Anyone Familiar With Driving For Uber?

[Bocefish]

My nephew wants me to front him some start up money so he can lease a vehicle, start a dedicated cell phone plan... and claims he can make $50k doing it full time in the Chicago area.

Everything I've researched on the interwebs is that Uber drivers earn a little under $12 an hour after expenses.

Any and all advice appreciated.

 

[yummybrownfox]

I don't have any experience with Uber or much knowledge of it. I've applied for their work-from-home 'Community Support Representative' job (handle customer concerns via e-mail) a couple times though, and kept getting rejected.

Some links about Uber, etc. that you may find helpful:

http://ratracerebellion.com/how-to-rent-a-car-with-no-credit-check-and-earn-cash-with-uber/
http://realwaystoearnmoneyonline.com/money-earning-directory/driving/

 

[Mira_xo]

Not sure about Uber but just wanted to say, be careful lending money to family. When dealing with money, I don't "lend" it. Any money lent to family/friends is as good as gone & you shouldn't expect it back. So gift the money if you can, but don't expect it to be paid back.

According to Uber, $19 is the average per hour. Some higher traffic areas can get between $20-25 per hour. This is between $38k-$50k/year assuming he works 40hrs/week and takes 2 weeks off/year. This isn't to be expected because I think Uber drivers set their own hours, which, being a camgirl, I know can lead to not having the motivation to work a full working week.

 

[Jesse0328]

$50k a year is most likely gross income. That will net out to be far less after you deduct fuel, insurance, repairs, and depreciation. Don't give your nephew a dime. If he wants to finance his ride share empire, banks are happy to loan money to the right people.

 

[Admiralfoot]

I am somewhat familiar with it. They have a rental car option too. It requires an up front deposit and $40 fee. This will let him see if this is what he wants to do and how much he can really make. It runs $215/week and if you do a certain number of rides, Uber will reimburse the fee. (need to check with Uber...might be a regional thing?) This fee covers insurance too. If you don't like it, you can return the vehicle and aren't stuck in a lease. If you hit it right, some drivers make $2,000/week gross...and then others only make $300.

 

[yummybrownfox]

Also, I know this thread is about Uber, but just wanted to also let you know that I've been seeing this job listing for DoorDash as a "Dasher" (food delivery driver), and Chicago happens to be one of the cities where they operate.

https://www.doordash.com/dasher/apply/

DoorDash driver reviews on Glassdoor (Glassdoor is a great site to get reviews on a job):
https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/chicago-doordash-jobs-SRCH_IL.0,7_IC1128808_KE8,16.htm

 

[KBdarling]

My ex used to do it and, well, it's hard for me to imagine him making 50k unless he knew some type of special strategy. It's all about the location, but from what I'm reading (and also what I've seen with friends) it's not easy to make a decent salary.

 

[Audus_Isaiah]

also I'd like to say that if you are going to go the ride share route, consider signing up with Lyft as well (yes most pro ride share drivers double dip) because at least they care about the humans that work for them and they also allow you to get tipped.

On another note, uber now has a program called uberEats where you can deliver people food - and surprisingly people are more likely to tip you for delivering a sandwich than they are for delivering them safely to their destination.

 

[Audus_Isaiah]

Hi!
I am an actual uber driver!

First and foremost - uber has some pretty shady tactics with making new drivers think they are really getting into a legitimate business. There are indeed people that are full time uber drivers - but let me assure it will not be for much more than minimum wage unless you are a pro

First of all, the lease program (I forget what its called, uber exchange?) allows you to lease a car for super cheap! And you can trade it in for a new car whenever (at their terms) and you don't have to worry about mileage. And all you need is a 250 dollar deposit! Sounds great!

Except that uber will deduct the lease amount from your pay, and you are still responsible for the maintenance on the vehicle. Also I think you need to drive a minimum of like, 200 trips a month? Which is basically full time if not more. Also that gas card they offer? You can only charge up to 200 dollars worth of gas each month, and they deduct that amount from your pay before releasing your fares. 200 dollars of gas might sound like a lot of gas, but if you are driving full time for uber it really is basically the bare minimum.

Also let's talk about the driving itself: uber uses a system where it automatically matches you with the closest rider to your location. You don't get to choose. You also don't get to choose WHERE YOU ARE GOING UNTIL YOU PICK THE PERSON UP, which has a lot of issues imo. You also can't set parameters about how far you are willing to go when you pick that person up. Keep in mind the drive to the person who requested your ride is not paid for. You only get paid for the time the person gets in your car to the time you drop them off. So if you need to drive 12 minutes to go pick someone up, and then only drive them for a few miles, you will only make about 4 dollars for 20 min or so trip (and then you might be somewhere where no one is requesting rides, and have to drive back to your original location - which will come out of your own pocket)

Also, if you plan on being a commuter driver who drives into the city to make more fares, keep in mind that your commute is not paid for (and in my experience very rarely adds up).

So yes the amount of money you make when calculated per hour (about $3 for a 5 min trip - so 36 an hour) SOUNDS like a great rate - but never ever ever are you driving for the whole time. Also, the rate only seems high for short trips cause there is a minimum 3 dollars per trip, but in all honesty - even when I do a 45 min fare its only about 20 dollars - but I still have to drive back and forth on my own time!

