# Rates slashed - Sarasota/Bradenton (I'm out, here's the math)



## Kennedy C (Jun 28, 2015)

I've been driving on and off since January 2015 shortly after Uber entered the market here. Recently the per mile charge was dropped from $1.25 to $0.95. This was, by the way, very shortly after the "safe rides charge" went from $1.00 to $1.90.

Of course I read Uber's happy "cheaper prices = more demand" email explanation and I understand the logic. However, in a market like ours in which Uber has only been here less than a year, we're not even close to the demand levels of Tampa, Miami, Orlando, etc.

My basic point here: Uber has priced me out as a driver.

Here's why:
5 mile trip:
OLD prices = $1.00 SRC + $6.25 = $7.25 ($5.00 to me *69%* / $2.25 to Uber *31%*)
NEW prices = $1.90 SRC + $4.75 = $6.65 ($3.80 to me *57% */ $2.85 to Uber *43%*)

10 mile trip:
OLD prices = $1.00 SRC + $12.50 = $13.50 ($10.00 to me *74%* / $3.50 to Uber *26%*)
NEW prices = $1.90 SRC + $9.50 = $11.40 ($7.60 to me *67% */ $3.80 to Uber *33%*)

As you can see, as the mileage of the trip rises, the percentage of driver/uber earnings improves. However, most of my trips (over 600) have been between the 5-10 mile range.

One final look at was a great trip for me. A 50 mile trip from downtown Bradenton to Tampa Airport. 50 miles of mostly interstate driving which, without any issues, is a 45 minute trip. Keep in mind, even if I don't get a return trip, it was still worth the time/$$ for this trip.

50 mile trip:
OLD prices = $1.00 SRC + $62.50 = $63.50 ($50.00 to me *79%* / $13.50 to Uber *21%*)
NEW prices = $1.90 SRC + $47.50 = $49.40 ($38.00 to me *77% */ $11.40 to Uber *23%*)

(addition costs: 3 gallons of gas for 100 miles, depreciation/maintenance cost of putting 100 miles on the odometer, $2.50 in tolls on Skyway Bridge)

Therefore, under the old prices I would make $50 for 90 minutes of my time or $33.33 per hour. But now under the NEW prices my hourly pay rate is $25.33 per hour. Keep in mind this before I subtract my additional costs listed above.

In conclusion, it's just not worth my time and depreciation on the car to continue driving with Uber.

I have noticed that Uber is now running TV ads here locally to recruit new drivers. In that commercial, a smiling young guy drives happy, laughing customers in his car. He then returns home to play with his young daughter. As he exits the car, he looks at his phone and sees "weekly earnings = $600" on the screen. For someone who doesn't realize how many hours online - and miles - it will require to earn $600 this will be effective in recruiting new drivers.

But after a year of promoting Uber through my social media and word of mouth here, including two separate interviews with both local newspapers, it's time for me and Uber to part ways. It was fun while it lasted, I'm sorry it has to end.

Safe travels.


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## UberBlackPr1nce (Dec 28, 2014)

Kennedy C said:


> I've been driving on and off since January 2015 shortly after Uber entered the market here. Recently the per mile charge was dropped from $1.25 to $0.95. This was, by the way, very shortly after the "safe rides charge" went from $1.00 to $1.90.
> 
> Of course I read Uber's happy "cheaper prices = more demand" email explanation and I understand the logic. However, in a market like ours in which Uber has only been here less than a year, we're not even close to the demand levels of Tampa, Miami, Orlando, etc.
> 
> ...


Better now than later


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## Backdash (Jan 28, 2015)

Kennedy C said:


> But after a year of promoting Uber through my social media and word of mouth here, including two separate interviews with both local newspapers, it's time for me and Uber to part ways. It was fun while it lasted, I'm sorry it has to end.


When it's time it's time, good luck and peace on you.
Are you going to "promote" the _new Uber reality_ through your social media and word of mouth?


