# $.75 per mile drivers?



## Just for fun Detroit (Oct 12, 2014)

I am wondering if any of the drivers driving at $.75 a mile could enlighten me as to how they could possibly make any money? Just curious. Thank you.


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## SydX (Sep 8, 2014)

The curious ones are all bankrupt lol


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## Lidman (Nov 13, 2014)

Just for fun Detroit said:


> I am wondering if any of the drivers driving at $.75 a mile could enlighten me as to how they could possibly make any money? Just curious. Thank you.


Surges, guarantees (if any)


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## Just for fun Detroit (Oct 12, 2014)

Lidman said:


> Surges, guarantees (if any)


Yeah. I can see the surges at 2X and higher but that is not real common here and guarantees are gone here! So that's not it.


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## Chicago-uber (Jun 18, 2014)

$0.90 pre uber cut market here.. Drive mostly surges.. If no surge, I'd rather park and wait it out. Try to minimize dead miles.


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## Brady (Oct 6, 2014)

I'm in Grand Rapids which has the same $.75 rates as Detroit. My operating costs (depreciation, gas, and banking for regular maintenance) are $.42 on every $1 I earn from Uber at those rates. I drive a pre-owned Prius. If I were driving without paying attention to guarantees, I'd be making well below Michigan's $8.15 minimum wage. Instead, I only drive during guarantee hours, getting my minimum number of rides in, usually minimum fare rides in our downtown area, and then hiding out, relaxing and reading my Kindle in an area of our service territory where I'm highly unlikely to get ride requests. I deliberately avoid surge pricing for two reasons. It just eats away at the guarantees Uber would need to pay me. And riders in my market consistently punish drivers with low ratings during surges. I understand Detroit no longer has guarantees. Without them in Grand Rapids, I'd only be doing 1 ride per month while rates remain this low. Without guarantees, once you subtract operating costs, even with a highly efficient car like a Prius, you'd be making more per hour working at McDonald's than Uber. What we've seen in a number of markets around the country is Uber cutting rates twice like they've now done in Detroit and Grand Rapids and then raising rates once they feel demand has leveled off and riders become dependent on the service. I suspect within a year we'll be up to $.90 per mile like Chicago has and with higher demand than we have now.


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## Lidman (Nov 13, 2014)

SydX said:


> The curious ones are all bankrupt lol


Or went on to bigger and better things. Even working at McD's or BK or CVS would be an improvement.


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## johnywinslow (Oct 30, 2014)

why would anyone drive for less then 1$ a mile?


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## Just for fun Detroit (Oct 12, 2014)

johnywinslow said:


> why would anyone drive for less then 1$ a mile?


I don't know. That is what I am trying to have explained to me. The rider app is full of drivers all day every day and I don't understand it.


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## SydX (Sep 8, 2014)

They're curious to see if they CAN make money... Once they find out they cant, they go bankrupt, then a new bunch of drivers try out their curiosity & so the cycle of uberlife continues lol


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## Brady (Oct 6, 2014)

johnywinslow said:


> why would anyone drive for less then 1$ a mile?


Many aren't calculating total business costs particularly depreciation and maintenance. They're only looking at gasoline as an immediate operating cost. That's a big mistake. The majority are doing it out of ignorance at rates that low. A minority are doing it out of desperation due to an immediate need for money. Driving for Uber is a relatively easy job that requires no education requirements or training other than a basic drivers license and it pays out weekly. Food service or bartending, in comparison, are physically demanding jobs. And real estate requires a lot of up front costs and monthly fees to one's broker without any guaranteed payouts. Uber CAN be a great job, especially a great second job, with an efficient vehicle and a smart business plan. But without either, it pays well below minimum wage in low rate markets and can even up costing some drivers more than they make.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

Brady said:


> I'm in Grand Rapids which has the same $.75 rates as Detroit. My operating costs (depreciation, gas, and banking for regular maintenance) are $.42 on every $1 I earn from Uber at those rates. I drive a pre-owned Prius. If I were driving without paying attention to guarantees, I'd be making well below Michigan's $8.15 minimum wage. Instead, I only drive during guarantee hours, getting my minimum number of rides in, usually minimum fare rides in our downtown area, and then hiding out, relaxing and reading my Kindle in an area of our service territory where I'm highly unlikely to get ride requests. I deliberately avoid surge pricing for two reasons. It just eats away at the guarantees Uber would need to pay me. And riders in my market consistently punish drivers with low ratings during surges. I understand Detroit no longer has guarantees. Without them in Grand Rapids, I'd only be doing 1 ride per month while rates remain this low. Without guarantees, once you subtract operating costs, even with a highly efficient car like a Prius, you'd be making more per hour working at McDonald's than Uber. What we've seen in a number of markets around the country is Uber cutting rates twice like they've now done in Detroit and Grand Rapids and then raising rates once they feel demand has leveled off and riders become dependent on the service. I suspect within a year we'll be up to $.90 per mile like Chicago has and with higher demand than we have now.


