₦airaland Forum

DZTech:
What Expenses Are Encountered By Commercial Interstate Drivers?

Hi all,
I plan to start a transportation business, but I need advice on the 'lay of the land'.
I need a list of expenses encountered on commercial interstate trips, as in what would you normally spend money on, apart from fuel and tolls?
Especially in these harsh times? 🙇🏾‍♂️

What are the levies involved if using a park/garage or picking up passengers along the way?
Routes- Lagos-Abuja, Lagos-Southeast
Also, what essential checks/maintenance tasks are needed before AND after reach trip?

I look forward to your kind response, especially from our seasoned drivers, operators and fleet managers. 🙏🏻
God bless 🇳🇬

Interstate transportation business is nice but you need to be prepared to do everything necessary to make your vehicle and passengers secure and safe at every point on each trip.

The vehicle you choose to use also depends on the distance you wish to cover. Some vehicles are better suited for short inter-city trips like from Lagos to benin or Ibadan (Toyota Previa, Mazda MPV etc) and others required for longer hauls (Sienna, Hiace etc). The basic mode of the business is very similar no matter the distances so far as it’s interstate travel.

First things first, your vehicle and its particulars/documentation has to be updated and complete no matter what. If you plan to have just one vehicle in the business which you will be managing yourself (and can be flexible enough to switch the use of the vehicle from business to personal at any time) you can settle for regular blue vehicle license plates but if you know you want to have one or more vehicles and use them strictly for business you’d best get the red commercial license plates. Both have their advantages or disadvantages on the highway.

Wether you’re using blue or red plates your vehicle licenses should always be updated, hackney permits intact, various state ‘park & garage’ emblems fully paid for and the driver must possess a valid license. As a highway driver your ‘legalized’ enemies on the roads are the FRSC officials, VIO inspectors and various state government agberos.

The road safety and Vio guys mostly look out for the same things to penalize you as a highway driver. Apart from checking all your vehicles documentation and their validity (they don’t care for emblems) they will also look out for your passenger/cargo manifest. If you are caught hauling human or cargo without a manifest it is a very bad situation. Try to print receipts and manifests for your passengers and cargos to be recorded and signed then a copy given to the driver to hold on him per trip. The other material things they check are your regular emergency apparatus, tyre condition and your rearward visibility (in case you’re hauling much cargo, never allow the height of the stacked goods reach that of your rear view mirror to block your view from seeing behind your vehicle) , it is also a nice offence they use in collecting money from a carefree/greedy driver. Don’t drive with a cracked windshield. If you are using a blue private plate number they can also ask you for some ‘Roja’ since you’re not supposed to be using your vehicle commercially, in this case just squeeze anything into their hands and continue your journey. It usually comes up after they have checked you and seen all your paperwork and vehicles condition is in order.

For the various individual state agberos (council men), those ones are a bit trickier to handle because they are not usually ‘gentlemanly’ in their own doings (in fact, the only state I know that their own council members ball is in cross river state. Those ones drive air conditioned flashy sedans on their rounds and dress very formally that you won’t even believe they are agberos ) theses guys can ‘cramp’ you at anywhere so far you have a red commercial plate number and are hauling on any journey. How to escape their own wahala is simply to have their states full emblems and these emblems are to be renewed annually. If you are caught picking up, dropping off passengers/cargo or even just sitting still and buying fuel at a filling station they can corner you and request you show them your emblems. If you don’t have it or it’s expired you can have your vehicle impounded and pay a hefty fine that would cost approximately what their emblem does. These guys are usually not in uniform so it’s hard to point them out on the roads. They can come out of nowhere and they could be looking like ‘hemp craving’ unkept looking youth or gentlemanly depending on the state you encounter them. Different states have different emblems both in design and prices (which can cost as low as N25k and as high as N40k in some states) The major states where they carry this their emblem matter on their heads well-well to generate revenue that I’m aware of down south are Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Abia, Cross-River and Rivers states. If you’re serious in your highway business and don’t need problems you should purchase emblems for all these states depending on the routes you choose to ply. All states have their respective emblems but some don’t take their drive for it as seriously as others. Different states also have their own versions of LASTMA as we know them here in Lagos. If you park wrongly or commit blunders on their roads and you happen to have a red commercial number plate they will pursue you with all their might and catch you. Their own fees too can cut your heart out so be mindful of where you drop or pick passengers on your routes. If you have a red number plate you will be forced to pay tolls to pass some roads, like here in Lagos if you’re entering a big market like tradefair you must pay a gate fee wether you are hauling or empty so keep that in mind.

