# Losing Money? What?



## Joe Turner (Jan 27, 2018)

Last night was my first night driving for Uber. After looking at the pay estimates, and calculating the true mileage expense from my mileage log, I'm kind of shocked. On paper, I lost money. Is this the way it is?

I was driving to downtown Minneapolis last night and got my first ride way out in the country (2.2 min, 1.05 miles). I also did two more short trips hauling drunks from the neighborhood bar to their homes. I would turn around in between pings and head towards Minneapolis, then get pulled back even further outward. No more pings so I went home around 1 a.m.

Looking at the pays estimates I earned: $17.19 fares + $5.00 tips + $1.85 waiting time = $24.04 total. 

After looking at my mileage log, I drove 72 miles in total. 72 miles @ .545 = $39.24. On paper, that is a $(15.20) loss after expenses.


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## Leo1983 (Jul 3, 2017)

Joe Turner said:


> Last night was my first night driving for Uber. After looking at the pay estimates, and calculating the true mileage expense from my mileage log, I'm kind of shocked. On paper, I lost money. Is this the way it is?
> 
> I was driving to downtown Minneapolis last night and got my first ride way out in the country (2.2 min, 1.05 miles). I also did two more short trips hauling drunks from the neighborhood bar to their homes. I would turn around in between pings and head towards Minneapolis, then get pulled back even further outward. No more pings so I went home around 1 a.m.
> 
> ...


Yes you are right. You earn an average of $8 an hr after expenses and operation costs. That's why the average rideshare driver lasts two months. Please please don't rent a car through them. That's even worse.


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

Yup. As a job, the pay SUCKS.

If you are doing it part time for a couple extra bucks here and there, it's great, cuz you don't care about the expenses. 

But if you pay attention to what you are really getting.....


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## Brian-drives (Jan 13, 2015)

Yes you lost money .
UBER is not designed to make $$ for the driver. You are trading Equity in your car for immediate cash. 

Welcom to the UBER math world.


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## TheHammer (Jan 4, 2015)

Your "loss" is only for income tax purposes...I see that as a good thing...You don't pay taxes on negative income. I'm sure that your pay on Wednesday's deposit was for the amount of fares...not the amount of "losses" you incur..

And, btw, it's losing not loosing. Hahaha


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## Joe Turner (Jan 27, 2018)

TheHammer said:


> Your "loss" is only for income tax purposes...I see that as a good thing...You don't pay taxes on negative income. I'm sure that your pay on Wednesday's deposit was for the amount of fares...not the amount of "losses" you incur..


Am I to infer that you believe that the IRS is just being charitable and the mileage deduction doesn't reflect the actual cost of owning and operating a vehicle? That this is just a give away?



TheHammer said:


> And, btw, it's losing not loosing. Hahaha


Good thing I'm better at math than spelling.



Brian-drives said:


> Yes you lost money .
> UBER is not designed to make $$ for the driver. You are trading Equity in your car for immediate cash.
> 
> Welcom to the UBER math world.


Thanks for confirming what I suspected. This is what I was thinking.


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## TheHammer (Jan 4, 2015)

You get a business expense for a vehicle that is going to depreciate whether you use it for Uber or not...The deduction is lowering the income you have to pay taxes on. And you only get to use it once a year. I don't see the IRS deduction as a loss of income but something you use to lower your tax burden. 

If you disagree, so be it.

Have a nice day anyhow


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

Joe Turner said:


> Last night was my first night driving for Uber. After looking at the pay estimates, and calculating the true mileage expense from my mileage log, I'm kind of shocked. On paper, I lost money. Is this the way it is?
> 
> I was driving to downtown Minneapolis last night and got my first ride way out in the country (2.2 min, 1.05 miles). I also did two more short trips hauling drunks from the neighborhood bar to their homes. I would turn around in between pings and head towards Minneapolis, then get pulled back even further outward. No more pings so I went home around 1 a.m.
> 
> ...


Your math is right.

The good news is that this gig (in your market) will result in either...

No income taxes owed,
Or less income tax owed on another source of income.

.545 is the price if your driving 15-20,000 miles a year. If you were to instead put in 70,000 miles a year...

My costs came to about 40c a mile. This is more reflective of the actual costs. Your insurance largely won't change and you need to have it... the more miles you drive per year the lower your costs, so removing insurance from the equation puts you at closer to 40c.

If you use 40c a mile as costs you would come to about... $28 in expenses, to $24 in revenue or a loss of $4.00.

