Quote:
Originally Posted by Hersbird
I'm sure a Prius makes sense for a professional full time driver that may drive 200+ city miles a shift and they may hot seat the car between 2 or even 3 shifts. They could be saving $10,000 a year in gas. They probably buy brand new ones and I wouldn't doubt if the city or the state (considering Portland, OR) doesn't give them some other incentives to buy electic or hybrids.
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The taxi drivers I talked to say they drive a Prius because it is a roomy car with very low operating expenses. Not only does it get good fuel economy but it is also a very reliable car. Add in the fact that you don't need to replace the brakes because of the regenerative braking and you have huge cost savings over a conventional car.
Operating costs matter even for someone driving part time. The most fuel efficient van I can find from 2008 is a Mazda 5 that gets 24 mpg. Even at $2 a gallon that is $0.083 per mile just for gas. At 45 mpg a Prius is $0.044 per mile. A Mazda 5 only holds 6 people so you aren't doing much better than a regular car. The most fuel efficient "real" minivan is the Honda Odyssey at 20 mpg ($0.10 per mile)
EDIT: A 2008 Odyssey is $1000 more than a 2008 Prius and a 2008 Corolla is $1000 less.
Not to mention that the OP is likely going to drive this car as a personal vehicle so there are savings from personal miles too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Natalya
Yes van drivers get more money on trips where there's more people.
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What percentage of Uber drives have more than 3-4 people? That is a key metric to determine if it is cost effective to drive a larger vehicle with higher operating costs.