The police and army checkpoints are always on the roads. As for the police they are not usually an issue except you’re hauling contraband. Are you carrying bales of used clothes? Foreign rice? Etc . . . You will part with at least N500 per item that they ‘see’ in your boot during their stop and search operations. Apart from hauling contraband and having your vehicle’s particulars in order they will beg for ‘roja’ and decide to waste you and your passengers time if you deny them or play wise. They can tell your passengers to disembark and open their luggage one by one to waste your time and rile you all up. Sometimes they find unlabeled medication and interesting gadgets in passengers bags that can turn a stand-off into something else so it’s better you ‘roja’ on time if necessary. The army on the other hand don’t have any problems. If you know you’re hauling cargo and passing through their checkpoints just hold their N200 as your gate fee or their boys will cause issues for you and if you shine eyes for them too much they will call their oga aowa sitting in the shade to come and discipline you properly. So hauling cargo? Passing army checkpoints? Pay them their N200 jejely and go your way. The police and army will actually give you change if you don’t have small cash unlike road safety and vio guys. Those ones charge the highest as their ‘Bleep-up’ fee on the highways and you won’t be able to leverage well because they can actually impound your vehicle.

Then when it comes to your vehicle itself, highway driving is usually easier on your vehicles mechanical systems. Your main worry should be its cosmetic appearance both in and out. Before any trip guage your fluids and tyres. It is normal to change your engine oil after every 5th trip (go and come is calculated as a trip) and your gearbox/axle fluids should be replaced when due. The main wear and tear item on highway maintenance is your tyres. They degrade rapidly and a leave you stranded if you don’t keep a keep eye on their condition everyday. A useful rule is to always strive to buy commercial grade tyres and never use tubes no matter what (you can keep one in your boot just incase) and also stay away from winter graded tyres as they wear out faster while being much noisier on the roads. Regular replacement parts are your shocks, tie rods and bushings so try to buy oem replacements whenever you can for longevity. Your oxygen sensors and engine thermostat should be in order even if your fans are running directly from battery to help conserve fuel. Using air conditioning on highway journeys don’t use much extra fuel, if you do a journey of 500 kilometers with N35k fuel then with steady aircon you will do the same journey with N36k highest so don’t be hesitant to use it for yourself or your passengers comfort.

When it comes to loading and offloading, it is a generally good idea to have a sound vehicle and then register it with a company having a well known network of parks/pits (Tracas, Christian Praise, Ben flo etc) because you would just need to locate their parks at any city you get to and then take your turn to wait for your turn to ‘pit’ and load. Sometimes it can take days or even weeks depending on the season. In these type of companies you pay a registration fee for yourself and vehicle then you pay a small fraction of your seat ticketing fee to them every time you load. You would be mandated to brand your vehicle to reflect their company and also adhere to their own policies. Their advantage is that they are more networked and spread in many states so no matter where you decide to travel to you will always find an office where you will be welcomed to park and load.

