Uber Driver works 40+ hours a week at $3 an hour.

[Sam_Fields]

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/ubers-ride-getting-a-bit-bumpier/

Well it turns out the Uber driver we featured in the newspaper on Monday, Takele Gobena, is one of those Sea-Tac airport passenger poachers. And he revealed the flip-side of those $25 airport fares — namely that after expenses, insurance and paying off Uber, Gobena ended up making only about $3 an hour last year.

And 15.3% of that $3 goes to the government.

[Omaha Steve]

1. Thanks for posting

K&R!

OS

[taught_me_patience]

2. how about he do the math and not do that job?

[FrodosPet]

48. Because $3.00 an hour beats $0.00 an hour?

Sad but true.

I am starting to see an anti-Uber backlash, as the quality of service and availability drops. More and more, we are seeing a business recovery, as the better drivers quit or minimize their hours.

For example, the bread and butter of Uber - bar pickups. A few months ago, I was spending an unusual amount of time sitting and watching the parade of Ubers. Now, I am getting people jumping in after spending 10-15 minutes waiting for a ping, only to have the car cancel on them.

[Massacure]

3. That's interesting.

Granted I don't actively stay up to date with Uber, but isn't their fare set based on the ratio of drivers to passenger based on when you the ride is booked, and isn't something like 80 or 85% of that passed along to the driver? If so, it sounds like their algorithm is screwed up and needs some work.

[Kilgore]

4. Horrible, but he is not an employee

As an independent contractor, all the expenses are his. Sounds like he has to sharpen his pencil and cut his overhead.

We know the son of a family friend who is pulling down around $500 a week extra money driving part time for uber in California.

[mythology]

8. Uber classifies him as an independent contractor, but that is at best disputed.

But a recent case in California decided that they aren't and it was just certified as a class action lawsuit. Just because Uber illegally classifies somebody as an independent contractor doesn't mean Uber's drivers are actually independent contractors.

For example, Uber controls the pay rate of the drivers, doesn't give jobs to drivers if they don't drive regularly, Uber specifies the type of car the drivers have to have, they aren't able to contract out the fares and most importantly the drivers are core to the business model of Uber. Without drivers, Uber is utterly worthless as a company.

Uber either needs to treat drivers like employees or get sued out of business.

[Kilgore]

9. This is true, but....

The ruling is under appeal, and until its settled they still are independent contractors

[CreekDog]

53. you said "he should cut his overhead"

maybe he could stop eating.

[Recursion]

13. True. Cab companies do too

I see no reason why cabbies should be independent contractors either.

[Luminous Animal]

36. Many drivers for cab companies do no qualify as an independent contractor. (In California)

The California EDD has good guidelines here.

http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de231tc.pdf

Under California Unemployment Insurance Code
(CUIC) Section 621(b), an employee is “any individual
who, under the usual common law rules applicable in
determining the employer-employee relationship, has the
status of an employee.”


A common law employee is an individual who is hired by
a principal to perform services and the principal has the
right to exercise control over the manner and means by
which the individual performs his or her services.

The right to control, whether or not exercised, is the
most important factor in determining the relationship.
The right to discharge a worker at will and without cause
is strong evidence of the right to control.

Uber does indeed, maintain the right to control those who drive for them specifically in these areas:

The drivers could be terminated if they did not maintain good relations
with the public

The drivers depend on the company’s dispatcher (i.e., app) for their livelihood

The drivers did not set their own rates, but were paid according to the number and distance of fares they carried. There was no evidence of entrepreneurial risk.

[Kilgore]

38. And that's the big question

Only thing to do is watch the appeal process work through.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. To me, the rate setting is the key

That may be the thing that makes Uber drivers employees. That being said, there's a big difference between a victim and a volunteer. This young man chose to continue driving for Uber for $3 an hour (or so he says). He may be counting the time he spends waiting and the time he spends driving back to the airport.

[Kilgore]

21. Or shrewd accounting.

He has figured out how to depreciate everything and turn the rest into a business expense.

Nice tax strategy.

[tenderfoot]

30. "We know the son of a family friend who is pulling down around $500 a week extra money driving part"

Oh yeah? That must mean that I'm the Queen of England.

You're lying.

[Gormy Cuss]

35. Or gullible

unless "pulling down ..$500 a week" means gross receipts. Sorry, the math doesn't work for those of us who have been independent contractors. Expenses aren't income after all.

