# Cut fares = losing money



## Obrx drvr (Aug 22, 2014)

By August 21st, I started losing money. The 25% fares cut had a direct impact on my daily income work. For example, I had two different trips from the same location to the same destination with the same itinerary, the first trip before the applied rate cut and the second after the applied fare cut. The fare of the first was $33.36, the second $26.72. By the way the second trip time travel was longer.


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

Obrx drvr said:


> By August 21st, I started losing money. The 25% fares cut had a direct impact on my daily income work. For example, I had two different trips from the same location to the same destination with the same itinerary, the first trip before the applied rate cut and the second after the applied fare cut. The fare of the first was $33.36, the second $26.72. By the way the second trip time travel was longer.


The problem with the latest cuts is they pretty much sliced up what was left of drivers net profit.

Say, just as an example, that previously you truly cleared $3 from a $10 fare, after all costs - fees, commission, gas, depreciation, etc.

Now reduce that fare by 20% to $8. So you now get about $1.60 less in proceeds from uber on that fare (80 % of the $2 decrease ).

But that $1.60 is over half of your previous $3 net profit on the ride. You really lost half of your profits from a 20% fare cut. Now your net profit is about $1.40. Your costs didn't change. Your fare dropped 20%, and your profits are cut in half.


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

Cut Fares = Uber Growing Its Market


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## Obrx drvr (Aug 22, 2014)

grams777 said:


> The problem with the latest cuts is they pretty much sliced up what was left of drivers net profit.
> 
> Say that previously you truly cleared $3 from a $10 fare, after all costs - fees, commission, gas, depreciation, etc.
> 
> ...


Yes, the Uber management does know about the basic math. The use a calculators with + key but missing the - key which applied to drivers. It's an insult to the drivers intelligence.


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## KrisThuy (Aug 6, 2014)

when the total fare get closer and closer to the same amount of miles used then that means u got screwed

ex. 22miles - 32 freaking dollars


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## Obrx drvr (Aug 22, 2014)

Sydney Uber said:


> Cut Fares = Uber Growing Its Market


Yeh, growing its drivers discontent and loosing market to the competition


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## David Madrid (Aug 11, 2014)

Sydney Uber said:


> Cut Fares = Uber Growing Its Market


OK good for you and uber I guess but not for drivers.


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## Obrx drvr (Aug 22, 2014)

David Madrid said:


> OK good for you and uber I guess but not for drivers.


I didn't see any good for drivers. When you drive 14.5 miles on 45 minutes and you end up with $27.43 minus $1 customer fee, minus %20 uber fees, minus $6 gas, minus wear and tear $0.25/mile which equals to $3.625 for this trip. Do the math.


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

David Madrid said:


> OK good for you and uber I guess but not for drivers.


Hey David, you've mis-read or read something in my post above thats not there.

If you drag your pin on the riders app all the way over the ditch to Sydney Australia, and look at tbe respective vehicle types, you'll see something similar going on - but with much worse ramifications.

Here there is an oversupply of Black cars with very few UBERX cars. (Today UBERX are flower Icons in support of Daffodil Day).

Uberx are being hit pretty hard with $1500.00 fines by regulatory authorities. A new writing of the Legislation is about to be released which will raise that to $110,000 fines. Many of the UBERX cars are licensed Prius's that carry the correct insurance cover.

But your typical Black operator has shelled out between $30,000 - $70,000 on a big sedan in response to the Uber promise of sustainable earnings.

Where I used easily get the 20 job "weekend wheels" incentive is now beyond my reach. Last night was only 4 jobs between 6pm & 2am, I had a couple of my clients to do that under wrote the shift. But becore long the Newbies who have financed cars will be going broke.

A UBERX driver typically starts with a vehicle they already own - relatively not much capital.

Whats happening here is much worse


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## stuber (Jun 30, 2014)

Ya say ya want a rev-o-lution...well ya know.

Drivers cannot live by UBER alone. I am not a commodity. I seek out clients who want me personally, not just whoever is closest at the moment they choose to push a button.

UBER will work great for most customers, but not all customers.


