Is Uber good for drivers? Some primary research findings
- Summary:
- My research suggests that Uber is relying upon the casual driver but that those who have figured out viable strategies can make it work for them.
The last 18 months. I've relied solely on a combination of public transport and Uber with the occasional Lyft ride. I've accumulated 116 rides with Uber in five cities in the USA so consider I have a pretty comprehensive set of randomized data upon which to draw. I've never Uber Pooled.
Let me preface by explaining how I accumulated these results and why.
In late 2014, Uber was a novelty in my mind. Even so, I wanted to find out how the experience is going and the natural question: "Is this what you do for a living?" cropped up easily in conversation. It became an obsession and is something I always ask at some point on the journey.
The second thing I wanted to discover is whether the experience varies by city. I am a regular in San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas so have plenty of samples from those cities. I also have San Jose and Detroit to add to the list but those are far more infrequent.
The driver sample is totally random. Neither I nor any driver gets to choose. Uber offers drivers potential passengers and they have less than 30 seconds to accept. I on the other hand, always have the thrill of wondering what kind of car I'll get, and whether my driver will be black, white, brown or some other color, male, female, tall, short etc. Uber drivers came in an infinite variety of types, experiences and backgrounds. In short, nether driver nor rider can cherry pick.
In my history, I've only ever cancelled two rides, one because I was in the wrong place, and the other because the driver got inexplicably lost. I replaced both rides so they net out to zero.
Here's what I discovered.
Five Uber drivers consider it their sole source of income. Two are Uber Black drivers, both of whom switched from limo driving. One of the others is an ex-Yellow Cab driver, another is a retiree who does Uber because he likes driving. The last in this group concentrates solely on trying to get San Francisco airport runs into one of the cities surrounding the airport.
All the remainder - that's 95.7% in my sample - consider Uber an additional source of income, were new (as in less than a month with Uber) or were using Uber as a causal source of income.
I did come across several who are joint Lyft and Uber drivers. They all said the same thing: Uber gets us more rides, but Lyft treats us better by way of bonuses, incentives and the like. They all expressed a preference for Lyft as an income source when they have the choice.
The retiree was an interesting case in point. I asked him if he considers Uber a solid source of income. His response was fascinating:
I'm doing this because I want to. Otherwise I'd be sitting on front of the TV all day getting drunk. But if your question is whether I'd consider this a viable income, I'd say that's a whole different story. My wife still works and we have some savings so I don't really need to do this but I'm sure you get my meaning.
This is interesting at multiple levels. Apart from the full time drivers who have figured out strategies to make Uber pay, or, in this case, not in the conventional sense of a reliable income, all others are reticent to be outright critical of Uber.
The answers are all vague but convey the same sense - Uber is kind of giving them a chance to get more out of their lives but it isn't all that it's cracked up to be by those who support the gig economy.
I'm guessing that the reticence comes from a fear of being downgraded in the star ratings. In reality, virtually all my rides have been pleasant experiences and I always try and find a way of adding helpful color to a rating.
Has anything in the data changed over time? No.
The answers I get from the causal drivers are remarkably consistent. On the rare occasions when I come across a full time Uber driver, they have developed specific strategies to ensure that Uber works well for them.
Other than the one guy who had to figure it out for himself, the strategists all have extensive taxi/limo experience which allows them to use that past knowledge to better understand how to make Uber work for them.
From this I conclude that unless occasional Uber drivers can figure out a strategy to make it work, they likely will consider Uber as a useful source of pin money but that's about all.
To that extent, I see Uber as a useful resource for those that need to top up their income. And, if my analysis is anything to go by, that would be 90-95% of all Uber drivers over the last couple of years.
That says something far more fundamental about the way the US economy is playing out for people than this simple analysis can enumerate. Hold that thought and check this analysis from 2015 which, while out of date, contains many of the basic arguments both for and against Uber as a social good.
The only time I heard real dissent was in January when Uber dropped prices 30% in San Diego and other selected cities. It meant that for some of my rides, the driver was earning little more than $2-3 dollars.
From what I gather, about 35% of occasional drivers just stopped working and, in February, we saw the impact of that when surge pricing was rampant. That situation quickly stabilized but it was a case of 'swings and roundabouts' that didn't work out well for anyone. It does however, demonstrate the power that Uber, as the network owner has over both drivers and customers.
One important takeaway: none of the drivers I've encountered suggested, implied or characterized Uber as the slave driver that some would suggest. That may be a reflection of the markets for which I have data but nevertheless, it's an interesting point. Is it for example an expression of the move from a labor force that works according to a Taylorian clock to one that is unconsciously considering the opportunity cost of doing nothing?
Here's another recent discovery. The other evening, I looked over the balcony at our apartment block to see a line of a dozen or more taxis. The drivers were hanging around, chatting or waiting for a ride. The line remained stationary for a good 10 minutes at a time when fans were streaming out of the nearby ballpark. None of the taxis picked up a fare. I have to ask - what do these guys know that Uber doesn't? Or should it be the other way around?