# Prius Cost Per Mile



## Larry B (Apr 9, 2014)

It seems almost necessary to be drivin a Hybrid when you want to be the most Uber person in the world. So everyone thinks, hey cost must be low, I mean 50MPG it's half the gas. But let's not forget my good people that your brand new $25k minimum Toyota Prius is depreciating in value as you roll around looking for rides. 

According to consumer reports 2013 report, although the Prius is an economical car comparatively, driving isn't cheap. They estimate "A low estimated five-year cost of 47 cents per mile". Well hmmm, I'm guessing you have to have the car for 5 years to get that low of a cost too. So lets say I drive 10 miles Ubering in an hour, that's a $5 cost for the hour when I factor in gas, insurance, depreciation, and maintenance. Oh boy. If you are just figuring in your 80 cents in gas for that 10 miles maybe you have another thing coming! Hope I had a passenger in the car for all 10 miles!


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## Nyrick (Apr 10, 2014)

Gosh, does it really cost that much to drive my car for Uber? Thanks for the post Larry, that has me thinking. The feds allow you to write off 56 cents per mile. I always thought that was a lot but according to consumer reports, most of that is the true cost of driving a Prius for Uber. Some hours I easily drive 20 miles- does that really cost me $10 for my car expense? I think we need a new thread about taxes, I will start that one.


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## Jeeves (Apr 10, 2014)

This cant be right can it? 

Ill use some ballpark figures. 

A base Prius is $25k w tax. 
12kmiles a year for Uber

12k miles at 50mpg at $4 
gas=~$960/year

Insurance=~$1200/year

5 yr old Prius w 60k miles kbb value=$10k. So depreciation on the Prius was $15k for 5 yrs or $3k per year. 

Gas, depreciation, and insurance=$5160 a year for 12000 miles thats 43 cents a mile without maintenance and repairs. In 5 years you might not need much but a few oil changes and some tires but still. If it costs 50 cents a mile thats a huge chunk out of a $1.75 or so per mile fare. And uber takes 20%. Not to mention I drive considerable miles without a passenger/fare in my uber. 

Thanks for getting us thinking Larry!


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## Larry B (Apr 9, 2014)

Nice estimated breakdown. Is your other job in approximate accounting. But without the funnies, yes Thankyou Mr Jeeves.


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## zaner (Apr 9, 2014)

So at the end of the day I really should be considering deducting 50 cents times my total mileage driven from my wages? That might be somewhat depressing. I'll try it next time I'm out.


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## blair (Apr 10, 2014)

Wow 50 cents a mile it costs me to drive for Uber?! That is a reality check.


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## Jeeves (Apr 10, 2014)

I would like to hear anyone try to argue that it costs them less then 40 cents a mile to drive their Prius.


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## Seinfeld (Apr 11, 2014)

I have an 09 Prius so I think my depreciation isn't as much. You lose the most car value when you drive it new off the lot and in the first few years.


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## Nyrick (Apr 10, 2014)

Thanks for putting those figures together Jeeves. It does seem to be a reality. Good point Seinfeld, if you drive an older Prius perhaps your depreciation cost isn't so high. I have a 2010 Prius, so now I don't feel quite as bad. But it's more apparent that the driving cost for Uber is a lot more then just the gas price.


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## Seinfeld (Apr 11, 2014)

I looked at Kelly Blue Book and my Prius is currently worth $12,000 or so. In 5 more years it will be worth $6,000 so I only depreciate $6,000 in 5 years. Thats $1200 a year in depreciation versus the new Prius depreciation of $3000 a year. My cost of driving for Uber is looking a lot lower with a used car. I suppose I might be in for more maintenance cost though!


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## blair (Apr 10, 2014)

oh nice my prius is 2007!! i bet that is even closer to 1k a year.


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## myuber (Apr 18, 2014)

42 cents a mile over 5 years with my 2013 nissan versa.. 36 mpg.. In the 5 years it will lose $6k in value..