[Kilgore]

39. I have no reason not to believe him.

He drives in Los Angeles and is paying his own tuition at Cal Poly Pomona as an engineering major. His goal is to graduate with Zero student loans.

From the external appearancees, its working for him.

Oh, and please don't call me a liar.....

[CreekDog]

52. how do you know it's an extra $500/week?

for how many hours of driving?

[elehhhhna]

56. parents footing the costs? then it's possible maybe.

[CreekDog]

58. I think the more plausible explanation is that he doesn't know what he's talking about

he's saying this story, heard firsthand (through a reporter) with a fair amount of detail IS NOT TRUE...

because a story he heard, secondhand, with almost no detail, IS TRUE.



I seriously hope that person is not in charge of any difficult and important decisions.

[Agnosticsherbet]

5. Uber us just another low wage Corporate thief.

[Kilgore]

6. They don't pay wages

The drivers are independent contractors

[Agnosticsherbet]

7. So they don't have to pay living wages

Or any other benifits.

It is a business model designed to screw their workers for fun and profit.

[Kilgore]

10. I don't agree...

The drivers (should) know what's in the contract. If they don't like it, they don't have to sign it.

I have worked as an independent contractor for a large portion of my career and loved the freedom to set my own hours and control my own expenses. I have also said adios to a few contracts if the terms were not to my liking.

The key for uber drivers is a court ruling deciding if they are an independent contractor or an employee. If it turns out that are ruled to be an employee, I think you will see Uber go away quickly.

[Agnosticsherbet]

17. People that go to work for McDonalds know what they are getting. Doesn't make it right.

The world will not miss Travis Kalanick (worth 6 billion dollars) or Garrett M. Camp (worth 5.3 billion) or Uber (40 billion).

They will find some other way to provide low wages and no benefits for employees to make themselves richer.

[Kilgore]

19. Uber does not pay wages, drivers are not employees

They are independent contractors.

It's the same situation as if you hired a painter to paint your house. He is not your employee, he is your contractor. If at the end of the job he made little to no profit, he either bid the job too low, or wasted time or materials.

Either way its not your problem, your house was painted. Hopefully the contractor learned something he can use in the future and not be in this situation again.

[Agnosticsherbet]

29. Which is their bullshit bussiness model to keep form paying a living wage and benefits so they can

reap in the profits for themselves and their investors (See my earlier post. The owners are worth between 5.5 and 6 billion each, which shows that a business model designed to use cheap labor works.)

When I hire a contactor, I make sure he or she is with a business that pays his people decent wages. I prefer to work with companies that utilize union members.

This reminds me of the accusation that Trump's contractors used undocumented workers. Trumps statement was that he only hired good contractors and the would not do that. That was Trumps way of not taking responsibility.

Uber is just another huge corporation designed to use cheap labor in order to pump up profits.

[Kilgore]

40. So don't hire Uber if you don't like them.

[jmowreader]

65. Doesn't Uber set the prices rather than the drivers?

[pnwmom]

37. People use your argument to justify not having any minimum wage for anyone.

They'll say people don't have to take a job if they don't like the pay.

But we do have a minimum wage and it should apply to Uber drivers, too.

[Kilgore]

41. an Independent contractor is not a direct employee

It is a person with whom you contract to do a job, independently, with their own tools on their own schedule.

An employee is under the direct control of the employer who sets their schedule and provides the tools.

With that said there is a pending court case to settle the issue when it comes to Uber drivers in California. Time will tell.

[pnwmom]

42. Uber wouldn't exist without its drivers. Calling them independent contractors

is just a facade that at least one judge has already pierced.

They regulate their drivers and require a certain number of hours. They are employers, IMO.

It's true that there is a class action lawsuit and you're right that that will settle the issue for good in California. And the ruling there will probably spread to other states.

[Gormy Cuss]

44. The CA court determined that they're not independent contractors

and I agree with the court. Uber is acting like an employer but expects them to act like independent contractors. That's a giant red flag.

And for the record, I've been a true independent contractor for half of my career. I know the difference.

[Kilgore]

45. You may be right

I too have been an IC for much of my career and what Uber is doing seems thin to me also. It will be interesting to see how the appeals play out.

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. kick

[Recursion]

12. Wait... "after expenses" can mean a lot

And in pieces skeptical of Uber it usually means "after counting the depreciation to his car's value and amortizing the cost of maintenance for the car"

[Sam_Fields]

15. Maintenace of the car is a business expense and not profit

Have you ever run a business?

