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According to Uber's underlying research (http://www.scribd.com/doc/253410228/An-Analysis-of-the-Labor-Market-for-Uber-Drivers http://www.scribd.com/doc/25341022

by jcdavis 12y ago

According to Uber's underlying research (http://www.scribd.com/doc/253410228/An-Analysis-of-the-Labor-Market-for-Uber-Drivers http://www.scribd.com/doc/253410228/An-Analysis-of-the-Labor... , page 23), $19 an hour is just the revenue they get after Uber's cut, and does not include gasoline, depreciation/lease fees, insurance etc, which makes it a useless number.

swatow 12y ago
I agree that the article was poorly written, and using the $19 an hour figure to make a point, then debunking the $19 an hour figure later to make a different point, was a poor way to structure the argument. The final take home pay after federal tax was quoted as 27,600, which strikes me as still an attractive wage for many people. Of course if you had the option to become a software engineer at Uber (or a Professor at GMU) then you should probably take that option. But that's precisely why the article is out of touch. People who drive for Uber don't have these options.
- rtpg 12y ago
  median taxi driver pay is $32k, and most of them are actually employees of the taxi company so don't have to deal with the car stuff.
- IanCal 12y ago
  Also assuming the $50,000 figure (after ubers cut) is the equivalent yearly pay to the $19 hourly pay, then that requires working 50 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. For anyone in the UK wanting to compare it to a normal permanent position, that takehome is equivalent to a ~£21-22k a year job (pre tax), but you'd be working 56 hours a week (47 weeks per year) and have no employment guarantees or pension. To be required to work this long in your job, you'd need to explicitly agree to it (and they can't make it a requirement of your employment or treat you differently if you opt out) [0] [0] https://www.gov.uk/maximum-weekly-working-hours/weekly-maximum-working-hours-and-opting-out https://www.gov.uk/maximum-weekly-working-hours/weekly-maxim...

by jcdavis 12y ago

swatow 12y ago

I agree that the article was poorly written, and using the $19 an hour figure to make a point, then debunking the $19 an hour figure later to make a different point, was a poor way to structure the argument. The final take home pay after federal tax was quoted as 27,600, which strikes me as still an attractive wage for many people. Of course if you had the option to become a software engineer at Uber (or a Professor at GMU) then you should probably take that option. But that's precisely why the article is out of touch. People who drive for Uber don't have these options.

rtpg 12y ago
median taxi driver pay is $32k, and most of them are actually employees of the taxi company so don't have to deal with the car stuff.
IanCal 12y ago
Also assuming the $50,000 figure (after ubers cut) is the equivalent yearly pay to the $19 hourly pay, then that requires working 50 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. For anyone in the UK wanting to compare it to a normal permanent position, that takehome is equivalent to a ~£21-22k a year job (pre tax), but you'd be working 56 hours a week (47 weeks per year) and have no employment guarantees or pension. To be required to work this long in your job, you'd need to explicitly agree to it (and they can't make it a requirement of your employment or treat you differently if you opt out) [0] [0] https://www.gov.uk/maximum-weekly-working-hours/weekly-maximum-working-hours-and-opting-out https://www.gov.uk/maximum-weekly-working-hours/weekly-maxim...