$.75 or $.90, no difference. Do you suppose many drivers just work the guarantees? That's assuming they are being offered in your area.


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## Brady (Oct 6, 2014)

Huberis said:


> $.75 or $.90, no difference. Do you suppose many drivers just work the guarantees? That's assuming they are being offered in your area.


The difference between $.75 and $.90 when you calculate in total operating costs is significant due to the increased amount of miles you need to drive to make the same net amount at the end of the week. Equally significant are guarantees, demand & surges. In Grand Rapids, there are far more drivers on-line during guarantee periods than during mid-day, off-guarantee periods. This week, I will be online 23 hours in Grand Rapids and will make about $200 net driving only guarantee hours. This weekend, I will be online 24 hours in Chicago and will make about $700 net driving only guarantee hours. Because Chicago is under near-constant low surges on weekends, their $.90 rate compared to Detroit/Grand Rapid's $.75 rate makes a huge difference in increasing my hourly earnings and decreasing my total operating costs. Even in Grand Rapids, where surges are less common, due to the guarantees, I made $10.32/ride on average last week.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

Guarantees have been gone for a few weeks in RDU and yet folks continue to drive for .85 a mile. I don't see any sign of the herd thinning out. What's worse is that I see a lot of drivers who are qualified for select driving select and X. There is absolutely no way that you can be making any money at all if you have a luxury car driving at .85 a mile, can't be done!


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

Brady said:


> The difference between $.75 and $.90 when you calculate in total operating costs is significant due to the increased amount of miles you need to drive to make the same net amount at the end of the week. Equally significant are guarantees, demand & surges. In Grand Rapids, there are far more drivers on-line during guarantee periods than during mid-day, off-guarantee periods. This week, I will be online 23 hours in Grand Rapids and will make about $200 net driving only guarantee hours. This weekend, I will be online 24 hours in Chicago and will make about $700 net driving only guarantee hours. Because Chicago is under near-constant low surges on weekends, their $.90 rate compared to Detroit/Grand Rapid's $.75 rate makes a huge difference in increasing my hourly earnings and decreasing my total operating costs. Even in Grand Rapids, where surges are less common, due to the guarantees, I made $10.32/ride on average last week.


Pure torture having to concern yourself with all that bullshit. Too much micromanagement. The number of drivers is a big issue no doubt. If you work the guarantees.....

Do you include the commute time and cost to get to Chicago? I didn't think you would be able to drive a car licensed and register from out of state, that isn't an issue?


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## Txchick (Nov 25, 2014)

Brady said:


> I'm in Grand Rapids which has the same $.75 rates as Detroit. My operating costs (depreciation, gas, and banking for regular maintenance) are $.42 on every $1 I earn from Uber at those rates. I drive a pre-owned Prius. If I were driving without paying attention to guarantees, I'd be making well below Michigan's $8.15 minimum wage. Instead, I only drive during guarantee hours, getting my minimum number of rides in, usually minimum fare rides in our downtown area, and then hiding out, relaxing and reading my Kindle in an area of our service territory where I'm highly unlikely to get ride requests. I deliberately avoid surge pricing for two reasons. It just eats away at the guarantees Uber would need to pay me. And riders in my market consistently punish drivers with low ratings during surges. I understand Detroit no longer has guarantees. Without them in Grand Rapids, I'd only be doing 1 ride per month while rates remain this low. Without guarantees, once you subtract operating costs, even with a highly efficient car like a Prius, you'd be making more per hour working at McDonald's than Uber. What we've seen in a number of markets around the country is Uber cutting rates twice like they've now done in Detroit and Grand Rapids and then raising rates once they feel demand has leveled off and riders become dependent on the service. I suspect within a year we'll be up to $.90 per mile like Chicago has and with higher demand than we have now.


@.90 cents per mile your still not making money.


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## Brady (Oct 6, 2014)

Huberis said:


> Pure torture having to concern yourself with all that bullshit. Too much micromanagement. The number of drivers is a big issue no doubt. If you work the guarantees.....
> 
> Do you include the commute time and cost to get to Chicago? I didn't think you would be able to drive a car licensed and register from out of state, that isn't an issue?


Uber Chicago allows out-of-state drivers. A number of Uber markets do, some don't. I take friends with me to Chicago as I have been for years. We split the gas. For my Prius, a round-trip is $25.
Running a business requires business management skills. Fortunately, it's all basic math that doesn't take much time at all. Being a Realtor or running an independent small business requires far more management than being an Uber driver.


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## Brady (Oct 6, 2014)

Txchick said:


> @.90 cents per mile your still not making money.


