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MIT Study Shows How Much Driving for Uber or Lyft Sucks

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

NewNic writes:

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

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday March 03 2018, @07:57PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Saturday March 03 2018, @07:57PM (#647236)

    If it were really *that* unprofitable to drive for Uber/Lyft, why would anyone still be doing it?

    Because people are not smart about long term repercussions, like depreciation of a vehicle.

    Also, Uber/Lyft aren't *that* much cheaper than regular cabs

    Also, Uber/Lyft owner/drivers aren't nearly as cost-efficient at operating their vehicles as regular professionally maintained fleets of dedicated taxi cabs.

    Lower income + higher costs makes the 30% overall loser result very believable.

    If Uber/Lyft were really such a bad deal, it wouldn't be as popular for drivers as it is.

    Based on what? Think of someone you know with an IQ of 100, now take a moment to consider that half the people in the world are stupider than that. It's not surprising at all that 30% of Uber/Lyft drivers are net-losers, especially with all the stories that circulate about how nice and new the cars are as compared to taxi cabs.

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