Uber Study Finds Their Drivers Earning More Than Cabbies, Staggering Growth
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Uber has released internal data claiming drivers in many of its large markets, including San Francisco, are earning more than professional taxi drivers and chauffeurs. The data also revealed who is driving for the ridesharing giant.
According to an analysis of internal data released by the ridesharing company (.pdf), drivers in San Francisco are on average earning $23.52 an hour, compared to $13.72 an hour for chauffeurs and cab drivers. Similar trends were found among drivers in other major U.S. cities including New York, where Uber drivers are earning $15 more on average.
These figures do not account for the costs Uber drivers are incurring for using their own vehicles such as gasoline and maintenance, and Uber does not reimburse driving expenses.
The company also reported a staggering amount of people joining the service as drivers. By the end of 2014, Uber had 160,000 so-called "active partners" in the U.S., compared to less than 50,000 a year earlier.
Uber also surveyed who is driving for the ridesharing company in San Francisco and 19 other markets. It found 80 percent were working before they joined Uber and only eight percent said they were unemployed.
"When I looked through the survey, I was struck by how many of the drivers already had jobs when they started," economist Alan Krueger, who conducted the survey on behalf of Uber, told The Washington Post.
Their survey also found 48 percent of drivers have a college degree, compared to 18 percent of taxi drivers and chauffeurs.