a large number of people are interested in going the same direction. Thus, you couldn’t make a living driving for Via alone. Certainly don’t lease a car just to drive for this app.
That may be why Comparakeet ranks this app 11th out of 12 in its listing of best taxi apps for drivers. Nonetheless, if you don’t mind driving an hour or two during rush hour and you happen to have the right kind of vehicle, it might be worth a spin.
What drivers say:
We’re still looking for Via driver reviews. We’ll add them as they come in.