Uber Driver Review | How it Works & What To Expect

What: Uber asks drivers to use their own cars to ferry around paying passengers who book through the Uber app

Expected pay: $5 to $20 an hour

Husl $core: $$$

Where: Nationwide

Requirements:

Smart phone
valid driver’s license
Auto insurance
4-door vehicle that’s less than 15 years old
three years driving experience, if you’re younger than 23 years old; one year of driving experience, if you’re older
pass a background check.

Review:

Uber is the world’s largest ride share company, enlisting millions of drivers worldwide. And the site’s market reach provides plenty of opportunity for drivers to book passengers. However, Uber’s driver payment formula has gone through seemingly endless revisions. It also varies these driver pay formulas by geography. That makes it difficult to know how much you’re going to earn going in.

However, at this point, the formula is only driver-friendly in areas like New York and California that have passed minimum wage regulations. And even these regulations only account for the time you’re on Uber’s clock — i.e. from the moment you’ve accepted a ride to the moment that you drop that person off.

No pay for waiting

You don’t get paid for wait time. The issue of not getting paid for the time between gigs is nearly universal to all of the driving and delivery apps, however. It is the main reason that industry experts maintain that you’ve got to sign up with multiple driving and delivery apps to cut your down-time and earn a living wage.

Uber pays drivers once a week by direct deposit, but you can also choose an instant cash-out option.

Recommendations:

If you drive for Uber (or deliver for its sister company, Uber Eats), we recommend that you also sign up to drive for at least one or two of the company’s competitors — Lyft, GrubHub, DoorDash, Via, etc. You can see the entire list of SideHusl-reviewed “drive” options here and all of our “deliver” options here.

We also recommend that you download a free app called Gridwise that provides information on airport traffic, weather and event times so you can better manage your downtime. (Gridwise also has a premium option that charges a monthly fee. We’ll tell you more about that in our upcoming “tools” page.)

Other options for using your car to make a living:

If you don’t mind picking up packages, we’d suggest that you check out Amazon Flex. You can find airport gigs with Wingz. If you have a clean background and experience with kids, you may also be able to drive kids around after school with Kango, Ride Zum and HopSkipDrive. If you like animals, you may also be able to get animal-driving gigs with Citizen Shipper. If you want to deliver food, we believe GrubHub, DoorDash and UberEats are your best bets.

What their drivers say: (from Indeed)

You can work for Uber if you are looking for extra income but you can not depend on it as your main source. Hours are flexible, you choose the hours that you drive. When it comes to safety, it is not so safe.

I like working for Uber for many reasons. The flexibility, finding new and interesting places in L.A., talking to people and improving driving skills. What I didn’t like was the wear and tear on my car, the annoying customers, the less than stellar opportunity to make decent money.

Low pay unless tips are counted. Uber was paying really well as the base pay, but a few months ago that completely changes and now offers the least out of the delivery companies. (commenter is from Tampa, Fla)

Your personal experience with Uber is reflected by who you interact with on a daily basis. Understand they make it very clear, you work for yourself. They provide the platform to get you business and in return they set the prices for you and the rider. That is it. There is no other connection or communication from anyone at Uber other than when someone trashes your vehicle. They will help you in that regard.

(from Glassdoor)

“No consistency in pay, cheap fares, customers always right even when they’re wrong. Not much incentives, no health care. Expensive insurance.”

“Too much BS and not enough benefit. Wear and tear on your vehicle, and too many THREATS over the most trivial of things. Some riders love to lie, and they will rat you out over anything – naturally Uber sides with its riders. You lose money when having to transport groups of 3 or more in one trip. The pay we get is disgusting.”

“No schedules, no boss, money can be good. But there are app issues, drivers are the least importance of the company. Ride fares keep getting lowered so you’ll have to drive much longer to make decent money.”