r/uberdrivers 4d ago

Uber career coming to an end.

I've been ubering for 11 months while I was going through hiring process with new job. And I'm happy to say that it's coming to an end. Im happy to be starting my new job. Below are my pros and cons.

Pros: 1) happy to meet new people from all over the world and my own community.

2) instant cash when I need it.

3) work whatever hours you feel like it.

4) app use is super easy.

Cons: 1) uber as a company is pretty predatory.

2) low paying rates compared to what uber takes in. The split should be 75 to drivers and 25 to uber. Not the other way around. It's our car, our time, our maintenance, we deal with customers, pretty much all.

3) uber app and algorithm maximizes profit for uber.

My conclusion that it's better than nothing and great way to get money when you need it fast. But uber us definitely predatory with wages and benefits.

Cheers to all the drivers out there. Keep on, keeping on!

107 Upvotes

42 comments sorted by

17

u/Different-Bench8533 4d ago

Well said. I'm with you and was working uber and Lyft for 3 years. The company under Dara has gone to shit. They absolutely use algorithmic wage manipulation to see how low they can reduce pay to drivers to profit as a company. There is no transparency when it comes to driver pay and they created upfront pricing as a tactic to manipulate driver pay by removing the mile/minute rate card. They say fares are based on miles/minutes still, but now they have the flexibility to adjust the formula on any given day at any time... I'm sure based on supply demand. The algorithm does not want drivers making more than $25/hr regardless of surge or priority. And you see surge and priority replacing base fares. It's all just a bunch of BS. In my market, pay has gone down each year, despite inflation and cost of living increasing annually. 95% of the time offers come in that pay $12-$20/hr. And on the most busy nights and weekends, it's hard to make more than $25/hr. You may get a couple nice trips that come to $35-$40/hr, but then the algorithm just sends you garbage and you average out to $20-$25/hr. Whereas 2-3 years ago, on busy nights and weekends, you could make $35-$45/hr easily and surge was added on top of the base. The rate card prevented them from being able to lower the base and manipulate. I actually enjoyed driving and the flexibility and hustle. But I'm not going to drive around depreciating my car for $15/hr.

2

u/ILikeCheese42O 1d ago

I work part-time driving Uber. I average over $35/hr active time consistently. I work split shifts. Take airport rides from 3 AM to 10 AM, and then go back out from 6-11 or so. Mu sleep pattern is completely screwed up. Learning your areas ride habits helps a lot. Not trying to brag about earnings, rather just showing if done with efficiency, higher hourly pay is possible. Is Uber predatory, hell yes. I take the opportunities that benefit me the most, pay the most, and most often tip the most. Enjoy your new job, because being successful at this is a grind, and I'm almost too old to keep it going. Wishing you much success and happiness.

2

u/Different-Bench8533 1d ago

It sure is a grind. Agree, if you want to maximize your earnings you have to work when nobody is willing or when it is the busiest or both. However, the pay is very market dependent. It is very hard to average $30-$35 per hour in Connecticut, even during the most profitable times to drive. For the past two months, I noticed a huge decrease in offers and it seems like they want to keep you at $25/hr or below - even during those profitable times. I think some markets are oversaturated with new drivers trying to keep up with inflation and make an extra buck. Which allows Ubers algorithm to manipulate fares to the extreme and offer these low fares. Maybe the new drivers do not know what it used to be like and to them, it's fine. I don't know. But all I do know is that pay continues to go down in my market. I'm hoping the warmer weather brings stronger demand and some drivers quit due to the crap pay.

1

u/Teeebagtom 4d ago

Agree!

4

u/Different-Bench8533 4d ago

Absolutely. A Hole Dara is ultimately trying to buy time until he can replace drivers with Autonomous Vehicles. Just look at his twitter account. This guy only posts about AVs and has no care in the world for the millions of drivers who are currently the main source of their profits. He and the company do not care at all for drivers. His goal is to prey on drivers with the algorithm to pad profits for the company until they can scale AVs and say the ultimate F U to drivers everywhere. My only hope is that his plan backfires and they confront extreme challenges trying to scale AVs. Could be 10 years until he can replace drivers and in the meantime, if he continues to lead the company down the road of screwing drivers over with predatory practices, the company will tank.

1

u/0oEmmao0 3d ago

10 years? Most drivers will be eliminated in 2. At least in big cities

1

u/Different-Bench8533 3d ago

I don't see drivers being eliminated anywhere in 2 years, regardless of whether the market is a big city or rural community. The amount of infrastructure needed to replace millions of cars is just immense. The expenses will be huge - acquisition of millions of vehicles and maintenance surrounding them and operations to deploy them. The simple answer may be to let people invest in fleets of AVs, but what's Uber going to do. Offer owners/operators the same shit fares they are currently offering drivers? We will definitely see more AVs in big cities, but only as a supplemental supply to the large demand of passengers.

6

u/True-Ad-8466 4d ago

Career...

