# If you can't make money, why do you drive?



## BeepBeepImaJeep (Jul 7, 2016)

I'm genuinely curious, I have seen in my short time on the forums a lot of negativity and saying that you can't make any money driving for uber (which I understand with the X platform and fare reduction is a fair assessment) why do you still drive uber? I mean it has to be one or the other right? Or else everyone is just banging their head against the wall because they enjoy the abuse? Help me understand!


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## shiftydrake (Dec 12, 2015)

My thoughts exactly..........why put up with it?.........uless you enjoy destroying your personal car for the small amount you get.........but what do I know .....right?


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## Ted1 (Jun 22, 2016)

Well let me try to answer and this is for me I can't speak for everyone. I started driving over one year ago and uber said I can make great money. Well I did for the first six or seven months so I thought wow I got some good extra cash flow so I can use my credit and buy a couple things for the family. Now over a year later uber has dropped the rates to .87 cents per mile and I'm barley hanging on to make my minimum payments. Now I'm not whining and I don't blame anyone but myself for being in this situation well maybe uber a little. So I'm at the point I really don't know what else to do I still work my full time job that I have been at for many years. I just keep hoping it will get better but now I'm starting to think that is not going to happen. Anyway for some of us it's not that easy to just walk away believe me I wish I could.


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## Santa (Jan 3, 2016)

A question that had been asked over and over again and ANSWERED over and over again.

Search the forum and you'll get 100s of answers to your curiosity. Don't be lazy.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Uber is allright if you need a few extra dollars to pay the cable bill, take the wife out to dinner and a show here and there or if you are between jobs and need a little cash flow.

Even for those who are getting that out of TNC work, people always do want more money. Maybe Bloomberg, Soros, The Donald or Buffett have more money than they really need, but most people do not.


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## the rebel (Jun 12, 2016)

I was put into a bad position by getting talked to moving to a city 5 hours from anybody I knew by my wife's family, based on some promises of a bunch of leads for my previous work. It of course did not work out but I tried a little to long to make it work, then came back to the Denver area while still in a bind. Despite knowing about and reading this board I thought it could not be that bad so I jumped onto the Uber rental program for a month while I was trying to save money to get my car repaired and find a suitable job. Even with us staying with family for that month I was not able to make enough to keep the family fed and involved with their activities despite working 65 hours per week. I ended up borrowing the money to repair my car and things were a little better driving for uber and lyft but I did not get back on my feet until I found a decent job and now only drive a few hours a week making some side money to start paying off some debt.


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## BeepBeepImaJeep (Jul 7, 2016)

Santa said:


> A question that had been asked over and over again and ANSWERED over and over again.
> 
> Search the forum and you'll get 100s of answers to your curiosity. Don't be lazy.


If this was a question with a finite number of responses I wouldn't open a thread about it. But an ever evolving world, with new drivers and new responses are worth hearing about. I don't need the archives for that. It doesn't have anything to do with being lazy. Obviously, if it bothers you though... You don't have to read this one.


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## Mooney (Jul 11, 2016)

It sure beats watching television.


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## Hoon1e (May 8, 2016)

people are lying. i used to read the negativity as well. depends where u are driving. i know FOR A FACT after expenses that DC drivers that drive part time make a good buck.. i drive around 10-20 hours and ALWAYS make around 20-24 an hour. and in bowie (suburbs) i do usually 16 an hour with no surge


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## Ted1 (Jun 22, 2016)

Hoon1e said:


> people are lying. i used to read the negativity as well. depends where u are driving. i know FOR A FACT after expenses that DC drivers that drive part time make a good buck.. i drive around 10-20 hours and ALWAYS make around 20-24 an hour. and in bowie (suburbs) i do usually 16 an hour with no surge


Good for you pal not everyone lives where you live and the rates here are 87 cents per mile. So I don't think anyone is lying.


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## MaximusMurkimus (Jun 2, 2016)

I do this to supplement my high-expense lifestyle with my day job

.....And to save up for various things. 

There's money in it, just not as much as there once was.


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

How would Travis be able to afford his lavish lifestyle if not for his Uberserfs doing their all for his benefit? That's why I drive Uber.


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## MikesUber (Oct 23, 2015)

MaximusMurkimus said:


> I do this to supplement my high-expense lifestyle with my day job
> 
> .....And to save up for various things.
> 
> There's money in it, just not as much as there once was.


 Couldn't have said it better myself


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## Bill Collector (Dec 17, 2015)

Daytime job is boring.. Driving Uber entertains me while paying peanuts.


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## RJA (Jun 27, 2016)

Mooney said:


> It sure beats watching television.


I quit driving for a couple of weeks. Then one Saturday I had absolutely nothing to do so I got online with Uber. I drove for another couple of days that I was bored. After seeing how much money I made, I decided I really wasn't THAT bored.

