# TNW: Survey shows Uber and Lyft Drivers are usually new – and make very little money



## John Deer (Feb 12, 2015)

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2015/10/...s-are-usually-new-and-make-very-little-money/


> The drivers who are the backbone of Uber and Lyft - as well as other on-demand startups reliant on the so-called "gig economy" - are still fairly mysterious. Both Uber and Lyft keep the demographics and behaviors of their drivers pretty locked tight, but a survey from driver management toolSherpaShare gives a glimpse into what it's really like for those who are trying to make a living from it.
> 
> The company surveyed 963 respondents, and found that 90 percent of them drove for Lyft, Uber or both. Nearly one in five surveyed say they work for at least one other service in addition to Lyft and Uber, with most common being Postmates, Sidecar, Instacart and DoorDash.
> 
> ...


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## Bob Reynolds (Dec 20, 2014)

Yep the word is finally getting out. This will cause problems for everyone including Uber. Uber needs to raise a billion more dollars because they are burning so much cash. They are going to start running into roadblocks when the investment funds realize the drivers aren't even making minimum wage. This is a problem that Uber may not want to correct, but they will be forced to correct.


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## PHXTE (Jun 23, 2015)

That's because everybody that starts this gig thinks they're going to be the one special snowflake that figures out something that no one else has been able to and they're going to kill it. Until they realize that minimum trips suck, many pax are assholes and working for minimum wage and being "your own boss" isn't all it's cracked up to be.


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## Taxi Driver in Arizona (Mar 18, 2015)

But, but... Life changing money. $90,000 a year.

LOL


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## melxjr (Sep 10, 2015)

Taxi Driver in Arizona said:


> But, but... Life changing money. $90,000 a year.
> 
> LOL


Make sure you do the end flip right.


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## pho (Oct 26, 2015)

I'm new. I made $500 last week and this week.


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## John Deer (Feb 12, 2015)

pho said:


> I'm new. I made $500 last week and this week.


No - that's your _gross_. You need to take out your _expenses_. These include gas and depreciation (these extra miles will result in lower value for the car and more garage time).


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## pho (Oct 26, 2015)

John Deer said:


> No - that's your _gross_. You need to take out your _expenses_. These include gas and depreciation (these extra miles will result in lower value for the car and more garage time).


So if someone said they made $50,000 last year on their 8-5. you would say "No -- that's your gross. You need to take out your taxes." Take a chill pill Empire Stater.

but for those two pay periods, I spent $100 on gas and x on vehicle depreciation if that matters to you.


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## hanging in there (Oct 1, 2014)

pho said:


> So if someone said they made $50,000 last year on their 8-5. you would say "No -- that's your gross. You need to take out your taxes." Take a chill pill Empire Stater.
> 
> but for those two pay periods, I spent $100 on gas and x on vehicle depreciation if that matters to you.


He didn't say anything about taxes. You will have to pay a higher "self employment" social security tax of 15.3%, btw, in addition to your regular income tax, since you have no employer who will be paying half of that tax on your behalf. But, taxes aside, you need to open your eyes to what he is saying.

If you earn $50k/yr at a 9-5 job you get to keep what is left over after taxes. Granted, you will most likely have commuting expenses if you want to get technical about it. But it's a whole different story if you say "I MADE 50k last year driving for Uber." Because out of that 50k, you will most likely be left with $30-35k (before taxes) after you take out the TOTAL cost of driving your car, (not just gas), based on an average of 30-40 cents per mile. If you think that is BS you simply don't know the facts, and that's exactly what Uber is counting on. Fresh ignorant blood. Uber on!