[Recursion]

16. But the car would need maintenance and would depreciate whether they drove for Uber or not

Do you own a car?

Presumably it depreciates more and needs more maintenance, but until somebody comes up with the marginal difference, we're not really basing anything on reality.

[Bluenorthwest]

18. The IRS has formulas and rates for all of that, the use of vehicles in work is not new to Uber.

Many people use their personal vehicles in their own business or in the job where they are an employee. It's not rocket science.
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc510.html

[Kilgore]

20. Speaking as a former independent contractor

It does mean a lot. It is a normal practice to depreciate everything as much as possible and turn everything else into a business expense when you can.

The whole time I was an independent contractor, I wrote off my cell phone, DSL internet, mileage, work clothes, laptop, monitors, printers, paper.......the list goes on.

All of this results in less "profit" and saves on the tax bill. And by the way its all allowed and encouraged in the IRS code which I followed to the letter.

So when I hear the driver made little profit, it really means nothing until you know the rest of the story.

[1939]

22. If you are an employee

and you factor in those non-reimbursable and non-deductible costs of having the job like:

1. Automotive operating, maintenance, depreciation, and parking costs for commuting.

2. Cost of buying and maintaining business clothing (assuming you aren't allowed to work in T-shirts and flip flops).

You could show on paper that you are working for less than what you are being paid.

[Kilgore]

23. Exactly right

Loved my days as an IC.

Beyond setting my own schedule and freedom to pick and choose jobs, the tax benefits were great.

The best part was not having to endure a jerk for a boss. If I did not like the people or situation, I simply did not renew the contract.

[GummyBearz]

34. For some reason people aren't getting this

Or they just want to ignore it... I am not a contractor, but I can work from home about half the time... writing off related expenses is great

[Travis_0004]

77. Agreed

I write off a part of my house I use as a home office, when I do go to pick up paperwork, its commuting miles and a write it off. I write off parts of my cell phone bill, of of which makes it appear as if I make less than I do.

If I quit my job, my cell phone bill wont go down, and I'm not selling my house for one without that extra space. They are fixed cost I incurred before the job, and they will be incurred after the job.

Or to put it another way. I do accounting, and its quite common to have two sets of books. One for the IRS, one for your investors (10-K). The profit it both reports is never the same, hopefully the IRS books show lower profits. So we tell the IRS we didn't make much, and at the exact same time, we tell our investors it was a great year. Its all legal, we are simply following IRS rules one one report, and IFRS on another report (we are owned by a foreign company, so we don't use GAAP)

[CBGLuthier]

24. Uber is a great way

for a few people to get filthy rich on the backs of the working poor.

[Cal Carpenter]

33. THIS^^^

And the fact that it is so often touted as part of this 'sharing economy' freedom bullshit rather than the vulture capitalist money grab that it is just makes it that much more insidious.

[GummyBearz]

49. Last weekend I went to a wedding

In a Ritzy California coast town, and used uber to get from my hotel to the wedding. I got picked up by a woman in a high end Lexus and a giant rock on her finger... She must be one of those uber CEOs, secretly driving around picking people up I guess...

[CreekDog]

67. you're saying she bought her lexus and that "big rock" using the money she made off Uber?

you sure sound like an intelligent person.

[Lee-Lee]

25. Is that $3hr on what his taxes say or $3hr in reality?

My car gets 48-50mpg and even with depreciation and maintenance costs me about $.18-20 a mile to operate, but the IRS lets me claim $.55 a mile expenses or whatever they choose that year- business travel is $$$$ in the bank on what I am reimbursed and come tax time. I can claim actual expenses and it makes it look like I had more income so I pay more taxes or claim mileage rate where it looks like I had less income and I pay lower taxes.

Last year I made $5000 "profit" in mileage that wasn't taxed and doesn't look like income on my taxes. I can easily see how an uber driver could do even better if they drive a fuel efficient vehicle like mine and do their own maintenance or are like me and have someone that does it on the cheap for them.

[Travis_0004]

28. I would like to know what cost he is including in that math

I have a car payment of 300 a month. I pay 50 a month in insurance. Those are fixed cost, and they are incured before I drive for uber or not. If I drive a few hours, and make 400 bucks (paying 50.00 for gas), you would not say I broke even, and made 0 an hour, as the car and insurance were sunk cost, and would have been incurred even if I didn't drive. (I'm assuming he didn't buy a car just to drive for uber).