Even with this more conservative figure you're still pissing money.

My advice is to refuse everything out in the boonies and instead work closer to downtown. The boonies will result in massive numbers of empty miles and are ultimately completely unprofitable. There's a reason taxis never serviced those outer areas (Or badly serviced them) even thou they charged much much more.

If you can't show a profit with 40c a mile in costs, your market just sucks and it's time to quit and let the idiots who are far more guilable waste their cars on this terrible gig.



TheHammer said:


> You get a business expense for a vehicle that is going to depreciate whether you use it for Uber or not...The deduction is lowering the income you have to pay taxes on. And you only get to use it once a year. I don't see the IRS deduction as a loss of income but something you use to lower your tax burden.
> 
> If you disagree, so be it.
> 
> Have a nice day anyhow


I disagree with this assertion, I bought a 2010 Sienna in January 2011 and within 3.5 years i depreciated it to absolute zero. While yes you can depreciate a vehicle by just having possession of it, there's still a massive depreciation by using a car heavily.


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## ÜberKraut (Jan 12, 2018)

Uber/Lyft Math & Logic... 
We pay you MORE when you do NOT drive!


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## Joe Turner (Jan 27, 2018)

So I decided to turn on the driver app this afternoon and see if I could get a ping while I was on my way to Home Depot to get a light bulb for my refrigerator. I got 7 rides and three rider compliments. Averaged out to $17.5 per hour gross. Once again, the mileage is far in excess of what I earned even after including tips.

I really feel sad for those drivers that don't keep an accurate mileage log and only claim the mileage that Uber reports (only while passengers are in the cars). They could even end up and probably do end up paying taxes. 

I pity those poor souls who are leasing or renting cars.


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

Psssst;
Did you mean loosing or losing?

Loosing- to untie, the act of unfastening.
Losing- to misplace, the act of not finding.



Now, let's use these words in a sentence.

Richard Gere is best known for losing his gerbil in his loosing rectum.


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## angryuberman (May 11, 2016)

Joe Turner said:


> Last night was my first night driving for Uber. After looking at the pay estimates, and calculating the true mileage expense from my mileage log, I'm kind of shocked. On paper, I lost money. Is this the way it is?
> 
> I was driving to downtown Minneapolis last night and got my first ride way out in the country (2.2 min, 1.05 miles). I also did two more short trips hauling drunks from the neighborhood bar to their homes. I would turn around in between pings and head towards Minneapolis, then get pulled back even further outward. No more pings so I went home around 1 a.m.
> 
> ...


by the way uber is a gigantic scam... you totally destroy your own car... you actually donot make any money...i had a brand new hyundai elantra that i paid 18 grand for ... in two years of uber it was deemed undrivable by uber... i know i did not make 18 grand of uber.. i was at a loss... all uber drivers are breaking even and they don't even know it most the time,.... the taxi drivers know it... they will point that out in my uber car the minute they get in... the taxi drivers who take uber rides in my car will say to me ... how does it feel to make half as much as a taxi driver and to boot destroy your own car .. and i say i have no argument for that because i did destroy my own car



SEAL Team 5 said:


> Psssst;
> Did you mean loosing or losing?
> 
> Loosing- to untie, the act of unfastening.
> ...


really you uber plants are grammar natzis now.... a person found out on his first day that uber was not a viable thing for him and you come off with grammar natzi crap



ÜberKraut said:


> Uber/Lyft Math & Logic...
> We pay you MORE when you do NOT drive!
> 
> View attachment 199972


oh for sure i love cancellations... no damage to my car...no cheapskates in my car... i get paid... and what you pointed out the reality of uber is not 75% it is usually less then 50% of the fair you get.... in the beginning we got 75% but they cloak and dagger ed all kinds of resort fees and convenience fees to knock it down to less then 50%


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

angryuberman said:


> you come off with grammar natzi crap


Only on Thread titles. A real grammar Nazi would spend an entire lifetime correcting grammar in this forum as your word "natzi". Proper names are always capitalized.