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## weaponsfree (Oct 27, 2015)

The standard federal deduction for mileage is about 57 cents per mile - if you operate a vehicle ABOVE that threshold you should factor the difference in your pay
If you are paid 1.00 a mile and keep 80 cents after Uber cut you work within that threshold. 
The key is optimizing your mileage expenses and routes. If pax are beyond reasonable mileage 1-2 miles lets say....cancel it within 12 seconds
The system is designed to work off of number of requests per minute - if you continue cancelling at 1.00 per mile the system will surge and raise it to 1.2 and 1.3 etc until some driver says "I am willing to work for that much"
The hardest thing is teaching new kids that driving 15 minutes for a 1.00 per mile fare is not smart and to negotiate the fare by cancelling within 12 seconds....you may not get the fare but perhaps a fellow uber driver will at the higher rate promoting a community acceptance of higher fares. 
If all the new blood comes in and takes them at base rate it sucks for everyone - Uber is winning the fight against Lyft in metro areas - far more divers and much less wait for pax. If you block your shifts and minimize dead miles you also increase your takehome pay ultimately 
So lets take a look at a short 5 mile trip - 10 minutes
5.00 mileage plus about 1.80 in "time" so thats about a 6.80 fare for you - minus 20% marketing fee - you end up with $5.44 for 10 minutes of driving or about $32 an hour pay rate....obviously that doesnt count the drive time to get to the pax, waiting for them and dropoff time but lets call that 20 minutes of work for this ride....thats $16.32 an hour minus expenses. 
The expenses seem to be a sticking point as people cite depreciation with mileage which has some merit but large holes in calculations in true cost.
A brand new 25k car should last 8 years and at least 300,000 miles - so lets look at the cost of this - thats about 8 cents per mile in COST for the vehicle - so every mile should have that COST factored in --- then you having RUNNING COSTS such as fuel, tires, brakes, suspension etc... these are much harder to gauge because each vehicle will encounter unique environments that only the owner can factor. But lets say the tires (500 a set) last 40,000 miles - the shocks (500 a set) last 40k, the fuel is $3 a gallon and oil changes are $30 every 3k miles
Thats 7.5 (round to 8) sets of tires and shocks - 4000 for tires and 4000 for shocks and about 100 oil changes ($3000) Thats about 11k in running costs without any real maintenance costs involved but lets throw $3000 into the pot and call it "misc" fund for odds and ends that wear --- Running costs of about 14k before fuel
Lets set combined mileage at 20mpg with city and highway mixed in for a safe number - Thats 15,000 gallons of gas over its lifetime of 300k miles aka 45k in fuel costs
So what has this car COST us to run and maintain over 300k miles? Well in total about 84k what did we make in 300k miles? Lets say 15% are dead miles leaving us 255k paid miles at 80 cents a mile after uber cut - $204k in gross pay minus our total running/operating costs of 84k leaving us with 120k and a tax break of $145,350 against our 204k gross income leaving us with $58,650 taxable which lets say we pay 30% on ($17,595 due in taxes) --- 120k minus 18k in taxes and we have 102k we take home in 300k miles. Roughly 34 cents a mile for DRIVER pay we take home on PAID miles at standard $1.00 per mile rate. How many miles PAID can you drive an hour? 60-65 on the highway? $22 an hour TAKE home at 65. What about rush hour? 10? $12.04 take home per hour (18 cents a minute/80 cents a mile paid)

So at no point is someone making LESS than $8 an hour when they are actually DRIVING people for Uber even if they buy a brand new 25k car and drive it until the wheels fall off. 

Would I buy a brand new car to do uber? Maybe Uber select where its $2.30 a mile and 40 cents a minute.....Uber X? Probably not
A safer bet would be a 3-4 year old car with 30-40k miles on it at 50-60% its original cost as the previous owner paid the lump of the depreciation already. The remaining value is mostly of the running gear that should operate to 300k miles with care - leaving you with 260-270k working miles left in it for much less money to finance....I would also not pay cash for such a car as rates should be around 0% from most Honda/Toyota brands that I would consider running for 300k+ miles

Cliff notes:
Buy a 3-4 year old used car for Uber X
Your probably making 30 to 50 cents per paid mile depending on what you are driving
Minimize your dead miles
Work smarter - not harder - dont work for base rate
FYI - guys who drive rigs get paid 25-40 cents a mile - your driving a tiny car and get to be home with your fam every night - stop whinning and work uber - dont let it work you!


