[Jake Air]

I stopped driving in March 2020, which was the start of the pandemic.
I have not resumed driving for one reason -- gas prices in my state (CA). Only Hawaii has higher gas prices. And I don't see any way possible I can come out ahead. It doesn't seem logical to me.
Yet, I see a lot of cars at night whizzing around with their pink Lyft dash devices. I don't know if these people are desperate and working 14-hour days or if driving on the side is profitable despite fuel prices.
If you drive in a state where gas prices are low, then I get it.

I'll say one thing -- Uber certainly has nothing to complain about. I just came across this article. Wow. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/business/uber-revenue.html

 

[ObeyTheNumbers]

California has a smog problem that they think that by raising the tax on fossil fuels will spurn the adoption of EV's. But for an Uber driver the cost and downtime recharging just doesn't make financial sense currently. And even if California converted 100% of its vehicles to EV's they will still have smog because 70% of it is coming from China.

Next is ridesharing is intended to be done if a driver is already headed in that general direction anyway. However in small areas with a high concentration of short fares that double back around, it's possible to make very good money doing ridesharing either part time or full time. Uber says 94% of its drivers are doing it part time.

Now the general formula is to not accept trips unless your going to make at least $1 or more per mile with the tip. At the end of the day the amount on your meters should be more than the odometer miles driven that day. Any less than a $1 per mile your losing.

50 cents a mile for costs, 15 cents a mile saved to replace the vehicle, 10 cents a mile for taxes and 25 cents a mile or more is your pay.

A typical driver can do about 85,000 miles a year, a superman can do 100,000..
A typical vehicle with good care should last about 300,000 miles.
So every 3-3.5 years your going to need to replace the vehicle if bought new.
At $1 per mile that's $300,000.
Your costs to run the business is going to cost apx 75 cents mile or 75 percent of 300,000 which is $225,000. Which leaves you a pitiful $75,000 for 3.5 years to live on or $21,500 a year clear after taxes.

If you do your own oil changes and car washes, you could save more.

So you see why you need $1 a mile or more, anything less is just ridesharing to reduce your cost going that way anyway sort of deal.

Yes, Uber has come out the winner with the marketshare war with Lyft, which tried to lowball from the bottom and now is practically defunct. Although California may like Lyft and you see more Lyft lights, those drivers are likely making the bulk of their money on Uber as it's marketshare in the US is well over 70%.

Not only that Lyft doesn't tell drivers what the customer pays, but the drivers are finding out directly from the customers screens and they are not happy that Lyft is charging so much and they are getting so little, they take as much as 48%. Fares too high leaves less room for drivers seeking a tip. So the real money for drivers is on Uber.

If it's slow you run both and when busy just Uber because the volume will have you doubling back over your own tracks more often.

So yes, start out part time because driving is a losing job career speaking. Lots of time waiting for little pay for the time allotted.

For instance I'm online 18 hours a day to hopefully make my $250-$300 a day.

 

[Wackypete2]

You can save on gas in your state by signing up with gasbuddy. I do part time on weekends only and only during busy hours. Try only using 1 app per night and switch off on different nights. Go for the lower to mid tier bonuses. That way you wont be wearing out yourself or your car trying for the higher bonuses.

Just my opinion.

Good Luck!!

Peter

 

[Stevie The magic Unicorn]

It depends on your location.

Some locations arn't worth it at all. Ever, no matter how busy you are.

Orlando Florida for instance is one of the worst places to do this gig in the entirity of the english speaking world.

Is there a massive glut of drivers to the point you can't get pings? No it's busy as crap.

The problem is the pay is so god awful that you'll never make shit. Rates are a fraction of what they are in nearby cities. As in 5 hours for $25 worth of cranking out short fares on lyft.

How is that justifiable?


So really it depends on your location. In florida you're better off financially sitting at home and watching netflix (assuming you had an account before) becuase you arn't driving around burning gasoline and wearing out car parts trying to make money. I say TRYING because rates are so bad here that you're not making money, you're spinning your wheels going nowhere.



However there's other locations that arn't worth doing part time for entirely other reasons. NYC is over regulated and the insurance requirements and permit requirements are so high that you have to work 50 hour weeks or it isn't worth doing.


Then there's areas that just don't have enough business to go around. Those exist to.


Lastly... there might be a few places that are worth working, but if your looking at information/stories from over 5 months ago... it's old information.