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

angryuberman said:


> by the way uber is a gigantic scam... you totally destroy your own car... you actually donot make any money...i had a brand new hyundai elantra that i paid 18 grand for ... in two years of uber it was deemed undrivable by uber... i know i did not make 18 grand of uber.. i was at a loss... all uber drivers are breaking even and they don't even know it most the time,.... the taxi drivers know it... they will point that out in my uber car the minute they get in... the taxi drivers who take uber rides in my car will say to me ... how does it feel to make half as much as a taxi driver and to boot destroy your own car .. and i say i have no argument for that because i did destroy my own car
> 
> really you uber plants are grammar natzis now.... a person found out on his first day that uber was not a viable thing for him and you come off with grammar natzi crap
> 
> oh for sure i love cancellations... no damage to my car...no cheapskates in my car... i get paid... and what you pointed out the reality of uber is not 75% it is usually less then 50% of the fair you get.... in the beginning we got 75% but they cloak and dagger ed all kinds of resort fees and convenience fees to knock it down to less then 50%


You made less than 18 grand in 2 years, yet doing Uber destroyed your car? I call bullshit. I made 60k doing this crap last year (before expenses etc) and my car still runs. Don't be a lying alarmist and place 100% of blame where it does not belong.

Yes, Uber is a bad deal for the driver. But they didn't destroy your car to the point that it was undrivable. They simply helped get it there.


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## angryuberman (May 11, 2016)

Mista T said:


> You made less than 18 grand in 2 years, yet doing Uber destroyed your car? I call bullshit. I made 60k doing this crap last year (before expenses etc) and my car still runs. Don't be a lying alarmist and place 100% of blame where it does not belong.
> 
> Yes, Uber is a bad deal for the driver. But they didn't destroy your car to the point that it was undrivable. They simply helped get it there.


eat deffocation ... your fooling yourself.... can't teach a rock


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## melusine3 (Jun 20, 2016)

Joe Turner said:


> Last night was my first night driving for Uber. After looking at the pay estimates, and calculating the true mileage expense from my mileage log, I'm kind of shocked. On paper, I lost money. Is this the way it is?
> 
> I was driving to downtown Minneapolis last night and got my first ride way out in the country (2.2 min, 1.05 miles). I also did two more short trips hauling drunks from the neighborhood bar to their homes. I would turn around in between pings and head towards Minneapolis, then get pulled back even further outward. No more pings so I went home around 1 a.m.
> 
> ...


In a nutshell. What little "profit" you get immediately is taken out of the hide of your car. There is a reason taxis are so heavyweight and sturdy and even MORE reason taxi drivers charge so much more. They factor IN the extra driving necessary to pick someone up and/or deadhead back to civilization. Riders don't want to acknowledge that because that might mean the end of their CHEAP RIDES. Plus, the end of Uber.



Leo1983 said:


> Yes you are right. You earn an average of $8 an hr after expenses and operation costs. That's why the average rideshare driver lasts two months. Please please don't rent a car through them. That's even worse.


Maybe you make that much in LA, but the bulk of the nation is a no-profit zone.



angryuberman said:


> by the way uber is a gigantic scam... you totally destroy your own car... you actually donot make any money...i had a brand new hyundai elantra that i paid 18 grand for ... in two years of uber it was deemed undrivable by uber... i know i did not make 18 grand of uber.. i was at a loss... all uber drivers are breaking even and they don't even know it most the time,.... the taxi drivers know it... they will point that out in my uber car the minute they get in... the taxi drivers who take uber rides in my car will say to me ... how does it feel to make half as much as a taxi driver and to boot destroy your own car .. and i say i have no argument for that because i did destroy my own car
> 
> really you uber plants are grammar natzis now.... a person found out on his first day that uber was not a viable thing for him and you come off with grammar natzi crap
> 
> oh for sure i love cancellations... no damage to my car...no cheapskates in my car... i get paid... and what you pointed out the reality of uber is not 75% it is usually less then 50% of the fair you get.... in the beginning we got 75% but they cloak and dagger ed all kinds of resort fees and convenience fees to knock it down to less then 50%


Plus, for taxes, Uber puts ALL that money they collect back onto the driver, expecting most to not itemize that back to them.



angryuberman said:


> eat deffocation ... your fooling yourself.... can't teach a rock


People like that don't realize that modern cars were NOT designed to do taxi type of wear and tear. There's a reason taxis are so heavyweight and it's not just for show. Also, those who say it's going to depreciate anyway? I wouldn't normally drive my car 50,000 miles per year, either. That guy is either incredibly ignorant, or an Uber shill.


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

melusine3 said:


> Riders don't want to acknowledge that because that might mean the end of their CHEAP RIDES. Plus, the end of Uber.
> .


