Is Uber The New McJob?

[macarose]

I decided to take a deeper dive and find out the real income for a range of Uber drivers from across the country.

I also tried to address the myth of Uber being a modern day version of a McJob. In many ways it's better, but not when it comes to making money.

Hope you enjoy it!

All the best

Steven Lang

http://dashboard-lights.com/the-deeper-dive-is-uber-the-new-mcjob/

 

[eljefino]

Uber advertises itself as a "side hustle".

If someone actually has a McJob type job that has 30 hours of mediocre pay and constantly changing hours and getting sent home early if business is dead, a little uber-ing can make ends meet.

 

[fdcg27]

Nobody with a thirty hour a week mediocre job can afford to keep a car that meets Uber's requirements.
Uber is no more and no less than a gypsy cab call service where the call center operator gets to keep a good part of the gypsy owner/driver's take.
How Uber survives legally in highly regulated cab markets is beyond me.
I personally feel safer with a real cab, but we only use them a few times a year from airport to hotel when vacationing.

 

[Mr Nice]

Drivers for Lyft and Uber takes on all the risks and vehicle damage while company pays them peanuts.

I would rather work at Walmart before I drive for any ride share company.

 

[fields]

A friend and I became Uber Drivers. He took a person from our airport to the bus depot, and made $14. It took him 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back. I figured he made about $.30 a mile for labor and car expenses! Do not think I will ever drive, and he will not again.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Drivers for Lyft and Uber takes on all the risks and vehicle damage while company pays them peanuts.

I would rather work at Walmart before I drive for any ride share company.


I saw this heavily on the insurance side. Many insurance companies consider it "using your car as a taxi service" and will deny your coverage if you don't have commercial insurance. Not many people know this, and I saw so many Uber drivers, Uber passengers, and the people who they hit get burned. It is much different than driving your friends around, since you are driving people around as a business, like a taxi.

Let's pretend you get rear-ended by an Uber driver. They are at fault so you go through their insurance. Their insurance finds out that they were an Uber driver and deny covering your damages. Now you can either sue them (and usually get nothing) or file a claim on your own policy and watch your rates go up. It is a nightmare and I'm honestly not sure how it is still legal. It's probably because insurance companies make a ton of money denying people's claims and jacking up rates.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I can think of a number of different ways to make additional income-most of them pay far more than what an Uber "side hustle" will make when expenses are taken into account.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Uber cut the cost of transportation at the driver's expense. They cut expenses in other places too like background checks, drug testing and day to day vehicle inspection. All this is okay because it uses a smart phone and everyone knows that a smartphone is the solution to just about everything. There are only two thinks lacking on a smart phone, a prescription drug dispenser and a beer tap.

Uber is the darling of the media in some interesting ways. East of San Diego in El Cajon an Uber driver beat and raped a female passenger and it became just a back page story. Law suits won against Uber appear to almost never make the news. The same with DUI arrests of Uber drivers in California. An Uber driver was killed in an accident this week here and the passenger was severely injured and the description of the accident is pretty scary. Uber's response? Don't come to us, he's a contractor.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Drivers for Lyft and Uber takes on all the risks and vehicle damage while company pays them peanuts.

I would rather work at Walmart before I drive for any ride share company.


I saw this heavily on the insurance side. Many insurance companies consider it "using your car as a taxi service" and will deny your coverage if you don't have commercial insurance. Not many people know this, and I saw so many Uber drivers, Uber passengers, and the people who they hit get burned. It is much different than driving your friends around, since you are driving people around as a business, like a taxi.

Let's pretend you get rear-ended by an Uber driver. They are at fault so you go through their insurance. Their insurance finds out that they were an Uber driver and deny covering your damages. Now you can either sue them (and usually get nothing) or file a claim on your own policy and watch your rates go up. It is a nightmare and I'm honestly not sure how it is still legal. It's probably because insurance companies make a ton of money denying people's claims and jacking up rates.

What about Uber's insurance? They insure every car for $1,000,000 I believe.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Nobody with a thirty hour a week mediocre job can afford to keep a car that meets Uber's requirements.
Uber is no more and no less than a gypsy cab call service where the call center operator gets to keep a good part of the gypsy owner/driver's take.
How Uber survives legally in highly regulated cab markets is beyond me.
I personally feel safer with a real cab, but we only use them a few times a year from airport to hotel when vacationing.


It's perception vs reality. There were lots of stories of things that taxi drivers do to passengers. It's rather common so it doesn't make it on the regular news. Plus Uber knows about all the drivers it has. It even had a driver that picked up fares between shootings. All that gets reported. Good luck trying to find that taxi if you forget something in it.

I would actually feel safer with an Uber driver, I know who they are and they know who I am. Who is really your taxi driver?

The real money in Uber is surge pricing, seems that's the only time the drivers really make money, the other times, they're just treading water.

 

[Mr Nice]

Does a person really want to be on the road on a Saturday night / early Sunday morning to get surge pricing?

