Uber, Lyft Tout US Ride-Hail Driver Pay, Incentives Amid Demand Uptick (reuters.com) 26
Uber and Lyft said U.S. drivers on their ride-hail platforms were earning significantly more than before the pandemic as trip demand outstrips driver supply, prompting the companies to offer extra incentives. From a report: Uber on Wednesday said it would invest an additional $250 million to boost driver earnings and offer payment guarantees in an effort to incentivize new and existing drivers. Uber's Vice President of U.S. & Canada Mobility, Dennis Cinelli, in a blog post told drivers to take advantage of higher earnings before pay returns to pre-COVID-19 levels as more drivers return to the platform. Lyft on Tuesday said drivers in the company's top-25 markets were earning an average of $36 per hour compared to $20 per hour pre-pandemic. Those numbers include tips, but Lyft did not disclose the share of tips in earnings. Lyft is also offering additional incentives and promotions in select markets. Further reading: Uber and Lyft have a driver shortage problem, and it's costing them a lot of money
They're having trouble getting drivers (Score:3)
Also for all the pay they're touting online the drivers are complaining about lower pay and trying to organize for better pay. There's a movement to get them all to turn down the short unprofitable rides so Uber will raise the pay on them, but it's difficult to do because most people in the Gig economy are desperate and they need every penny they can get. Again, the short term boost of stimulus & unemployment has given them a little leverage, but it won't last.
Never used any of them (Score:2)
But when I tip delivery people, it's always cash.
Anyone else notice a change? (Score:3)
It used to be that Uber and Lyft were "ride-sharing" apps. Now, they're using the more accurate term "ride-hailing."
I know it may be a minor nit to pick for some, but to me it says that people are starting to realize that the driver generally has no intention of going to the rider's destination before receiving the request.
I'm still not interested in using this service, but that's me. I'm not interested in encouraging the spread of modern-day serfdom.
so they are an taxi? (Score:2)
so they are an taxi?
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Depends, in Canada they've been referred to as "ride hail
hard to believe these numbers (Score:5, Interesting)
"earning an average of $36 per hour compared to $20 per hour pre-pandemic"
I find it hard to believe they are averaging that much per hour. That would equal $72k/year working a 40 hour week now and ~$40k/year pre-pandemic. They'd have no trouble getting drivers if people could reliably make that much. Especially when they say that's an average which would presume "good" drivers are making even more on average.
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I am assuming that $36/hour is gross, less the cost of your vehicle payments, insurance, registration, tires, maintenance, repairs, depreciation on said vehicle and damage from customers vomiting in said vehicle.
I'm glad you added that last part for the reality check. Not everyone wants to deal with that kind of job regardless of the pay, and that's quite the list of expenses to reduce that $36/hour considerably.
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If the numbers are to be believed, it's $8-$13+/hour reduction for expenses.
I've seen numbers of true pay being $less than minimum wage - $12/hour pre pandemic after expenses.
So if that was off of the $20, the costs are $8-$13. It depends where one drives and when I'd assume. I'm sure there are places where it's mostly waiting most of the time (I know for a fact it's like that around here lately, since most of the Uber people I've met now do Amazon deliveries for the consistently being able to make money, a
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You also have the reality that the rate is likely per hour with passengers in the car, so take 20-40% off the top for that.
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It's even worse (from what I remember of the last time I did Lyft on 12/8/2019, might be different now). Lyft would quote (estimate) and charge the rider say, $36, but according to the driver's rates for his/her city and time/mileage/etc. the ride's actual charge should be $25. From this $25 (not from the $36 actually charged to the rider) Lyft will still take it's 20% cut (even higher for newer drivers) and other fees and then pay the driver the difference (from which he/she still needs to pay all expenses
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Lol they werenâ(TM)t making anywhere close to $20/hr pre-pandemic. They donâ(TM)t count a huge proportion of the time necessary to be a driver for them as working in order to not pay you for it. For example if you had a pizza delivery job that claimed to pay you more hourly than any other pizza place, but didnâ(TM)t consider it work time from when you delivered the pizza until you were leaving the store again with another one - that was all your own time because you werenâ(TM)t doing a d
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I tip about 50% now on the rare occasion I use Lyft or a taxi. There simply are no drivers out there, and wait times of over 15 minutes are the norm. For taxis, dispatch is generally closed, and only takes a call when a driver is free... if then.
Unemployment should have allowed some level of paid work with generous phase outs; we are going to have a lot of long-term issues if we cannot get people back to work pretty soon here.
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It is possible. I have friends who make $90k+ here in silicon valley. But then $100k is considered low income, ... so it evens out:
https://www.vice.com/en/articl... [vice.com]
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/b... [cbsnews.com]
Stop verifying I9 and license (Score:1)
So they cut insurance. (Score:3, Informative)
I was an occasional "for shits and giggles" driver before the pandemic.
Then they cut pay to below break-even, and I decided I wasn't having enough fun to pay for it.
Now not only has pay not gone up (though they did email me with a few "incentives" that weren't even remotely tempting before I got vaccinated), they've also raised the collision deductible for their coverage from $1000 to $2500.
Yeah, not a fucking chance I'll be driving for them. My personal collision deductible is $500, I was annoyed by $1000. $2500 is a big fat FUCK NO.
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Good (Score:2)
This is just the labour market responding to supply and demand and it's unequivocally a good thing. This is how wages are supposed to go up, by having employers compete to hire people. It's far better for employers to be competing for workers than for workers to be competing for jobs. Now if only we could convince people to let this happen to the labour market generally we would all be much better off.
Uber makes it too difficult .... (Score:2)
I used to drive for them, but got fed up with them taking me offline, demanding things like an updated vehicle inspection (when I was driving and registered my vehicles in a state that doesn't require a vehicle inspection except when the vehicle is resold). When I submitted my proof of insurance to them via the app on my phone, they complained it was "unreadable" (despite it being a perfectly good high-res photo of both sides of the insurance card, taken on an iPhone XS Max). I think I had to resubmit tha
Time to stop tipping (Score:2)
I've been hearing for years that the economics of Uber don't make sense and the drivers are financial illiterates who are making less than minimum wage.
Guess that's over now, so we can all stop tipping.
Re: Time to stop tipping (Score:2)
I don't know what that is, but THIS is America.