All the riders know for sure is that a lot of people are willing to taxi them around in the family car for discount rates. The math about what it costs to provide the service isn't their concern. A lot of people probably think that Uber makes it up in volume- Uber did explain that the partners would be making a killing with the rate cuts.


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## angryuberman (May 11, 2016)

melusine3 said:


> In a nutshell. What little "profit" you get immediately is taken out of the hide of your car. There is a reason taxis are so heavyweight and sturdy and even MORE reason taxi drivers charge so much more. They factor IN the extra driving necessary to pick someone up and/or deadhead back to civilization. Riders don't want to acknowledge that because that might mean the end of their CHEAP RIDES. Plus, the end of Uber.
> 
> Maybe you make that much in LA, but the bulk of the nation is a no-profit zone.
> 
> ...


you call them uber shills I call them uber plants.. there are loads of uber plants who try to rep uber on here when anyone tells the real truth about uber


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

angryuberman said:


> you call them uber shills I call them uber plants.. there are loads of uber plants who try to rep uber on here when anyone tells the real truth about uber


Na.. there's a lot of people in the few good paying markets who stick around and quote the crazy numbers they get all the time.

There are others whose car hasn't started to fall apart yet that are still in the delusion.

Me personally I dropped off the uber platform when the rates were cut below the margin i needed to make a profit.


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## angryuberman (May 11, 2016)

atlanta has gigantic surges.... i have heard of some large surging in los angeles... but where i am from you better have something else going in your uber car to make it work for you....


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Joe Turner said:


> Last night was my first night driving for Uber. After looking at the pay estimates, and calculating the true mileage expense from my mileage log, I'm kind of shocked. On paper, I lost money. Is this the way it is?
> 
> I was driving to downtown Minneapolis last night and got my first ride way out in the country (2.2 min, 1.05 miles). I also did two more short trips hauling drunks from the neighborhood bar to their homes. I would turn around in between pings and head towards Minneapolis, then get pulled back even further outward. No more pings so I went home around 1 a.m.
> 
> ...


When you factor in depreciation, auto expense, Uber is poverty. You're real world costs are probably a lot less than 54 cents in the short run, but it will approach that as you continue for a while after depreciation kicks in ( by reducing your car's resale value ). So, in the short term, the loss is only on paper. Drive for a couple of years, and find out you get thousands less for your car than you would have had you not driven all those miles, and then you'll feel the cost. It's real if you keep driving.



Mista T said:


> You made less than 18 grand in 2 years, yet doing Uber destroyed your car? I call bullshit. I made 60k doing this crap last year (before expenses etc) and my car still runs. Don't be a lying alarmist and place 100% of blame where it does not belong.
> 
> Yes, Uber is a bad deal for the driver. But they didn't destroy your car to the point that it was undrivable. They simply helped get it there.


A car with 200k miles on it that "runs" is not worth as much as a car of the same year with 50k miles on it. The difference is an expense you will actually feel when you sell the car. And then pray you will not still owe anything on the car, not be "underwater".

Capiche?


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## VinnyB (Jan 31, 2018)

Joe Turner said:


> Am I to infer that you believe that the IRS is just being charitable and the mileage deduction doesn't reflect the actual cost of owning and operating a vehicle? That this is just a give away?


The IRS standard deduction obviously doesn't apply equally to every car, so for some yes it is a give away. If you are driving a brand new $30,000 car into the ground with Uber, you may well be losing that much, but you are also a moron.

I drive a 2005 Town car that I payed $1,300 for. I put about 200 miles a day on it 5 days a week, and put about $25 in the tank a day. I do my own maintenance. So I am getting a deduction of about $550 a week, $425 left over after my gas expense. Obviously I am not deprecating a $1300 car $1700 a month.

So yeah for me, and many others the IRS deduction is a huge give away.

PS. The car is clean and in great shape, my paxs love the comfort and space and I have a 4.95 rating. You can get town cars in pretty good shape for cheap, at least I my area (I also have an '07 I payed $1,350 for). People don't want them because they are huge and not as fuel efficient as today's cars, I get 20mpg. But the size is exactly why my pax love it, and I more than make up the gas cost in how little I am paying for the cars.


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## Joe Turner (Jan 27, 2018)

OMG. I thought the gripes on this forum were totally exaggerated. Holy cow.

Last night, I picked up two African-American transvestites from the Mall of American. They promptly rolled down the windows to try to pick up other drivers, or cat-call people on the street. They asked me to stop a Walmart so they could get some deodorant and "stuff." They said they would tip me "good." They left their shopping bags in the back seat and I waited for twenty minutes. No tip for a grand total of $4.67. 