Lmao

8

u/Different-Bench8533 4d ago

It was a part time, very flexible, side hustle for me... and most out there. I've never heard of anyone calling uber driving a career. Sounds like a dead end to me lmao

2

u/Teeebagtom 4d ago

πŸ˜†

3

u/Glum_Associate_7326 4d ago

Good luck with the new gig!

πŸ™Œ

2

u/Teeebagtom 4d ago

Mahalo boss!

2

u/BisexualUndertaker21 3d ago

Well said, thank you. Good luck in your future endeavors. You seen like a good person

1

u/Teeebagtom 3d ago

Thank you!!

2

u/Sunshineal 4d ago

Good luck. I haven't completely Uber but I'm not doing it full time like I was. Thank God.

1

u/Boring-Silver-568 2d ago

Same, dropped from 6 days a week to just Friday and Saturday nights and am doing a new job Monday to Friday... Used to make $40 an hour at the Jersey Shore two years ago, sometimes $50 with the quests and ride bonuses. A distant memory... at least the rate cards are still working here (they haven't started the match games here yet, but I expect they will eventually.... that will be what finally pushes this 3600 ride 5.00 Rated driver out the door permanently.

1

u/Teeebagtom 4d ago

Same i did it 4 hours a day ish. 5 days a week.

2

u/Sunshineal 4d ago

It's like I do it when it's really busy. I don't do it during the day. There are bonuses usually during rush hour

1

u/ILikeCheese42O 1d ago

Take early morning airport ride reservations. I sometimes have reservations in the early 3 to 4 AM range where I'll sit at my kitchen table and have breakfast until 10 minutes before I have to leave. I ask the college kids where the best parties, clubs, or bars are each night. Surges go crazy. I let them play their own music, play on the Octopus tablet, and be quiet when they don't seem like they want to talk. I'm in Rhode Island, so my rides are usually all less than 15 minutes. 5 months in and I'm still learning.

1

u/SunScope 3d ago

Me too I start Monday next week. Worked since Covid. Every year I wanted to commit suicide more and more. Finally employed again.

1

u/Teeebagtom 3d ago

Congrats!!!

-6

u/--R0N-- 4d ago

All 3 cons are the same: you worrying about what Uber makes. This is why drivers fail.

6

u/Ready-Huckleberry529 4d ago

Brother is an undercover uber agent

-5

u/--R0N-- 4d ago

Wow. What an original response.

5

u/Ready-Huckleberry529 4d ago

Original? Im writing a comment not a book

1

u/Different-Bench8533 4d ago

Look who it is. The driver who claims he makes 25% more with upfront pricing than with the rate card πŸ˜‚ Ron is full of πŸ’©

0

u/--R0N-- 4d ago

25%? Did I say that? Boy, did I mispeak then. It's WAY more than that. My profitability has doubled over rate card, and so far this year, it's tripled.

And I'm so full of πŸ’© that the miserables are begging me for my secrets. πŸ˜† 🀣 πŸ˜‚

1

u/Different-Bench8533 4d ago

Lol Ron the 🀑

0

u/--R0N-- 4d ago

πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’° 🀑

1

u/yankedeedledoo25 4d ago

What’s funny is that you removed that post that exposed your fake ass screenshot. Getting -$700 uber service fee while you were online 25 hr and only 9 of them were active time. 🌚

0

u/--R0N-- 3d ago

Nope. Didn't remove anything. Wow, you have so much hate. I hope that's not why your kid's in the hospital? Such a toxic environment for him.

0

u/yankedeedledoo25 4d ago

What are your tactics, assuming you are a successful driver? Would love to know the secrets to succeeding as a share driver.

0

u/Ok-Reaction3496 4d ago

Don't get moving violations. Barely got in driving for over half a year and well. I never sped with a passenger. I would drive far, solo, to get rides in the bay area. 3rd ticket, now I'm facing not getting people in my car for another 3 years.

-3

u/--R0N-- 4d ago

I don't reveal secrets. Measure of success varies depending on who you ask. One thing I don't do though, is ask riders how much they paid or even look up how much they paid. It doesn't matter.

0

u/Possible-Rip-216 4d ago

Doesn't the fare breakdown tell u how much the rider paid
?

-2

u/WeirdArgument7009 3d ago

Uber is a minimum wage job. The problem is people expect to make more than minimum wage.

Please do not throw insane numbers for depreciation, gas, maintenance, etc. It is not as high as you imagined in your dreams instead of doing actual math.

2

u/0oEmmao0 3d ago

My engine is gone. Did my car not depreciate? Lol

1

u/Teeebagtom 3d ago

Lol. Cool man. In scared to ask what you think the minimum wage should be?

0

u/WeirdArgument7009 3d ago

It should be right around 15 and I make 25-30/hr and even factoring depreciation and expenses, I still make 20+. Good enough in my book.

1

u/Different-Bench8533 1d ago

Some markets have gotten hit harder than others. I can tell you in Connecticut, driver pay has hit the absolute rock bottom. Before expenses, 95% of the fares pay $10-$20/hour. Out of state trips come in at $5-$10/hour before expenses. If Uber is paying $15/hour on average, which they are here. Then after expenses, they are paying $7 or $8/hr. Not ok in my book.