On average... doing literally anything else for money is better.

 

[Trafficat]

Who needs the money? When you drive for Uber you can brag to all your friends about how many boobs you've had in your car. It will be a way higher number than their number, almost guaranteed.

 

[weibo]

California has a smog problem that they think that by raising the tax on fossil fuels will spurn the adoption of EV's. But for an Uber driver the cost and downtime recharging just doesn't make financial sense currently. And even if California converted 100% of its vehicles to EV's they will still have smog because 70% of it is coming from China.

Next is ridesharing is intended to be done if a driver is already headed in that general direction anyway. However in small areas with a high concentration of short fares that double back around, it's possible to make very good money doing ridesharing either part time or full time. Uber says 94% of its drivers are doing it part time.

Now the general formula is to not accept trips unless your going to make at least $1 or more per mile with the tip. At the end of the day the amount on your meters should be more than the odometer miles driven that day. Any less than a $1 per mile your losing.

50 cents a mile for costs, 15 cents a mile saved to replace the vehicle, 10 cents a mile for taxes and 25 cents a mile or more is your pay.

A typical driver can do about 85,000 miles a year, a superman can do 100,000..
A typical vehicle with good care should last about 300,000 miles.
So every 3-3.5 years your going to need to replace the vehicle if bought new.
At $1 per mile that's $300,000.
Your costs to run the business is going to cost apx 75 cents mile or 75 percent of 300,000 which is $225,000. Which leaves you a pitiful $75,000 for 3.5 years to live on or $21,500 a year clear after taxes.

If you do your own oil changes and car washes, you could save more.

So you see why you need $1 a mile or more, anything less is just ridesharing to reduce your cost going that way anyway sort of deal.

Yes, Uber has come out the winner with the marketshare war with Lyft, which tried to lowball from the bottom and now is practically defunct. Although California may like Lyft and you see more Lyft lights, those drivers are likely making the bulk of their money on Uber as it's marketshare in the US is well over 70%.

Not only that Lyft doesn't tell drivers what the customer pays, but the drivers are finding out directly from the customers screens and they are not happy that Lyft is charging so much and they are getting so little, they take as much as 48%. Fares too high leaves less room for drivers seeking a tip. So the real money for drivers is on Uber.

If it's slow you run both and when busy just Uber because the volume will have you doubling back over your own tracks more often.

So yes, start out part time because driving is a losing job career speaking. Lots of time waiting for little pay for the time allotted.

For instance I'm online 18 hours a day to hopefully make my $250-$300 a day.

18 hours a day????
FWIW, Chicago usually takes only 8-10 hours to reach $300.00

 

[weibo]

Who needs the money? When you drive for Uber you can brag to all your friends about how many boobs you've had in your car. It will be a way higher number than their number, almost guaranteed.

Understood, completely.

Fuel, however, is NOT free 😎👍

 

[ObeyTheNumbers]

18 hours a day????
FWIW, Chicago usually takes only 8-10 hours to reach $300.00

Customers charged $1 per mile and $1 per minute right?

We don't have that high per minute rate everywhere else, the longer you sit in traffic the better. 😂

 

[weibo]

It depends on your location.

Some locations arn't worth it at all. Ever, no matter how busy you are.

Orlando Florida for instance is one of the worst places to do this gig in the entirity of the english speaking world.

Is there a massive glut of drivers to the point you can't get pings? No it's busy as crap.

The problem is the pay is so god awful that you'll never make shit. Rates are a fraction of what they are in nearby cities. As in 5 hours for $25 worth of cranking out short fares on lyft.

How is that justifiable?


So really it depends on your location. In florida you're better off financially sitting at home and watching netflix (assuming you had an account before) becuase you arn't driving around burning gasoline and wearing out car parts trying to make money. I say TRYING because rates are so bad here that you're not making money, you're spinning your wheels going nowhere.



However there's other locations that arn't worth doing part time for entirely other reasons. NYC is over regulated and the insurance requirements and permit requirements are so high that you have to work 50 hour weeks or it isn't worth doing.


Then there's areas that just don't have enough business to go around. Those exist to.


Lastly... there might be a few places that are worth working, but if your looking at information/stories from over 5 months ago... it's old information.

On average... doing literally anything else for money is better.

I understand, completely.

Location, location, location.