On the other hand, if you’re using your own vehicle for highway haulage and you don’t wish to join with any company you can make acquaintances with some independent pit management in parks. They will give you a space/turn to pit your vehicle and load passengers from their space. You will usually not need to register formally with them. All they will require mostly is the complete ticket money for one seat (a standard fee for using their pit) , pay for the boys that shadow passengers for you (usually N500 per head) and you will pay the union/park loading fee before you leave on the trip. Remember these payments can vary depending on familiarity, location and negotiation. If you didn’t have a fully loaded vehicle and still want to proceed with your trip you will still have to pay the full price, some people decide to offload their passengers and reschedule their trip if they see another driver willing to awitch places on the que. The only people that like to embark on trips with few passengers are guys driving company vehicles (GUO, Young shall grow etc) because they can pick passengers along the way and pocket the extra cash for themselves. Private/independent divers don’t have that luxury because you pay in full for any trip you decide to embark on even if it’s just only 3 passengers you see.

Picking passengers along the way is not usually profitable all the time except seasonally and it will depend squarely on what side of the trip you are taking off from. Like for example from the first week in December you can pick passengers from Lagos toll gate along ijebu-ode going to benin/delta/east for as much as N10-N13k per head and settle any loaders you see at the bus stops the price for a seat. But if you were returning from the east at that same moment you will pick passengers from Onitsha-asaba toll gates coming to the west for as little as N5k on some good days, some times you can even see grown people pricing you N3k to carry them from delta to Lagos with full morale so picking passengers along the road is something not very profitable depending on the season and divide you are on.

I think I have covered all your inquiries. Sorry for the long post guys, there’s no thread for trailer or highway drivers on nairaland yet so near with my Cho-Cho-Cho this evening

saudatu:
Thank boss but the mechanic I have said every thing is perfect. Pls what the I check because it really eating my profit.

If you want to pinpoint your vehicles fuel consumption issue without spending more than you have to. You need to narrow down your problem.

First, do your radiator fans start running with battery power once the ignition key is turned without the engine started? Is your engine still having its thermostat intact? ,while driving look at your instrument cluster. Do you see your check engine light on? (1st pic below)

If your check engine light is on then you will need to buy a cheap Bluetooth scanner to be able to read the problem codes out of your vehicles brainbox. (2nd Pic below)

After getting the current problem codes off of your vehicle you can then go to the car-talk section on nairaland and post on the general vehicle maintenance thread for a knowledgeable person to interpret the codes and tell you where and where the issue is that is affecting your vehicle right now.

See the thread to post the codes below

https://www.nairaland.com/1788778/maintenance-tips-cars/476

Or alternatively you can tell your mechanic to introduce you to an auto electrician he knows that has a car scanner so you can negotiate and pay him to use his own scanner and read out any stored codes for you.

Once you know where the problem is you can then easily direct your mechanic on ‘where and where’ to look in order to solve your vehicles issues once and for all.

Good luck

sammyscholar:
Thanks for your response. Pls, do I stay off the accelerator and the car needs to move, sir? I'm keen to learn how better I can conserve fuel.

Okay see how I do mine. In every vehicle with a traditional automatic gearbox there is a specific rpm where your vehicle automatically changes it’s upward gears and there is another specific rpm where you can ‘force’ the vehicle to change its gears manually. Keeping in the highest gear at any specific speed is the key to constantly conserving your fuel.

Like on mine if I put my foot down on my accelerator without taking my foot off of it (like if I wanted to race from a red light) my gearbox switches up from gear 1 - 2, gear 2 - 3 etc between 3000rpm - 3500rpm. This makes you move fast but it also makes your vehicle use excessive fuel too.

BUT

If I wanted to conserve fuel, I can force my gearbox to change gears at another specific point in its rev band. Like if I was not in a rush I can conserve fuel by slowly lifting up my foot from the accelerator pedal once my rev reaches 2000rpm and my gears will switch upwards from gear 1 - 2, 2 - 3 etc. What I mean is like, if from a red light, I start moving, I will depress my throttle pedal and watch my rev counter keenly. Once it touches the 2000rpm point i lift my foot off the pedal slightly and my gearbox will upshift into gear 2, I then depress the pedal again and keep watching my rpm counter and once it gets to the 2000rpm point again i slightly lift up my foot and the gearbox will upshift into gear 3 and I keep doing it from gear 3 to 4 and up untill I get into my final gear.

