Uber in Waterloo Region

[ookpik]

Some insights into the economics of driving for Uber compared to driving for a conventional taxi company. If these numbers are at all accurate then why aren't taxi drivers defecting in droves?

How Uber is ending the dirty dealings behind Toronto's cab business

The problems created by the plate system were mind-boggling. At least 30 per cent of the industry’s revenues went to people who did nothing but milk income from their licenses...

My [Uber] fare was automatically charged to my credit card through the app. David carries no cash. Uber takes a 20 per cent cut, and pays David the rest. He can work whenever he wants simply by declaring himself available through the app. In a good week, he nets $1,000...

Like almost every other [taxi] driver in the city, he didn’t own his car. Instead, he rented one for $80 per day. This was for a 12-hour day shift. Another driver rented the car at night for $90.

A large chunk of these rental charges go toward leasing the Toronto cab plate attached to the car. The Diamond driver had two hours left in his 12-hour shift. I asked him how much he had grossed for the day.  He pulled it up on his meter: $109.

He had to pay $80 for the day rental, plus fuel. By the end of the day, he estimated, he would net between $20 and $40.