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## Einstein (Oct 10, 2015)

weaponsfree said:


> The standard federal deduction for mileage is about 57 cents per mile....


Your analysis is grossly flawed.
Drivers most certainly do not average as much as you state.
Tire tread wear will not be acceptable to drive for Uber after approximately 27,000 miles on a $500 set of tires.
Your assumption for gas costs is way too low for California. Fuel costs are at a cyclical low at the moment. This is not the long-term average.
There is a reason that the IRS assumes 57 cents per mile in total costs.
The only relevant metric is the NET driver pay before tax (after all operating costs and depreciation is subtracted).
In California, this averages out to somewhere between $5 and $9 per hour.
If you do the math right, you will arrive at the same conclusion.


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## Uberselectguy (Oct 16, 2015)

pho said:


> I'm new. I made $500 last week and this week.


Taking note of my past posts, I drove to gain insight towards a start up I'm a part of. So, I didn't drive with Uber Select in an attempt to pay my bills. Even so, I averaged $400 a week.

That $400 a week, after all expenses including a small depreciation charge and mandated self employment taxes, ended up being less than minimum wage. In fact, it was less than $5.00 an hour. Again, read my earlier posts. My expenses were compiled for two reasons. First, so I could file an accurate tax return. Second, to write an article by invitation for the San Francisco Chronicle on just what exactly is the true picture for Uber Drivers. For credibility, my income expense report was compiled by my CPA, who is recognized as one of the best in the Bay Area.

Anyone that drives for Uber, using the typical daily family car is in for a huge shock. If you drive a fully depreciated, 10 year old high mpg car the picture is narrowly better. As for those that drive newer cars, you are losing money in the end. It is as simple as that. I read in this forum about people using newer cars and trying to convince themselves that they are making 12-20 an hour. I truly feel sorry for them, depreciation and maintenance costs will hurt them bad when the end comes. And for those that are financing or leasing, the picture grows much worse.

Please people, take a moment and project put what your car will depreciate in a two year time frame, based on projections available through KBB or any other valuation service. Then, add in the additional cost of finance, maintenance and extras you incur such as higher insurance costs. Save yourself from making a disasterous financial decision.

Understand that Uber does not explain the risks or financial impacts to you. They depend on drivers being naive to the subject of cost accounting as it applies to their car. Uber could care less about your financial picture as clearly demonstrated by lower fares, higher SRF, ratings impact, increased depreciation and saturation of the marketplace with to many drivers.

In the end, you are on your own. No one will step up and bridge your losses. There are more than likely Rideshare "plants" in this and other forums that post messages about their new found fortunes. They are either lies, or poorly versed drivers.

Post Script: read this as well

https://uberpeople.net/threads/i-was-listening-to-a-car-mechanic-radio-show.42409/


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## Einstein (Oct 10, 2015)

Uberselectguy said:


> Anyone that drives for Uber, using the typical daily family car is in for a huge shock. If you drive a fully depreciated, 10 year old high mpg car the picture is narrowly better. As for those that drive newer cars, you are losing money in the end. It is as simple as that. I read in this forum about people using newer cars and trying to convince themselves that they are making 12-20 an hour. I truly feel sorry for them, depreciation and maintenance costs will hurt them bad when the end comes. And for those that are financing or leasing, the picture grows much worse.
> 
> Please people, take a moment and project put what your car will depreciate in a two year time frame, based on projections available through KBB or any other valuation service. Then, add in the additional cost of finance, maintenance and extras you incur such as higher insurance costs. Save yourself from making a disasterous financial decision.
> 
> Understand that Uber does not explain the risks or financial impacts to you. They depend on drivers being naive to the subject of cost accounting as it applies to their car. Uber could care less about your financial picture as clearly demonstrated by lower fares, higher SRF, ratings impact, increased depreciation and saturation of the marketplace with to many drivers.


Very well stated.


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## weaponsfree (Oct 27, 2015)

Einstein said:


> Your analysis is grossly flawed.
> Drivers most certainly do not average as much as you state.
> Tire tread wear will not be acceptable to drive for Uber after approximately 27,000 miles on a $500 set of tires.
> Your assumption for gas costs is way too low for California. Fuel costs are at a cyclical low at the moment. This is not the long-term average.
> ...