If you diligently follow the procedure above you will always be in the best torque to horsepower ratio to conserve fuel on your vehicle.

I hope you understand.

Note : I drive a vehicle with a larger engine displacement than your matrix so if I can ‘force’ my gearbox to upshift manually at 2000rpm yours might be at the 2,500rpm band. Try yours out and see if you can find the sweet spot to manually shifting your gears.

Good luck

Halahhalah:
You this boy, what do you take yourself for ?
Any small discussion, "leave the thread".
And you also think yourself high by expecting your questions to be answered.
Why don't you leave this thread when it's obvious to you that it's been turned into something else?
At least, there is a telegram group dedicated for people like you.
You don't drive, yet you are always on this thread cho cho cho all over.

The telegram has the people needed, then why the noise here, and why keep coming here to make noise?

Mschew

saudatu:
Thanks boss.
I did 120km with 19.3 liters of today. What is you opinion sir?

You did 14mpg as someone said earlier and it’s very bad for your vehicle. Try to see a competent mechanic to check you fuel systems asap.

sammyscholar:
I bro, I noticed my Toyota Matrix is consuming more fuel than usual. 25 KM consuming as much as 2.5Litres of fuel

That is circa 23mpg , not bad for city driving but could be better considering your engine size.

Stay off the accelerator pedal a bit more and you could do better. Your vehicles fuel system seems fine for now.

mejai:
Conner44, the day dem go corner u eh, dem fit tie u for tree, jam u with anger

Thank God say I no dey order Uber. Dem for don ‘Conner’ me beat siiince

I get sense nah

Raw2:
You have sapa mentality. Lost interest.

Help him ministry naw. One click = $0.10 is a very big money once it stacks up

Just keep researching to find more good qualities apart from the sapa side bro. We rise by lifting each other

Raw2:
All of them, same pattern. All of them claiming to do better. We found out which day that one of them still lives with his mom.

Bro abeg take jeje dey quote me with this type of ‘shade’

You don experience where you wan fight person, the person first carry bottle, beak am, chuuk himself before him begin face you . . . ?

I dey fear live wire tinzz well well these days

You can find a better hustle
Your suspension will pull
Your engine will explode
Your eyes will go blind
Armed robbers and thieves will target you
Your body will be like log of wood
You won’t have any self esteem
Ehailing is dead
Driving is not a job
The fares are peanuts

Okay, we hear all you have said and we agree. Oya can you please leave the thread for us that don’t want to hear word?

LIE -LIE ! Dem no go gree

witchcraft 🧙‍♀️

Luxurydriverng:
Your case na condem right from time I just check the history

Leave my history and focus on your ‘present’ because it’s obviously already falling into shambles

Luxurydriverng:
You can not set the tone for me or tell me how to run my business. You can create you own channel keep talking while I keep growing

But you feel you have the obligation to set the tone for someone else’s business?

But for real . . . Am I the only one seeing the hypocrisy and double standards in this guys posts this afternoon?

Luxurydriverng:
Bottom line rideshare is a trap by the matrix we all must plan to escape.

Life itself is a trap bro. There is nothing like ‘the best job’ out there, no matter what you do there will always be someone doing something better. If you keep chasing after getting the best job you will never be able to plan your life to become self sufficient. Ever heard of the term “rat race” ?

Use what you currently have to make the best of what you can become in this short time God has given you to live on earth. Contentment comes from the heart and it’s even a given that humans can never ever be satisfied.

Why not face your own hustle and allow the next man face his own? Is he begging you for money? Will you go to the vulcanizer on your street and start telling him to leave his work and go and learn how to repair vehicles because you feel it will be a better hustle for him? What if he has built his life around that vulcanizing gig and he has attained balance for his family’s upkeep and contentment in his heart.

How many dangotes’ do we have in Africa yet every black man strives daily to become someone just like him?