[Lee-Lee]

31. Yup- lots of was to legally "fuzz" the math

A good accountant can find all sorts of expenses to deduct that may or may not have been ones you payed anyway.

I would imagine he is taking the per-mile deduction instead of actual costs, and in that case he has a hidden profit per mile and can deduct every mile driven for "work" and not just the ones with a passenger on board. And if he drives something easy on fuel that's a lot of hidden take home money.

[CreekDog]

57. ROFL, nice example, Uber should hire you to be their lobbyist

I know you aren't an Uber driver because the figures you quoted "make 400 bucks...in a few hours".

That would work out to making $2.21 per minute assuming only fare generating drives. Say, there are even 15 minutes of return or unpaid trips in that few hours, then you're saying you'd be making $3/minute.

[Sunlei]

26. I give Uber drives good tips. I also use the houston concierge services, hundreds of them online.

They will do rides about the same as Uber. Plenty of them have online order services.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=online+houston+concierge+services

public taxis will not take pets. My dogs are trained to wear a service vest so I can get them in taxis but I'd rather pay less to a person who works for themself and have a pet friendly driver.

[KamaAina]

43. "My dogs are trained to wear a service vest so I can get them in taxis"

Impersonating a service dog is illegal in many states. It is also a crummy thing to do to people who actually use service dogs.

[liberal N proud]

27. Not explaining the hidden cost was key to builidng the Uber franchise

[John Poet]

47. If Uber drivers were only making $3 an hour, nobody would do it.

I've spoke with several. Nobody ever complained that they weren't making a lot of money.

[Kilgore]

50. So after doing a bit if research, here us what I found

These two links seem to tell the story pretty well.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-uber-drivers-make-in-each-city-2015-7

http://www.idrivewithuber.com/how-much-do-uber-drivers-make/

[Gormy Cuss]

60. That first one is average gross fare per trip.

Gross, not net.

SherpaShare also notes that's not an average wage and in future reports they'll add other variables that will help tease that out:

About the Report

This report looks at gross fares per trip for over one million rideshare trips on Uber and Lyft from January through May 2015. National Averages are calculated from all SherpaShare data. In addition to national averages and trends, the report chose 20 cities with a high concentration of Uber and Lyft drivers using SherpaShare to show in detail.

Not reflected in this report are: average trips per hour, average trip duration, or the percent of each hour utilized -- all of which we will be analyzing in future reports.

[CreekDog]

55. is that what passes as an objective arguement?

they wouldn't be doing it if it were paying $3/hour.

oh?

that's why nobody did Amway? nobody did MLM? nobody worked for small amounts of money under the table?

nobody delivered pizza not realizing how little they were actually netting after the associated expenses? nobody worked for the $2.16/hour "tipped" minimum wage? NOBODY?

WHAT is the content of an argument that says that nobody would work for little compensation in a country that tons of people work for little compensation?

WHAT kind of nonsense IS THAT?

[John Poet]

61. NO, just seems like common sense.

How about this? If I were only making $3 an hour, I wouldn't do it.

Does that pass muster with you?

Get a life.

[CreekDog]

62. Did you read the article?

Did he say he was going to keep doing it? No.

Is it immediate tgat the driver realizes how much he's netting?

[elehhhhna]

51. the sharing economy lol bullshit. I called this shit a long time ago.

[Dont call me Shirley]

54. Uber functions to break the Taxi Drivers Union.

[Fumesucker]

64. Look for the Union Label on *your* Taxi...

[Recursion]

84. Name one city where taxi drivers have collective bargaining agreements with the taxi companies (nt)

[Dont call me Shirley]

86. Here...

https://news.vice.com/article/taxi-drivers-are-trying-to-take-down-uber

"The fight is between taxi drivers and app-based car services, namely Uber and Lyft. Taxi unions in cities such as Boston, Denver, New York, and San Francisco are not pleased with the sudden explosion of Uber's popularity, which has taken off in 67 cities in North America and 36 countries around the world since it started in 2009. Today, the Wall Street Journal announced that the company is now valued at 18.2 billion dollars, one of the highest valuations ever for a start-up company."

[Recursion]

87. Nope. None of those cities have unionized taxi drivers

Congragulations. You are astroturfing for millionaire medallion owners. How does it feel?

