Anyone Here Drive For Uber or Lyft?

[ChrisL]

I'm thinking of funding my new mountain bike dreams by driving after hours and weekends but I'm not sure if it's worth it or if I'll really earn much after factoring fuel costs.

Anyone have any first hand experience or trustworthy second hand info on driving for Uber or Lyft?

[Green Grass]

I use Uber a lot.  As a consumer, i think it is great.

I always talk with the drivers, because as you all know, I'm a very friendly guy.  Everything I think I know about Uber has come from these conversations.

Uber charges $.85 per mile.  The driver gets 75% of it.  Let's step through a real world example, from just a couple evenings ago.  

Took an Uber from the airport to home.  The charge was just over $40 as I live about 50 miles from the airport.  Took about an hour.  Driver told me he was heading back to the AP after he dropped me as it would be very unreliable to try and count on there being fares between my house and the AP.  So, he drove 100 miles on a $30 (to him) fare.  At 25 mpg he spent about $10 on gas, netting himself $20 for 2 hours of work.  His car is 100 miles older...which isn't free (wear, tear, oil...). 

I just don't see how Uber makes any sense for drivers.  You'd be way better off taking on a shift at a fast food place.

And by the way, the driver doesn't know his passenger's destination until he picks you up...so he can't use any discretion about which fares to take.

[Dottleshead ★]

I've used both.  I found both to be on time.  Both had a decent car.  Both had a decent driver.  Lyft was cheaper.

[Kzoo]

1 minute ago, Lettuce Prey said:

I use Uber a lot.  As a consumer, i think it is great.

I always talk with the drivers, because as you all know, I'm a very friendly guy.  Everything I think I know about Uber has come from these conversations.

Uber charges $.85 per mile.  The driver gets 75% of it.  Let's step through a real world example, from just a couple evenings ago.  

Took an Uber from the airport to home.  The charge was just over $40 as I live about 50 miles from the airport.  Took about an hour.  Driver told me he was heading back to the AP after he dropped me as it would be very unreliable to try and count on there being fares between my house and the AP.  So, he drove 100 miles on a $30 (to him) fare.  At 25 mpg he spent about $10 on gas, netting himself $20 for 2 hours of work.  His car is 100 miles older...which isn't free (wear, tear, oil...). 

I just don't see how Uber makes any sense for drivers.  You'd be way better off taking on a shift at a fast food place.

And by the way, the driver doesn't know his passenger's destination until he picks you up...so he can't use any discretion about which fares to take.

But that equation changes if you are staying mostly in the hood.  Your example is one where he had to deadhead 50 miles.  If he is typically working in a 10 to 20 mile radius the economics change drastically. 

[Green Grass]

1 minute ago, Kzoo said:

But that equation changes if you are staying mostly in the hood.  Your example is one where he had to deadhead 50 miles.  If he is typically working in a 10 to 20 mile radius the economics change drastically. 

Ain't no such thing as a 10 mile radius in So. Cal.  I hear it's a pretty big place.

[Indy]

I honestly have never understood why people want to do this to their cars.  Plus a lot of the people you are picking up (at least around me) are drunks.  That's why they call a ride share, they are to drunk to drive themselves home, oh joy, hauling around drunk strangers.  I swear the only reason people drive is because they don't figure in wear and tear on their vehicles, figure in maintenance and added depreciation, the pay sucks.

[jsharr ★]

2 minutes ago, Lettuce Prey said:

Ain't no such thing as a 10 mile radius in So. Cal.  I hear it's a pretty big place.

You should come to Texas.

[Dottleshead ★]

1 minute ago, Indy said:

I honestly have never understood why people want to do this to their cars.  Plus a lot of the people you are picking up (at least around me) are drunks.  That's why they call a ride share, they are to drunk to drive themselves home, oh joy, hauling around drunk strangers.  I swear the only reason people drive is because they don't figure in wear and tear on their vehicles, figure in maintenance and added depreciation, the pay sucks.

You forgot the possibility of hot drunk chicks.

[Dottleshead ★]

Just now, jsharr said:

You should come to Texas.

I would never go to Texas unless you allured me with your chilli and let me roam the range where I may fart freely.

[Indy]

1 minute ago, dotman17 said:

You forgot the possibility of hot drunk chicks.

And the possibility of them puking in your car.

[jsharr ★]

Have a friend who drove for all the services.  He has a small Lincoln SUV in black, so he charges the higher price.  I think he got around $80 to run to DFW from our hood.  I heard he made decent money driving on the side on evenings and weekends.

