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NYC Votes To Set Minimum Pay For Uber, Lyft Drivers (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Tuesday, New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to set a minimum pay rate for Uber, Lyft, and other on-demand ride-hailing drivers. The new rate will be set at $17.22 after expenses, or $26.51 per hour gross. New York is believed to be the first city in the nation to implement such a pay floor. Four months ago, the Big Apple also imposed a cap on the number of such vehicles in the city. The Independent Drivers Guild, a local affiliate of the Machinists Union, advocated for the change. Meanwhile, Uber has already put out a statement saying that increased driver earnings "will lead to higher than necessary fare increases" and that the new rules do not adequately take into account "incentives or bonuses forcing companies to raise rates even higher." "Today we brought desperately needed relief to 80,000 working families. All workers deserve the protection of a fair, livable wage and we are proud to be setting the new bar for contractor workers' rights in America," Jim Conigliaro, Jr., founder of the Independent Drivers Guild, said in a statement.
Uber and Lyft are dead if their drivers actually get paid. Currently, drivers for both Uber and Lyft make negative money if they have to pay for fuel or vehicle maintenance.
1: There are plenty of idiots who work for negative money. They do so because they don't realize that they're paying for the increased maintenance and wear on their car. The cost is externalized to the point that they don't realize it exists.
2: They are stupid and / or lying. Go ahead and look up any internet article on the subject. Further, taxi medallions are hugely profitable. Buying into one after Uber / Lyft came into the scene and eschewed all the laws would have been moronic and a huge loss. But actual owners of those medallions are still making obscene amounts of money.
The only way to "work the system" is to get a ton of tips (Uber didn't even let people tip via the app for the longest time, and were shamed into allowing it), or drive for both Uber and Lyft at the same time and pickup double / fake fares when Uber / Lyft are handing out free rides to customers. This was a huge scam recently, and it was reported even here on Slashdot.
As usual, you don't know shit. Now I see why that AC troll goes around posting all that shit about you.
I have a good friend driving for both in NYC. He is driving a 4 or 5 year old car (he bought it I think 2.5 years ago). He makes about $50,000/year driving. He has a part time restaurant job, as well.
He bought the car specifically to drive for Uber (and later started Lyft). He has been paying extra on the car. It is nearly paid off now. The car has paid for itself, including all maintenance and insurance, and gas. The money left over paid part of his rent (he only rents a room, but still pays too much). The remainder of the rent and his other expenses are covered by the restaurant gig.
In another year he will have the car free and clear and will (probably*) still be making money with it. In the meantime, he has had use of the car for a couple of years. This is not negative money.
*: Don't get me started on Uber's long-term survivability.