Uber Study Reveals Drivers Earn $19 Hourly on Average

Uber released a study on Thursday that reveals its drivers work less and earn more hourly than full-time chauffeurs and cab drivers.

Uber’s survey, which was conducted collaboratively by Benenson Strategy Group and economist Alan Krueger, sought to provide demographic details of the Uber-driving population.

The car service phone app allows independent contractors to utilize their personal vehicles to transport app users who hire and pay them via Uber through cell phones, diminishing the need for cards or cash, unlike taxis and chauffeurs.

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Within the top 20 markets, the study found that Uber partners on average earn over $19 hour compared to the hourly $12.90 average that taxi drivers and chauffeurs bring in.

Of the 160,000 active Uber drivers, 48 percent have college degrees or higher, 52 percent work part-time and 75 percent of the part-timers have other jobs. Comparatively, 46 percent of taxi drivers work 35-49 hours each week and only 18 percent have a college degree or higher. 

Within the survey, 71 percent of partners admitted to having better income from driving for Uber, and 74 percent say that Uber aids in maintaining a steady income alongside other earnings. “In the last quarter of 2014, Uber paid out over $650 million to driver-partners in the U.S.,” said Jonathan Hall, Uber’s head of policy research, on the company blog.

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Drivers choose when and how much they want to drive based off personal availability, allowing partners to make some side dough depending on individual needs. In the Krueger analysis, 87 percent of users said they choose Uber because they want “to be my own boss and set my own schedule.”

Hall also addressed the appeal of user flexibility: “We also found that Uber is drawing more individuals into the vocation of being a driver. But that isn’t because more people are turning to contract work; instead, it’s because self-employment offers them a more flexible way to earn a living.”