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## Larry B (Apr 9, 2014)

Do you have the hatchback or sedan Versa myuber? Is that taking into consideration that at 1,000 miles a week you will drive 50,000 miles in a year?


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## myuber (Apr 18, 2014)

Sedan.. not sure what mileage I did.. I think 25k a year when I did the math


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## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

Jaw on floor…….Thanks for posting this. I had no idea. So if I drive 100 miles for uber…….I should put away $47 for the cost of driving! Wow

Thanks again for educating me on the true costs of driving for uber.


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

blair said:


> oh nice my prius is 2007!! i bet that is even closer to 1k a year.


The good thing is your car is older, so the depreciation is lower. The bad thing is your car is older, so you are closer to the time when Uber says, "Your car is too old so you will need a newer one." So, even though you might have lower depreciation costs on the older car, you are now faced with the out of pocket costs to acquire a newer car to Uber in. (Assuming that you still want to Uber at that point in time.)


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## Heisenburger (Sep 19, 2016)

Jeeves said:


> I would like to hear anyone try to argue that it costs them less then 40 cents a mile to drive their Prius.


Thanks for the opportunity. Oh, this is easy, and fun.  The attached file is hereby submitted for your critique, approval, and sheer awe. I assure you of no unreasonable data here. Ignore car #2 column -- irrelevant default data. Car #1 is a 2007 Prius.  Poke away.

Edited to replace the file with a more accurate model -- the previous file showed an inaccurate amount for insurance.


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## Peanut hello (Sep 19, 2016)

Larry B said:


> It seems almost necessary to be drivin a Hybrid when you want to be the most Uber person in the world. So everyone thinks, hey cost must be low, I mean 50MPG it's half the gas. But let's not forget my good people that your brand new $25k minimum Toyota Prius is depreciating in value as you roll around looking for rides.
> 
> According to consumer reports 2013 report, although the Prius is an economical car comparatively, driving isn't cheap. They estimate "A low estimated five-year cost of 47 cents per mile". Well hmmm, I'm guessing you have to have the car for 5 years to get that low of a cost too. So lets say I drive 10 miles Ubering in an hour, that's a $5 cost for the hour when I factor in gas, insurance, depreciation, and maintenance. Oh boy. If you are just figuring in your 80 cents in gas for that 10 miles maybe you have another thing coming! Hope I had a passenger in the car for all 10 miles!


When it comes to saving on gas , a horse and a buggy, is good .100% eco-friendly.it works good in the amish community....


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## KevinH (Jul 13, 2014)

A couple of other points:
The taxi-like use puts extra wear and tear on a vehicle. A 10 year old research report assessed taxi cost at about 85 cents a mile while Consumer Reports the same year assessed full-size car use to be about 60 cents per mile. Consumer reports also figured out that a compact car would cost about 45 cents per mile. That taxi cost estimation included extremely expensive insurance, which much of which is born by Uber/Lyft for TNC drivers. But as many experienced drivers on this forum will attest, there are many extra expenses in Uber/Lyft work that do not accrue in regular car ownership. Seat cushions and fabric, floor mats and carpet, door handles and latches, armrests and interior door coverings all take extraordinary wear. Additionally, external door rash collects over time as passengers open doors into parking meters or utility poles, bumper rash grows from parking and small to moderate dings happen frequently in urban driving/unfamiliar streets and late night darkness/limited visibility exposure. These dings are frequently below the $1000/$1500 deductibles of Uber and Lyft and are not repaired. These all come due at the time of sale or trade-in.