Today I dropped off two passengers at the airport. The passengers paid $25.97, I got $13.33 for 25 minutes. My earnings were 51.32% of the payout.


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## Joe Turner (Jan 27, 2018)

If I was to run this gig as a real business, through my corporation, I would have to reimburse myself personal mileage at the standard rate and pay myself a wage and withhold taxes. There is no form of math that can make it viable enough to pay the required federal minimum wage in addition to the mileage. 

The numbers simply don't work. Unless, you start to shill for Uber and recruit drivers to catch referral bonuses. 

The interesting question is that the IRS has a rule that if your business doesn't earn a profit in three of the prior five years, the IRS can categorize your business as a hobby. Has this happened to anyone?


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

Joe Turner said:


> OMG. I thought the gripes on this forum were totally exaggerated. Holy cow.
> 
> Last night, I picked up two African-American transvestites from the Mall of American. They promptly rolled down the windows to try to pick up other drivers, or cat-call people on the street. They asked me to stop a Walmart so they could get some deodorant and "stuff." They said they would tip me "good." They left their shopping bags in the back seat and I waited for twenty minutes. No tip for a grand total of $4.67.
> 
> Today I dropped off two passengers at the airport. The passengers paid $25.97, I got $13.33 for 25 minutes. My earnings were 51.32% of the payout.


And that is what happens with Uber.

The same exact BS that went on with taxis for over 100 years except with pay rates from 20-40 years ago.


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## angryuberman (May 11, 2016)

i pick up trannies once in a while... when they are by there self i feel sorry for them because they remind me of a dog thats shivering and scared but when they are all together they are alot more flamboyant like the two you had... i am not a bully and believe in to each his own... i have had lots more trouble controlling my temper when i get some a hole who thinks hes much better then me because i am a uber driver.or disrespectful people in general.. even though i am sure i went to much more school and paid much more dues in life then these assholes but hey some people in my car are assholes and some are not .. much more are not..in any event when someone is mean or disprespectful i pull over and say i am sorry but for 3.50 cents you are gonna have to get a different uber driver but for 350 dollars you can be a asshole and i will take you where you want to go and i give them one more chance with ...saying whats it gonna be


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## VinnyB (Jan 31, 2018)

Joe Turner said:


> OMG. I thought the gripes on this forum were totally exaggerated. Holy cow.
> 
> Last night, I picked up two African-American transvestites from the Mall of American. They promptly rolled down the windows to try to pick up other drivers, or cat-call people on the street. They asked me to stop a Walmart so they could get some deodorant and "stuff." They said they would tip me "good." They left their shopping bags in the back seat and I waited for twenty minutes. No tip for a grand total of $4.67.
> 
> Today I dropped off two passengers at the airport. The passengers paid $25.97, I got $13.33 for 25 minutes. My earnings were 51.32% of the payout.


These numbers don't make any sense. The rates in your market are base fare .45/ per min .15/ per mile 1.00/ service fees 2.25. You should be getting .1125 a min .75 a mile and . 34 base fare. If the ride to the airport was 25 min and cost the passenger $25.97 the ride would have to have been 19.52 miles. That's 2.70 for the base fare and fees, 3.75 for the 25 min and 19.52 for the 19.52 miles.

Your pay on that ride would be 14.64 for the miles 2.81 for the time, and .34 for the base fare for a total of 17.79, not 13.33.

With your mall trip the closest Walmart I can find to the Mall of America on Google maps is 2 miles and 7 min, with 20 min wait time on top of that and base fare (which I would have never done) you are already at $4.88, plus time and miles to their final destination. How could you have possibly gotten $4.67 for the whole trip?

I tend to doubt your numbers are real, but if they are real you need to send a pay correction request to Uber on those rides.


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## Joe Turner (Jan 27, 2018)

VinnyB said:


> These numbers don't make any sense. The rates in your market are base fare .45/ per min .15/ per mile 1.00/ service fees 2.25. You should be getting .1125 a min .75 a mile and . 34 base fare. If the ride to the airport was 25 min and cost the passenger $25.97 the ride would have to have been 19.52 miles. That's 2.70 for the base fare and fees, 3.75 for the 25 min and 19.52 for the 19.52 miles.
> 
> Your pay on that ride would be 14.64 for the miles 2.81 for the time, and .34 for the base fare for a total of 17.79, not 13.33.
> 
> I tend to doubt your numbers are real, but if they are real you need to send a pay correction request to Uber on those rides.


