It's simple: Drivers are getting ripped off. Uber is deducting $1 from each fare for "passenger insurance", and then taking 20%. So on a $3.50 fare charged to the rider, the driver is getting only $2.00. This equates to the driver only getting 57% of the fare. I don't think this is fair. It's not worth $2.00 for a driver to drive to the rider's destination, pick up the rider, and drop him off at his destination, especially when the driver could be on a different call that involves a longer drive, where the driver's share of the fare is much larger. For example, a $7.00 fare would equate to a $4.80 payout to the driver, or 69% of the fare. The higher the fare, the higher the percentage that the driver gets. Why can't the rider pay $1 for each trip to cover himself/herself? Why does the driver have to pay this? And why has the minimum fee for a rider been reduced from $4.00 to $3.50?? The number of new Uber riders and requested trips have been exponentially increasing, not decreasing. There was no need for Uber to reduce the minimum fare.