Uber, USA | Uber's share of the pie: – We are angry

North Carolina (Nitavisen): It only took a few minutes before the car stopped outside. A 17-minute ride with Uber in greater Charlotte, North Carolina, costs $14 and 92 cents.

What we as customers do not see in the app is how much is left for the driver. On this trip, the driver earned eight dollars and 48 cents.

– It's like I don't deserve to pay a decent amount. I pick pennies on the floor. It's frustrating, Houston Farlow tells Nettavisen.

While Uber will make $1 billion in profit by 2023, drivers feel they are left with nothing but bread crumbs.

2023 was the first year the company was profitable since the company listed on the stock exchange. “Uber finally does it,” the headlines read. But at what cost?

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– Significantly reduced

Houston began taking passengers on Uber seven years ago. Then he needed some extra money, and he would drive in the evening when the night fishermen were returning home from the city. Uber was the answer when he was between jobs. And he's grateful for that.

-He was paid well.

But now he hopes the company can find a better solution. On the trip with Netavisin as a passenger, Uber took 43 percent of what we paid before tip.

It is not a new phenomenon. In 2021 booked Mission Local newspaper in San Francisco Ten trips with Uber. They discovered that an Uber driver receives on average 56% of the amount paid by the customer.

Uber spokesman Alix Enfang told Nettavisen that Uber's effective rate after paying commercial insurance is well below 20 percent. Read Uber's response below.

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Strike on Valentine's Day

Dissatisfaction among App Drivers has also spread among many App Drivers in the United States in the past year. They went on strike across the country.

– Driver wages have been reduced significantly in the past three years. While shareholders get their share, we are lucky if we get 20-30 percent of the ride. When I first started driving, it was the opposite. Uber charged less and the driver took the lion's share of the trip. The job is also not flexible because we have to work all the time to pay our bills, Naomi Oguto, co-president of Justice for App Workers, wrote to Nettavisen in an email.

Ogutu estimates she was making good money driving 40 hours a week. She claims that you now have to work twice as much.

In several major cities, app drivers went on strike on Valentine's Day, February 14 this year. We need change. “We're barely surviving,” Los Angeles Uber driver Francisco Magdaleno added. USA Today. The organization now has 140,000 members in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, according to Ogutu.

– Drivers and delivery men are angry. We will continue to protest until our demands are met. We will strike and protest until we see changes in our industry. We will not return to “business as usual,” she told Netavicin.

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-I owe my roommate several thousand dollars

Charlotte Houston driver has been working full time as a driver since July 2023. But he's not driving the economy. The roommate has covered the rent for both of them for the past few months. When he gets the money, he repays the loan from his roommate.

-I pay him what I can. “I owe my roommate several thousand dollars,” Farlow says.

At some point, the creditor came and received his car. The grandparents had to get rid of the amount he owed.

-If I don't have a car, I can't drive for Uber, so I can't make money, he points out.

It is the responsibility of Uber drivers to provide vehicle and automobile insurance. He bought the car, a 2015 model, for US$14,000 in 2023. By then, it had already covered more than 160,000 kilometres. It has traveled 257 thousand kilometers so far.

– Tires are expensive. I need windshield wipers. The car needs an oil change. The oil has not been changed for more than 16,000 km. It's a lot of maintenance that I can't afford.

Netavisen viewed documents stating that he owed his roommate more than $3,000 in rent, mileage documents, and the receipt on which his grandparents paid his car bill.

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– I was desperate

Farlow says his cat should also make a trip to the vet. But right now he can't afford it. As an Uber driver, he is also responsible for adding money on the side to pay taxes.

– How will I be able to put this money aside when I can't pay for car repairs or my bills?

-If it's so bad, why are you still driving for Uber?

– A lot has happened in my life. Resigning had never crossed my mind. I was in survival mode. “You go around in circles until you wake up and realize you don't have to do this,” Farlow says.

Now he has a new full-time job as a customer service employee at another company. It started in April.

-If it weren't for my roommate and my grandparents, I would be homeless right now. When companies treat those who work for them this way…it is greed. Greed spread like wildfire in that company.

– It is still less than 20 percent

Uber provided comments from Houston and Ogutu. Uber spokesman Alex Infang told Nettavisen that rideshare drivers earn an average of $33 per hour in the United States. Uber leaves us with less than 20 percent after paying US business insurance.

After paying tax and fuel, roughly nine dollars is not a lot of money. Why is it fair to take 43 percent of the total payment?

– As we said hereOur actual rate in the US, after the commercial insurance that Uber pays on behalf of drivers, is well under 20 percent.

Drivers also have their own car insurance.

– In 2023, you will have $1 billion in profits left. Has the share of drivers been reduced in order for you to achieve this profit?

– No, Anfang replies and points to the link. The article on Uber's website shows that revenues are growing faster than Uber's costs.

Uber's claims were not affected

Despite this explanation, many drivers in the United States remain unsatisfied. They went on strike again on May 1. Uber spokesman Alex Anfang said the February 14 strike had no impact on Uber's operations. Anfang said the number of drivers on the road today was actually greater compared to the same period last week Washington Post.

Ogutu can't believe this.

We are not surprised by Uber's reaction. They will never admit that the organization works. More workers than ever have contacted us ready. We also believe that the suggestion that there are more drivers on the roads is incorrect. In Chicago, we saw dynamic pricing for the first time in years. She told Netafisin that this only happens if there are few drivers on the roads.