6 December 2024

Survey Reveals Uber Drivers Make Less Than $10 an Hour after Expenses

By Ronald Smith

Did you know that a recent survey found some fascinating facts about how much money Uber drivers actually make? Well, I’m here to spill the beans and give you the scoop!

According to the survey, it turns out that Uber drivers are earning less than $10 per hour, even when you consider all their expenses. That’s not a whole lot of money, is it?

Now, you might be wondering how this is possible. After all, Uber is a pretty popular and well-known ride-sharing service. Well, let me break it down for you. The survey took into account the money drivers make before subtracting things like gas, car maintenance, and other expenses related to their job. Once all of that was factored in, guess what? The earnings dropped to less than $10 per hour. Yikes!

So, what does this mean for Uber drivers? It means that they’re working hard and putting in long hours behind the wheel, but they’re not making as much money as they deserve. It’s tough out there, folks!

Now, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of an Uber driver for a moment. Imagine working long hours, dealing with traffic, and picking up passengers all day, only to end up earning less than $10 an hour. It’s a real head-scratcher, isn’t it? I can’t help but feel a sense of astonishment about this whole situation.

This survey definitely raises some important questions. Shouldn’t Uber be doing more to ensure that their drivers are earning a fair wage for their hard work? I think so. After all, they’re the ones putting in the time and effort to provide a service that so many people rely on.

So, the next time you hop into an Uber, take a moment to appreciate the work that goes into getting you from point A to point B. Spare a thought for the drivers who are working tirelessly to make ends meet, all while earning less than $10 an hour. It’s not an easy gig, that’s for sure.

In conclusion, this survey sheds light on the financial realities of being an Uber driver. It’s pretty eye-opening to learn that they make less than $10 an hour after considering all their expenses. It’s a tough gig that deserves more recognition, support, and fair pay. So, next time you catch a ride with Uber, remember the hard work that goes into getting you where you need to be.

Survey Reveals Uber Drivers Make Less Than $10 an Hour after Expenses

Have you ever wondered how much money Uber drivers make? It’s a question that even the smart folks at MIT couldn’t quite figure out. But one thing is clear: the amount is usually lower than what Uber claims.

The 2018 Ridester Independent Driver-Earnings Survey (RIDES) is known as one of the biggest and most thorough studies ever conducted on the income of Uber drivers. Instead of just relying on what drivers say, this survey took it a step further. It asked drivers to prove their earnings by sending screenshots of their earnings page from the driver app. This way, we can be more confident in the accuracy of the data.

Let’s dig into this interesting report from Ridester about Uber driver earnings. They say that the screenshots in this report give us a ton of data, which helps us get the most accurate picture of how much Uber drivers make. But before we dive into the survey results, let’s first ask ourselves, why is understanding Uber driver earnings so darn complicated?

Claims about Uber Driver Earnings

Well, a big reason for all this confusion is actually Uber’s own fault. Why? Because they have the technology to tell us exactly how much each and every driver is making in every city worldwide. They could break it down to the penny, or even to the shilling or any other currency used in the 65 countries where Uber operates!

But in 2014, Uber said a Uber driver in New York City made an impressive $90K+ each year. Now, the Federal Trade Commission claims that less than 10% of drivers actually earn that much.

At first, Uber may have been telling the truth, especially with all the fun incentives they offered. But it seems things have changed. Now, Uber finds itself in an unwanted position: not being trusted.

Once people lose trust in you as a company, gaining it back is almost impossible. And when you have to pay almost $20 million to settle allegations of exaggerating how much drivers can earn, any new numbers Uber comes up with will be met with skepticism.

In the announcement about the settlement, Jessica Rich, the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, Lots of people join Uber to be drivers, but they shouldn’t be fooled about how much money they can make or the cost of financing a car through Uber.

Now, let’s get to the important stuff. What did the Ridester survey find?

The People Who Took the Survey

The 2018 Ridester Independent Driver-Earnings Survey (RIDES) had 2,625 drivers who filled out the survey. Out of those drivers, 719 shared screenshots of how much they earned.

The survey took place over two-and-a-half months from May to July 2018, and the drivers weren’t given any money or rewards to take part.

Ridester explains in the report that the goal of the survey was to make the information about how much drivers say they earn more trustworthy.

I’ve come across a report from Ridester that lines up closely with what the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found back in May of 2018.

Just like Ridester, EPI was aiming to bring more clarity with their report, providing a framework for understanding various pay and size concepts and a common terminology.

They wanted to find the answer to a question: How does the hourly pay of Uber drivers compare to the hourly wages or compensation of regular employees (taking into account Uber’s commissions and fees, vehicle expenses, benefits for regular employees, and how expenses and benefits interact with the tax code)?

