How Much Do Uber Drivers Actually Make?
BuzzFeed collected the data, calculating drivers’ income after expenses.
Last week I wrote about Ryan Beckler’s research into what happened after Uber and Lyft left Austin (increased DWIs, ad-hoc Facebook rideshare groups, and more).
Billfolder greenfields5000 suggested we might want to look at BuzzFeed’s new analysis of how much money Uber and Lyft drivers are actually making, so here we go:
Uber Data And Leaked Docs Provide A Look At How Much Uber Drivers Make
Internal Uber calculations, provided to BuzzFeed News by Uber, based on data spanning more than a million rides and covering thousands of drivers in three major U.S. markets — Denver, Detroit, and Houston — suggest that drivers in each of the three markets overall earned less than an average of $13.25 an hour after expenses.
What are these expenses? BuzzFeed includes vehicle depreciation costs, gas, insurance, maintenance, and “miscellaneous.” If you’re interested in going deep on BuzzFeed’s data and methodology, they’ve got just the link for you:
Methodology For Estimating Uber Drivers’ Hourly Net Earnings
But back to that “less than an average of $13.25 an hour” figure. Caroline O’Donovan and Jeremy Singer-Vine calculate that Uber drivers are only earning a few dollars over minimum wage—and in Detroit, where drivers earn roughly $8.77 per hour after expenses, only a few cents over the state’s $8.50 minimum wage—although drivers’ earnings can vary.
John Cerasuolo of Houston calculated that his earnings are “consistently anywhere from $12.50 to $17 an hour, depending on the surge.” When Cerasuolo first signed up with Uber in early January 2016, he said learning the ropes was frustrating and financially disappointing. Now that he better understands the system, Cerasuolo said his earnings improved — but the long days can be draining.
Uber, meanwhile, continues to attract new drivers by citing rates based on gross pay (before Uber’s cut and before expenses). Is telling someone they can earn $20–30 an hour misleading, if the company doesn’t clarify that only $8–13 will be left after Uber takes its share and drivers pay their expenses? Or is this how business works, and people should be responsible for figuring out their net pay on their own?
Also: BuzzFeed’s expense methodology didn’t include taxes. Better chop off another 20 percent or so from that net rate before you start figuring out what to do with your money.
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