Earlier quoted context omitted.
They aren't profitable because they're burning money on crap outside of matchmaking riders with drivers.
Do you actually have numbers to support that assertion? I have a hard time believing it.
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Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
131–140 of 229 posts
Re: Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
#132My girlfriend tried out the Instacart gig for a while as she finally got her chronic low energy and fatigue addressed through B12 shots and wanted something to occupy her and give her a little extra spending money outside of what's budgeted. That experience was absolutely demoralizing in terms of what she was able to actually make. Granted we live in a lower density city in the southeast so that result makes sense. B…
My company was bleeding money so I had to close it down over this past fall. Spent all of my savings and had to start making money asap. I turned to uber eats, grubhub, and doordash. None of the companies value the drivers. If anything it feels like the companies are trying to milk the drivers so that the company can profit. If the drivers are happy the customer will be happy and profits can be made. Raising rates fo…
> If anything it feels like the companies are trying to milk the drivers so that the company can profit.
That's probably particularly true of those companies, but it's also endemic to capitalism more generally.
Re: Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which is what it should be no? Drivers are still paid by the minute on top of that, which in LA is 21 cents/minute according to the news, working out to $12.6/hour. Not quite $15 minimum wage, but close.
21 cents per minute that you have a passenger in your car. With Uber, but not Lyft, you might get paid a bonus to drive some distance to pick up a passenger. But time you spend adding value to the company by working as slack capacity (and slowly burning down the value of your vehicle) isn't directly compensated.
I guess slack capacity is the crux of the contractor vs. employee debate. While you don't get paid hourly, you also don't have to be on the job hourly. That gives you the chance/incentive to switch to other "gigs" and improve overall market efficiency. At least that's the theory.
Re: Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
#134My brother works for uber, He is 54 years old smokes a pack day and has had 2 heart attacks. He drives a Cadillac and pays $500-month for commercial insurance and has a monthly payment for his car. He has TLC plates to work in NYC ( fees apply) he makes about $300 a day works like a dog 12-14 hours a day. All of his friends are the same (uber drivers in NYC) Here you have the typical uber driver who does this for a l…
What is the thought on these types of people? They are stupid/lazy, but its their genetics and they can't help it. So what is it, that society should do with these people. Curious solutions.
Working like a dog for 12-14 hours a day is lazy?
Re: Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
#135I can't quite understand the economics of this rate drop (which happened only in the LA market, btw). Here's my analysis, please let me know if you see anything wrong with it.
Uber makes 25% commission from the per-mile fee, so the total revenues to Uber and to the drivers is moving in the same direction. I assume Uber wouldn't drop the rate unless their revenue increased. So they must know that (1) the lower fee will be more than offset by the increased demand, and (2) they will have enough drivers to meet that greater demand.
It must be that the total money received by all drivers will go up. So each driver will make more money before expenses (not per hour, but in total).
How will Uber meet the increased demand? Sure, the drivers will be better utilized (less time without passengers), but would that really be enough? Or does Uber expect the drivers will work longer hours? I suppose it's possible that people really desperate for cash will work more even as they are paid (a lot) less. That would be both very sad and very hard to believe (since at this point McDonalds pays better than Uber, after accounting for gas and wear & tear on the car).
Anyway, if somehow the hours per driver stay the same, the gross income per hour will grow. Income after expenses will grow by an even greater percentage.
I really would like to understand whether the increased gross revenue per driver will come from longer hours or not.
Re: Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
They aren't profitable because they're burning money on crap outside of matchmaking riders with drivers.
Do you actually have numbers to support that assertion? I have a hard time believing it.
Have you ever received a free uber or lyft ride? I was in college when they were blowing up, and me, and each of my friends, probably used around 500$ of free rides each..
Re: Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
#137My wife and I have had a little different experience. About 1.5 years ago we took up deliervinf food with Caviar/Uber eats to get out and pay for our dates. She and I would go for 2 hours maybe 2-3 nights a week. On average she and I both made ~$26 per hour. Since we rode bikes we paid no insurance/parking/etc. I tried once doing it for 8 hours a day and my earnings went down to like $6 per hour.
Re: Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
OK, let's be concrete -- how much should they pay them? Keep in mind that Uber currently operates at a loss.
The IRS deduction rate per mile plus minimum wage per hour. Anything below that is so low that it is immoral (and would be illegal in any civilized country).
The comment I was replying to said they would optimize for paying them “as much as possible”, not minimum wage.
Re: Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
#139I just got back from Brazil. There is a startup ride sharing service called 99 that is interesting.
As a comparison, a ride that costs 40 R$ (~$12 USD) on Uber will cost half that on 99. And, I heard while I was there that incredibly 99 pays the drivers more.
I don't know if this is a technical advancement that 99 hasn't needed to make the massive investment that Uber did now that lots more is understood about the ride sharing market, or if Brazilian VCs are pumping money in, or what. But, I experimented with 99 and it was much cheaper.
I stopped using them when a driver let the fare run for an hour after I got out of the vehicle. Unlike Uber there is no cancel button. I'm not sure if this was fraud or he turned off his phone or what, but the experience was terrible trying to get it resolved for an hour.
The most interesting thing is that there are startups attacking the incumbents (Uber and Lyft). The exciting thing is that Uber demonstrated incredible growth patterns like no company we've ever seen. I wonder if it will demonstrate shrinkage like nothing we've ever seen. I have no loyalty to them but Lyft isn't in Brazil and after that experience with 99 I stopped using it.
Fun times.
Re: Uber is dropping rates for drivers down from 80 cents/mile to 60 cents/mile
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same with canteen workers, janitors and so forth. It's the reality of this economy without any intervention. >my heart doesn't understand how such a thing needs to happen. That's why developers, who have the economic leverage, should stand up for everyone working at their companies, including staff that isn't involved in technical work.
So would the tech workers cut 10% of their salary and gift it to those working for low pay in other roles? I think it's overwhelmingly no. The option where the company shareholders take less profit is not even on the table - and that's what needs tackling, and the only way to tackle that is via a mix of govt welfare and unions. But the cultural narrative has shifted to the right so much that even mentioning the word…
If I gave up 10% of my salary and someone else making much less got to raise of the equivalent of my 10%, I'd do it in a heart beat.