Sure I am. Due to surges and guarantees, my total operating costs and taxes while driving in Chicago average $.34 out of every $1 net I earn from Uber at 90 cent/mile rates and while driving in Grand Rapids $.42 out of every $1 net I earn from Uber at 75 cent/mile rates . My profit after taxes and costs in Chicago is 66% and 58% in Grand Rapids. You'd be hard pressed to find another small business making that percentage after operating costs and taxes are subtracted. I think many of the people complaining about not making money under Uber have no personal business management experience. If you can't make money at .90 cents/mile despite surges and guarantees, it's likely due to operating a vehicle with high depreciation and maintenance costs and/or poor fuel economy or you're attempting to drive during hours without surges and guarantees.


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## Txchick (Nov 25, 2014)

Brady said:


> Sure I am. Due to surges and guarantees, my total operating costs and taxes while driving in Chicago average $.34 out of every $1 net I earn from Uber at 90 cent/mile rates and while driving in Grand Rapids $.42 out of every $1 net I earn from Uber at 75 cent/mile rates . My profit after taxes and costs in Chicago is 66% and 58% in Grand Rapids. You'd be hard pressed to find another small business making that percentage after operating costs and taxes are subtracted. I think many of the people complaining about not making money under Uber have no personal business management experience. If you can't make money at .90 cents/mile despite surges and guarantees, it's likely due to operating a vehicle with high depreciation and maintenance costs and/or poor fuel economy or you're attempting to drive during hours without surges and guarantees.


Not in dallas market your not. We do not have surges as lengthy as some markets ie Chicago. Our guarantees when available if any are not that high per hour. I quit driving Uber part time at rate cut in Jan 2015. I have a full time job I sell large format plotters to the govt sector. I understand business Einstein. I drove a car getting 36 hwy 28 in town. It depends a lot on what market u drive. Lastly the driver market is saturated in Dallas TX.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

I thought if you work a guarantee...... You jump through the hoops at the given time periods, one call/hour, 50 of 60 minutes, minimum driver rating, calls often need to originate say in a particular city as opposed to out in the burbs...... Then you make the so called guarantee of X amount of dollars.

I don't even understand how the surges mater if you are working the guarantee.

Brady What do you use for personal insurance to cover your car? You seem to have created a protocol that works out for you, how do you protect your car in the event of an accident? By most accounts, James River does not have your back.


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## Brady (Oct 6, 2014)

Huberis said:


> I thought if you work a guarantee...... You jump through the hoops at the given time periods, one call/hour, 50 of 60 minutes, minimum driver rating, calls often need to originate say in a particular city as opposed to out in the burbs...... Then you make the so called guarantee of X amount of dollars.
> 
> I don't even understand how the surges mater if you are working the guarantee.
> 
> Brady What do you use for personal insurance to cover your car? You seem to have created a protocol that works out for you, how do you protect your car in the event of an accident? By most accounts, James River does not have your back.


You are correct, surges don't matter if you are working the guarantees as they simply reduce the amount of guarantee Uber needs to pay you. I work the guarantees in Grand Rapids where our rates are only $.75/mile. I have always surpassed the guarantee amounts while driving weekends in Chicago due in large part to their near-constant weekend surges.

Getting into the insurance issue would be off-topic for this thread. There are numerous other threads that deal with the debate over insurance coverage including how valid Uber's commercial policy is while driving.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

Brady said:


> You are correct, surges don't matter if you are working the guarantees as they simply reduce the amount of guarantee Uber needs to pay you. I work the guarantees in Grand Rapids where our rates are only $.75/mile. I have always surpassed the guarantee amounts while driving weekends in Chicago due in large part to their near-constant weekend surges.
> 
> Getting into the insurance issue would be off-topic for this thread. There are numerous other threads that deal with the debate over insurance coverage including how valid Uber's commercial policy is while driving.


I assumed it would be on topic in that you suggest you net a certain amount of money per week. If you are doing your thing simply under personal insurance, well your costs will be much lower and your risk far higher. I was curious to put it in a perspective that is more meaningful to me.

I haven't gone back in the thread, but I thought you said you do in fact opt in for the guarantees in both GR and Chicago.


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## Pubsber (Mar 24, 2015)

Wonder why the .75 cent drivers hasnt gone on strike yet. I honestly think it is really messed up for uber to charge anything less than $1. Theres plenty of temp jobs that pay $10 an hour and they will hire almost anyone for those jobs. Also if you have experience driving for uber than you probably can get a job at pizza hut or dominoes as delivery drivers. pretty decent money.


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## Brady (Oct 6, 2014)

Huberis said:


> I haven't gone back in the thread, but I thought you said you do in fact opt in for the guarantees in both GR and Chicago.


I always opt in for the guarantees but have always surpassed them in Chicago. The requests and surges are too frequent to benefit from them there.


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