Ubers own internal data is $16hr in fares and my partner email typically has me at double that - last week my deposit was around $22 per hour after Uber took their cut.
I wont argue with you about tread wear - driving habbits and conditions vary too much anyway but if you can explain how a set of tires guranteed for 60k miles only lasts 27k miles being used as intended by all means, go right ahead. 
My personal tires dont last that long because I use better tires and drive "spiritedly" so Im sure I wear through more than most. I'll pay the fun tax on that one.

Curious that all these naysayers who say you CANT make decent money driving for Uber still magically -- drive for Uber.

On nights where I am averaging $35hr in fares I can hear it now --- "there is no money in this"

So if you didn't drive for Uber - would you still have a car? Would you still have to insure it? Would you still have to maintain it?
My gut tells me YES on all fronts - so while there is an elevated use of the vehicle the base cost of the car was already there to begin with - short of you buying a SECOND car for Uber of course which I know some folks do for various reasons.

In many markets you can use a 2000 year car (not that I recommend it) but the point is many folks are driving pretty old cars. These cars, like most modern vehicles, can rack up a ton of miles before the chassis is useless - frankly few people ever put that kind of miles on the car EVER but it is possible. Like the owners of Camrys and Accords with 1+ million miles

Anyway my point is cars CAN last quite a long time. The ongoing costs of ownership dive down the longer you own it, especially a mass produced car with parts everywhere like Hondas/Toyotas --- these parts along with the cheap replacement labor can keep running costs wayyyy down.

This is a business for some and part of that business requires planning.

My personal approach thus far was about upgrading my vehicle over time. I typically tack on 15-20k miles of personal driving so adding more miles wasnt going to kill me anyway. My car is more than 5+ years old and any substantial retail depreciation is long gone. At this point its about keeping the car ALIVE.

I modify my cars - race them - so I tend to upgrade parts from the factory to better ones capable of additional abuse. If something wears out, upgrade time. 
But eventually after replacing most things now the car is near "new" again. How many times will you have to "rebuild" a manual transmission - not many really. How many clutches will you go through - 3 or 4 -- at $225 a disc its not a make or break expense (labor is the real $$$)

So for me - a car guy - maintaining my play thing is something I already pay for from my personal funds - using uber now I get to write off miles while wearing items I want to upgrade but still have useable service life. The other night my passenger bulb went out - 100k miles of driving - now the car has upgraded bulbs and I can see much better than the original bulbs the car had. Same thing with the brake pads and the rotors. I've also replaced the suspension.

Would I buy a new car and do this? I would - but I tend to keep my cars a LONG time and only buy cars I wish to upgrade. The average person will not upgrade brake pads, suspension components or even really tires much less keep the vehicle at 3-400k miles

I enjoy DRIVING when I have no pax and its 2 or 3 am with open freeways. As I have added more power to the car I look forward to playing with it more and more. Do I enjoy shuttling rude people? Nobody does - but they are gone quickly and I can get back to rowing the gears and having fun.

So lets say from the 500 weekly goal I have we break it down like this 
100 for fuel
150 for me - 22hours - $600 a month to put up with pax
150 for the car - $600 a month to keep the car alive and running - $7800 to use on the car per year
100 for taxes (I dont even think its this much but just to be safe)

How many pad changes, oil changes, tires will I really go through? Lets say for $500 a week I have to drive 1000 miles a week (totally insane) thats 52000 miles a year so lets call it TWO sets of tires - hell I'll be generous and call it 3 at $1500 - I use royal purple oil and typically change it every 8k miles so say 6 changes at $80 a pop $480 a year - I will say one pad change for 52k miles - 110 for fronts and 60 for rear $170 --- thats $2150 a year in basic costs vs having 7800 to play with. This gives me almost 5k a year to play with in upgrades for this car on top of the $7800 I would receive in income for putting up with pax in between hammering the car which I would probably use to upgrade it some more rather than using any of my regular income which I budget conservatively and would prefer the car pulls its own weight vs dipping into my normal income to "play" with the car.