 

[Dottleshead ★]

2 minutes ago, Indy said:

And the possibility of them puking in your car.

Hot, drunken, puking chicks -- what's not to like??

[Kzoo]

6 minutes ago, Lettuce Prey said:

Ain't no such thing as a 10 mile radius in So. Cal.  I hear it's a pretty big place.

Good point.  And with the traffic he deals with that $10/hr could easily drop to $0.50/hr in a New York minute.  

[Parr8hed]

2 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Have a friend who drove for all the services.  He has a small Lincoln SUV in black, so he charges the higher price.  I think he got around $80 to run to DFW from our hood.  I heard he made decent money driving on the side on evenings and weekends.

 

I have often wondered about Uber for Pick-em-up-trucks.  Like if you have a car, but want a new TV.  Call Uber for truck and some handsome dude like me with a dope truck like mine comes and gets you, takes you to the store, and brings you home with the TV in the bed.  

[jsharr ★]

3 minutes ago, dotman17 said:

I would never go to Texas unless you allured me with your chilli and let me roam the range where I may fart freely.

I will make a pot of chili for an forumite that comes to casa de jsharr.  You can sit on the couch and drink Shiner Bock or Lonestar while I cook.  With enough advance notice, I can get my buddy Bo to make up a batch of his salsa so you can have chips and salsa as an appetizer.  

After dinner, we can walk up to Sweet Firefly for a scoop of Bourbon Vanilla ice cream and you can fart your ass off the whole way.

[Green Grass]

4 minutes ago, Indy said:

I honestly have never understood why people want to do this to their cars. 

I swear the only reason people drive is because they don't figure in wear and tear on their vehicles, figure in maintenance and added depreciation, the pay sucks.

Exactly.  No way you come out ahead in the long run.  No way.

5 minutes ago, Indy said:

 Plus a lot of the people you are picking up (at least around me) are drunks.  That's why they call a ride share, they are to drunk to drive themselves home, oh joy, hauling around drunk strangers. 

Ah, yes, another thing I learned from the drivers.  If you puke in their car, there is an automatic charge put on your credit card...something like $50.  So it must be a "thing".

[donkpow]

There is some amount of money you can deduct from your income taxes for the costs associated with an automobile used for work. 

[jsharr ★]

Just now, Parr8hed said:

I have often wondered about Uber for Pick-em-up-trucks.  Like if you have a car, but want a new TV.  Call Uber for truck and some handsome dude like me with a dope truck like mine comes and gets you, takes you to the store, and brings you home with the TV in the bed.  

They have that in Dallas.   You could do this, as you fit their driver criteria.

https://pickupnow.com/

[Parr8hed]

Just now, jsharr said:

They have that in Dallas.   You could do this, as you fit their driver criteria.

https://pickupnow.com/

What's the driver criteria? Hot?

[Dottleshead ★]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

I will make a pot of chili for an forumite that comes to casa de jsharr.  You can sit on the couch and drink Shiner Bock or Lonestar while I cook.  With enough advance notice, I can get my buddy Bo to make up a batch of his salsa so you can have chips and salsa as an appetizer.  

After dinner, we can walk up to Sweet Firefly for a scoop of Bourbon Vanilla ice cream and you can fart your ass off the whole way.

On that note, I may have to make it a point to go there.  You don't play fair. I love all those things.

[Green Grass]

1 minute ago, donkpow said:

There is some amount of money you can deduct from your income taxes for the costs associated with an automobile used for work. 

Kinda sucks if you have to rely on a tax deduction to make a little money.  It's not worth it.  No way.

[Parr8hed]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

They have that in Dallas.   You could do this, as you fit their driver criteria.

https://pickupnow.com/

Basic Requirements

• You are a good guy (especially firefighters, military, and first responders, women included).
• You are at least 21 years old and legally able to work in the United States.
• You are able to speak and write English.
• You have a good driving record and can pass a background check (No Felonies, No DUI, etc.)
• You own a full sized pickup truck in good, reliable working order (model year 2003 or later).
• Your vehicle has current registration and meets State requirements for inspections, licenses, etc.
• Your vehicle is insured to State minimum requirements.
• You are physically fit (can lift at least 75 lbs. and perform basic loading and securement).
• You own an iPhone or Android smartphone on a major wireless carrier.
• If this is you so far, then let’s dig in to the details. Get started now by reviewing the Good Guy FAQs and completing your driver profile.

