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A study conducted by the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research analysed revenue and costs for over 1100 Lyft and Uber drivers, with the conclusion that most earn below minimum wage for their state and about 30% actually lose money when all the costs of owning and operating their vehicles are taken into account.
"A Median driver generates $0.59 per mile of driving, and incurs costs of $0.30 per mile", "On an hourly basis, the median profit was $3.37 per hour".
Because actual vehicle operating costs are significantly lower than the IRS allowance of $0.54/mile, many drivers report incomes that are substantially lower that their actual incomes, leading to a large pool of untaxed income (although it is small for each driver).
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MIT Study Shows How Much Driving for Uber or Lyft Sucks
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
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(Score: 1, Disagree) by west on Saturday March 03 2018, @07:20PM (9 children)
if someone finds it worth while to occupy a specific employment then who and the hell are you, for any reason, to tell them its not ok?!?!?!
this article is worthless. who cares that some jobs suck. no one is making you do it!
if someone wants to do it WHY WOULD YOU STOP THEM?
just because they don't have the same value metrics and motivations than you does not mean they are WRONG.
just because the job is not alright for YOU doesn't mean its not the right choice in its context for EVERYONE!
I don't frikken get these sorts of articles. they are worthless!
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Saturday March 03 2018, @08:00PM (1 child)
Frustrated Uber driver yourself? Carry on, no-one's stopping you. This article is for the amusement of non-Uber drivers and I enjoyed every word of it.
(Score: 2, Funny) by west on Saturday March 03 2018, @08:29PM
if you enjoyed it then its it worth while. alright you got me there. i guess its good to point out that being an uber driver sucks. but im sure that some people like it.
(Score: 3, Informative) by JoeMerchant on Saturday March 03 2018, @08:15PM (3 children)
They are informative. Many people will engage in work that net costs them money because the relationship is deceptive. Articles like this help to educate and inform people about what they might be getting into if they choose to do this.
I'm not going as far as to say that Uber/Lyft should come with warning labels for potential employees, but I certainly do see the value of published independent analysis.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by west on Saturday March 03 2018, @08:35PM (2 children)
i think its sort of common sense. your using a car. you have a car. you know what gas costs.
you can uber for a week, see that your not doing well, and stop.
if you dont know immediately that uber is not for you i bet your not the person to actually research specific employment details.
really. did reading this improve your life beond seeing uber get shit on one more time?
did this article stop someone from ubering? is that significant? they can uber one time and stop. its fine.
i see all this uber stuff. they are a private business and their employees are free to leave and if so uber will have to pay more or stop existing.
uber is fine. relax people! if uber is breaking laws in your area then prosecute.
its all good people. uber is fine.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday March 03 2018, @09:47PM (1 child)
This might work for you, or even me, but most people forget about the cost of: insurance, tires, regular maintenance, irregular maintenance, depreciation due to miles driven, risk to health from being on the road, and other hidden costs that add up to far more than the cost of gas.
If you dig in my post history, I've been giving Uber shit for these reasons, for years. If, like 99.999% of Uber drivers, you've never read or maybe just never believed _my_ personal ranting, maybe this story circulating in the press will reach a few more of them and potentially improve their lives - got them to think for an extra minute about what they're doing and helped them to make a better choice.
Uber is fine, they're legal to operate, let people do as they choose, but don't help Uber profit by hiding the true long term costs to their drivers. If seeing Uber get shit bores or annoys you, go read something else, that choice will hurt you far less than an Uber driver who ends up declaring bankruptcy and therefore gets bailed out by the rest of us.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by west on Saturday March 03 2018, @09:59PM
i get your position and dont think it is unfounded but i do not agree.
alright if the uber bashing is indeed helping people then i stand corrected but, eh, i dont really see it.
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Sunday March 04 2018, @05:13AM (1 child)
For your convenience, I've quoted TFS below. Please tell me where *anyone* is saying "its[sic] not ok?!?!?!"?
AFAICT, they're just pointing out that those who do a certain job don't make very much money. That may well discourage some people from doing said job, but as long as the analysis comes to a factual conclusion, who the hell are you to tell these folks not to publish their findings?
Again, who is trying to stop anyone from doing this job?
Or did I miss the part in TFS or TFA where the authors cautioned current or prospective Uber/Lyft drivers that they would be beaten, robbed, jailed, murdered, ridiculed or otherwise punished in any way for keeping/taking such a job?
Wouldn't you prefer to know more about the compensation associated with a certain type of job rather than less?
Who said that? Not TFS and not TFA, AFAICT. The TFA [mit.edu] says that:
There doesn't seem to be any attempt to do anything other than provide an accurate estimate of income earned vs. the costs of doing the job.
Are you claiming that folks are somehow being forced to do *anything* by the publication of this article?
Please do share your reasoning.
That's great! I'm glad you're expressing yourself.
I'd suggest that if you don't "get" such articles and believe they are worthless, perhaps you might just not read them.
Given your previous statements, I feel it important to note that is a suggestion, not an order, nor does it contain any threat or attempt at coercion.
TFS tates:
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 1) by west on Sunday March 04 2018, @01:56PM
are you trying to miss the point, lol?
let me un-hyperbole my argument since it seems to have triggered you into a post almost as long as the original, haha.
"i think these uber articles are a little too common".
lots of job markets are like this. whoopty-dew.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday March 05 2018, @03:58PM
I'll bite.
Because the taxes I pay will end up footing the bills for their medical coverage. Because the food I donate to food banks will be eaten by them - which I don't begrudge in the slightest, but I abhor the notion that the upper tiers of their company rake in millions in salary while their lowest of the low require charity to survive.
In short: Because they are privatizing their profits while shifting their social losses to the public.
So, yes. I'll work at stopping them. BECAUSE THERE IS A SOCIETAL COST WE ALL PAY FOR THE GREED OF UBER AND LYFT.
Clear enough?
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