[Dont call me Shirley]

88. WHat are you talking about?

[SheilaT]

59. If he's really doing that badly he'd be better off doing pizza delivery.

My son does that, and while he doesn't share with me exactly what he makes, he doesn't ask either of his parents for money -- he knows we'd tell him to get another job -- and he lives in a decent place, can afford what he wants. Plus, he only works four days a week, which isn't bad.

[KentuckyWoman]

63. Color me skeptical

The house I have inherited from my sister is about 6 miles from Hartsfield airport in Atlanta. My new renter has been driving for Uber since they started in Atlanta. He's clearing about $22 an hour before tips and said most of his counterparts do about the same.

He worked for a traditional cab company prior and makes more money now. He does have some complaints about his employer but the pay is not one of them.

[CreekDog]

66. is that what he reported in order to qualify to rent your property?

[KentuckyWoman]

68. He brought recent pay stubs and his 2014 1099.

His pay averaged $21.94 before tips in 2014 and thus far in 2015 he's averaging $22.66.

[CreekDog]

69. That's what he got directly from Uber?

?

[KentuckyWoman]

71. Yes nt

[CreekDog]

70. what the heck is that? who gets a 1099 with an hourly rate on it? he's not an employee

the $22/hour, which I'm inclined to call BS, why don't you just tell us the annual amount? the $22/hour is before he's paid for gas, insurance, before he's paid 7.6% for his Social Security, and before he's paid 7.6% for the employer's share of social security, since he's an independent contractor.

[KentuckyWoman]

72. 2014 1099 annual

$54962.24

He added up his logs and came up with a total of 2399 hrs worked in 2014.

None of this takes into account tips or expenses. I am an accountant. There is no rational way for him to net only $3 an hour based on that. The driver in the article makes this claim and then chooses to stay with Uber. Minimum wage in Washington state is $9.47. Even an idiot would have enough sense to quit and go flip fries.

You challenge my honest and believe an article that makes no sense. Suit yourself.

[John Poet]

73. Perhaps the driver quoted wanted to discourage

further competition from additional Uber drivers...

[CreekDog]

74. I'm calling you dishonest because you said your renter in Atlanta would quit Uber for

...minimum wage, then you quoted the minimum wage in Washington State.

and you're an accountant.

oh?

who started this exchange trying to make it sound like he was making $22/hour.

and why would he share his hours with you?

[KentuckyWoman]

75. Excuse you.

I never said my renter in Atlanta would quit Uber for minimum wage. In fact I said the exact opposite. That he makes more with Uber than any other cab service he's worked for previously. You are just making shit up at this point.

The guy shares more than just his work hours with me. I'm his tax accountant for the last 20 years. At this point I know "where the bodies are buried". If you had any sense you'd realize no one would entrust their late sister's house in another state to some schmo they don't already know and trust.

However, let's just say my renter is the one oddball driver that does better with Uber than traditional services. Let's say the vast majority of drivers are closer to the guy in the article.... making super crap wages and Uber as a whole is abusive to their drivers.

Where's the math? HOW does the driver in that article get to $3 an hour? There's nothing in the article that explains how that figure is reached. I can give you the math for the guy I know. Can you give me the math for the guy in the article?

[Human101948]

79. Well, you don't know what you are looking at...it ain't so rosy...

when you deduct the cost of car and maintenance, insurance and, oh yea, cost of gas.

Remember, you don’t work for Uber. You’re a self-employed independent contractor. Instead of receiving a W2, you’ll receive a 1099-MISC form that reports the gross income you made providing services to Uber. Uber won’t have withheld any taxes from your paychecks, and you’ll be responsible for paying the full federal and state income taxes....

...Suppose you net $50,000 in fares after paying Uber’s commission and that the wear and tear on your car and other expenses give you a $10,000 deduction, giving you a $40,000 in net self-employment income. You’ll pay 15.3 percent SECA tax on 92.35 percent of this amount, or about $5,652. This amount goes on your federal 1040 income tax return.

You are allowed to deduct what is essentially the employer share of the payroll taxes. After doing this and taking the standard deduction and exemption, your taxable income is about $27,000, putting you in the 15 percent marginal tax bracket. You look up the tax tables and calculate that you’ll owe about $3,600 in federal income tax, or about 13 percent of your income.

That’s not all. There’s one other potential “tax” that’s new for tax year 2014: a fee for health insurance. If you don’t have the minimal essential coverage, as required under the Affordable Care Act, then you have to pay the greater of $95 or 1 percent of your income. At your income level, you’ll owe about $300. (You can figure out how much you owe by using the Tax Policy Center’s ACA penalty tax calculator.)