Most I read on here are not car people and see the car as just some appliance that costs them magical money they wouldnt normally be spending which makes me laugh. Who lives in a metro and religiously uses the bus/mass transit and makes more than what Uber pays you? Maybe guys in NYC or something but most of us already have vehicle costs in our budgets right? Me more than most as I track my car and will go through those pads in a few sessions (not street pads) and have to replace my rotors frequently anyway.

Will other things go out? Of course - stuff I wanted to or already planned on upgrading - fuel pump, injectors, mounts, etc...alot of this stuff is getting replaced when the supercharger goes on....will be interesting to see what my mileage goes to with boost on tap. But I am ok with paying more in fuel as thats my FUN. I would have to pay that anyway.

So for ME and how I use Uber to offset my automotive hobby $6.80 an hour is just fine. To me I feel like I am making $13.60 an hour and keeping the car in amazing condition while getting to hammer on it while I am working. Getting PAID to have fun with my car is the ideal part time income for now. Working on more lucrative part time passive income streams - money helps

I have considered hanging up the car once the upgrades are done and perhaps doing something similar with a lux car but customer service side of me would prefer a more "private limo" feel and hopefully better tips --- jury still out on that one as it requires a much longer time frame to commit to and Uber in the US is not exactly a sure thing but if my other side gig works out I will need a lux car anyway so perhaps Uber select to meet clients....I dunno

Do I make money doing Uber - yes I do - do you want to say I make $6.80 an hour - go right ahead. It feels like double that to me and my car has never been in better running shape than it is now. This isnt for everyone and not all pax enjoy my vehicle. But I maintain a 4.9+ rating and drive respectfully with pax in the car.

My normal question for alot of folks is - If you hate cars and people, why do Uber at all? Seems like hell for those folks

For those of us DRIVERS getting to wheel your own car around is a blessing - if I had to deal with pax and be behind the wheel of some god awful prius or crown vic I wouldn't be interested. Especially the stories about cabbies getting random cabs in random condition and having to grease the dispatchers for "good" cabs. Uber lets you run what'cha brung and I am more than greateful for that. A large part of being happy is what you are driving for those long hours.

To those that want to make this more of a "career" option. I would get in touch with a limo service and become a full time driver for them and work on getting a TCP to market and book your own pax/trips --- As a full time job Uber is HARD on you. The hours, the sitting, the random street pax....there are better options for anyone who takes pride in driving/customer service. Last I checked the limo guys are getting about 20-25 an hour and deal with nicer clients on avg - lots of weddings etc...just happier people vs minimum fare in rush hour traffic who gives you a 1* because they are running late and thinks its your fault for traffic lol

I considered the limo thing myself but my normal job is far too unpredictable scheduling wise - I would much rather drive a limo vs Uber for 40+ hours a week lol


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## Lag Monkey (Feb 6, 2015)

I fit right into this study did it for about 6months and said F it. I would never go back. Its just NOT profitable compared to working other low wage jobs. To the guy who said he makes 6.80hr thats fine if your happy with it but it still doesn't make it right that a company can offer jobs with high risk and pay below min wage while claiming drivers making good money


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## FlDriver (Oct 16, 2015)

Surveys like this are flawed, because they don't survey everyone. Only Uber knows what the average driver makes, and even then Uber doesn't know what expenses each driver has.

I would expect people who make little money driving to be more likely to take the survey, since it's a way of venting, much like forums.

The person making $2000 a week or more driving is too busy to take a survey or maybe would rather let everyone else think drivers don't make much.


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## John Deer (Feb 12, 2015)

FlDriver said:


> Surveys like this are flawed, because they don't survey everyone. Only Uber knows what the average driver makes, and even then Uber doesn't know what expenses each driver has.
> 
> I would expect people who make little money driving to be more likely to take the survey, since it's a way of venting, much like forums.
> 
> The person making $2000 a week or more driving are too busy to take a survey or maybe would rather let everyone else think drivers don't make much.


