I’m not sure what I would do differently - what would you have done to address those two problems? Using averages and talking to a representative sample of all drivers seems like a standard approach.
1) Using one methodology for costs and a different one for revenue is a huge red flag. If you are going to use a driver survey to revenue then you should use the same methodology for costs.
2) The researchers acknowledge that the population distribution is highly skewed (more than 80% of drivers are less than 40 hours per week) with a large group of low-mile drivers on one side and a small group of high-mile drivers on the other side.
When the distribution is extremely skewed like this the median does not provide a very meaningful picture of the population.
The person in the middle who makes $3/hr might still only be driving 10 hours per week.
Professional taxi drivers typically work 12 hours per day, 6 days a week or more. NYC actually just recently passed laws to set 12 hour days and 72 hour weeks as a maximum because people were working over that resulting in safety issues. (http://abc7ny.com/traffic/nyc-putting-limits-on-cab-driver-h...)
If over 80% of Uber drivers are working less than 40 hours per week then less than 20% are working anywhere close to professional taxi driver hours but that group is probably providing the majority of ride miles and getting an even bigger majority of revenue and profit because they optimize their revenue.
For instance, part time drivers will drive in their spare time, while professional drivers will drive at peak hours, which makes a huge difference in revenue.
2) The researchers acknowledge that the population distribution is highly skewed (more than 80% of drivers are less than 40 hours per week) with a large group of low-mile drivers on one side and a small group of high-mile drivers on the other side.
When the distribution is extremely skewed like this the median does not provide a very meaningful picture of the population.
The person in the middle who makes $3/hr might still only be driving 10 hours per week.
Professional taxi drivers typically work 12 hours per day, 6 days a week or more. NYC actually just recently passed laws to set 12 hour days and 72 hour weeks as a maximum because people were working over that resulting in safety issues. (http://abc7ny.com/traffic/nyc-putting-limits-on-cab-driver-h...)
If over 80% of Uber drivers are working less than 40 hours per week then less than 20% are working anywhere close to professional taxi driver hours but that group is probably providing the majority of ride miles and getting an even bigger majority of revenue and profit because they optimize their revenue.
For instance, part time drivers will drive in their spare time, while professional drivers will drive at peak hours, which makes a huge difference in revenue.