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## trotador (Oct 10, 2015)

*BRAVO !!!! You could not have said it more eloquently .......
I think Uber does this huge decrease in prices to augment the ridership and destroy the taxi cab industry, but they are doing it on the backs and sweat of the drivers.*


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## rtaatl (Jul 3, 2014)

I finally saw that commercial....I was thinking to myself $600 in a week....minis around $100-$150 in gas and about 1200 miles in depreciaton. Uber is definitely starting to change its stance from "running you own business" (which it never was in the first place) to "not a bad part time gig". Yet those $600 meant a lot of time online after hours.


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## Kennedy C (Jun 28, 2015)

Backdash said:


> When it's time it's time, good luck and peace on you.
> Are you going to "promote" the _new Uber reality_ through your social media and word of mouth?


short answer... no.
Uber is a great deal for passengers. In fact, I used it myself on Sunday. It's the driving side of it that isn't worth my time anymore.


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## Doxylady (Oct 13, 2015)

Kennedy C said:


> short answer... no.
> Uber is a great deal for passengers. In fact, I used it myself on Sunday. It's the driving side of it that isn't worth my time anymore.


It won't be a great deal for passengers if there are no drivers to provide rides. Uber needs to realize that you have to pay for quality.


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## Jamesh (Sep 5, 2015)

Anyone that drives for less than $1.80 per mile needs to go to the nearest hospital. Check in and request a CT scan on your head to see if there is anything in it. I am sure it is empty.


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## Doxylady (Oct 13, 2015)

Jamesh said:


> Anyone that drives for less than $1.80 per mile needs to go to the nearest hospital. Check in and request a CT scan on your head to see if there is anything in it. I am sure it is empty.


Well that was unnecessary. I was stating that Uber needs to wake up and pay their drivers or they won't have any. Then it won't be a good deal for anyone.


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## Kennedy C (Jun 28, 2015)

Doxylady said:


> It won't be a great deal for passengers if there are no drivers to provide rides. Uber needs to realize that you have to pay for quality.


agreed, and you're preaching to the choir.
However, as we have seen, there is still no shortage of drivers - even at .95 per mile.

I'm hoping Lyft comes to our area. I'll be happy to drive for them. Until then....


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## corn (Oct 21, 2015)

Same here. We went from 1.80 to 1.15. We have also added about 6 new drivers in a market that only produced about 1 to 2 pings a day for me. I was online for 4 days without 1 ride.


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## FlDriver (Oct 16, 2015)

Jamesh said:


> Anyone that drives for less than $1.80 per mile needs to go to the nearest hospital. Check in and request a CT scan on your head to see if there is anything in it. I am sure it is empty.


Anyone who hangs out in an Uber forum and apparently hates Uber so much has issues.


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## FlDriver (Oct 16, 2015)

95 cents a mile is the rate in the Tampa market- why would you expect Sarasota to be higher?


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## Backdash (Jan 28, 2015)

corn said:


> We have also added about 6 new drivers in a market that only produced about 1 to 2 pings a day for me. I was online for 4 days without 1 ride.


Speechless...


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

I was driving in Tampa since Jan 2015 till last Oct. I figure out how much it cost per mile to run my vehicle and cost of fuel. I was losing money with the rates charged to customers and the take out of 25 percent. I wrote a couple of e mails to UBER and never got a response. I also found out that if an incident occurs my insurance would drop me in a heartbeat, another reason NOT to drive for UBER.
Then there is the UNFAIR rating system, especially when you have to haul around a drunk who can't see anything and rates you a 1. This is my experience with UBER, so if you're thinking of driving for UBER don't expect to make any money, you will just burn your time and vehicle.


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

FlDriver said:


> Anyone who hangs out in an Uber forum and apparently hates Uber so much has issues.


That's simply not true. When I started with Uber more than a year ago, people were posting different things here -how to to do this and that, how to make more money and please customers. 
But that changed after Uber changed to us. 
Uber is like that guy who is nice to a girl, marries her and then completely changes and becomes an asshole and beats and abuses his new wife. Many people believed Uber but it changed for the worse.