Obviously, this is not a "scientific" survey. It seems to have surveyed SherpraShare users (although it does not explicitly says so... so maybe I'm wrong here). Someone subscribing to SherpaShare is likely to be somewhat different than the median driver.

That said, given the rate at which Uber recruits new drivers, _of course_ most drivers would be new (if Uber had 15,000 drivers in NYC a year ago and now has 30,000, then at _least_ 50% of drivers didn't driver Uber a year ago. This is before we take into account that some drivers left Uber in the last year).

As most drivers are new, most drivers also pay the 25% Uber tax (and if not yet - then soon).

We can also look at Uber's numbers for NYC (https://newsroom.uber.com/nyc/2015/10/4-septembers-of-uberx-in-nyc/). We find that _average_ gross fares were around $40/hr in Sep 2015. That means the average gross pay for the driver was around $26/hr. To gross $2000/week, a driver needs to drive 76 hours a week or 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Outside of NYC, the numbers would be significantly lower.

But you are right - this is the _average_. Some drivers are certainly doing better that that - while other drivers are doing worse.


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## IckyDoody (Sep 18, 2015)

John Deer said:


> No - that's your _gross_. You need to take out your _expenses_. These include gas and depreciation (these extra miles will result in lower value for the car and more garage time).


Funny how veterans on this forum say their earnings are their 'net' when bragging about a good day. A noob makes the same assertion and gets called out immediately.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

pho said:


> So if someone said they made $50,000 last year on their 8-5. you would say "No -- that's your gross. You need to take out your taxes." Take a chill pill Empire Stater.
> 
> but for those two pay periods, I spent $100 on gas and x on vehicle depreciation if that matters to you.


So if next week you spend $500 on a,car repair you will let us know you made nothing, right?

Expenses and taxes are not the same thing. Expenses come out and you're taxed on the rest. So if you took home $500 but spent $200 on gas, depreciation and maintenence I would say you MADE $300. THAT IS THEN TAXED. We're not talking about taxes here. You may well have very little in the way of taxes if you MAKE little.


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## TonyLo (Oct 10, 2015)

pho said:


> I'm new. I made $500 last week and this week.


For how many hours? I typically try to make $500 a week/$100 per day. I'm finding now that I'm driving about 42 hours a week now to make that. It used to take about 20 hours.


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## FlDriver (Oct 16, 2015)

John Deer said:


> That said, given the rate at which Uber recruits new drivers, _of course_ most drivers would be new (if Uber had 15,000 drivers in NYC a year ago and now has 30,000, then at _least_ 50% of drivers didn't driver Uber a year ago. This is before we take into account that some drivers left Uber in the last year).


They have to keep recruiting, because demand is growing and they need new drivers. A lot of the public is still unaware of Uber and similar services or have very little idea of how this all works. I get new riders about half the days that I drive.

Uber just launched in my area last year, so obviously, EVERY driver here has less than two years with Uber, except for those who drove for them in another city and relocated here. I imagine that is a pretty small number of people. Then factor in that Uber is often in limbo the first few months in a new city, with would-be drivers waiting to see how it will be received, if their city will allow it, etc, and that means that probably a large majority of drivers here have been at it less than a year. Not because they hate it, but because it hasn't been around that long.

This is basically an entry level job with a low barrier to entry. That means lots of people are going to sign up and quit fast when they decide they don't like it. You really don't know if you will like this til you do it for a while, and even then, the experience varies widely depending on where and when you drive, what kind of riders you get, etc. This is all true no matter how well Uber treats us- they could pay us $3 a mile and some drivers would still be unhappy, just like some riders can't be satisfied no matter what you do.

Also, since the Uber system is so flexible as far as working when you want to, it attracts a lot of people in a transitional phase. For example, someone who just lost his full-time job might turn to Uber while looking for another regular job, then leave or cut way back on driving when he gets that full-time job.


