# Making money at $.90/mile - whaaaat??



## gman (Jul 28, 2014)

I thought according to all the math professors and various whiners on the board it couldn't be done?

Anyway I thought I would take stock of my first four months performance and compile the numbers. For a little background, I have been doing this for about 1.5 yrs and work primarily mornings, maybe an hour or so before work weekdays and Sat and Sun mornings for about 5 hours each. Have definitely logged over 2000 trips so I'm no newbie.

Without further ado, here are the numbers for the first four months of this year:

Total miles: 6280
Miles with PAX: 3124
Earnings: $4032
Cost @ $.28/mi: $1758
Net Profit: $2274
Taxable Profit: $421

None of these numbers are disputable with the exception of the cost per mile. Anticipating all you pompous, know it all jackholes (you know who you are) who are going to say that my cost figure is way too low, I will just say that this is based on my detailed, real world calculations and verified by reputable third party sources. For those so inclined you can go to Kelley Blue Book online 5 year cost of ownership and plug in 2014 Toyota Corolla with no financing and 25,000 miles/yr and see what you come up with. And I am not even subtracting out the $.04 or so that applies to registration and insurance, which I could do as I am paying those already whether I Uber or not, so there is a built in buffer there.

So it is with 100% certainty I can say I'm making money, as my miles and the IRS rate cannot be questioned. The only thing that can be questioned is how much.

And for those who are going to say what about all the increased wear and tear on my vehicle, I will say that with the exception of some scuff marks on the back of the front passenger seat, everything looks fine. I do not drive in inclement weather (not that we have any here in SoCal), and I do not park the car where the PAX has the opportunity to open it into something. A little common sense will help keep your car looking new. My car was new when I started this and still looks new to this day.

As a nice side bonus, my weekday morning rides nearly always take me to the airport, which is very close to my regular job, so virtually every work commute is written off. Some of the other miles are miles I would have driven anyway as well.

So yes, I would say it is possible to make Uber work for you, even at these low rates. Don't get me wrong, I am not happy about making half what I used to working the same hours, but it is what it is.


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## DrJeecheroo (Feb 12, 2015)

Is what it is, is another way of saying doom.


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

A taxable profit of $421 in 4 months and you want respect?


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## gman (Jul 28, 2014)

itsablackmarket said:


> A taxable profit of $421 in 4 months and you want respect?


Never mentioned anything about respect in my post, and don't need it from you or anyone else. Simply posting some actual numbers to show you can make money even at these low rates, in spite of certain posters droning on constantly about how it's not possible.

As far as you making fun of my taxable profit of only $421, maybe you should take an Accounting 101 class at your local community college, assuming you could actually qualify for admission, lol. If I'm only being taxed on about 10% of my net earnings, then that is indeed a good thing. Now if you want to make fun of only making $4000 in four months then go right ahead, but it's $1000/mo I didn't have before, and it only costs me a few less hours of sleep in the mornings.


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## UberProphet? (Dec 24, 2014)

Total miles: 6280
Miles with PAX: 3124
Earnings: $4032
Cost @ $.28/mi: $1758
Net Profit: $2274
Taxable Profit: $421

i assume the $4,032 earnings is after uber's cut. so ignoring the SRF, gross revenue was $5,040 on 3124 paid miles (4032 / .8) 

$5,040 / 3124 = $1.61/mile is what passenger paid, not $.90

you get a lot of early morning surges in socal?


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## Yuri Lygotme (Jul 27, 2014)

Now try at $0.75 a mile like we have here in Orlando, FL


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

gman said:


> Never mentioned anything about respect in my post, and don't need it from you or anyone else. Simply posting some actual numbers to show you can make money even at these low rates, in spite of certain posters droning on constantly about how it's not possible.
> 
> As far as you making fun of my taxable profit of only $421, maybe you should take an Accounting 101 class at your local community college, assuming you could actually qualify for admission, lol. If I'm only being taxed on about 10% of my net earnings, then that is indeed a good thing. Now if you want to make fun of only making $4000 in four months then go right ahead, but it's $1000/mo I didn't have before, and it only costs me a few less hours of sleep in the mornings.


But you see, here you go with the Uber speak confusing yourself: "Only making $4000 ..." you use the word making the same way they do. You DIDN'T make $4000, by your own figures you made $2274 over 4 months, roughly .35 a mile for every mile you drove. My hat is off to you for doing a good job of not paying taxes and we can quibble about your cost estimates but accepting the figures as they are, making $570 a month for how much time spent? I have to guess 60-70 hours/month, is luke warm ok. Given the responsibility and liability you have, I wouldn't be too keen to do it for that.


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## ElectroFuzz (Jun 10, 2014)

UberProphet? said:


> Total miles: 6280
> Miles with PAX: 3124
> Earnings: $4032
> Cost @ $.28/mi: $1758
> ...


A big + 1


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## evboy (Nov 12, 2014)

gman, you said u made 2300 rounded up in profit. thats about 570 a month. tell us how many hours u worked for 4 months so we can see your hourly rate. it cant be good. if u worked 10 hours a week thats about 14 an hour. not horrible but im assuming u did more than 10 a week.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

gman said:


> I thought according to all the math professors and various whiners on the board it couldn't be done?
> 
> Anyway I thought I would take stock of my first four months performance and compile the numbers. For a little background, I have been doing this for about 1.5 yrs and work primarily mornings, maybe an hour or so before work weekdays and Sat and Sun mornings for about 5 hours each. Have definitely logged over 2000 trips so I'm no newbie.
> 
> ...


Well, you could be the poster boy for Uber I suppose. The money isn't impressive that is for certain. Is this the direction we should be taking our economy? Nickel and dime, dink and dunk. What a treat, thank you mr K.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

28c per mile costs on a new Corolla seems reasonable.

6,280 Uber miles. Average speed for all time in the car including slow driving in traffic, some fast freeway driving - I'd estimate 20 mph. 6280 / 20 = 314 hours.

Net profit of $2,274 / 314 = $7.24 per hour. Which is pretty much what people like LAuberX have been saying on here, that at 90c per mile Uber drivers earn around minimum wage ($9/ hr), or slighly less in your case.

I don't think anyone's saying you can't make money at 90c per mile, which is plus the time component anyway; they're just saying it's a minimum wage gig, as confirmed by your figures. Whether or not it's worth doing this job for that money is a personal choice - in return for low pay drivers get other benefits such as total flexibility, less accountability etc.


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

Yup. No mention of the number of hours worked... My hourly is going down lately, Yesterday was a total bust, unless I get some Guarantee Cheese.

UberX, it's a minimum wage gig with no boss and a great view, that's all.


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## oneubersheep (Nov 27, 2014)

Its a minimum wage job in an idustry that it should have NEVER happened in. People say OK to the $ (the part timers anyway) with NO REGARD to how overexploited you/we are being treated. How BOGUSLY ILLEGALLY obtained these Ride Share companys have obtained their wealth. We ARE independant contractors with A Right to decide what kind of pay we get. 

Now many will say " if you dont like it , go eleswhere" which is true and 1 of a few choices.

We can also STAND THE **** UP AND CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR OUR FAIR AND EQUAL RIGHTS as self employed workers do have. 

If you want to leave your backbone at home and take pennies for compensation you are free to do so but dont call me a whiner or whatever else you referred to some of us as just because we KNOW we deserve better and are trying to find a way to make it so rather that just shovong our tails between our legs and joyfully drinking the Koolade!


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

I think the OP is about right. He's making a small monthly profit Ubering part time. He's in the small percentage that Uber works for. As a full-time gig, it's not so good, certainly not as good as Uber is touting.


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