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## Nick Manning (May 3, 2014)

KrisThuy said:


> when the total fare get closer and closer to the same amount of miles used then that means u got screwed
> 
> ex. 22miles - 32 freaking dollars


Don't complain, it's .90 cents a mile here in Chicago lol


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## stuber (Jun 30, 2014)

So, it seems, the UBER strategy for world domination is 1: cut fares massively, that will drive demand and force the competition out of business. 2: flood the markets with cars, to meet the increase demand. Then 3: raise rates and manipulate the supply of cars, this will eventually create and equilibrium of supply and demand.

Hmmm. Not sure I wanna be a pawn in this game. The goal for me is to make my money in the fewest number of hours worked. That is the general aim of most people, I thought.

But the UBER plan has me working huge hours with large overhead, and accumulating my money through thousands of small trips. 

Somehow it seems our goals are not exactly aligned.


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## Obrx drvr (Aug 22, 2014)

Nick Manning said:


> Don't complain, it's .90 cents a mile here in Chicago lol


The cost of living in Los Angeles is %14 higher than Chicago. We're not competing for lower fares.


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## jo5eph (Jul 14, 2014)

Last night while driving around a Lyft customer,it gave me a more interesting view of where Uber is going. Now I really hope I do not offend anyone here since I will only be repeating what a customer has told me was their reason for switching to Lyft. 

Customer uses both companies but prefers Lyft more now but only uses Uber if they are in a pinch. The biggest thing they hate about uber is they noticed a lot of foreign sounding drivers for Uberx. They feel like it is like being in a taxi again ,but cheaper. They find it hard to communicate with some of the drivers when they are trying to give them directions. Customers comment was Lyft seems to have more "English speaking drivers but still some foreign sounding ones once in while". He likes the fact with lyft ,he can hop in the front seat and not have the driver look surprised. When the passenger learned that I was not of middle eastern decent and born here, he blurted out ,since he was drunk, "Im glad you don't sound like your saying Dirka Dirka Dirka!" Now I felt since he was drunk,I can't really hold it against him. But I had a similar comment sometime ago when I was driving another customer for Uber. 

Im sure eventually Lyft might do the same with their rates and cut their drivers rates someday. If both companies cut their rates even more,then these opportunities to drive will only be attractive to people who HAVE to work for peanuts.


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## David Madrid (Aug 11, 2014)

Sydney Uber said:


> Hey David, you've mis-read or read something in my post above thats not there.
> 
> If you drag your pin on the riders app all the way over the ditch to Sydney Australia, and look at tbe respective vehicle types, you'll see something similar going on - but with much worse ramifications.
> 
> ...


You didn't say all that


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## Nick Manning (May 3, 2014)

jo5eph said:


> Customer uses both companies but prefers Lyft more now but only uses Uber if they are in a pinch. The biggest thing they hate about uber is they noticed a lot of foreign sounding drivers for Uberx. They feel like it is like being in a taxi again ,but cheaper.


I can only speak for Chicago but most UberX drivers are ex-taxi drivers...and most taxi drivers are either of Middle Eastern or African decent.

But anway, who cares? Why do people care if their drivers have an accent? I mean just shut up and get driven to where you gotta go. All you have to do is either input your destination in the app or give them your address!


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## Will in Orlando (Nov 30, 2014)

Nick Manning said:


> Don't complain, it's .90 cents a mile here in Chicago lol


 $.75 cents in Orlando.


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## Will in Orlando (Nov 30, 2014)

$.75 a mile in Orlando. Took a 23 mile trip and no rides on the way back and made 19.00 after Uber's cut. Figure $5.00 for gas and $18 for depreciation and I lost money. If I didn't have a vasectomy I'd be selling my sperm instead of driving for Uber until the rates go back up.


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## unter ling (Sep 29, 2014)

Will in Orlando said:


> $.75 a mile in Orlando. Took a 23 mile trip and no rides on the way back and made 19.00 after Uber's cut. Figure $5.00 for gas and $18 for depreciation and I lost money. If I didn't have a vasectomy I'd be selling my sperm instead of driving for Uber until the rates go back up.


MMMMM, rates going up? Thats optimistic. You might want to consider having that proceedure reversed


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