Additionally, based on Uber's own figures only about half to 65% of driving is revenue driving with the passenger in the car. In the chart below, Uber's most efficient markets have use efficiency of 55-64%. So you have to multiply your mileage summary by 1.5x to 2.0x to estimate your actual cost. Uber's figures also show that about 55% of the minutes driven have a passenger in the car in their most efficient markets, so you need to divide your hourly pay rate by 1.6 to 2.

http://econbrowser.com/archives/2016/03/uber-efficiency


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## ubercharlie (Sep 14, 2016)

Larry B said:


> It seems almost necessary to be drivin a Hybrid when you want to be the most Uber person in the world. So everyone thinks, hey cost must be low, I mean 50MPG it's half the gas. But let's not forget my good people that your brand new $25k minimum Toyota Prius is depreciating in value as you roll around looking for rides.
> 
> According to consumer reports 2013 report, although the Prius is an economical car comparatively, driving isn't cheap. They estimate "A low estimated five-year cost of 47 cents per mile". Well hmmm, I'm guessing you have to have the car for 5 years to get that low of a cost too. So lets say I drive 10 miles Ubering in an hour, that's a $5 cost for the hour when I factor in gas, insurance, depreciation, and maintenance. Oh boy. If you are just figuring in your 80 cents in gas for that 10 miles maybe you have another thing coming! Hope I had a passenger in the car for all 10 miles!


Considering it's for uberx platform use, I would invest in a 5 year old Prius.


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## geauxfish (Jun 10, 2016)

ubercharlie said:


> Considering it's for uberx platform use, I would invest in a 5 year old Prius.


I second that. Why would you buy a brand new car for uber. Buy a vehicle that won't age out for a couple of years. Keeping your operating expenses low is a must in this business. The profit margin is already low enough. Don't shoot yourself in the foot before you even leave the dealership. If your real life operating expenses are over .30/mile on X then your doing it wrong.


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## Heisenburger (Sep 19, 2016)

KevinH said:


> ...there are many extra expenses in Uber/Lyft work that do not accrue in regular car ownership. Seat cushions and fabric, floor mats and carpet, door handles and latches, armrests and interior door coverings all take extraordinary wear.


True enough. I suspect that those costs would be near-negligible on a per mile basis if one assumes that many replacement parts would be from a salvage vehicle. I mean: who would opt for a brand new armrest on a 200k mile car? Hell, I'd put some gently used floor mats to good use. And, FWIW, I've replaced no less than 6 interior and exterior door handles on two different 10-17 year old Toyotas -- those are _not_ designed to last 500k mikes like the engine and drivetrain. But, being plastic, their lifespan's are also heavily dictated by age since the repetitive heat and cold cycles weaken them a good bit.


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

Jeeves said:


> I would like to hear anyone try to argue that it costs them less then 40 cents a mile to drive their Prius.


i spend less than 40 cents a mile to drive my gas hog of an suv

gas at $3.00 15 cents a mile but gas hasn’t hit $3 here

Maintenance and repairs (actual cost over 3 years of ubering ) 4 cents a mile

Commercial insurance 4 cents a mile

operating costs add up to 23 cents a mile

Depreciation. I paid $25000 for my SUV (used with 50000 miles) I put it into service ubering at 70000 miles and I figured it was worth $18000 at that time I have driven it another 225000 miles (so far) If it was to crap out now, my depreciation expense would be 8 cents a mile I expect it to go another 100000 miles. If it does my depreciation expense will be 5.5 cents a mile.

I don’t consider depreciation an operating expense and of course depreciation does not impact cash flow and gas has been less and is going down again I figure my actual operating expenses to be about 20 cents a mile

the irs number and I bet the consumer reports number is based on a new car driven 15000 miles a year. I’ve read that depreciation amounts to 28 cents of the 59 cents That makes sense to me. The original owner of my car drove it 50000 miles over 5 years and it lost about $20000 in value in that time
That’s 40 cents a mile

the message here is: yes, a new car loses value fast. Don’t buy a new car (Prius or not)

put 200000 miles on a used $10000 used Prius and depreciation will be 5 cents a mile gas will be the 8 cents. Toyota’s are near bullet proof. So what? 3 cents a mile and you don’t need commercial insurance so maybe 2 cents a mile there

if I bought a used Prius I’d expect my expenses to be less than 20 cents a mile

if you are spending more than 40 cents a mile ubering, you are doing it wrong


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

KevinH said:


> A couple of other points:
> The taxi-like use puts extra wear and tear on a vehicle. A 10 year old research report assessed taxi cost at about 85 cents a mile while Consumer Reports the same year assessed full-size car use to be about 60 cents per mile. Consumer reports also figured out that a compact car would cost about 45 cents per mile. That taxi cost estimation included extremely expensive insurance, which much of which is born by Uber/Lyft for TNC drivers. But as many experienced drivers on this forum will attest, there are many extra expenses in Uber/Lyft work that do not accrue in regular car ownership. Seat cushions and fabric, floor mats and carpet, door handles and latches, armrests and interior door coverings all take extraordinary wear. Additionally, external door rash collects over time as passengers open doors into parking meters or utility poles, bumper rash grows from parking and small to moderate dings happen frequently in urban driving/unfamiliar streets and late night darkness/limited visibility exposure. These dings are frequently below the $1000/$1500 deductibles of Uber and Lyft and are not repaired. These all come due at the time of sale or trade-in.
> 
> Additionally, based on Uber's own figures only about half to 65% of driving is revenue driving with the passenger in the car. In the chart below, Uber's most efficient markets have use efficiency of 55-64%. So you have to multiply your mileage summary by 1.5x to 2.0x to estimate your actual cost. Uber's figures also show that about 55% of the minutes driven have a passenger in the car in their most efficient markets, so you need to divide your hourly pay rate by 1.6 to 2.
> ...


over 3 years I have a paying customer in the car about 40% of the time and about half my miles are dead miles But we aren’t talking about efficiency in this thread. We are talking about expenses per mile.

Whether you drive a Prius or a Suburban, poor efficiency will result in low income If I read it right Uber would say efficiency is a function of the market. And I would say There is not much we can do to about it. I find when I’m efficient with my time my dead miles increase, and when I’m efficient with my miles I waste a lot of time


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## guano (Aug 27, 2020)

Larry B said:


> It seems almost necessary to be drivin a Hybrid when you want to be the most Uber person in the world. So everyone thinks, hey cost must be low, I mean 50MPG it's half the gas. But let's not forget my good people that your brand new $25k minimum Toyota Prius is depreciating in value as you roll around looking for rides.
> 
> According to consumer reports 2013 report, although the Prius is an economical car comparatively, driving isn't cheap. They estimate "A low estimated five-year cost of 47 cents per mile". Well hmmm, I'm guessing you have to have the car for 5 years to get that low of a cost too. So lets say I drive 10 miles Ubering in an hour, that's a $5 cost for the hour when I factor in gas, insurance, depreciation, and maintenance. Oh boy. If you are just figuring in your 80 cents in gas for that 10 miles maybe you have another thing coming! Hope I had a passenger in the car for all 10 miles!


only an idiot buys a new prius for ride share .... buy used they drive haf a million miles without problems (if maintained correctly)


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

oldfart said:


> i spend less than 40 cents a mile to drive my gas hog of an suv
> 
> gas at $3.00 15 cents a mile but gas hasn’t hit $3 here
> 
> ...


Agree, old cars are where it's at! 2009 Dodge grand caravan, my cost including depreciation is roughly 29 or 30 cents a mile. Gas 13 cents, depreciation 5 cents (or less depending on how many miles before I scrap it), maintenence 8 to 9 cents a mile, insurance 1 cent. 

When I used a new Avalon (bought before I started ubering) I turned a 38k car into a 5k car in 6 years and 180k miles. That's 19 cents a mile right there just in depreciation.


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## SpinalCabbage (Feb 5, 2020)

guano said:


> only an idiot buys a new prius for ride share .... buy used they drive haf a million miles without problems (if maintained correctly)


I am that idiot. Bought my Prius in 2015 to do rideshare in. The car is now paid for and in good shape all things considered. But yeah, buy used, never buy new for rideshare. It is a stupid thing to do.

And to answer the question that this thread from 2014 asks: My Prius costs roughly $0.32 cents a mile to operate.


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