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## JHawk (Oct 27, 2015)

I know this info will never see the light-of-day, but I'd love to know Uber's total annual payout (after SRF's and comissions) to the entire driver pool, put alongside total driver time logged into the app, and total miles driven on the app. It's not perfect, because there are times where drivers will log off to the app, drive to move to a different area, then log back in....but just because they don't report your pre-pickup dead miles along with total time online doesn't mean they can't.....the app tracks every inch your car moves while you're logged in, regardless of whether you're on a trip or not. 

Anyway, like I said that type of global metric will never surface, because it would instantly turn Uber's argument of $XX/hr into swiss cheese.


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## Matt Uterak (Jul 28, 2015)

FlDriver said:


> This is basically an entry level job with a low barrier to entry. That means lots of people are going to sign up and quit fast when they decide they don't like it. You really don't know if you will like this til you do it for a while, and even then, the experience varies widely depending on where and when you drive, what kind of riders you get, etc. This is all true no matter how well Uber treats us- they could pay us $3 a mile and some drivers would still be unhappy, just like some riders can't be satisfied no matter what you do.
> 
> Also, since the Uber system is so flexible as far as working when you want to, it attracts a lot of people in a transitional phase. For example, someone who just lost his full-time job might turn to Uber while looking for another regular job, then leave or cut way back on driving when he gets that full-time job.


This is the reality.

Uber is a supplement. Uber is a get me through job. In the past many of these folks would be doing day labor for a company like Labor Ready. Show up in the morning if you want to work.

I am satisfied with what I earn and the flexibility. I would drive more if the rates were higher. I probably would care more if the rates were higher. My car is a fully depreciated craptastic 2002 Subaru.

This is not a job (unless it is Uber Black in certain markets) that one should depend on to provide a steady income nor raise a family as the only breadwinner. My hourly pay varies week to week by as much as 300%. You can't plan well with this job.


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## UberEddie2015 (Nov 2, 2015)

Everyone has a reason why they are different. I use racing parts and do the work on my car. Racing parts are expensive. Well you are doing more maintenance. do you include the hours of maintenance working on your car as Uber hours or that doesn't count. 

The guy that sits at home with the app on and doesn't count the hours that he waits for a ping. 

The guy that doesn't have a life because he is working 50/60 hours a week and most if not all weekends and nights.

Ride share miles are much tougher on your car. 30/40 people getting into and out of your car each working day. Stop and go. Much harder on the engine and transmission than highway miles not to mention brakes and rotors. Mostly city driving where the streets suck and do a job on suspension, wheel alignments. Depreciation on the vehicle. Don't care how little you use your car personally all the miles add up. And with all the added miles it is just a matter of time or bad luck until you get in an accident. then see how much higher your auto insurance will be when they know and they will find out that you are doing commercial. 

The guys that did this for a longer period know what ride share does to your car. If this was so lucrative would Uber run adds on TV for drivers. Drivers would be plentiful. The churn rate is very high thats why.

I started reading posts like mine when I started and thought I knew better. I would get pissed off at the guys writing what I just wrote and say to myself what [email protected]@holes (I am sorry).

You will have to learn for yourself just like I did.


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## kaigor (Aug 28, 2015)

Again guys, don't do this full time! I average 500-700 a week before gas/depreciation and drive about 25-30 hours a week. I have a 2011 Nissan Versa that I paid 4K out of pocket for and I plan on driving it until it dies so depreciation isn't a big deal. I have a full time job, but My goal is to pay off 16k in credit cards and so far it's been working beautifully. I started in August and plan on doing this until next May or so then getting out before I get a ticket or get in an accident (knock on wood). This is how you Uber effectively and correctly!


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## mcclearin (Nov 3, 2015)

The survey is old/ false information and too high. I work in Chicago for uber and usually make about 30 a week after Ubers cut working about 4 hours. 120 is nowhere near the 250 they claim. This also does not include gas or any other expenses and I am at the 25% rate.


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## UberEddie2015 (Nov 2, 2015)

The guy who is making 2K a week is to busy to take the survey. Too busy to eat. Too busy to sleep. Too busy to have a life.


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