In their report, EPI stated that when you consider the fees and expenses for Uber drivers, their hourly pay is similar to the 10th percentile of wages in the private sector.

Did you know that Uber drivers make less money per hour than 90 percent of Americans in their regular jobs? Can you believe that? The EPI report says they only earn $9.21 in hourly wages. And get this, that’s even lower than the minimum wage in 13 out of the 20 major urban markets where Uber operates!

Let me show you some survey results:

Ridester found out that in 2018, the median earning for Uber-X drivers was $13.70 before tips and $14.73 after tips. But hold on, that’s not the full story. That amount doesn’t take into account expenses like insurance, gas, and car depreciation. Once you factor those in, their earnings drop to less than $10 an hour. Crazy, right?

You might be wondering why Ridester used median income instead of average income. Well, it’s because the median income gives you a closer idea of what most people in a group actually earn. When you use averages, you can have one person who earns a really high wage and that skews the overall number, even if it’s just a tiny percentage of the group.

So, next time you hop into an Uber, remember that the drivers work hard for what they earn, and it’s not always as much as you might think. Food for thought!

I want to talk to you about Uber and its different types of drivers. It’s really interesting to see how each type performs and how much money they make. In the Ridester report, they analyzed uberSELECT, uberBLACK, uberSUV, uberLUX, Uber Eats, and UberX, which has the most drivers out of all of them.

Now, let’s break it down. Looking at each segment separately, we can get a clear idea of what they earn. This way, we can make sure that the drivers in higher tiers don’t skew the results for the majority of drivers who are in the UberX category, making up 74.7% of all the respondents.

Here’s what I found out:

Even in this survey, drivers who reported their income showed that they make 37.40% more than what they can actually prove with screenshots. That’s quite a difference!

Now, here’s something interesting. Out of the 928 drivers who submitted their earning screenshots, only 719 were actually usable for this survey. The researchers wanted to be super strict and ensure they had a true picture of how much the drivers earn per hour.

When it comes to my actual job, I have to admit that driving for Uber is my only job. I don’t have any other work besides that.

Now, let’s talk about how satisfied I am with the money I make. To be honest, I would give Uber a rating of 3 stars or less when it comes to earnings satisfaction. It’s not really a high rating. However, there are a few drivers, about 9.3% of us, who would give Uber a full 5 stars. And about 20% of us would give Uber 4 stars.

But it’s not just about the money. Many drivers, including myself, also have some concerns about Uber’s corporate leadership. About 66.5% of us would rate Uber with 3 stars or less in this area. On the other hand, 10.7% of us would give Uber 5 stars, and 22.8% of us would give it 4 stars.

Earnings

Now, let me tell you about the earnings for different types of Uber services. For UberX, which is the most popular among us drivers (about 74.7% of us), the median income is $13.70. For UberXL, which 16.4% of us provide, the median income is $14.22. As for UberSELECT, only 6.4% of us drive for it, and the median income is $14.84. For UberBLACK, which is a luxury service and only 0.8% of us offer, the median income is $24.87. Finally, for UberSUV, which is also a luxury service but has a slightly higher demand (1.3% of us offer it), the median income is $25.38.

So, here’s the thing. When it comes to UberBLACK and UberSUV, the folks at Ridester didn’t have a whole lot of responses to work with. Like, seriously limited. In fact, they only make up a teeny-tiny 2.1% of all the drivers out there.

Now, hold up a sec. Before we move on, I need to make something crystal clear. We’re talking about these stats before we even consider expenses. Yeah, expenses: those pesky things that eat into your earnings.

Now, here’s something interesting. Ridester put together this awesome infographic below. It shows which states and cities were the best and worst for Uber drivers in 2018. Pretty cool, huh?

Survey Reveals Uber Drivers Make Less Than $10 an Hour after Expenses

The Cost of Driving

When you drive a vehicle for a living, there are a lot of expenses involved. According to the IRS, it costs 54.5 cents per mile, and Triple-A says it’s 49.44 cents per mile.

In the past, one of the biggest issues for Uber drivers was figuring out how much they spent on expenses. Organizations like the IRS and Triple-A have long been used to calculate the overall cost of running a vehicle, even before Uber existed. This applies to Uber drivers too.

When you add up all the expenses, Uber drivers don’t earn as much as the company claims. As minimum wages increase across the country, like the $15 for Amazon warehouse workers, Uber drivers have more opportunities to earn more if they want.

Let me tell you something else. Uber drivers are well aware of the amount of money they earn. Whether it’s their main source of income or if they use it to add to their other jobs, the freedom and flexibility that Uber provides is a major selling point.

Of course, the drivers would love to earn more money, but the way Uber works allows them to pursue what they love doing until they gain more experience and become established in their chosen field.

Here are some additional facts presented in another infographic by Ridester.