Na wao

Raw2:
If you don't make up to that why are you bothered that I do and why are you worried about my car and health since you need the advice more?

I wonder oh 🤷🏾‍♂️

Luxurydriverng:
Lolz let's just say I'm a realist and yes failure is part of life we fail to learn. Driving a luxury car with biturbo engine 12 plugs on a 6cylinder on this peanut hustle will be outright suicide thus my decision to replace it, choke on it

Yet you created a YouTube channel to show ‘newbies’ how to make it on ehailing? Knowing the above bolded information before hand?

It’s like you need to pause whatever you’re doing with that your YouTube account and give cheerfulgiver its username and password so he can continue from where you stopped. It’s obvious you’re no longer the ‘driver-preneur’ you used to be

rideshare can take you from 100 to zero in a split second nor be juju be that

This line above can only come from personal experience

It is well

Raw2:
Luxury driver wey dey trek.

no no no, kabu-kabu still dey carry ‘along’

He won’t trek IJN 🙏🏾

Luxurydriverng:
Hope you removed and kept to the side money for car repairs and body pain relief. Also you can educate us on how you deal with the psychological trauma of having to compete with desperate drivers for crumbs as fares and the long waiting time to eventually get a "good trip".

Why rideshare is a decent way to make some change daily, it is highly advisable that you work on exiting this hustle in the nearest future for your own good mentally, physically, financially and otherwise.

A word is enough for the wise "Active driver"

Only a f00lish person will be utilizing a machine for work everyday and not put into consideration the fact that the same machine is liable to breakdown unexpectedly or otherwise in the nearest future.

That your line concerning body pain is also stale. Do you think it’s only drivers that experience pains on their jobs? Even bankers deal with uncomfortable chairs and unruly customers which also affects their health and mentality on some days. If you fall ill you take a few days off to recover. It’s the natural thing to do.

To me all these excuses for not working is used by the lazy ones or those with one underlying health issue or the other.

You have been driving and showing the world your journey on YouTube and have now burnt-out yet see yourself fit to advise someone else driving and low key teaching others his secrets to making steady profits? What makes you think the person you quoted wants to drive till he is 50 years old? (and even if he wishes to what’s you own concern so far he’s making his money and paying his bills)

What is your new niche on YouTube? You call yourself luxury driver yet want to switch to videos concerning things other than driving ? With that same YouTube account? In my own view it seems you’re confused at this point and I would blame tinubu squarely for that unless whatever you want to switch to has a semblance of the word luxury in it I advise you change your channels name to mirror whatever new videos you are going to be uploading for public view.

A word is enough for the wise “Luxury Driver”

Glithronix:
Driver that has been driving, saving money, if 50k maintenance show face for car, he should be able to attend to it nah.

Flesh and blood never revealed this to you

Abi na every week car go dey require 50k maintenance ni?

If your tool is faulty . . . IT IS FAULTY period!

Omoapena:
How have you been using basket to fetch water?

Don’t worry bro. At this point it’s obvious that you can never understand

Just be careful trying to instigate a protest against these ride sharing apps from within the apps themselves , apart from nairaland there is WhatsApp, telegram, facebook, instagram etc where you can rally your fellow colleagues. Don’t let them take an interest in your account and its activities especially at a time like this.

I wish you well

Collione:
Oh no, because it's faster and it's transmission is not CVT

Yeah I understand what you mean especially concerning the gearbox being a cvt.

But the reality is that, so far so good, Honda has actually perfected their cvt technology at that year. Their gearboxes in those 1.5L turbos don’t give issues at all like other manufacturers do/did. Make your findings.

