Is there still money to be made anymore doing uber?

[CarLuver]

my moms passing she left me with a 2017 CRV with 70k in good condition. i took care of it its whole life . i have been retired for a little while, and in the cold season stuff slows down ,and i can get bored . I was thinking of doing uber to get out of the house and to meet people. always been a people person. Also would like to work when i feel like it .

I don't really need the money, but of course i hope to profit from doing uber . So is there still money to be made doing it ? i am in a major metro area (Seattle)

Those who have driven for uber , how was the experience .

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I don't know how anyone ever made money with it once vehicle, insurance, fuel costs are factored in.

 

[dubber09]

Can Uber drivers not write off the expenses as business ones?
We have a ton of Teslas doing Uber locally, and others are mostly hybrids.

 

[CarLuver]

acttully not just uber but ride sharing in general including lyft etc

 

[CarbonToast]

Might as well try it. My guess is its break even. Do it for a month track revenue and expenses. Then report back for science!

You are dealing with the general public, so expect the worst but hope for the best!

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

They make money but not much. I was told around $1 a mile after expenses is a reasonable expectation.

 

[Oillover]

I don't really need the money, but of course i hope to profit from doing uber .

This statement seems contradictory.
Regardless, from the reviews I've seen most folks barely break even.
Most of them wish they'd found almost anything else to make money/get them out of the house.

 

[GR_CoB]

Charlotte area here. I did Uber back in the day, while in between jobs. It was fun, gave me lots of stories to remember.
Thankfully I never had any body fluid incidents, but I know many drivers who did have to deal with drunken throw ups.
This was around 2017, and income was just enough to stay afloat as a single guy.
Recently tried it again in 2025, just as supplemental income for fun. It is worse, the fees have multiplied since 2017 and I don't know how some people live full-time on that. It roughly comes up to $12-$15 per hour, once overall time VS money is calculated. And people are so much more mean and entitled these days, compared to my experience in 2017.

I'd say try it in your area, see how it goes. Don't expect huge income, it will break even plus some, but that's all. But may make some good connections and give you great stories. My favorite was doing early mornings, from 3AM in bougie areas of town. Riders were constant, since very little competition at 3am. And most were nice polite business people going to/from the CLT airport.

 

[The Critic]

Paging @nthach

 

[97prizm]

my moms passing she left me with a 2017 CRV with 70k in good condition. i took care of it its whole life . i have been retired for a little while, and in the cold season stuff slows down ,and i can get bored . I was thinking of doing uber to get out of the house and to meet people. always been a people person. Also would like to work when i feel like it .

I don't really need the money, but of course i hope to profit from doing uber . So is there still money to be made doing it ? i am in a major metro area (Seattle)

Those who have driven for uber , how was the experience .

I guess you could go the Uber eats route as you'd not have to deal with passengers. Not sure if it has better margins or not.

 

[GR_CoB]

I guess you could go the Uber eats route as you'd not have to deal with passengers. Not sure if it has better margins or not.

Tried that too btw. And Doordash. True average in a busy area is similar: $12-$14/hour. Tips are non existent, some days are full of annoying $2-$3 dollar deliveries, which maaaaybe breaks even on fuel cost.

P.S. Doing Doordash on a scooter was fun and more fuel efficient than a car. But occasional large order did raise a storage concern or few.

 

[rstsco]

Zero experience with ride share other than having used the services. My concern would be stipulations in car insurance related to whether you're covered if the vehicle is used for this purpose. How does this impact insurance rates, etc? Don't believe what you hear or read on the internet, or what the ride sharing service tells you. Please just make sure you have correct facts before jumping into it.

 

[Chris142]

My wife lost money doing Lyft.

 

[97prizm]

Zero experience with ride share other than having used the services. My concern would be stipulations in car insurance related to whether you're covered if the vehicle is used for this purpose. How does this impact insurance rates, etc? Don't believe what you hear or read on the internet, or what the ride sharing service tells you. Please just make sure you have correct facts before jumping into it.

I can tell you hands down ride share is considered a commercial business venture by insurance standards. Many years ago a guy in Boulder CO had an ev/hybrid repair shop. A Chevy volt was sitting in front with significant front end damage but no airbag deployment. This was right around when I had first heard about Uber and lyft. The guy was carrying passengers as a side hustle but didn't tell his insurance company. On the way to picking up a passenger he was hit. His insurance company found out and wouldn't cover a cent. They said Uber was considered a commercial business just as if you had a business that owned a vehicle. I don't know what happened but he was hosed. He went after the other persons insurance.

 

[dogememe]

Absolutely not. I did this many years ago… right at the tail end of it being worth it. And it was already barely worth it.

You’d literally make more per hour and take on less liability just working part time at a dollar store lol.

 

[BobsArmory]

Zero experience with ride share other than having used the services. My concern would be stipulations in car insurance related to whether you're covered if the vehicle is used for this purpose. How does this impact insurance rates, etc? Don't believe what you hear or read on the internet, or what the ride sharing service tells you. Please just make sure you have correct facts before jumping into it.

Yep. I have heard of a few people that got into crashes and insurance denied compensation. Price out commercial insurance first.

 

[jjfw]

After being retired for 12 years I found the desire to work part time, to get out a bit, I deliver auto parts, part time. Mingling with repair shop owners and mechanics, I enjoy this. Delivering to the high end dealerships like Porsche, Bmw, Mercedes and to 1 owner repair shops, can be interesting, and I drive a company car. 4 days a week, Mon. thru Thurs., 8am to 1pm. I'm 69 years old. My friend delivers flowers, PT, he enjoys. I'm really surprised that these high end dealerships at times use non OEM parts which is common. We also have contract drivers, they use their own vehicles, one just had his windshield struck by a stone, this is on him. I had a flat tire a while ago, company sent a tow truck.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

One of my old bosses works for Hertz after he retired. He works with like 5 guys, they deliver/shuttle cars between locations for stock/inventory. They shuttle between local offices and airports as needed. Sometimes 3-4 hours, some 8. Worst part he says is the NY traffic but he gets paid hourly and it's not everyday.

He has a house in Florida also so when he's there for a couple months he does it there also.

 

[Pablo]

I think you can ID posh houses and come back for the goods after dropping people at the airport

Food delivery is where it’s at. People just blame the restaurant for not including the second burger or piece of pie.

 

[alarmguy]

The OP should try it. Uber is a business and 50% small business fail in the first 5 years, 20% in the first year. I suspect Uber is same level as real estate as far as failures. Pretty easy point of entry but you need business smarts to make it. Not everyone is a business person. I knew a younger person up in Charlotte that did ok, however I know someone on Long Island who started up with UBER years ago more or less as retirement but he loved doing it. Him being older and more of a business person went for the high end of the market which is easy to do on Long Island. I think he also had a luxury vehicle. Never really spoke to him about it in detail but I saw his photos.

Dropping people off on the tarmac of private jets, high end restraunts in New York City. He used to post photos of all the great eats and NYC places all the time, I could tell by the posts and photos he loved it. I knew this person even when he was young, he wouldnt be doing it if it wasnt fun and worth it. HE definitely wasnt one to be picking up drunks and such ... I dont know much more than that or if possibly he went private. Now more retired and sometimes in another state, I see he still does it when he returns to his original home.