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> Uber driver Juan Prado made six figures in 2021, often shuttling passengers in town for job interviews and doing frequent drop-offs near downtown tech offices

> Uber driver Juan Prado made six figures in 2021, often shuttling passengers in town for job interviews and doing frequent drop-offs near downtown tech offices. Now, he said, demand is much lower. “There are moments where you can be online, and in certain areas, it shows nothing.” "Seattle has the nation’s most expensive Uber rides" (Seattle Times). Rides to the airport have increased 50% for me in the past year, to about $75, and it's at best twice as fast as the $3 train. I doubt it's just fewer tech jobs suppressing Uber activity since 2021.

stephencoyner 1y ago
Not just rideshare, but food delivery has been practically outlawed with all the taxes and fees. We have… Sales tax: 10.25% on prepared delivery food. Commission cap: Apps can only charge restaurants up to 15% per order, which leads to apps passing on fees to consumers PayUp ordinance from 2024: delivery workers must be paid at least $0.44 per engaged minute + $0.74 per engaged mile, or a minimum of $5 per offer, whichever is greater. For 2025, those rates increase to $0.45/minute, $0.77/mile, or $5.20 per offer. I tried to order 1 pad Thai and 1 curry the other night and it was going to be over $70. Insanity.
- httpsoverdns 1y ago
  In most major metros, an entree is easily $25. So paying $50 for your food, $15 for somebody to deliver it to you, and $5 in taxes is really not all that crazy
  - mirekrusin 1y ago
    Why do you have to pay taxes? You already paid them before salary hit your bank account (~30% in most countries) and anybody who receives your money will pay it as well.
    - Eisenstein 1y ago
      Different taxes go to different places, and taxes do not exist only to take money from people. Amongst other reasons, they exist to discourage certain behaviors, pay for externalities, or because the market does not price in the costs of certain things.
- CSSer 1y ago
  Delivery seems expensive now because it was only ever made cheap by underpaying workers, giving them no benefits, making them cover their own car costs, and forcing them to rely on tips to survive. The truth is, having someone drive your pad thai and curry across town costs real money, and I’d rather pick it up myself than keep pretending cheap delivery was ever anything but exploitation.
  - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
    > I’d rather pick it up myself than keep pretending cheap delivery was ever anything but exploitation Then tip! The delivery driver can do more with that, plus OP's business, than with just your business and well wishes.
    - CSSer 1y ago
      No! It is the company’s job to price their service to cover costs. I get to decide if I pay. Tipping does not make exploitation any less real. Of course I tip when necessary. That's besides the point.
      - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
        > It is the company’s job to price their service to cover costs They did. They made money. The delivery staff made money--OP is quoting the real, lived experience of actual gig workers. The government came in and decided that was unsavory, and so now those staff are making less (not counting the ones now unemployed). > it is better to avoid them altogether imo Not for the delivery driver!
        Yeul 1y ago
        There is always someone willing to work for a dollar. That doesn't mean we should abolish the minimum wage to exploit desperation. Gig workers are just bullshit countries invented to hide unemployment. They don't ad anything to the economy. Nobody is buying a house or starting a family as a Uber delivery driver.
- carlmr 1y ago
  >Commission cap: Apps can only charge restaurants up to 15% per order, which leads to apps passing on fees to consumers You mean you have to pay for the delivery service you're asking for? Shocking! IMO it should be 0% of the cost should be borne by the restaurant. You still have a sizeable amount of your convenience being distributed to all patrons of the restaurant with 15%. That's 15% too much. Pay for what you ordered. I like to go in person, I don't want to support single-use delivery waste, Currently I'm forced to foot your bill if I want to go to any restaurant.
  - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
    > I'm forced to foot your bill if I want to go to any restaurant Deliveries are marginal business for a restaurant. Like, yes, as a consumer I have a better experience if a restaurant has lower volumes. But that's not as much fun if you're the restaurant!
- Eisenstein 1y ago
  Do you also lament that we have child labor laws?
- dendrite9 1y ago
  Weird, I see no signs of food delivery being effectively outlawed. When I'm in a restaurant or passing by on foot or in my car. I'm not convinced that food delivery is a net good for a culture, but that is a different discussion.
jandrewrogers 1y ago
Seattle levied taxes and fees on Uber and deliveries that are so high that it is comical. You literally will pay more in taxes and fees to the city than you’d ordinarily pay for the goods and services you are actually consuming. Like, up to 100% effective tax rates on consumption. Unsurprisingly, people noped out and now there is a new crisis because people that provided those services are underemployed or unemployed. The politicians begrudgingly acknowledge the massive drop in business but simultaneously assert they can’t change anything because “it was the right thing to do”. Meanwhile, the people that worked in those businesses aren’t getting paid. Seattle has the highest minimum wage in the country, almost $21/hr before tips, but that is a cold comfort if there isn’t enough business to give you hours. Seattle is not run by serious people.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
  > politicians begrudgingly acknowledge the massive drop in business but simultaneously assert they can’t change anything because “it was the right thing to do” What was the rationale?
  - myvoiceismypass 1y ago
    I believe they were trying to raise minimum wage for gig workers (see Seattle "PayUp" law)
  - Gareth321 1y ago
    "Big business bad; don't pay enough tax."
- palmotea 1y ago
  > Seattle levied taxes and fees on Uber and deliveries that are so high that it is comical. You literally will pay more in taxes and fees to the city than you’d ordinarily pay for the goods and services you are actually consuming. Like, up to 100% effective tax rates on consumption. Unsurprisingly, people noped out and now there is a new crisis because people that provided those services are underemployed or unemployed. Is there? Because my understanding is Uber-delivered goods typically weren't profitable for the providers in any case (see: ghost kitchens, with lower costs than traditional restaurants, going bankrupt because of Uber's high fees). Killing the delusion dead is probably the best outcome.

