Some of us drive for Uber/Lyft part time and would never dream of trying to making a living doing it with a family/mortgage and real obligations.
The social interaction is fun and the rough economics are exactly as you said, it pays for the car plus a little extra as long as Uber doesn’t squeeze too hard.
Given, a single person can make $800/week doing it full time and for those who have a choice of minimum wage or nothing it is clearly a better choice. Many drivers are semi retired and like having company.
I spoke with one Lyft driver who mentioned he makes more driving than being a care giver which paid $13/hour.
He also mentioned he couldn’t get a loan as the bank said, Uber can be gone tomorrow. This goes back to the original topic, that Uber becomes a subprime lender for vehicles with the accompanying credit risk. It would be interesting to know just how many vehicles are being purchased with the idea of ride share paying some or most of the payment.
If a person is in a situation where they depend on Uber/Lyft to make a living, then my advice would be to get more skills as sitting in a car 40-60 hours/week isn’t healthy even if the conversation is fun etc.
For drivers who started over 2 years ago, the rates were much higher and it may have led some to conclude this would last and make plans around it, alas that isn’t the case.
I am convinced it will be better one day once this price war stops and the app improve with better options for matching riders and drivers.
If the payment was roughly $1.50/mile that might be fair but for now it’s about 1/2 that.
Due to the low payment, it is easy to get emotional and react negatively about Uber, but that underscores my point. It is not a full time job.
I certainly hope none of this discussion puts anyone off from using the service.