[Green Grass]

12 minutes ago, jsharr said:

You should come to Texas.

Is that an official invite?  Do you have a spare bedroom?  Are the sheets clean?  Will your wife make me breakfast in the morning?  Is she hot?  Never mind, of course she is.  Can I borrow a car while I'm there?  What size is your bike if I want to go for a ride?  What brand of toilet paper do you buy?  Nothing too scratchy, I hope.  

So many questions to answer before I can commit...

[Reverend_Maynard]

I believe the fedrally recognized reimbursement rate for driving for business is $.545/mile.  In doing the calculations, that's probably where you should start as what your expenses will be long term.  In RGs example. the real expenses are probably around $54.50, for a net loss of $24.50 for the driver.

IMO, it's only good to keep your car that you overextended on from getting repoed while you're out of work.

Edited to fix the rate.

[Kzoo]

11 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

I have often wondered about Uber for Pick-em-up-trucks.  Like if you have a car, but want a new TV.  Call Uber for truck and some handsome dude like me with a dope truck like mine comes and gets you, takes you to the store, and brings you home with the TV in the bed.  

Or just go to Home Depot and rent one of their trucks for $19.95 for the first 75 minutes.  Some of them have tilt beds.  You can dump that 72 inch UHD TV in the driveway and get the truck back in no time flat.  And if you pick a HD next to Walmart you can cut the time even more.

[Indy]

10 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

Basic Requirements

• You are a good guy (especially firefighters, military, and first responders, women included).
• You are at least 21 years old and legally able to work in the United States.
• You are able to speak and write English.
• You have a good driving record and can pass a background check (No Felonies, No DUI, etc.)
• You own a full sized pickup truck in good, reliable working order (model year 2003 or later).
• Your vehicle has current registration and meets State requirements for inspections, licenses, etc.
• Your vehicle is insured to State minimum requirements.
• You are physically fit (can lift at least 75 lbs. and perform basic loading and securement).
• You own an iPhone or Android smartphone on a major wireless carrier.
• If this is you so far, then let’s dig in to the details. Get started now by reviewing the Good Guy FAQs and completing your driver profile.

So a company that is pushing you to ignore OSHA requirements.  Pretty sure 75lbs falls into a team lift per OSHA, has been anywhere I worked.

[jsharr ★]

10 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

Basic Requirements

• You are a good guy (especially firefighters, military, and first responders, women included).
• You are at least 21 years old and legally able to work in the United States.
• You are able to speak and write English.
• You have a good driving record and can pass a background check (No Felonies, No DUI, etc.)
• You own a full sized pickup truck in good, reliable working order (model year 2003 or later).
• Your vehicle has current registration and meets State requirements for inspections, licenses, etc.
• Your vehicle is insured to State minimum requirements.
• You are physically fit (can lift at least 75 lbs. and perform basic loading and securement).
• You own an iPhone or Android smartphone on a major wireless carrier.
• If this is you so far, then let’s dig in to the details. Get started now by reviewing the Good Guy FAQs and completing your driver profile.

See, you can check off most of those!  Esp. the first one and most of the second and third ones, a bit of the fourth one, all of the fifth one, and most of the rest.

[12string]

So, doing the math.....

75% of 85 cents is 63.75 cents/mile.  The standard deduction for mileage is now calculated to be 54.5 cents.  That accounts for vehicle depreciation and maintenance.  You do incur those costs driving for Uber.  So you are really making 9.25 cents/mile.  Assuming you drive a 30 mile fare in one hour that's  - $2.76.  And you still have to drive home if you can't find another fare that just happens to be headed your direction.  The tax deduction?  That just means you only pay income tax on the $2.76.  Which makes your net hourly rate $2.34.

It would be much more cost effective to call Uber to get a ride to your job at McDonald's.

[jsharr ★]

7 minutes ago, Lettuce Prey said:

Is that an official invite?  Do you have a spare bedroom?  Are the sheets clean?  Will your wife make me breakfast in the morning?  Is she hot?  Never mind, of course she is.  Can I borrow a car while I'm there?  What size is your bike if I want to go for a ride?  What brand of toilet paper do you buy?  Nothing too scratchy, I hope.  

So many questions to answer before I can commit...

You get a bowl of chili, a few beers, a scoop of ice cream, some discreet ogling of the wife, unlimited petting of any or all of the dogs (Rascal will piss on you and has been known to shit unexpectedly) and the old heave ho.

