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posted by mrpg on Saturday March 03 2018, @12:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the dont-do-it dept.

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).

Techcrunch has a summary


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  • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Sunday March 04 2018, @05:13AM (1 child)

    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?!?!?!

    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?

    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.

    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?

    just because the job is not alright for YOU doesn't mean its not the right choice in its context for EVERYONE!

    Who said that? Not TFS and not TFA, AFAICT. The TFA [mit.edu] says that:

    This paper provides one of the first detailed estimates of ride-hailing profit. We combine the self-reported revenue, mileage and vehicle choices from over 1,100 Uber and Lyft drivers with detailed vehicle operational cost parameters for insurance,maintenance, repairs, fuel and depreciation, using a combination of estimates from Edmunds and data from the U.S. EPA and Kelly Blue Book.

    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.

    I don't frikken get these sorts of articles. they are worthless!

    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:

    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).

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
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  • (Score: 1) by west on Sunday March 04 2018, @01:56PM

    by west (6884) on Sunday March 04 2018, @01:56PM (#647614)

    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.