Prelude:
This is a sequel to a Pulse.ng feature on which tells the story of the circumstances leading up to me becoming an Uber driver in Lagos. If you would like to hear more about my driving escapades, please follow me on Twitter @UberLagosDriver. Through this, I aim to openly highlight the steps leading up to me going from unemployed to an employer of labour in 6 months. There is no secret. There is no godfather. This is not for “light-skinned females only. There is no “egunje” either. This is a very straightforward, transparent process that anyone can be a part of, and I wish you all the best as you read on.
I could barely contain my excitement after being introduced me to the idea of being an Uber driver. I couldn’t believe I was going to be employed and independent again and I earnestly got to the task of making enquiries.
Luckily, I had received the contact details for a couple of driver consultancies and I got in touch with one called Lington & Bernie, who put me through a written test before putting me forward for the onboarding.
The agency then booked and provided me with a date for the Uber drivers onboarding. The process works slightly differently for car-owner-partners wishing to book their drivers for the onboarding. In this case, you would need to visit ubernigeria.com/calendar to book an onboarding session on behalf of your driver.
I had to get ready a couple of documents for the driver onboarding:
- Valid drivers license with at least 90 days validity before the expiry date
- LASDRI card
The challenge of raising money to pay for a drivers license then arose, but I never stopped believing in God and he sure didn’t fail me.
Getting my LASDRI card
There are several locations in Lagos where the Lagos State Drivers Institute card can be obtained. The most accessible for most people is the LASTMA office, although I attended a different branch – the one along Badagry expressway. On the said day, I arrived at their office and once I established what I was there for, was advised to pay ₦1k into an Ecobank account. You could be forgiven for thinking that this was a straightforward task, but it wasn’t as easy as I had anticipated. I found out that not all Ecobank branches accepted the LASDRI payment and so a fresh journey to find a branch that accepted the LASDRI payment began. Finally, I was able to make the payment at the Ecobank inside the barracks at Ojo, Badagry expressway. My payment took 2 days to reflect, thanks to the Lagos States government server being down. Eventually, the payment was reflected and I triumphantly attended the LASDRI office the day after, because my God pass them.
I arrived with my bank teller at the LASDRI office at 8am the next morning. It has to be 8am as they conducted their own tests, held an interactive class and also captured my ID. The whole proocess took the better part of the day, but I got it in the end.
As I already had my genuine Drivers license which I obtained from the Federal Road Safety Corp in the past, I took this with my newly acquired LASDRI to the Uber office for the onboarding session.
The onboarding session lasted a full day. It was more like a training session with an examination at the end. I arrived smartly dressed (Uber has a “no jeans” policy), and had to take several tests in several areas including knowledge of Lagos and the use of the Uber app. I also had to submit a background check and carry out a psychometric test on the day. The psychometric test involved basic instructions which aimed to assess my reasoning and aptitude. I passed it well and that was how I got into the system at Uber. I got paired with a benevolent partner and the rest is still history being made.
While I still drive for Uber, I have had a few requests from people asking me to manage their cars for them for a regular fixed income while they work their full-time job. I have just signed on my first 4 clients, and I hope that this encourages anyone out there rebuilding their life again after a tragedy. I welcome your comments and am more than happy to help anyone with any questions.