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## FlDriver (Oct 16, 2015)

7Miles said:


> That's simply not true. When I started with Uber more than a year ago, people were posting different things here -how to to do this and that, how to make more money and please customers.
> But that changed after Uber changed to us.
> Uber is like that guy who is nice to a girl, marries her and then completely changes and becomes an asshole and beats and abuses his new wife. Many people believed Uber but it changed for the worse.


Again, if you hate it so much, why waste your time on a forum about it? Don't you have anything else going on in your life?

Comparing it to wife beating is quite a stretch, and insulting to women who are victimized like that and can't just log off from the husband app and make it go away. Does Uber come to your house, drag you to the car, and force you to drive?


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

FlDriver said:


> Again, if you hate it so much, why waste your time on a forum about it? Don't you have anything else going on in your life?
> 
> Comparing it to wife beating is quite a stretch, and insulting to women who are victimized like that and can't just log off from the husband app and make it go away. Does Uber come to your house, drag you to the car, and force you to drive?


I quit my job and bought a brand new car . Then rates were slashed. Then SRF was introduced . Then SRF was made even bigger. I think I have a right to be mad .
Also, if you're so happy to drive for Uber, don't you have a passenger or two to take somewhere? Should be busy with such a wonderful job drive around somebody for $2.40

I also have a question . If your neighbor ask you to drive him now- to a Walmart store for $2.40 - would you do it? The trick is also, he is at 7-eleven now and you have to wait for him to pay for slurpy and beer . Would you find it ok?


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## mainelaptop (Jun 29, 2015)

Wait are you telling me you bought a brand new car to drive for uberX? I hope you're joking.



7Miles said:


> I quit my job and bought a brand new car . Then rates were slashed. Then SRF was introduced . Then SRF was made even bigger"


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## 7Miles (Dec 17, 2014)

mainelaptop said:


> Wait are you telling me you bought a brand new car to drive for uberX? I hope you're joking.


Yep, bought a new car. But! I drive exclusive for Lyft since I get 20% bonus plus my car is cheapest on market and gives me 41 mpg. My other car would cost twice as much in price and waste gas, which means waste a lot of money.
So, I make the best out of my situation .
Still, even with 20% bonus on Lyft I make less than when I started with Uber. Uber was great - good money, flexibility . Now it makes no sense do Uber unless it's a surge.


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## Uberduberdoo (Oct 22, 2015)

7Miles said:


> Yep, bought a new car. But! I drive exclusive for Lyft since I get 20% bonus plus my car is cheapest on market and gives me 41 mpg. My other car would cost twice as much in price and waste gas, which means waste a lot of money.
> So, I make the best out of my situation .
> Still, even with 20% bonus on Lyft I make less than when I started with Uber. Uber was great - good money, flexibility . Now it makes no sense do Uber unless it's a surge.


Yeah surge, I happen to get one ping yesterday during surge it got me a whopping $3.75 that's not the surge that's the total. The other pings I got during that surge kept on canceling , same person over and over, tel the surge ended, then kept the trip. I then canceled just moments before I got there; reason---->other.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

FlDriver, you sound like someone in management at UBER. If you seriously look at the cost of running a vehicle you'll find that it cost over a dollar a mile to run. UBER has lost many customers in the Tampa Bay market because they lost drivers. If UBER wants to stay competitive they should not be exploiting their drivers.
Many former customers that I have spoken to won't use UBER again because of the surge pricing, they feel that it is a rip off. Customers also don't like the rate increase for using the app, which the driver never see any of it. 
If UBER management is reading this message board you better take notice, another competitor will come along and push you out of the market.


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## UberEddie2015 (Nov 2, 2015)

what is the 20% bonus for Lyft.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

peteyvavs said:


> If you seriously look at the cost of running a vehicle you'll find that it cost over a dollar a mile to run.