I may let you drive my truck.  I ride either a 56 or 58 and have a few of both.  Mountain bikes I have one medium and two large.  I have a 13 or 15" Trek hybrid and the wife has a 15" or 17" Specialized Rock Hopper. 

No quest bedroom, but you can sleep on the sofa for a night or two depending on how attracted Martha is to you and how discreet your ogling skills are.

[jsharr ★]

5 minutes ago, Indy said:

So a company that is pushing you to ignore OSHA requirements.  Pretty sure 75lbs falls into a team lift per OSHA, has been anywhere I worked.

Yeah, 75lbs or so is an OhShit violation for me these days.

[Kzoo]

1 minute ago, 12string said:

So, doing the math.....

75% of 85 cents is 63.75 cents/mile.  The standard deduction for mileage is now calculated to be 54.5 cents.  That accounts for vehicle depreciation and maintenance.  You do incur those costs driving for Uber.  So you are really making 9.25 cents/mile.  Assuming you drive a 30 mile fare in one hour that's  - $2.76.  And you still have to drive home if you can't find another fare that just happens to be headed your direction.  The tax deduction?  That just means you only pay income tax on the $2.76.  Which makes your net hourly rate $2.34.

It would be much more cost effective to call Uber to get a ride to your job at McDonald's.

The gov'ments $0.54/mile includes more than depreciation and maintenance.  It also includes fuel (which needs to be considered in the calc here) and insurance, which is a sunk cost.  We reimburse $0.54/mile here at the business but no way it costs me that much to drive my car.  If you can't make money at $0.6375 per mile you are doing something wrong, deadheading too much or stuck in traffic and the hourly rate thing is killing you.

 

[Indy]

3 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Yeah, 75lbs or so is an OhShit violation for me these days.

I ain't that bad, which is a good thing since my daughter is closing on 50lbs and still likes to be cared.  And my son is around 80lbs and I can still grab him and throw him up on my shoulder when he ticks me off.  Though it probably looks odd doing it to a kid that size, but that's what happens when you produce freakishly large kids.

[Kzoo]

6 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Yeah, 75lbs or so is an OhShit violation for me these days.

And there might be a difference between what they are asking for from qualifications and what they are asking to be lifted.  I would want someone that exceeded my basic requirements.

[groupw]

My son drives for both. Bar closing and Husker Football are prime rates. He can pull in $250-500 on a football day. Most of it is driving fans to their parking garages. 

He has only had 1 person puke in his car. $75 surcharge to the rider. Cost him $20 in cleaning supplies. Most he can reuse. 

One night a guy asked if he could play Rage Against the Machine. Son pulled it up on Spotify. Guy asked him to play it loud. Have my son a $25 tip for being a good guy. 

[donkpow]

Costs per mile to operate a vehicle according to AAA.

[12string]

$500 is 784 miles.  at 45MPH average (that's flying), 17.4 hours

That's at the gross pay .  Subtracting gas alone, he actually makes about .55 a mile.

[ChrisL]

Thanks all for the info. I'll need to give this some more thought.   Stinking kids and weddings are getting in the way of my N+1 goals... 

[Square Wheels]

I imagine it would depend on your geography.  When I was in NYC a couple of years ago we took Uber a few times.  I was amazed at how efficient it was.  We always did the group thing.  When they pulled up there was already one or two other fares in the vehicle.  I doubt there was ever downtime.

[ChrisL]

29 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

I imagine it would depend on your geography.  When I was in NYC a couple of years ago we took Uber a few times.  I was amazed at how efficient it was.  We always did the group thing.  When they pulled up there was already one or two other fares in the vehicle.  I doubt there was ever downtime.

When i fly home my wife always picks me up as I'm about 1.5 miles from the airport.  But 80% of the cars picking up are Uber or Lyft.  That's what got me thinking about it 

[Ralphie ★]

2 hours ago, Reverend_Maynard said:

I believe the fedrally recognized reimbursement rate for driving for business is $.545/mile.  In doing the calculations, that's probably where you should start as what your expenses will be long term.  In RGs example. the real expenses are probably around $54.50, for a net loss of $24.50 for the driver.

IMO, it's only good to keep your car that you overextended on from getting repoed while you're out of work.

Edited to fix the rate.

Eggzactly what I was going to post.  And you can;t beat it by driving a fully depreciated junker since the cars have to be like 3 years old or newer.

[Ralphie ★]

My only experience with Uber was they wanted aboot $25 for about a mile in Philly in the middle of a weekday, so I walked.  I guess that was a low usage period so no drivers were ready.