I saw an article on TechCrunch website by Natasha Lomas that complained that Uber and Lyft drivers don't make enough money and are apparently treated unfairly. The article cited a study done by MIT. NPR also reported on the MIT Study Both articles said the study claimed that Uber/Lyft drivers only earned $3.37 per hour after expenses. I wonder how accurate these revenues are. Drivers have a powerful incentive to keep the appearance of their salary low. The belief that they are low paid certainly helps win sympathy for their cause, and for increased tips. Do drivers really declare all of the money they get in tips? I always try to tip with cash -- how is that tracked? I have had drivers offer their services "on the side" -- outside of the Uber/Lyft system. Is this common among drivers? If so, there could be a lot of un-reported revenue, as well as hours reported that had no revenue.
It appears to me that Uber/Lyft has clearly contributed to a revolution in transportation in the world. Throughout my life, I have used taxis very sparingly. I've always thought their service was far too expensive! However Uber/Lyft has finally brought the cost of cab service down to a level where I feel it is fair. I did recognize that cab drivers spent a huge portion of their workday waiting in cab lines for a chance for a fare, so I knew there was a lot of inefficiency in their system. I also recognized that cab drivers or cab companies had to buy "medallions" to be permitted to operate a cab service. Those medallions represented a control on the number of cabs in service, and also represented a huge, additional cost to the cab companies who were often paying off loans used to finance purchases of medallions.
I would like to know how the Uber/Lyft net revenue of $3.37/hour compares to the net revenue of a traditional cab driver -- both before the Uber/Lyft revolution and now. How much more than $3.37/hr did they earn before Uber/Lyft? How much now?
I do believe that Uber/Lyft drivers are really self-employed, independent contractors -- not employees. Uber/Lyft provides a similar service to drivers that Ebay and similar companies provide to the independent people who sell products on those websites.
The Uber/Lyft market, like Ebay and other Gig-economy websites provide a tool that allows people who want to work to operate in an almost-perfect free market economy. The drivers can decide how much they want to work, when they want to work, and and start and stop working whenever they want. If they aren't making enough money they can quit. If they decide that by working certain hours they get more revenue, they can change their hours.
Because Uber/Lyft costs less for customers, the number of cab customers has grown immensly -- maybe even doubled? So that means there is more work for everyone! It also means that there are fewer DWIs, fewer parking spots needed, and fewer valet parking attendants needed.
What does the future hold? It appears to me that within the next 5 years we will start seeing self-driving cars doing the job and replacing cabs/uber/lyft. I think that cab driving is a basic, low-skill entry-level job. It shouldn't be a lifetime career. I expect that drivers will need to find other careers. All drivers seem to be very adept at using computers & internet. I can imagine they could easily take the free online courses on Java Script and easily find jobs coding that would pay much better than their current wages
