[2pasc]

Quite honestly - do you believe that making more than $50,000 per year for a HS grad is a bad thing? I am not saying that they should not make more, but for most non college educated individuals - $50,000 is above US average income. Uber may have shady tactics, and might be deceiving drivers - that's true. But the reality is that the opportunities they are giving drivers are not insignificant. Unfortunately - these drivers are paying with their wages the price of a market equilibrium that has not been found yet in terms of finding the right pricing model to match supply and demand. This is the problem that has existed in all major Internet marketplaces where you deal with people's businesses - with eBay, Uber, Amazon, oDesk, etc....

[kilroy123]

How are drivers making $50,000? According to the article it's more like ~$12 an hour. Working full-time, 40 hours a week, that's only ~25k. 12 * 2048 = $24,576

[2pasc]

1/ They mention drivers making $1000/week. 2/ Smarter drivers are driving very gas efficient cars with much lower gas costs 3/ Wages are way better if you drive during peak hours. I did and it is pretty neat how much you can make.

[quonn]

Read again. $1000 / 40 hours a week is without costs subtracted. The drivers end up with about $400. That's $20000/year.

[UrMomReadsHN]

Why are you making assumptions about the education level of Uber drivers? 15% of cab drivers in the US hold a bachelor's degree [1] and I'm sure that number will keep rising.

I've heard complaints about how increased competition with other drivers and slashing fares are causing driver's salary to dramatically decrease lately. I can't comment on the "average" driver salary however, it is a job that comes with some serious caveats, which is the territory of being an independent contractor - so because of that real salary is significantly lower than that of employees making the equivalent.

this may be of interest

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/some...

[1] http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2013-06-25/why-are-so-...

[foobarqux]

Besides the number being wrong, it is precarious employment without benefits and therefore not equivalent to a $X/yr "real" job. Moreover I would expect Uber wages to decrease over time (unskilled, easy to acquire work)