About this report
We see a lot of surveys attempting to report on how much rideshare drivers are making. The problem is that these surveys are just that, surveys that can be skewed by bad questions and inaccurate answers.
So we decided to build a more accurate report by leveraging the anonymized data that rideshare drivers log on Gridwise. No estimates, no ranges, this is EXACT data.
This report is based off of roughly $2.1 million in earnings tracked from drivers using Gridwise between January 1st and June 30th in 4 cities – Chicago, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, and Baltimore.
We hope to give the world an accurate understanding of how much rideshare drivers make in 4 cities, how weather affects their income, how Gridwise shift tracking impacts their income, and more.
Let’s dive in.
4 Key Takeaways From This Report
Takeaway #1: Drivers are making between $18 – $19 per hour before expenses
Throughout the first half of 2018 we observed drivers across all markets earn about $18 – $19 per hour before expenses. However, hourly earnings are heavily influenced by weather, Gridwise shift tracking usage, the number of TNC’s you drive for, and your location.
Takeaway #2: Bad weather matters… in the winter
Weather has long been a factor for rideshare drivers, but while some drivers believe that weather helped them, some would shy away from inclement weather for fear that the weather would bring traffic. Well, it turns out both parties are correct. Our analysis shows that in the winter season drivers earnings significantly higher during inclement weather, however, outside of winter months drivers don’t see much of a difference because of inclement weather.
Takeaway #3: Drivers that are using 2 or more services are winning
Across all markets, we observed that drivers that are using more than just one rideshare service are earning more. This echoes and proves what we’ve all known which is that driving for more than one service helps reduce your overall downtime and drives more income.
Takeaway #4: Gridwisers are earning more
Our data shows that a significant factor in how well a rideshare driver performs is based on their overall usage of apps like Gridwise. Gridwise, on average, gives drivers a 39% boost in their hourly earnings. However, we see that Gridwisers that do more to track their mileage and monitor their performance are consistently earning 15% more than those that don’t.
Drivers are making between $18 – $19 per hour before expenses
Across all markets, drivers generally made between $18 and $19 per hour except in January where earnings per hour were slightly lower, however, earnings are heavily affected by the city where you drive.
Earnings Per Hour Across All Markets:
Earnings Per Hour: Pittsburgh
Earnings Per Hour: Chicago
Earnings Per Hour: D.C.
Earnings Per Hour: Baltimore
Bad weather matters… in the winter
Inclement weather does play a role in overall earnings per hour, but it appears that in the winter months this difference is much more pronounced. As you can see below, earnings per hour in inclement weather is about the same as earnings per hour in non-inclement weather except for January and February.
Inclement Weather vs Non-Inclement Earnings Per Hour Weather Across All Markets
Inclement Weather vs Non-Inclement Earnings Per Hour Weather: Pittsburgh
Inclement Weather vs Non-Inclement Earnings Per Hour Weather: Chicago
Inclement Weather vs Non-Inclement Earnings Per Hour Weather: D.C.
Inclement Weather vs Non-Inclement Earnings Per Hour Weather: Baltimore
It pays to drive with multiple TNC’s
Our data shows that one of the most important factors in profitability for rideshare drivers is the number of TNC’s that a driver drives for. Across all markets we observed drivers making more while driving for at least two rideshare companies.
Earnings Per Hour When Driving for a single TNC vs Multiple TNC’s Across All Markets
Earnings Per Hour When Driving for a single TNC vs Multiple TNC’s: Pittsburgh
Earnings Per Hour When Driving for a single TNC vs Multiple TNC’s Across: Chicago
Earnings Per Hour When Driving for a single TNC vs Multiple TNC’s Across: Washington D.C.
Earnings Per Hour When Driving for a single TNC vs Multiple TNC’s Across: Baltimore
Tracking your performance matters
We also saw a strong correlation with a drivers usage of Gridwise and their hourly earnings. In Q2, drivers who tracked more than 10 shifts per month on Gridwise, across all markets, earned an average of 15% more per hour than drivers that tracked less than 10 shifts per month. It appears that drivers that fully take advantage of Gridwise to track their performance, monitor airports and queues, and generally understand their city are earning more.
Drivers: Take Action
Now that we know how much the average driver is making and have an idea as to why, we can look at how drivers can stay ahead of the curve.
Drive for Multiple TNC’s
The number of TNC’s that you drive for clearly matters. If you’re just driving for Uber, Lyft, Via, or Juno, you are missing out on income. So do yourself a favor and sign up for another TNC and start driving! You’ll also likely be eligible for a nice bonus as well.
Via has a $2000 guarantee for DC drivers if you sign up through this link.
Lyft is offering the highest per trip reward for completing only 10 trips through this link.
Monitor your performance
As we saw time and time again when reviewing these figures, keeping up with what’s happening in your city and your driving performance is paramount. It is very difficult to be a profitable driver if you don’t have a keen understanding of where to drive in your city and when to drive in your city. New drivers can use Gridwise to help them immediately understand their city while also taking cues from blogs like this one, along with city-specific Facebook groups and forums like UberForum.
Items for our next report
This is just our first bi-annual rideshare driver income report, and we’re going to do our best to improve as we grow. For our next release, we plan to include:
- Earnings per mile
- Earnings per trip
- Earnings per shift
Let us know if there is anything else that you would like to see in future reports.
Now we’re curious, are you seeing earnings in line with these various reports? What do you think is the biggest factor in your earnings success? Let us know in the comments below!
