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James Howe used to drive for Uber. For two years, this was his main source of income.
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Making money, he said, requires more unpaid time than before looking for rides on apps.
This well-known article is based on a conversation with James Howe, who previously Driving for Uber In Denver. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve been taking Uber rides for 12 years.
I made a lot of money as a part-time driver for a long time. I can juggle a traditional job with driving 20+ hours a week. I can work anytime.
It’s a great side hustle, especially as people start going out again post-COVID and Uber needs more drivers to keep up with demand. The company offers bonuses for referring new drivers to use the app or completing a certain number of trips.
I could basically take every ride the Uber app suggested and still make money from it. Uber uses a rate card that says you earn X amount per mile and per minute. This is to be expected.
A few years ago, I started driving full-time for Uber after I lost my job. I easily drive 40 hours a week and make $2,000 to $3,000 a week (after fees).
But as time went on, things became more challenging. Bonuses and promotions started to dwindle and I saw a lot of people entering the app looking for jobs.
A few years ago, Uber started using upfront pricing, getting rid of its price list and using an algorithm to determine how much I would earn. After that, I noticed that the amount of time I spent looking for rides online increased significantly, even during busy times. Instead of spending 40 hours a week on the app and doing great in terms of income, I found myself spending 60 hours a week to get the same pay.
Many of the rides Uber offered me didn’t pay like they used to, so I ended up declining most of them. I learned to operate more like a business owner and less like an employee.
Got a full-time job after driving for Uber
I haven’t driven for Uber since December because I recently got a full-time job in finance, an industry I used to work in. I actually got the job after driving for an Uber passenger who was an executive at the company. When he came back from his business trip, I picked him up at the airport and we started talking about his business and finances. At the end of the trip he gave me his business card and told me to contact me if I wanted to talk about joining his company.
I’m trying to get up to speed on my new job, so I’m paying more attention to it than I am to Uber.
If I stick with it, will driving for Uber be a sustainable, long-term source of income for me? Maybe, maybe not. You spend a lot of time on apps. I would try to do other tasks while waiting for a good schedule to come along, but your attention will be diverted and you won’t really be focused on those other tasks.
Now that I have a new job, I can spend the whole day skiing in the mountains. I don’t have to think, “I missed all those profitable Uber rides on Friday.”
I love driving for Uber because I love talking to people and hearing their stories.
Uber is a very good company when the pay is better. They used to call us “driver partners” before they started calling us “independent contractors” and you felt like they were looking out for you.
That’s when Uber’s culture changed for me. They still say they will keep an eye on drivers, but I think their actions speak louder than words.
An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider that the company still offers promotions for drivers, such as completing a certain number of rides within a specific time frame. The spokesperson said the company also has programs aimed at retaining drivers, such as offering tiered status through Uber Pro.
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