stephencoyner 1y ago

Not just rideshare, but food delivery has been practically outlawed with all the taxes and fees. We have… Sales tax: 10.25% on prepared delivery food. Commission cap: Apps can only charge restaurants up to 15% per order, which leads to apps passing on fees to consumers PayUp ordinance from 2024: delivery workers must be paid at least $0.44 per engaged minute + $0.74 per engaged mile, or a minimum of $5 per offer, whichever is greater. For 2025, those rates increase to $0.45/minute, $0.77/mile, or $5.20 per offer. I tried to order 1 pad Thai and 1 curry the other night and it was going to be over $70. Insanity.

httpsoverdns 1y ago
In most major metros, an entree is easily $25. So paying $50 for your food, $15 for somebody to deliver it to you, and $5 in taxes is really not all that crazy
- mirekrusin 1y ago
  Why do you have to pay taxes? You already paid them before salary hit your bank account (~30% in most countries) and anybody who receives your money will pay it as well.
  - Eisenstein 1y ago
    Different taxes go to different places, and taxes do not exist only to take money from people. Amongst other reasons, they exist to discourage certain behaviors, pay for externalities, or because the market does not price in the costs of certain things.
CSSer 1y ago
Delivery seems expensive now because it was only ever made cheap by underpaying workers, giving them no benefits, making them cover their own car costs, and forcing them to rely on tips to survive. The truth is, having someone drive your pad thai and curry across town costs real money, and I’d rather pick it up myself than keep pretending cheap delivery was ever anything but exploitation.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
  > I’d rather pick it up myself than keep pretending cheap delivery was ever anything but exploitation Then tip! The delivery driver can do more with that, plus OP's business, than with just your business and well wishes.
  - CSSer 1y ago
    No! It is the company’s job to price their service to cover costs. I get to decide if I pay. Tipping does not make exploitation any less real. Of course I tip when necessary. That's besides the point.
    - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
      > It is the company’s job to price their service to cover costs They did. They made money. The delivery staff made money--OP is quoting the real, lived experience of actual gig workers. The government came in and decided that was unsavory, and so now those staff are making less (not counting the ones now unemployed). > it is better to avoid them altogether imo Not for the delivery driver!
      - Yeul 1y ago
        There is always someone willing to work for a dollar. That doesn't mean we should abolish the minimum wage to exploit desperation. Gig workers are just bullshit countries invented to hide unemployment. They don't ad anything to the economy. Nobody is buying a house or starting a family as a Uber delivery driver.
carlmr 1y ago
>Commission cap: Apps can only charge restaurants up to 15% per order, which leads to apps passing on fees to consumers You mean you have to pay for the delivery service you're asking for? Shocking! IMO it should be 0% of the cost should be borne by the restaurant. You still have a sizeable amount of your convenience being distributed to all patrons of the restaurant with 15%. That's 15% too much. Pay for what you ordered. I like to go in person, I don't want to support single-use delivery waste, Currently I'm forced to foot your bill if I want to go to any restaurant.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
  > I'm forced to foot your bill if I want to go to any restaurant Deliveries are marginal business for a restaurant. Like, yes, as a consumer I have a better experience if a restaurant has lower volumes. But that's not as much fun if you're the restaurant!
Eisenstein 1y ago
Do you also lament that we have child labor laws?
dendrite9 1y ago
Weird, I see no signs of food delivery being effectively outlawed. When I'm in a restaurant or passing by on foot or in my car. I'm not convinced that food delivery is a net good for a culture, but that is a different discussion.

jandrewrogers 1y ago

Seattle levied taxes and fees on Uber and deliveries that are so high that it is comical. You literally will pay more in taxes and fees to the city than you’d ordinarily pay for the goods and services you are actually consuming. Like, up to 100% effective tax rates on consumption. Unsurprisingly, people noped out and now there is a new crisis because people that provided those services are underemployed or unemployed. The politicians begrudgingly acknowledge the massive drop in business but simultaneously assert they can’t change anything because “it was the right thing to do”. Meanwhile, the people that worked in those businesses aren’t getting paid. Seattle has the highest minimum wage in the country, almost $21/hr before tips, but that is a cold comfort if there isn’t enough business to give you hours. Seattle is not run by serious people.

JumpCrisscross 1y ago
> politicians begrudgingly acknowledge the massive drop in business but simultaneously assert they can’t change anything because “it was the right thing to do” What was the rationale?
- myvoiceismypass 1y ago
  I believe they were trying to raise minimum wage for gig workers (see Seattle "PayUp" law)
- Gareth321 1y ago
  "Big business bad; don't pay enough tax."
palmotea 1y ago
> Seattle levied taxes and fees on Uber and deliveries that are so high that it is comical. You literally will pay more in taxes and fees to the city than you’d ordinarily pay for the goods and services you are actually consuming. Like, up to 100% effective tax rates on consumption. Unsurprisingly, people noped out and now there is a new crisis because people that provided those services are underemployed or unemployed. Is there? Because my understanding is Uber-delivered goods typically weren't profitable for the providers in any case (see: ghost kitchens, with lower costs than traditional restaurants, going bankrupt because of Uber's high fees). Killing the delusion dead is probably the best outcome.