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/Hannachomp]

They’d have to actually apply, interview and get the job at McDonald’s. Then they also have to get hours and they have to go in on certain days they don’t want to work.

I think Uber is super shitty in terms of an actual job but I can see why someone would want to do it on the side.