Man, I am so sick and tired of drivers just throwing numbers around because they heard it somewhere or because they guesstimated. If you truly took a "serious look" at the cost of running your personal car for TNC, I can pretty much guarantee I can tear your numbers apart. My costs DOWN TO THE PENNY have been tracked for all 7 months I've used Uber or Lyft. $0.27/mile in expenses and that is with a ton of dead miles. The IRS and AAA figures are not representative of your actual costs. My numbers are not representative of your actual costs. The only person who can figure your costs is YOU. And anyone who tries to tell you they know exactly what it costs you to run your vehicle is selling something. Even if that something they are selling is just an opinion they are looking to have validated.



UberEddie2015 said:


> what is the 20% bonus for Lyft.


Power Driver Bonus. You can find multiple threads on this forum and an article on the bonus on Lyft's help page.


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## uberguuber (Feb 23, 2015)

this thread reads like the one in Dallas when they drop the rate $0.85 per mile.


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## Kennedy C (Jun 28, 2015)

FlDriver said:


> 95 cents a mile is the rate in the Tampa market- why would you expect Sarasota to be higher?


because they're two completely different markets. And uber has only been in Srq/Bradenton for one year. It's growing but barely off the ground. Uber has been in Tampa for years.


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## Ubernomics (Nov 11, 2015)

FlDriver said:


> Anyone who hangs out in an Uber forum and apparently hates Uber so much has issues.


Likewise to you.


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

Kennedy C said:


> agreed, and you're preaching to the choir.
> However, as we have seen, there is still no shortage of drivers - even at .95 per mile.
> 
> I'm hoping Lyft comes to our area. I'll be happy to drive for them. Until then....


POST # 10/Kennedy C: Thank You for
the Short & Not-so-Sweet
ANALYSIS of why #[F]Uber is a LOSING
PROPOSITION for Drivers....and only
getting worse!

U N F O R T U N A T E L Y.....there is
considerable Overlap between Lyft
and #[F]Uber Investors, so there is
a Connection-at-the-Hip that results
in Equivalent/LOWER Rates [although
the Tip-in-App mitigates...somewhat]
AND INSURANCE-WISE it is an even
Worse-on-paper Deal with Lyft imposing
a $2500 Deductible.

HappyNew Year from Marco Island!


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

corn said:


> Same here. We went from 1.80 to 1.15. We have also added about 6 new drivers in a market that only produced about 1 to 2 pings a day for me. I was online for 4 days without 1 ride.


POST # 11/corn : "Ahoy!" and Welcome
to UP.Net Forums from
Rain threatening in Marco Island, on
Florida's Wild SSW Coast.

Although your Avatar Surround states
Orlando, you MUST be close enough to
the "SLOW-cala" Market to have quali-
fied for those Oh-so-brief Halcyon Days
of $1.80/mile ? Which cities/towns did
you drive in ?

Mentoring Bison: Questions asked politely!


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## Casuale Haberdasher (Dec 7, 2014)

peteyvavs said:


> FlDriver, you sound like someone in management at UBER. If you seriously look at the cost of running a vehicle you'll find that it cost over a dollar a mile to run. UBER has lost many customers in the Tampa Bay market because they lost drivers. If UBER wants to stay competitive they should not be exploiting their drivers.
> Many former customers that I have spoken to won't use UBER again because of the surge pricing, they feel that it is a rip off. Customers also don't like the rate increase for using the app, which the driver never see any of it.
> If UBER management is reading this message board you better take notice, another competitor will come along and push you out of the market.


POST #:22/peteyvavs: SING IT BROTHER!
I concur with your
estimation of FlDriver 's "Content".

With respect to "Competition" for the
#[F]Uber Clientele, the ONLY existing
National Challenger, Lyft, JUST rece-
ived $500 Million from GM. So......
there IS Hope!

MentoringBison: Let's Hope"for a Change".
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ [vs. Permanent Despair.]
▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪
BTW: The SCARY Part of #[F]Uber's Moni-
toring of UPNF Members is that the Local
Offices HAVE used it to Deactivate a Driver
in Phoenix [@babyarm86] about a Year Ago
and TWO [@Bukrub & another Member] in
Houston last month! Just go to the bottom of
Forums Page to see that "Guests" and "ROBOTS"
FAR Outnumber the "Members" Online!


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