sophie wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:24 am
2. Every Uber driver I've talked to about the subject. Several have told me they have regular full-time jobs with a long car commute. They signed up with Uber in order to turn those car commutes into extra income - they just pick up rides on their way to and from work. Another one, in San Francisco, told me he was one of a large number of former employees of PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) who quit (long story which I don't remember) and switched to driving for Uber. He loved being in charge of his own hours, and they get to deduct things like their cell phone, and of course tax treatment of sole proprietors is way better than that of salaried employees. So there are extra financial benefits beyond getting full control of income.
An interesting perspective on Uber from Mr. Money Mustache:
For example, working for Uber isn’t all it’s cut out to be, according to personal finance blogger Mr. Money Mustache. The anonymous man behind the website, who goes by Pete, retired at 30 and frequently gives advice about finances. He decided to become an Uber driver to see how much contractors for the company really make.
In the past, Uber has claimed drivers in New York City make a median annual income of $90,000, but an independent analysis by loan company Earnest put the number much lower. Uber drivers make an average of $364 a month and a median of $155 a month driving for the ride-sharing company, according to the analysis. The average Uber driver in New York City takes home $25 an hour after commission and sales tax, Uber said in 2014.
However, after car costs such as gas and insurance and time spent driving around between picking up rides, Mr. Money Mustache said he took home only $7 an hour. He criticized the company for advertising gross earnings to drivers instead of net earnings. (Uber didn’t respond to a request for comment.)
“You should never boast about business earnings without subtracting the money spent in the process of running the business,” he said. “So, Uber and Lyft should subtract a reasonable estimate of car costs per mile, for all advertised earnings.”
The cost of driving a personal car, according to the IRS, is about 54 cents per mile. At this rate, driving to pick up riders and waiting for them before a fare begins can be costly. Mr. Money Mustache’s first ride as an Uber driver, for example, included 5 minutes of waiting, 5 minutes of driving, and 1.2 miles driven without being paid, bringing his net fare to $3.37. Another ride, which included 15 minutes of waiting, 5 minutes of driving, and 1.9 miles of paid driving, made his net fare $3.37 as well — but a $5 tip brought his average up higher. “With the financial gain of ride-share driving being negligible, I am surprised that there are so many people who do it,” he wrote.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres ... in%202014.
I can see Uber as a side hustle or form of supplemental income. To make a survivable full time job out of it seems difficult. The concern is that it is basically a magnet for people who would otherwise not qualify for a job, i.e. illegal and undocumented immigrants. Interesting that Uber has been a vocal advocate for immigration, promising a "safe place":
https://www.uber.com/us/en/about/divers ... s-at-uber/.
Paper, scissors, rock anyone? Who wins:
free market/independent contractor/no exploitation here versus
we populists want tough on immigration. With Uber you can only pick one.