I only tried it again for something to do. After careful consideration, I decided I could lose money in more interesting ways than driving people in my car. I'll go play golf and spend less money on that than I lose driving for Uber.


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## Ubernic (Apr 24, 2016)

Hoon1e said:


> people are lying. i used to read the negativity as well. depends where u are driving. i know FOR A FACT after expenses that DC drivers that drive part time make a good buck.. i drive around 10-20 hours and ALWAYS make around 20-24 an hour. and in bowie (suburbs) i do usually 16 an hour with no surge


I feel the same way, I make plenty of money, to the point I need to make large tax paments now because so much cash is coming in. Then I watch all of these guys say they don't make anything.


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## Lilly45 (Jul 25, 2016)

Ubernic said:


> I feel the same way, I make plenty of money, to the point I need to make large tax paments now because so much cash is coming in. Then I watch all of these guys say they don't make anything.


I drive uber in Kansas City and I can tell you right now , that I'm making less then a dollar a mile so far I've had 1 surge and the rest have been flat rates . I'm unberX worked the royals game last night drove 20.3 miles and made 16 bucks that was the biggest fare I had all night, all other fares that night were 5 dollars and under and most of the trips were 5 miles some of them were a little less miles and some of the fares I picked up I made 2.36 for a trip . So the Kansas City area so far has not been good to me. I'm going to only start working the weekends because I heard that's when you get the surge money.. I'm spending 25 dollars a day in gas and barley making any money. Maybe you are in a better city but Kansas City is not been good to me so far. any advice would be great. Thank you


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## Ubernic (Apr 24, 2016)

UberX non surge needs incentives and lots of grinding, or waiting for surge it seems. I know a guy who makes $1500 weekly, but he is pumping out 100+ rides a week long hours plus getting incentives.


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## Lilly45 (Jul 25, 2016)

Ubernic said:


> UberX non surge needs incentives and lots of grinding, or waiting for surge it seems. I know a guy who makes $1500 weekly, but he is pumping out 100+ rides a week long hours plus getting incentives.


I started working for uber Saturday and I've worked every day usually starting around 6 pm and working until about 1:30 am.. My fares have been extremely low and barley any tips some but not many.. I've spent 50 dollars in gas in the 3 days I've worked and I have made less then 200 bucks.. Just trying to figure out the best times work and try to hit some surges.. I believe from my calculations I'm making 82 cents per mile or less. I picked up a fare at the royals game last night , it was a flat rate I drove 20.3 miles and made 16.94.. That In my opinion is terrible even a flat rate that is bad. Also I'm uberX I had 4 people in my car. the guy that's making a 1000 bucks a week must be working 24/7 or hitting a lot of surges..


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## Webster614 (Jul 7, 2016)

I do it because I lost my job about a month ago. I'm in Philly, and it's 1.10 per mile. Most of my fares are small 5-8 bucks a pop, but once a night I'll hit a 20+. I hardly see surge here, it seems like when I see the surge on the map and head that way, usually a 5 minute ride) I either get zero rides or the second I cross into the surge it goes away. It can definitely be frustrating at times but I figure I'm making about $90 a night on average and working Thursday-Saturday. I avoid Monday through Wednesday at all costs, there's no money in it at night. Now that I've been able to pocket some extra cash, I put my son back in day care and I'm gonna start working the mornings for a little bit until I go back to work. Right now the DNC is in town so I'm hoping that will give me a nice bump this week (last night was a good night - though the Uber lot and the way they designed it was downright awful).

But anyway, that's why I Uber. I need the cash between jobs to stay afloat and it's been a godsend. I plan to continue doing the Thursday-Saturday night driving after I start work to save up to buy a house next year. I love meeting the different people, hearing the different stories, it's an interesting "hobby/job". I truly enjoy it.


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## Lilly45 (Jul 25, 2016)

Webster614 said:


> I do it because I lost my job about a month ago. I'm in Philly, and it's 1.10 per mile. Most of my fares are small 5-8 bucks a pop, but once a night I'll hit a 20+. I hardly see surge here, it seems like when I see the surge on the map and head that way, usually a 5 minute ride) I either get zero rides or the second I cross into the surge it goes away. It can definitely be frustrating at times but I figure I'm making about $90 a night on average and working Thursday-Saturday. I avoid Monday through Wednesday at all costs, there's no money in it at night. Now that I've been able to pocket some extra cash, I put my son back in day care and I'm gonna start working the mornings for a little bit until I go back to work. Right now the DNC is in town so I'm hoping that will give me a nice bump this week (last night was a good night - though the Uber lot and the way they designed it was downright awful).
> 
> But anyway, that's why I Uber. I need the cash between jobs to stay afloat and it's been a godsend. I plan to continue doing the Thursday-Saturday night driving after I start work to save up to buy a house next year. I love meeting the different people, hearing the different stories, it's an interesting "hobby/job". I truly enjoy it.