Where are you getting your numbers? See attached screen-shot







.


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## VinnyB (Jan 31, 2018)

What you are showing me confirms my rider rates are correct, but you are getting 72% of base, min, and miles, not 75% which is what I get. This ajustment would not make a huge difference in my numbers, and your numbers still make no sense.

I estimated your ride at 19.52 miles because that made sense based on what the rider paid, $25.97, the 25 min ride time you stated, and your market rates to the rider. Your actual ride was 25.92 min long, but your miles were only 14.18.

This being the case, your pay would be correct, but what your rider paid would be completely wrong. Your rider should have paid
$1 per mile x 14.18 miles = $14.18
.15 per min x 25.92 min = $3.89
.45 base fare = $.45
2.25 service fees = $2.25
Your riders total should have been $20.77

I do not understand how your rider was charged $25.97. I would request clarification from Uber if this was on my account.


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## gofry (Oct 20, 2015)

Yes, it's possible to lose money driving for Uber, many do. You will likely pocket just under $10 per hour after expenses and Uber's fees but before self-employment tax (15%). It is a terrible job.

Regarding the IRS expense allowance, it is higher than the actual cost of gas & repairs in most cases. Use $.35 per mile as a realistic but conservative estimate of your costs.


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## angryuberman (May 11, 2016)

just like taxis ... its a car destroying minimum wage job.. but if you use it to network for your other skills its just marketing


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

The reason uber appeals to part timers is brcause my full time job covers my vehicle expense. I needed and had that car before uber. Even if you insist that the costs of ownership needs to be calculated on the Uber side of the equation, that frees up funds from my regular job so the net effect is the same. Its full timers that are really having a hard time .


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Joe Turner said:


> OMG. I thought the gripes on this forum were totally exaggerated. Holy cow.
> 
> Last night, I picked up two African-American transvestites from the Mall of American. They promptly rolled down the windows to try to pick up other drivers, or cat-call people on the street. They asked me to stop a Walmart so they could get some deodorant and "stuff." They said they would tip me "good." They left their shopping bags in the back seat and I waited for twenty minutes. No tip for a grand total of $4.67.
> 
> Today I dropped off two passengers at the airport. The passengers paid $25.97, I got $13.33 for 25 minutes. My earnings were 51.32% of the payout.


I hope you learned your lesson. Under no circumstances would I wait for anyone ( but mom ) let alone allow them to leave stuff in the car.

Yeah, we're getting screwed, so what else is new?



steveK2016 said:


> The reason uber appeals to part timers is brcause my full time job covers my vehicle expense. I needed and had that car before uber. Even if you insist that the costs of ownership needs to be calculated on the Uber side of the equation, that frees up funds from my regular job so the net effect is the same. Its full timers that are really having a hard time .


Moonlighting or not, you are still not being compensated for use of your vehicle. You are transfering funds from your other job, which is your labor, money of which you earned you could have used for other things, but now you are diverting it for car expense.

You can't avoid paying the piper, no matter who the piper is.



VinnyB said:


> What you are showing me confirms my rider rates are correct, but you are getting 72% of base, min, and miles, not 75% which is what I get. This ajustment would not make a huge difference in my numbers, and your numbers still make no sense.
> 
> I estimated your ride at 19.52 miles because that made sense based on what the rider paid, $25.97, the 25 min ride time you stated, and your market rates to the rider. Your actual ride was 25.92 min long, but your miles were only 14.18.
> 
> ...


Riders are charged based on calculations for a longer route, and paying you 75% of a shorter route (minus service fee). There is a lawsuit going on somewhere about this.


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## VinnyB (Jan 31, 2018)

Oscar Levant said:


> Riders are charged based on calculations for a longer route, and paying you 75% of a shorter route (minus service fee). There is a lawsuit going on somewhere about this.


I don't doubt this happens in some markets, I just haven't personally seen it on my rides. I have calculated the rider fee in comparison to the actual ride time and miles of the ride and it has always matched perfectly as it is with my pay. I started checking this because the Uber GPS is horrible around the theme park area and often gives me a nonsense route that is twice as far and long as it needs to be. I always just ignore it in that situation because I know where I am going. I know it quotes a rate to the rider so I started checking to see if it ajusts it down and what it shows under rider pays has always been spot on to the penny of the route I drove not the route Uber suggested.