Agreed

 

[weibo]

Customers charged $1 per mile and $1 per minute right?

We don't have that high per minute rate everywhere else, the longer you sit in traffic the better. 😂

True.

However, from MY experience—-YMMV, for sure—-the faster I can drop off the rider, the better the tips. True, $1/min/mile makes finding the most traffic-congested routes, inviting. That’s why I say YMMV.

I will add, I Uber beginning around 3AM. 5 days a week. The early bird gets the airport rides. No offense intended😎👍

 

[Heisenburger]

If you drive in a state where gas prices are low, then I get it.

gas prices in my state (CA). Only Hawaii has higher gas prices.

In every market, there's positive correlation between compensation and gas prices. Specifically, where average gas prices are higher, average driver pay is too. This is just market forces at work.

 

[Jake Air]

California has a smog problem that they think that by raising the tax on fossil fuels will spurn the adoption of EV's. But for an Uber driver the cost and downtime recharging just doesn't make financial sense currently. And even if California converted 100% of its vehicles to EV's they will still have smog because 70% of it is coming from China.

Next is ridesharing is intended to be done if a driver is already headed in that general direction anyway. However in small areas with a high concentration of short fares that double back around, it's possible to make very good money doing ridesharing either part time or full time. Uber says 94% of its drivers are doing it part time.

Now the general formula is to not accept trips unless your going to make at least $1 or more per mile with the tip. At the end of the day the amount on your meters should be more than the odometer miles driven that day. Any less than a $1 per mile your losing.

50 cents a mile for costs, 15 cents a mile saved to replace the vehicle, 10 cents a mile for taxes and 25 cents a mile or more is your pay.

A typical driver can do about 85,000 miles a year, a superman can do 100,000..
A typical vehicle with good care should last about 300,000 miles.
So every 3-3.5 years your going to need to replace the vehicle if bought new.
At $1 per mile that's $300,000.
Your costs to run the business is going to cost apx 75 cents mile or 75 percent of 300,000 which is $225,000. Which leaves you a pitiful $75,000 for 3.5 years to live on or $21,500 a year clear after taxes.

If you do your own oil changes and car washes, you could save more.

So you see why you need $1 a mile or more, anything less is just ridesharing to reduce your cost going that way anyway sort of deal.

Yes, Uber has come out the winner with the marketshare war with Lyft, which tried to lowball from the bottom and now is practically defunct. Although California may like Lyft and you see more Lyft lights, those drivers are likely making the bulk of their money on Uber as it's marketshare in the US is well over 70%.

Not only that Lyft doesn't tell drivers what the customer pays, but the drivers are finding out directly from the customers screens and they are not happy that Lyft is charging so much and they are getting so little, they take as much as 48%. Fares too high leaves less room for drivers seeking a tip. So the real money for drivers is on Uber.

If it's slow you run both and when busy just Uber because the volume will have you doubling back over your own tracks more often.

So yes, start out part time because driving is a losing job career speaking. Lots of time waiting for little pay for the time allotted.

For instance I'm online 18 hours a day to hopefully make my $250-$300 a day.

That was a really thoughtful and informative reply. Thank you!
Yes, the $1 per mile figure sticks in my head and I know you have to do the calculation very fast to decide whether or not you want to accept or decline.

 

[Jake Air]

You can save on gas in your state by signing up with gasbuddy. I do part time on weekends only and only during busy hours. Try only using 1 app per night and switch off on different nights. Go for the lower to mid tier bonuses. That way you wont be wearing out yourself or your car trying for the higher bonuses.

Just my opinion.

Good Luck!!

Peter

Do you mean you can see where the cheapest gas is checking gasbuddy or do we get a price break of some kind by signing up?
Thanks Peter!

 

[Jake Air]

It depends on your location.

Some locations arn't worth it at all. Ever, no matter how busy you are.

Orlando Florida for instance is one of the worst places to do this gig in the entirity of the english speaking world.

Is there a massive glut of drivers to the point you can't get pings? No it's busy as crap.

The problem is the pay is so god awful that you'll never make shit. Rates are a fraction of what they are in nearby cities. As in 5 hours for $25 worth of cranking out short fares on lyft.

How is that justifiable?


So really it depends on your location. In florida you're better off financially sitting at home and watching netflix (assuming you had an account before) becuase you arn't driving around burning gasoline and wearing out car parts trying to make money. I say TRYING because rates are so bad here that you're not making money, you're spinning your wheels going nowhere.



