UberX drivers are supposedly making a median business income of $91,000 per year in New York City and $74,000 per year in San Francisco, based on the taxi-hailing app company Uber.
This amount triples what an average cab driver in the United States makes, which is at around $30,000 per year.
While Uber did not release information on income for all the cities where it operates, the company did reveal that high salaries are inviting thousands of drivers to seek employment with Uber.
"New people are flocking to Uber in part due to the money that they can make and due to the flexibility you have, basically being able to decide when you want and where you want to work," Uber's regional general manager for the East Rachel Holt said.
The Uber app matches drivers with people that need transportation, with the company taking 20 percent of the fare. That percentage might seem high, but because drivers have less downtime with the app continuously leading them from passenger to passenger, the driver makes more profit. Traditional taxi cab drivers, in comparison, need to scour the streets to look for passengers, wasting valuable time and fuel in the process.
UberX is the cheapest option, primarily because UberX drivers use their own vehicles. The other options for Uber are UberTaxi for taxi cabs, UberBlack for high-end sedans, UberSUV for bigger vehicles and UberLux for luxury cars.
UberX drivers, however, are required to undergo comprehensive local, state and federal background checks before receiving a permit to pick up passengers, though there have been reports that some of these background checks are faulty.
As for UberX drivers making as high as $91,000 per year, take note that the figure is business income - that is, income taken home from driving passengers for fare. This figure does not include the many costs associated with being a driver for hire, including gas, parking, maintenance and insurance, in addition to the lease of the car if the car is not yet fully paid.
Nevertheless, Uber has made great strides in improving the transportation sector for the commuting public, with an estimated annual impact of $2.8 billion on the economy of the United States. Since the company's establishment in 2009, it has expanded to 60 U.S. cities and now says that it can provide transportation to 43 percent of the American population within five minutes.
If the rumors of an upcoming funding injection of $500 million are true, then Uber will become the most valuable startup in the whole world.