I like meeting the different people too .. That part I do enjoy. I think I'm going to do like you do and only work it Thursday through saturdays.. Nice to talk with you , so you say your in Philly , yes you should have a good week with the DNC there. (Hopefully) I'm in KC but, I've been hearing the same thing from other uber drivers >work thursday through saturday. So I'm going to give that a try this week. Good luck out there. Thanks for your advice.


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## I Aint Jo Mama (May 2, 2016)

BeepBeepImaJeep said:


> I'm genuinely curious, I have seen in my short time on the forums a lot of negativity and saying that you can't make any money driving for uber (which I understand with the X platform and fare reduction is a fair assessment) why do you still drive uber? I mean it has to be one or the other right? Or else everyone is just banging their head against the wall because they enjoy the abuse? Help me understand!


I do it for the tax write off at the end of the year and the great tips we get!!!


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## newptdriver (Jul 26, 2016)

now only drive a few hours a week making some side money to start paying off some debt.[/QUOTE]

That is exactly what I'm doing, student here with full time job and some debts, so I started working part time to try to pay everything off, but it is definitely for what I can see not something that you can live from in my opinion, if you don't get a good long boost drive you make nothing fro what you invest (time), I love driving so I actually enjoy it and putting miles in my car is whatever since I'm going to eventually sell it so.


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## gofry (Oct 20, 2015)

Despite the huge turnover of drivers, there are always enough of them that won't or can't do the real math to determine profitability (if any). 

There is also the emotional aspect of dwelling in denial and not wanting to face failure. 

Finally, no one likes looking for a job, so it's easy to tell yourself that you have a job when you drive for Uber.


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## UberIsAScam (Mar 9, 2016)

In Orlando the rate is $0.65 a mile $0.11 per minute for X. When you factor in dead miles (there's a lot of them here), gas and wear and tear on the vehicle, it's impossible to even make minimum wage. Fuber preys the unemployed, senior citizens, immigrants that don't speak English and anyone else that is clueless enough to drive.


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## U for Uber (Jun 28, 2016)

Lilly45 said:


> I started working for uber Saturday and I've worked every day usually starting around 6 pm and working until about 1:30 am.. My fares have been extremely low and barley any tips some but not many.. I've spent 50 dollars in gas in the 3 days I've worked and I have made less then 200 bucks.. Just trying to figure out the best times work and try to hit some surges.. I believe from my calculations I'm making 82 cents per mile or less. I picked up a fare at the royals game last night , it was a flat rate I drove 20.3 miles and made 16.94.. That In my opinion is terrible even a flat rate that is bad. Also I'm uberX I had 4 people in my car. the guy that's making a 1000 bucks a week must be working 24/7 or hitting a lot of surges..


That dude is working smart not hard... something a lot Uberites forget about. You can make the same money if you worked like 10 hours on a Wednesday evening in the burbs vs 2 hours on a weekend night in downtown. I think this stands true at ANY market... serious.

I probably exaggerated the numbers a bit and could've added a +/-, but you should get the idea, young grasshopper.


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## simpsonsverytall (Nov 6, 2015)

Uber sucks

I was making $10-15/hr Net after expenses, while doing awesome. Working like a beast. Working smart.

Then, after 1,100 trips, in the middle of the year, Uber suddenly said my 2005 Altima is too old to operate on 7/6/16.
This came w/out any notice.
A week after I spent 2 days and a couple hundred in repairs to pass inspection on 6/20/16.

Then Uber says I am allowed to work Washington D.C. only.
However my app /vehicle doesn't work in D.C. either.

Then Uber has my app randomly working.
They literally couldn't do a better job of F'ing w/ me if they were to purposely do so, as they have me working a few days like mad, then my app randomly goes back to the error message. Messing up my week, fooling me into thinking that all is well.

$280 my first 2 days when it was working
$280 on my best week during the random crap
$40 on my worst week during the random crap
$100 this week during the random crap

Overall a bad bad month for me, with expenses far exceeding income.

Customer service is horrible!!!
I drove to the office hoping to find someone with a brain. Nope.

Then one of the customer service people at the office actually told me that in an issue that she says was NOT related to my app issues "I shouldn't be allowed to drive, because my background check is still pending"
This is after having transported 1100 trip requests and several thousand pax !! 

AHAHAH HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHA 

These people are idiots!!!

No way I am taking a loan to pay a car note.
$10-15/hr Net 
- car note
----------------
= either 'fast food' wages or LONG weeks w/out overtime pay


Working on a 2008 Hyundai in the garage.
Working on a deal to 'trade cars' a few days a week with a relative.

Giving Washington D.C. one more try today.

Very close to leaving FUBAR in the rear-view.