However there's other locations that arn't worth doing part time for entirely other reasons. NYC is over regulated and the insurance requirements and permit requirements are so high that you have to work 50 hour weeks or it isn't worth doing.


Then there's areas that just don't have enough business to go around. Those exist to.


Lastly... there might be a few places that are worth working, but if your looking at information/stories from over 5 months ago... it's old information.

On average... doing literally anything else for money is better.

Yeah, well I live in CA, so none of those locations affect me; however, there are certain location in CA where you get screwed more than others.
As I said, I only do this as a side gig. My car is paid off now and I have a FT job. So driving would be to try to earn some extra money to supplement my income.
I'm just trying to figure out if it's profitable or will I be wasting my time and losing money on top of it.
Thanks for your response. It was an interesting read.

 

[Jake Air]

In every market, there's positive correlation between compensation and gas prices. Specifically, where average gas prices are higher, average driver pay is too. This is just market forces at work.

Sure, I would hope so. But I still read a lot of complaints that the pax fares are not being increased proportionally. In other words, if gas increased 30 cents and gallon, fares are not adjusted -- at least not immediately.
I don't know if that's true or not because I have not driven in a long time. But it's what I read from other California drivers.

 

[Heisenburger]

Sure, I would hope so. But I still read a lot of complaints that the pax fares are not being increased proportionally. In other words, if gas increased 30 cents and gallon, fares are not adjusted -- at least not immediately.
I don't know if that's true or not because I have not driven in a long time. But it's what I read from other California drivers.

In markets with Upfront Fares, there are no fixed rates. No fixed rates means pay is variable. The ones who determine the pay are the drivers who accept the requests. All of them, collectively. Majority rules. It stands to reason that, if a majority of drivers feel that current gas prices (whether they be relatively higher or lower than the recent past) is a factor in what offers they accept at what amounts, then they will reject or accept accordingly and the subsequent offers will be modified accordingly.

 

[Wackypete2]

Do you mean you can see where the cheapest gas is checking gasbuddy or do we get a price break of some kind by signing up?
Thanks Peter!

BOTH!! You can find the cheapest gas near you AND get a few cents per gallon discount.
No harm signing up to see for yourself!

Peter

 

[Jenkins111]

I stopped driving in March 2020, which was the start of the pandemic.
I have not resumed driving for one reason -- gas prices in my state (CA). Only Hawaii has higher gas prices. And I don't see any way possible I can come out ahead. It doesn't seem logical to me.
Yet, I see a lot of cars at night whizzing around with their pink Lyft dash devices. I don't know if these people are desperate and working 14-hour days or if driving on the side is profitable despite fuel prices.
If you drive in a state where gas prices are low, then I get it.

I'll say one thing -- Uber certainly has nothing to complain about. I just came across this article. Wow. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/business/uber-revenue.html

View attachment 696489

I think you should, cabs are a great part-time job!

 

[Stevie The magic Unicorn]

True.

However, from MY experience—-YMMV, for sure—-the faster I can drop off the rider, the better the tips. True, $1/min/mile makes finding the most traffic-congested routes, inviting. That’s why I say YMMV.

I will add, I Uber beginning around 3AM. 5 days a week. The early bird gets the airport rides. No offense intended😎👍

The problem is that in some markets a "good" 20 mile airport fare might only pay $10-15 minus tolls around me.

Not even joking..

And people wonder why they struggle to get an uber ride from disney world at 4:30 in the morning...

 

[Jimmy44]

I stopped driving in March 2020, which was the start of the pandemic.
I have not resumed driving for one reason -- gas prices in my state (CA). Only Hawaii has higher gas prices. And I don't see any way possible I can come out ahead. It doesn't seem logical to me.
Yet, I see a lot of cars at night whizzing around with their pink Lyft dash devices. I don't know if these people are desperate and working 14-hour days or if driving on the side is profitable despite fuel prices.
If you drive in a state where gas prices are low, then I get it.

I'll say one thing -- Uber certainly has nothing to complain about. I just came across this article. Wow. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/business/uber-revenue.html

View attachment 696489

So many variables involved for everyone of us many you mentioned.
I quit the same time as you did.
Uber overed some decent incentives to come back and drive.
It may be worth it to use them up if they offer.