[bparsons]

The flaw in these studies are the assumption that the person would not have a car unless they were an Uber/Lyft driver. This has a huge impact on the final per hour calculations.

If the vehicle is a fixed cost for the person regardless of whether or not they are a driver, then factoring in the cost and depreciation of the vehicle isn't really a fair measure.

[jakewins]

> If the vehicle is a fixed cost for the person regardless of whether or not they are a driver

What? Vehicles are clearly not fixed cost, they are assets that deprecate in value from use. There is some deprecation from age, but by far the determinant of value is miles driven and damage from use.

Every mile you drive for Uber is costing you money in lower resale value of your vehicle, both from the miles you add to it and from the probability of damaging the vehicle in an accident.

[ghaff]

Registration and excise taxes are a fixed cost. Insurance may be a fixed cost. (Although you may need a different policy and some policies have discounts/surcharges based on miles driven.) But most costs of car ownership are primarily related to the number of miles driven.

[southphillyman]

BTW Uber has a car buying program. I met a driver in Vegas who claimed to have to work long hours in order to cover the car note and have a livable wage. Felt sorry for the guy because his attitude was very optimistic when it was clear to me he was being taken advantage of.