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## RedANT (Aug 9, 2016)

_The people who really whine about Uber always complain that they're not compensated enough, or that the depreciation on their vehicle is causing them to lose money.

BULLSHIT

You see it as losing money because you view your vehicle as a personal asset, and you use irrelevant IRS deduction numbers to reinforce how bad you have it. Misery loves company, and threads like this one prove it.

My business car isn't an asset, it's a trade tool that's used to make money. People insist that I'm taking a huge loss, but most of those losses are simply numbers on a tax return. I couldn't care less about how little the government says I make, nor do I really care about the resale value of this car.

I've driven for approx 4 months, and in that time my net profit has already exceeded the total cost of my vehicle. From here on, everything I make is profit, and better yet, most of it is TAX FREE. What's not to love?

Are we getting screwed by Uber?  Absolutely. Fortunately as a part time driver I can deal with the BS wages that Uber throws us. Where else can a retiree net an average of ~$675 /week for part time (<30 hrs) driving work? _


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

RedANT said:


> _Are we getting screwed by Uber? Absolutely. Fortunately as a part time driver I can deal with the BS wages that Uber throws us. Where else can a retiree net an average of ~$675 /week for part time (<30 hrs) driving work? _


Said from the highest paying market in the US!

You keep forgetting that!

Seatle $1.35 per mile/24c a minute
Orlando 71c/11c a minute

Take your $675 and cut it by half, and that's Orlando. Probably worse because everything is so stupid spread out here.

So that $675 becomes $330ish minus gas. Now we are down to $220 ish and i have barely begun to calculate costs.

Craigslist uber Seattle $724 a week in fares for 40 hours
Craigslist uber Orlando- $360 a week in fares for 40 hours

There are people making less than half of what you are per mile/minute and you need to understand that when you make these claims.
The craigslist ads are pretty darned accurate these days.

We shouldn't need to keep reminding you about this little detail!

You know how much i made driving for an evil taxi company in 2017?
$25,000 (worked an average of just 3 nights a week +- 33-36 hours a week)

You know how much of that is taxable?
$25,000

Well how is that so much different from an uber driver?

I actually netted over $16,000 more than what I claimed to make.

For 3 days a week i brought in over $40,000 over 2017. But that extra $16,000 all got spent, gas tolls and vehicle costs.... And i'm OK spending $16,000 on a car i don't even have, cause i made $25,000 in the process.

I say uberX is a losing venture in Orlando because i've been there and done that...
I've used my own personal car as a taxi, and i made good money. However i no longer do that cause i'm getting too old for that crap.

My 2010 Sienna cost me $100,000 over 3.5 years/230,000 miles.

That's just 3.5 years... That's all the longer that car last full time. I did it right, I started with a new vehicle and it worked. You know why it worked?

Cause i brought in over $250,000 over 3.5 years working my tail off 7 days a week. (Over $70,000 a year)

Using that same car for uber that many miles... you know how much that would amount to?

Roughly $103,000... Or right around break fricken even over 3.5 years.

Who is making $70,000 a year doing uber?

No one...


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## gofry (Oct 20, 2015)

RedANT said:


> _I've driven for approx 4 months, and in that time my net profit has already exceeded the total cost of my vehicle. From here on, everything I make is profit, and better yet, most of it is TAX FREE. What's not to love?
> _


Total fantasy.


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## Atom guy (Jul 27, 2016)

The problem everyone has is with the depreciation of your car. Yes, if you put a lot of miles on a car, it will be worth less than a similar car with less miles. Duh. If you have a car payment you shouldn't be using the car for Uber. Not only are you costing yourself the value of the car, you are accelerating the maintenance schedule. The better idea is to buy a cheap cash car for Uber. Yes it also will depreciate, but it will depreciate to $0 faster, costing you less depreciation, and then you keep driving it and taking the mileage tax deduction.


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## Over/Uber (Jan 2, 2017)

SEAL Team 5 said:


> Richard Gere is best known for losing his gerbil in his loosing rectum.


Uh, don't you mean "Richard Gere is known for losing his gerbil in his loose rectum or loosening rectum.?"

And Mista T, eat deffocation, you Uber shill-plant.


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

Over/Uber said:


> Uh, don't you mean "Richard Gere is known for losing his gerbil in his loose rectum or loosening rectum.?"


