Despite all the problems it has faced in the past several months, Uber has remained one of the most popular transportation options for commuters all around the world, and especially in the United States. The ridesharing service headquartered in San Francisco has been doing quite well lately, adding thousands of new drivers each month, and continuing its rapid growth despite the bad press it has been getting over a series of scandals related to driver misconduct, as well as controversies caused by a reported plot by Uber’s CEO to spy on journalists.
Now, in a bid to further improve its reputation, Uber has released a new report that aims to show how good it is to work for the world’s leading ridesharing service. According to the report, Uber drivers in the U.S. earn more than regular taxi drivers, suggesting that the company is becoming an important player in the labor market. The report contains findings of a study conducted by Benenson Strategy Group in collaboration with Princeton economist Alan Krueger.
The survey analyzes average hourly revenue for Uber drivers and compares it to taxi driver wages. In the report, Uber says that it currently has about 160,000 driver-partners working for the company, with many of them working part-time. During the last three months of 2014, Uber’s drivers received a total of $656.8 million in wages. According to the survey, the average revenue per hour in the top 20 markets is $19.04, or about $6 more than what taxi drivers and chauffeurs earn. The best place to work for Uber is New York, with an average hourly wage of $30.35, and it’s also the market with the biggest difference between Uber driver wages and taxi driver wages, as the latter earn $15.17 on average.
However, it’s very important to note that the numbers for Uber’s drivers do not reflect the net pay they receive, since they do not take into account the costs associated with operating a personal vehicle as a taxi, such as gasoline, insurance and maintenance. But, according to Uber, even after these expenses are deducted, their drivers’ earnings are higher than those of regular taxi drivers. “Nonetheless, the figures suggest that unless their after-tax costs average more than $6 per hour, the net hourly earnings of Uber’s driver-partners exceed the hourly wage of employed taxi drivers and chauffeurs, on average,” said the company in the report.
In addition to the hourly wages, the study analyzes Uber driver demographics, finding that 90% of them are younger than 30, whereas in the taxi industry, only 9% of drivers were below the age of 30, and 44% of them were aged 50 or older. What’s more, almost 50% of Uber drivers had a college degree, compared to just 18% of cab drivers. Lastly, the survey found that over 70% of Uber drivers prefer having a flexible job, over a typical 9-to-5 job.
The bottom line is that, even though the way Uber does its business is frowned upon by a lot of people, driving for the world’s leading ride-sharing service is becoming an appealing career option for many young, educated people who like flexible working hours. Also, it’s becoming clear that the company is starting to have a serious impact on the country’s economy, creating thousands of new jobs each month and presenting a great opportunity for people who have full-time jobs to earn some extra cash in a time when the economy is not doing particularly well.