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## UberIsAScam (Mar 9, 2016)

Reading the differences between different cities is hilarious. In DC your 2005 was too old to operate? Come on down to Orlando, they let pretty much any piece of crap on the road. 2001 or newer. That's right, 15 year old vehicles. Oh yeah, and the pay is a whopping $0.65 a mile!

Car didn't pass inspection? What inspection? In Orlando you never interact with another human being. Got a license and insurance? Good to go! Need help along the way? Send an email, sorry, no phone number!

And you went to the office? Yeah, we don't have one of those either. I believe there may be one in Miami, which is 4 hours from here.


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## reg barclay (Nov 3, 2015)

Those who follow this view claim that current uber x rates in their area do not (or barely) cover the expenses involved ( such as car depreciation, wear and tear, gas). I'm neither agreeing nor disagreeing with this premise (I think costs can vary widely based on many factors, such as which car you own, what else you use the car for, where and how you drive etc,) but i'll try to put forward some reasons why someone who believes they can't make money at uber x rates would still drive.

1.) They only take surge trips.
2.) They are otherwise lonely and/or bored and driving people around even if they only break even gives them something to do.
3.) They get some form of government benefits which hinge on them engaging in work.
4.) They bought a new car which they regret but feel they may as well keep the car now and cash out it's worth bit by bit, rather then sell it and buy and older one and potentially lose money in trading it through a dealer or mess around selling it.


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## U for Uber (Jun 28, 2016)

UberIsAScam said:


> Reading the differences between different cities is hilarious. In DC your 2005 was too old to operate? Come on down to Orlando, they let pretty much any piece of crap on the road. 2001 or newer. That's right, 15 year old vehicles. Oh yeah, and the pay is a whopping $0.65 a mile!
> 
> Car didn't pass inspection? What inspection? In Orlando you never interact with another human being. Got a license and insurance? Good to go! Need help along the way? Send an email, sorry, no phone number!
> 
> And you went to the office? Yeah, we don't have one of those either. I believe there may be one in Miami, which is 4 hours from here.


$0.65 is definitely the worse I've seen. I wouldn't drive. Chicago isn't much better at $.90/mile, $.20/min, but it's all about driving smart vs hard.

Kinda off topic, but does anyone know which city has the lowest and highest rates for UberX? I've seen Orlando the lowest at $.65/mile and NYC the highest at $1.75. Almost 3x more! RIP FL!


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## UberIsAScam (Mar 9, 2016)

U for Uber said:


> $0.65 is definitely the worse I've seen. I wouldn't drive. Chicago isn't much better at $.90/mile, $.20/min, but it's all about driving smart vs hard.
> 
> Kinda off topic, but does anyone know which city has the lowest and highest rates for UberX? I've seen Orlando the lowest at $.65/mile and NYC the highest at $1.75. Almost 3x more! RIP FL!


In addition to that, there is a major over saturation of drivers. So IF there is a surge (which is rare), it lasts for about a minute. Most people just wait until the surge is over and then request their ride. Due to the odd layout of the city (everything is spread out) about 2/3 of the miles you drive are dead miles with no passengers in the vehicle.

I quit when they dropped it down to $.75 because it wasn't profitable. Now, the only people driving are poor people that are desperate, senior citizens, immigrants that don't speak English, and then people that are just plain dumb and don't realize they are trashing their car for nothing. I'd say the average life of an Uber driver here is 3 months. Most figure out the scam by then. Not sure about other markets, but Uber constantly runs radio and tv ads. But they aren't targeted to the rider. They only advertise for drivers. I think that itself speaks volumes.

I believe there are markets that are lower than Orlando's $.65/mile $.11/min but I'm not sure which.


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## simpsonsverytall (Nov 6, 2015)

I have an 'action plan' if D.C. doesn't work again today...


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## UberIsAScam (Mar 9, 2016)

In Orlando, panhandling would probably be more profitable. I'd give $5 to a guy holding up a sign that read "please help, I'm an Uber driver."


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## simpsonsverytall (Nov 6, 2015)

Drove to D.C. went online (something I can't even do in Maryland), but after 45 minutes did not get a single trip request.

When my app works, it takes no more than 15 minutes to get a trip request in D.C. (if that). 
This is on a Friday night.

Obviously FUBAR has uber'd my app.

3 attempts to go to DC since the "2005 no longer operate greater md., you may operate in DC" crap began.

No, I didn't panhandle. Drove the 1:10 min home and then took a great walk.



simpsonsverytall said:


> I have an 'action plan' if D.C. doesn't work again today...


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## Uberest (Jul 29, 2015)

The $ is ok in DC area I am a part-timer and enjoy ubering -- mostly. I do get non- monetary benefits which I did not realize at first.... But which I now enjoy. May sound a bit weird, but I feel more "connected" to society and culture and meet people I otherwise would never meet.


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