I make bold to say the cvt gearboxes in those models are really solid. I will like the 2.0T but for this tinubu regime na the 1.5T I go jejely manage go house

There are many people here that have been liking your posts and pushing you. Let them join in your protest. I wish you guys more power 🫡

Omoapena, is this really you? 😳

So I’ve been using basket to fetch water here siiince? Chai! 😭😢

It is well

XGhost:
Bro, your attitude towards this hustle needs to change, unless of course your not interested in doing it then I'd advice that you exit immediately FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.
I'm saying this from a mental health perspective and from how the world works. You get what you put out. If you hate this gig so much, there's absolutely no way you'll be happy, it'll fvck up your whole psych, attitude, relationships etc. You need to really look out for this.
Secondly, the concept of bad karma. If you put out bad energy that's what you'll get in return. For someone in the service industry it's very important and it'll impact on your growth in that industry as well as your overall well being.

Word bro @ the bolded.

When you hear of people committing suicide this is exactly how it starts. From crying out subtly, to openly, to being ignored or even laughed at, to reclusiveness then that individual finally throws in the towel.

There are signs I’m seeing that aren’t good but I’d leave it to practicing psychologists to explain better.

Omoapena:
Maybe there’s something I’m not understanding here, I even borrowed someone my car to drive for a whole day and the person said my car doesn’t consume fuel o.

Bolt and Uber are sending you on errands that won’t benefit you. In a prior post I told you that you need to pick your trips yourself these days to stay ahead of the fuel price inflation. If you can not personally calculate your own vehicle’s current mpg then how would you be able to know the trips that will favor you. Going anywhere belle face will ruin your profits. I don’t know how many times it will be repeated here before you take note of the last sentence I wrote.

Ask yourself this . . . Did you come here to learn or to complain? The choice is in your hands.

I really don’t understand how majority of the people are lamenting and complaining it is bad now but some are happily enjoying it, of coz, people complaining are adjusting but does the adjustment worth the sacrifice?

If you’re not ready to sacrifice now in the face of the realities bedeviling this country . . . then find a place to borrow cash and pay off your hp contract, then carry your vehicle and park it in your house and rest.

Everybody else is forcefully sacrificing in every sector of the economy, wether it’s the market, tuition, subscriptions, documentation renewals etc so what makes your own case different?

You need to know what you want and go for it. Crying won’t help you. This same few who are adjusting are human beings like you.

Omoapena:
If I need to get motivated to work for 13hours before I will see profit in a hustle. Then I don’t need that motivation…

Motivate me on how to reduce my working hours and getting enough money with less expenses…

You are confusing ritual for hard work bro

Snrman1:
i have no issue with u cus u helped me a certain time on that honda thread all im saying is that u are sentiment to certain monikers here no wahala sha

My sentimentality is well placed bro. That you haven’t had the discernment to see the usefulness of some monikers on this thread to this thread is your own prerogative. Like look at someone like omoapena who I was initially being sentimental to what later happened? He attributed negativity to me but did it make me stop? Many people that joined that cheerfulgivers telegram group are not there to learn but criticize, even the troll is still there till today so who are you not to have joined? If the requirements for entry was with birth certificate, marriage license, address, marital status etc as cheerfulgiver made it to be last year maybe people like you won’t be there today.

Just like a few came here before to say that I should leave the troll to keep jumping upandan on the thread because they felt I was the one causing all the confusion here by close-marking him while those same people never had the nerve to chastise the troll himself , to me that’s very cowardly and hypocritical and I dislike hypocrisy. Is it because I’m not threatening everyone to expose their names and pictures that you feel I’m a sitting duck for snide comments? Think again bro.

Why insinuating that I am a nuisance while deliberately being oblivious of the shenanigans of the person causing the main nuisance if not for cowardice? You’re towing the exact same path right now by making the statement you did but I’d let it pass. If not for this thread you wouldn’t have been on that telegram group learning yet you say I am being sentimental to the person who is currently mentoring you to become more productive in your hustle?

If a troll comes out to attack someone like you to run off the thread you won’t hear pim from me, not because I don’t know your or like you . . . It’s because you’re not disseminating useful information here and are too cowardly to even stand up for those who really do the justice this thread was created for.

