In many ways, I have to commend Uber for allowing ...

In many ways, I have to commend Uber for allowing me as a driver to earn extra income and do it whenever I feel like very seamlessly. The company is not without some pretty significant downsides, however. As a driver, fares are often pretty meager, as low as $3.66 USD per trip for me. This is because Uber takes a ridiculously large portion of the fare for themselves. Now, 25% or less in exchange for maintaining the app and whatnot would be fine, but it's often closer to 50%, which is unconscionable. That's far from the only fare problem, but the bigger problem is that it really feels like driving for Uber amounts to taking out a payday loan to cover eventual repairs on your vehicle. Combined with not making anything to reach a pickup destination and not being able to see where you'll be going until you start the trip at the pickup location, these downsides make driving for Uber a much tougher proposition than it might seem. All of the scandals and ethics issues the company's been embroiled in definitely do not help either. As a passenger, I don't have much to say, as I've only used the service twice as a rider. As a rider, it's quick and convenient, and relatively affordable, although lack of a customer service phone number really hurts. Uber's original goal of easing congestion has done just the opposite now, however. They've basically abandoned that far less profitable goal and essentially just built their own private taxi company. Uber has a long way to go before becoming a "good" company. Right now they're just a necessary evil.