In short, uber is totally a great decision if - you already do a lot of driving anyway (so you are already out and about and don't need to waste extra gas), if you need to supplement your income, or if you desperately need a job (although consider the amount of money you need to spend on gas, car maintenance etc.) but do be careful thinking that it will be substantial

If you go to notcooluber.com they give you even more of a breakdown on the trip fares and the shady practices. I'm not saying that its not a decent way to make money. Just be prepared to spend all your time driving, and keep in mind that you will be responsible for how that effects your vehicle.

 

[Mila_]

I got obsessed with this topic a while back even though I never intended to drive for Uber.

1) Income really depends on your car and your strategy. Some Uber Black drivers do pull $10k a month driving for Uber. This doesn't happen in a million years with Uber X.

2) To make a good living you have to drive smart. Wake up at 4 am, go to the airport at 5 to catch those rides, then around 8 move to affluent suburbs to catch long rides to downtown from people who are going there to do business. Then stay in downtown for the lunch break as people call Uber to go from the office to the restaurants, etc, and stay until 5 pm so you catch some rides of people returning to the suburbs. This is not a 9 to 5 job if you want to be a top earner, and it is also not a job for a slacker if you want to make more than 12k a year.

3) If you live on a smaller city or town it will be much harder to make a living with Uber only. Many Uber drivers in smaller towns mix Uber with Lyft and things like Postmates to compensate.

4) Uber lowballs their drivers when convenient. Rates tend to go down often, so it is not a job as reliable as others.

 

[Jesse0328]

If there were lakes of cash

2) To make a good living you have to drive smart. Wake up at 4 am, go to the airport at 5 to catch those rides, then around 8 move to affluent suburbs to catch long rides to downtown from people who are going there to do business. Then stay in downtown for the lunch break as people call Uber to go from the office to the restaurants, etc, and stay until 5 pm so you catch some rides of people returning to the suburbs. This is not a 9 to 5 job if you want to be a top earner, and it is also not a job for a slacker if you want to make more than 12k a year.

Basically if you can strategize well, and make ride sharing your life, there is money to be made. But it's not a get rich quick operation by any means.

 

[Camgirl]

In my Metro Area Uber and Lyft are busiest after the bars close and during special events. Most driver's we have asked say they make around 100-300 on a weekend night.

We use ride sharing at least 4x a week so we have asked a lot of drivers.

 

[Admiralfoot]

Uber also sets times where they pay a guaranteed rate of $20-$25/hour. Usually if there is a special event and times of heavy travel...early morning, late afternoon, when bars close. If you work these hours, you can get a guarantee of $1800-2500/week...You just need to available to drive in the area and handle 1.5 rides per hour and maintain a decent rating.

 

[AuroraKnight]

It's best to drive during hours when a lot of other drivers aren't on, as they typically raise the rates if there are only a couple drivers in the area as incentive for more to sign on, which is really annoying as typically we only use uber at like 6 am when the buses don't run.

 

[Mila_]

It's best to drive during hours when a lot of other drivers aren't on, as they typically raise the rates if there are only a couple drivers in the area as incentive for more to sign on, which is really annoying as typically we only use uber at like 6 am when the buses don't run.

This is called "surge" and it is the most profitable times to drive. They also increase the rate when it's raining or there is a special event.

Edit: this is an article written 2 years ago by one of the top Uber black drivers at the time. It was a very interesting read.

http://therideshareguy.com/from-low-paid-cab-driver-to-10000-a-month-uber-driver/

 

[SaffronBurke]

They've lowered the minimum fare in my city twice since I started using Uber. It went from about $5.60 to $5 and now $4.35. Each time, we saw a dip in the number of drivers available. I used to have an average wait of 5 minutes for a ride, now it's usually 11. Which means the drivers are now driving farther to get me, and being paid less.

I've seen lots of people asking in the reviews for the app to add a tip option, and I really wish they would. I take Uber to and from work most days. I live a mile from work, and it's an uphill hike the whole way, so walking has me arriving sweaty and red-faced, plus sunburned because it just takes a couple minutes for me to burn. If someone is driving 13 minutes away from me to drive me a mile, they deserve a fucking tip, but I am only near an Atm maybe once a month, so I never have cash to tip with.

 

[Camgirl]

They've lowered the minimum fare in my city twice since I started using Uber. It went from about $5.60 to $5 and now $4.35. Each time, we saw a dip in the number of drivers available. I used to have an average wait of 5 minutes for a ride, now it's usually 11. Which means the drivers are now driving farther to get me, and being paid less.

I've seen lots of people asking in the reviews for the app to add a tip option, and I really wish they would. I take Uber to and from work most days. I live a mile from work, and it's an uphill hike the whole way, so walking has me arriving sweaty and red-faced, plus sunburned because it just takes a couple minutes for me to burn. If someone is driving 13 minutes away from me to drive me a mile, they deserve a fucking tip, but I am only near an Atm maybe once a month, so I never have cash to tip with.

Try Lyft! They have a tip option at the end of your ride.

 

[SaffronBurke]

Try Lyft! They have a tip option at the end of your ride.

We don't have Lyft here currently. I've heard that it's coming soon, but I've been hearing that for two years, so.... Uber for now.

 

[AudriTwo]

My brother drives for Uber in Pittsburgh. He is able to support his family and pay for his wife's tution. But that's because he spends 12+ hours a day, 6 days a week working. I'll ask him what he made when 2016 is up because this is his first year doing it. If your nephew thinks it is going to be easy money, he is wrong.