Its better to work part-time retail than risk it working for Uber. Lots of drivers protest but they should walk away, not get upset.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Uber cut the cost of transportation at the driver's expense. They cut expenses in other places too like background checks, drug testing and day to day vehicle inspection. All this is okay because it uses a smart phone and everyone knows that a smartphone is the solution to just about everything. There are only two thinks lacking on a smart phone, a prescription drug dispenser and a beer tap.

Uber is the darling of the media in some interesting ways. East of San Diego in El Cajon an Uber driver beat and raped a female passenger and it became just a back page story. Law suits won against Uber appear to almost never make the news. The same with DUI arrests of Uber drivers in California. An Uber driver was killed in an accident this week here and the passenger was severely injured and the description of the accident is pretty scary. Uber's response? Don't come to us, he's a contractor.



Uber drivers' background, bonding, etc may be questionable, no idea. However, the uber vehicles I've been in are way nicer and better kept than any taxicabs I've ever been in.

The issue of liability and risk due to a driver's actions is a tough one. I'll bet taxi cabs use private contractors (many of who I have to wonder if they are citizens), and probably show very few assets on the books, in case of an event...

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
What about Uber's insurance? They insure every car for $1,000,000 I believe.


That is what they claim, but I never actually saw a case where they stepped in and foot the bill. Their drivers are considered contractors, which the company uses to their advantage. We had an insured who was hit by an Uber driver who ran a red. Their insurance company denied coverage because it was considered Taxi service, and after a long battle our insured ended up using the uninsured motorist coverage from her own policy.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Uber and Lyft make a ton of money for the companies, not the drivers.
The dispatch is automated through the App, so their expenses are low. They keep a few minimum wage workers as customer service reps.
They get 25% of every fare, around here $1 a mile and 13 cents a minute.

If you're fresh off the boat from Africa or the Middle East, you can drive Uber or Lyft.

 

[raytseng]

um, uber and lyft aren't making any money either, they're burning through tons of VC money.

Like any internet startups, the money is getting spent mainly on all the promos to boost numbers and to enter more markets, BOTH to drivers and customers. E.g., ride credits, driver credits etc. If your area is already established you don't get any of that sweet sweet subsidies and that money is getting funneled into new territory.

 

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted By: fields
A friend and I became Uber Drivers. He took a person from our airport to the bus depot, and made $14. It took him 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back. I figured he made about $.30 a mile for labor and car expenses! Do not think I will ever drive, and he will not again.


Your friend grossed $21/hr. Not bad for the easiest job in the world.

 

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
What about Uber's insurance? They insure every car for $1,000,000 I believe.


That is what they claim, but I never actually saw a case where they stepped in and foot the bill. Their drivers are considered contractors, which the company uses to their advantage. We had an insured who was hit by an Uber driver who ran a red. Their insurance company denied coverage because it was considered Taxi service, and after a long battle our insured ended up using the uninsured motorist coverage from her own policy.


Uber's insurance is just that, Uber's. It protects Uber from liability of its independent contractors. Drivers understand this but many are too cheap to spend more on proper coverage. Anyone driving Uber on their personal insurance is a fool and will get burned if they hurt someone. Proper business insurance is available in my state for $200/yr more than a personal policy. This is a serious issue that Riders should also consider before stepping foot in a ride share. It definitely is an Achilles heel of the concept.

 

[hatt]

Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Originally Posted By: fields
A friend and I became Uber Drivers. He took a person from our airport to the bus depot, and made $14. It took him 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back. I figured he made about $.30 a mile for labor and car expenses! Do not think I will ever drive, and he will not again.


Your friend grossed $21/hr. Not bad for the easiest job in the world.
$21/hr for an independent contractor operating an expensive piece of equipment that needs a lot of insurance is a non starter. You can't make those numbers work.

 

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted By: hatt
$21/hr for an independent contractor operating an expensive piece of equipment that needs a lot of insurance is a non starter. You can't make those numbers work.

Most of the equipment being used isn't terribly expensive and proper insurance is $0.01-.03/mile, a non-factor really. That's another reason it's so stupid for drivers to be inadequately insured. It depends what your expectation is of "making the numbers work". Thousands of drivers are saying you're wrong.

Don't forget there is $.54/ mile in expenses waiting to be written off. So, the key metric is, how much do you make per mile? You have to exceed .54 before any taxes are due.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: hatt
Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Originally Posted By: fields
A friend and I became Uber Drivers. He took a person from our airport to the bus depot, and made $14. It took him 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back. I figured he made about $.30 a mile for labor and car expenses! Do not think I will ever drive, and he will not again.


Your friend grossed $21/hr. Not bad for the easiest job in the world.
$21/hr for an independent contractor operating an expensive piece of equipment that needs a lot of insurance is a non starter. You can't make those numbers work.


In theory it was really $42/hr for that one trip. He could have picked up another trip while he was there. He just included time getting to/from work which most people don't include when figuring out their hourly wage. Clearly the numbers don't work if you just do one trip.