Yep.
Read just a few posts on the forums.
They are being abused by both Uber on pricing and the games they play, and their passengers.
Unionizing isn’t the solution. It’s never going to happen and the drivers don’t want it.
From what I have read, the only way to make or even average $200 a day is to work the “Drunk” shifts and get long hauls.
Their passengers are extraordinarily abusive.
Mostly the millennials that have adopted the technology.
I AM an UBER driver as is my wife. I do it for fun mostly, and work just a few hours on Saturday nights. Uber is a GREAT free market supply/demand product! That being said, they dont pay much (each market is different, mine is .85/mile) and they churn drivers like crazy. I’ve read the average length of a driver is about 3 months. The reason for that is thats probably the length of time it takes for someone to realize they are basically trading in their cars’ long term equity (depreciation) for a short term gain. I dont know how you can make money if you drive more than just the peak hours that pay more - thru surge pricing (higher demand/fewer drivers). When you add in the dead miles which are about 30-50% of your miles, you CANT make money on non-surge pricing.
.
I have a lease (I know, I know) of a Nissan Leaf and I wasnt going to use all the miles. So, I’m not paying for depreciation or gas, and it allows me to actually make money. My wife drives just a little bit and we only signed her up to get the referral bonuses.
.
Uber could be really good, but they would have to raise the rates a little bit more - but still under taxis - to make that happen. They just want to grab as much market share as possible before an IPO, so its a race to the bottom right now.