I speak my mind anywhere and everywhere. Ask questions to gain understanding. See injustice and call it out. My conscience is clear. That is what is most important to me today.

hefelove:
Boss where you wan pay above 1m to learn data analysis? Coursera sef will give you 7days to learn for free after that you can be paying I think it’s within $14 monthly to learn and their courses Dey reach like 6month to learn even if you no get much time, it’s something you can learn continently in your leisure, udemy course sef Dey be like 3,500, 5k he much na like 25k, there is a way you can even learn for free on coursera through their financial aid service I think and you collect your certificate and it’s backed by google, most people you see that are into tech learnt from these 2 sites.

You said all he needs to know.

Omoapena, that you wish to study data analytics is very good but you can’t do it easy with too much pressure from this hustle on your shoulders. You need to know what you’re doing right now, understand your weaknesses and genuinely work on improving them before seeking another place to divert your attention to.

I once said it here before that I too attempted studying that same data analytics you have an interest in. It a very sweet course and can be mastered with just basic understanding of math but brother it requires time and focus none of which I can bet you currently experience these days especially with the way things turned for the worse with ehailing and the fuel price issue.

You can learn it under 4-6 months complete if you are mentally calm and ready. Don’t follow all these people pushing you to divide your attention from mastering how to stay afloat on your current hustle and face studying an online IT course ‘on the fly’, it will be very hard for you to do.

Like take myself for an example, I stumbled across a post here from a driver who informed us of some people offering FREE courses on data analytics and I immediately signed up. The courses were looking sso sweet and easy that I even took a deeper liking to IT courses as a whole and went to udemy to pay to learn some more. Then at a time I realized that mehn, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind or time to easily complete the courses I signed up or paid up for. What did I do? I paused. So when I advise you to focus on driving don’t think I’m saying it from a point of ignorance, I am actually trying to advise you from my own point of view. I tried it and I know what I am saying just like cheerfulgiver who comes here to give advice and information after trying same out for himself to ascertain it’s veracity.

See the screenshots below, I even met a few other members from this same group on that website trying to study the same data analytics. I wonder how many of us completed the classes to 100%. I developed a liking for the course and found more to learn, went half way and paused/dropped off because I wasn’t at a place where I could easy continue at the moment but in no distant time I will surely start and finish up. Even the udemy courses I paid for I haven’t even started one single one yet. I’m just keeping them till when I’m free to focus and my mind is clear.

I am not speaking from a point of ignorance, even if I am my brain is a sponge. I came here to learn. What of you?

Snrman1:
Quick observation whenever there is an argument here corner44 or whoever always takes sides like its so obvious but i don’t know the obvious

It’s obvious you don’t know the ‘obvious’, let me try to enlighten you.

I have been on nairaland long enough to see bullsh1t and call it out. I come here, read different stuffs, make my own findings and separate the wheat from the chaff . . . and truly these days the chaff is many here bro

A lot of us are hard wired to follow popular opinion not minding if it’s wrong or right for us. Just because 90% of us are doing something in one way doesn’t mean there can’t be a better way to be found. Even in the Bible it was written that the road into hell is very wide but the one to salvation is narrow. This is how human beings behave and it’s a part of our nature anybody who stands out to swim against the wave tends to draw too much negativity because he/she is doing something out of the norm.

Look around you here. Most of the people here talking down on ehailing today are either trolls, migrants in diaspora, vehicle owners, salarymen who drive on the side or ‘oga’s’ who have given out their vehicles to drivers on hp or rentals. The real people who come here to learn daily are the interested investors and the drivers themselves but unfortunately the voices of the aforementioned group has penetrated the psyche of genuine drivers and drowned out the volume of information being disseminated here.

Look before you leap is not a sing along song, not every advice no matter how often it’s repeated is a good one and what works for Mr. A can’t always work for Mr. B. Use your tongue to count your teeth and know why you are here in the first place.