You almost completely comprehended my joke. Look at the thread title and that is where the word "loosing" came from. I still gave you a "Like" for your post.

About a year ago I was in a big debate with another forum member over the difference between lose and loose. After countless rebuttals I finally had to post the Google definitions.


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## Pedro Paramo66 (Jan 17, 2018)

Joe Turner said:


> Last night was my first night driving for Uber. After looking at the pay estimates, and calculating the true mileage expense from my mileage log, I'm kind of shocked. On paper, I lost money. Is this the way it is?
> 
> I was driving to downtown Minneapolis last night and got my first ride way out in the country (2.2 min, 1.05 miles). I also did two more short trips hauling drunks from the neighborhood bar to their homes. I would turn around in between pings and head towards Minneapolis, then get pulled back even further outward. No more pings so I went home around 1 a.m.
> 
> ...


Just remember, this is not about money, the important thing is that you are your own boss, you decide when to drive, you are meeting very excited and interested people, you are participating in Travis State of the art disruptive technology and you are making money aside in 16 hours daily of your spare time
Lol


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## Over/Uber (Jan 2, 2017)

SEAL Team 5 said:


> You almost completely comprehended my joke. Look at the thread title and that is where the word "loosing" came from. I still gave you a "Like" for your post.
> 
> About a year ago I was in a big debate with another forum member over the difference between lose and loose. After countless rebuttals I finally had to post the Google definitions.


Damn, I can't even get in on a good grammar Natzi joke without blowing it. I'm so stupid!


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

SEAL Team 5 said:


> You almost completely comprehended my joke. Look at the thread title and that is where the word "loosing" came from. I still gave you a "Like" for your post.
> 
> About a year ago I was in a big debate with another forum member over the difference between lose and loose. After countless rebuttals I finally had to post the Google definitions.


Losing money is when your expenses are more than your revenue.

Loose money is when woman folk on your credit card buy a bunch of overpriced crap like shoes and handbags...


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Loose money is when woman folk on your credit card buy a bunch of overpriced crap like shoes and handbags...


My wife can be as loose as the Spruce Goose with money and credit cards if she wants to. Her parents are loaded and they're getting very very old. Can you say inheritance?


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## Pedro Paramo66 (Jan 17, 2018)

SEAL Team 5 said:


> My wife can be as loose as the Spruce Goose with money and credit cards if she wants to. Her parents are loaded and they're getting very very old. Can you say inheritance?


Lol


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## Aerodrifting (Aug 13, 2017)

melusine3 said:


> Maybe you make that much in LA, but the bulk of the nation is a no-profit zone.


Don't talk about LA man, It's one of the worst cities to drive in, Not much better than Orlando.

Sure, The rate is slightly higher (70 cent a mile VS 52 cent a mile), But LA has the worst traffic in the nation. Unless it's night time past 9PM, You will be lucky to move 10 miles in 30 minutes. Give you a realistic example, A 5 mile trip on surface street near West Hollywood can take anywhere from 20-30 mins, And it pays less than $8.


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## melusine3 (Jun 20, 2016)

Aerodrifting said:


> Don't talk about LA man, It's one of the worst cities to drive in, Not much better than Orlando.
> 
> Sure, The rate is slightly higher (70 cent a mile VS 52 cent a mile), But LA has the worst traffic in the nation. Unless it's night time past 9PM, You will be lucky to move 10 miles in 30 minutes. Give you a realistic example, A 5 mile trip on surface street near West Hollywood can take anywhere from 20-30 mins, And it pays less than $8.


I'm pretty sure 5 miles is a minimum fare trip and in my town the driver gets $3. After driving 5 miles to pick them up. Lyft wants you to drive 10 miles regularly (requests, doesn't get, hence the "low acceptance" nag). Has anybody tried Arcade rideshare app yet?


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## Aerodrifting (Aug 13, 2017)

melusine3 said:


> I'm pretty sure 5 miles is a minimum fare trip and in my town the driver gets $3. After driving 5 miles to pick them up. Lyft wants you to drive 10 miles regularly (requests, doesn't get, hence the "low acceptance" nag). Has anybody tried Arcade rideshare app yet?


People still drive for Lyft? After they went nuts with the bait and switch, I stopped driving for them completely. I am not sure about other markets, But it is not uncommon for Lyft to cancel the ride as you drive towards the rider then give it to someone else. Or bait you in with a PT ping then switch it out for some riders 5 miles away with base fare.


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