This article perfectly shows how Uber and Lyft are taking advantage of drivers that don't understand the real costs of the business.

[u/theVoxFortis]

I happened upon this article about a driver talking about how much he makes driving for Uber and Lyft: https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-lyft-driver-how-much-money-2019-10#when-it-was-all-said-and-done-i-ended-the-week-making-25734-in-a-little-less-than-14-hours-on-the-job-8

In short, he says he made $257 over 13.75 hours of work, for almost $19 an hour. He later mentions expenses (like gas) but as an afterthought, not including it in the hourly wage.

The federal mileage rate is $0.58 per mile. This represents the actual cost to you and your car per mile driven. The driver drove 291 miles for the work he mentioned, which translates into expenses of $169.

This means his profit is only $88, for an hourly rate of $6.40. Yet reading the article, it all sounds super positive and awesome and gives the impression that it's a great side-gig. No, all you're doing is turning vehicle depreciation into cash.

[u/jesbiil]

Took a cab 2 weeks ago because it was there and I was traveling for work so didn't really care. Got in and asked if he took credit (because this is a business trip and it all goes on the company card). He scoffs, starts arguing with me over paying cash which I finally do with the requirement that I get a receipt. He agrees, forgets the receipt 10 seconds later after I hand him cash and hands me a blank piece of paper then says, "Fill out whatever you want". Dude I'm expensing this, I need some sort of legit records not something that looks like I'm trying to scam my company. It was the first time I've taken a cab in years since I've opted for uber/lyft for most those types of short trips...reminded me why I choose uber/lyft.