That I always support someone doesn’t mean when that person does wrong I won’t say it. I supported cheefulgiver because at the time he was doing something that this thread members desperately needed and the ‘powers that be’ wanted to shut him up for their selfish reasons. I saw the game and threw my cog into their wheel and ever since then I’ve become a target just like he is. Even when they unleashed the troll I told him that he will be the first to leave this thread before I do and that is what has finally happened today. Even people that didn’t have any voice started talking thrash my way just because I stood up for him. Today I have learned soo much from him than what I’ve learned from following this thread for years and I make bold to say that bar his penchant for foul language (which is usually justified) that guy knows what he is doing concerning ehailing and has an ability to transfer his knowledge easily. That is not a common characteristic in an average nairalander these days. 60% of us coming here do so to learn and we don’t care if that knowledge comes from an individual with a gutter for a mouth.

If you want to come here regularly to learn that’s for you to choose.

If you want to come here regularly to banter and foment trouble, that’s also for you to choose.

But do not come here and use your own ‘reggae’ to spoil the next man’s ’blues’

People like me won’t stand for it. Call me every name in the book I won’t change my attitude to these lines I penned above. I have nothing to lose but everything to gain.

Peace.

Gentlelife50:
This is very unlike you, you made a post without insult??
Nice one, at least he will see reasons in your suggestions

on a few occasions I actually know how to exercise my elusive ability to resist the urge

Omoapena:
my car consumption is normal coz same litre I use to go to ajah from ikeja before the hike is what I’m still using now,

I know what you mean. That you and everyone else was buying fuel at N189 per liter and your earnings was consistent. Even if your vehicle was losing some fuel it wasn’t so pronounced because the fuel was relatively cheap and ride fares were ‘fair’

I understand perfectly

only that now, the price has gone up and there’s no significant increase to the prices of this fare so that’s why I’m complaining the work doesn’t worth it anymore….

This was the reality for many drivers after the subsidy ish and sadly it seems It has come to stay. From N189 fuel has become N570 today. That negligible fuel you were loosing before the subsidy removal has also multiplied along with the increase in fuel price.

If you were loosing 0.1Liter out of every 1liter you bought before at N189 now you are loosing 0.1liter out of every 1liter you buy at N570. ie. if you were losing N30 out of the N189 per Liter of fuel before it has now been multiplied by more than 3 times which is circa N100 per liter lost today

That’s how the fuel issue is affecting a very many of the drivers on our roads today plus fares are not yet reflective of this situation to a fair level

What few people have found a way to do right now is watch and pick only trips that will favor their profits in conjunction with the mpg of their vehicle. That is where inDrive stood out. You might not get many trips but the few you will get will be the best for you even if you have poor fuel consumption. Just watch for flood and traffic. People are utilizing this method as I post to you right now and it’s working for them. It’s a personalized solution that only a driver and his car can utilize.

Some can drive long hours some can’t. Some own their own vehicles some don’t. Some use v6 engines some don’t. But we all buy the same fuel at the same price. Even people using hybrids still buy fuel. This fuel ish is biting everybody. We are just finding ways to stay afloat. The fact is that not every trip is profitable to you as a ehailing driver today with the fuel costing this high.

You can filter trips by doing some very basic calculations and pick only those that will give you profit. You can also learn it very easily All you need to know is your vehicle’s current mpg (poor or not) as a constant and the maths variables will be the trips ETA to its pickup and drop off points and the total average time of the trip. Apart from your vehicle’s mpg all the other factors will be supplied to you by the app itself. You keep watch and when you see the one that favors you you go for it. Even If it’s a trip of N15,000 or a trip of N2500 all you know is that on that trip you didn’t lose money

That today 90% of e hailing drivers are crying doesn’t mean some haven’t already found a way to ‘cry less’ If I see a way to assist anyone with small advice here I will because I believe say If e good for you e go everly good for me too. We are all learning from each other here. We can also try to help instead of discourage ourselves.

The reason why I got back at you was, you indirectly insulted me, saying everyone can’t be a scholar.

Next time, know how you jump on matters

Understandable Next time I won’t jump on anything again