Add the federal income, SECA taxes and ACA fee together, and you’ll owe about $9,500 in taxes, or 25 percent of your net earnings.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2015/02/20/the-hidden-costs-of-being-an-uber-driver/

[Fumesucker]

80. Uber is trying to destroy the taxi driver's union and the great pay and benefits taxi drivers have

Look for the Union Label on *your* taxi.

[Human101948]

81. Yeah, the Uber owners are assholes...

sucking the lifeblood out of the drivers. In NYC, which is close to me, the job of driving a cab is shitty but Uber is worse. Basically gypsy cabs gone digital.

[KentuckyWoman]

83. No one is claiming Uber is great money but it's not $3 an hour either.

He's making a better living than he did with traditional taxi companies. That's all I'm saying.

The link is pretty good BTW though I'm not sure why they calculate the tax rate based on the NET income - that reporting is a bit odd. Some of those are do not apply to everyone but it does give everyone a better idea of actual costs. It also further substantiates a near impossibility of hustling 40 hrs a week for Uber and only netting $3 an hour including tips.

My renter does other things to earn income besides drive. He did with the traditional service as well. I don't see how anyone can live decent on just a taxi driver income.

As a tax accountant I'm fully aware of the costs. The article is wrong on the ACA penalty. For $50000 gross the penalty would be 2% or $1000. But as a self employed or independent contractor you'd be deducting premiums from your taxes or you could opt to deduct the medical costs over 10% of gross income. Singles making under $46,600 do get some subsidy.

Thanks again for the informative post.

[olddots]

76. I personally would rather die than use Uber

so there ...neener. neener .

[Travis_0004]

78. And that is your choice

As for me, if I never had to get inside a taxi again, I would be ok with that.

[Prism]

82. I made $30/hr last week driving

Uber is not a good full time job. But if you drive at peak-ish times, it can be a nice bit of side money.

I don't drive as much as I used to, but last week I tooled around a bit during bar times. Deducting expenses, I brought in around $30 an hour.

When I see these $3/hr stories, I wonder what on earth that person is doing wrong. I have a few guesses.

[John Poet]

85. Tell, tell!

I can't figure it out either.

I suppose if you bought a really expensive new car along with its expensive insurance, and figured that into your "expenses", that could bring your "net earnings" way down, especially if you weren't driving enough hours... or driving the WRONG hours (those with less demand, hence lower Uber fares).

I'm not pro-Uber by any means, but the $3 figure just strikes me as anti-Uber propaganda with little basis in fact. The drivers are paid 80% of all fares collected by Uber, and cash tips go straight into their pockets.

[Prism]

89. A few things sprang to mind

1. Whether he's figuring car payment into expenses. Uber does have a program for people to buy/lease priuses to use.

2. He's hanging around the airport. Note, the article says "5-15 drivers" were lounging around. I don't know how Seattle works, but in S.F. there's a queue where drivers are given first come, first fare priority. While an airport fare could be lucrative, there's no guarantee, and who knows how long that guy's waiting around for a fare to materialize with all the drivers ahead of him. I never hang out at the airport. I will take people there, and if I happen to get another fare, great. But I'm not driving to the cell lot to stare at my phone for 45 minutes.

3. Driving during off-peak hours. And this is why I say it's not a good full-time job. Off-peak means no surges, long wait times between fares, and no guarantee the fare you do get is going far.

4. Chasing surges. It is more efficient, less gas and maintenance, and more fares to park and wait after dropping someone off than to go gallivanting across town because you've spotted a surge. Half the time it's disappeared before you get there. The other half, it's flooded by other drivers with the same thought and you get no fares at all.

5. Hanging around congested areas. This is a little counter-intuitive, but drivers are paid more for distance than time. If you go to a congested area figuring there are more fares, you could be right. You could also end up stuck in stand still traffic. That is not making you money.

Those are just the things off the top of my head. More experienced drivers may have others. But that article had me rolling my eyes a little. The key to Uber is to drive smart and efficiently. Peak times, know where the best fares are on various nights, don't burn gas unnecessarily by driving around looking for fares. Park and wait.

[moondust]

90. Self-driving cars won't need no stinking paycheck!

Uber CEO was on Colbert and said they will be moving to self-driving cars because that's "the future."

[yawnmaster]

91. I don't see his numbers anywhere, only his statement of $3/hr. I'd like more detail. eom