For many Uber drivers, the aspiration to earn over $1,000 weekly is not just a dream—it’s an achievable goal with the right strategies and commitment. By understanding market dynamics and optimizing driving hours, drivers can significantly increase their earnings. This section outlines a structured approach to help drivers reach that financial milestone, detailing the necessary hours, potential earnings, and practical strategies to maximize profits. Below, you will find a comprehensive breakdown on how to make $1000 a week with Uber.
“1600 in about 33 hours last week. Definitely possible driving at the right times. About 12% of that was tips” (Reddit user Nythain, 2023). – Reddit. (2023). Is it possible to consistently make $1000 per week?
This approach will focus on achieving earnings in the 90th percentile of Uber drivers, as that’s the key to reaching the $1,000+ weekly goal.
Here's what we cover:
Realistic Breakdown to Earn $1,000+ Per Week with Uber
| Category | Details |
| Target Weekly Earnings | $1,200+ (aiming above $1,000 for buffer) |
| Hours Worked | 35-40 hours |
| Average Hourly Rate | $30-$33 (90th percentile earnings) |
| Daily Schedule | 5-6 days per week, 6-8 hours per day |
| Focus Areas | Urban areas, rush hours, nightlife hotspots |
| Key Strategies | 1. Drive during peak hours and surge times 2. Be selective with ride acceptance 3. Utilize driver incentives and bonuses 4. Maximize airport runs 5. Increase tips through excellent service |
| Additional Income | Utilize Uber Eats during slow rideshare periods |
| Expense Management | Track mileage and expenses for tax deductions |
To achieve this earnings goal, let’s re-iterate these points:
- Timing is crucial: Focus on driving during peak hours, typically morning and evening rush hours, and late nights around popular nightlife.
- Location strategy: Concentrate on urban areas with high ride demand. Use the Gridwise app’s “Where to Drive” feature to identify hotspots.
- Surge pricing: Take advantage of surge pricing periods, which can significantly boost your hourly rate.
- Ride selection: Be strategic about which rides you accept. Prioritize rides that keep you in high-demand areas.
- Maximize bonuses: Stay alerted to Uber’s incentives, such as the new “trips in a row” promotion offering up to 20% bonuses.
- Airport focus: Incorporate airport runs into your strategy, as they often provide consistent ride opportunities.
- Enhance tip earnings: Aim to increase your tips above the average 10-11% by providing excellent service, offering amenities, and maintaining a clean, comfortable vehicle1
- Utilize downtime: Consider switching to Uber Eats during slower rideshare periods to maintain a steady income stream.
By implementing these strategies and maintaining a consistent schedule, drivers can realistically aim for the $1,000+ weekly earnings goal. Remember that earnings can fluctuate based on market conditions, so it’s essential to remain flexible and adapt your strategy.
The good news is that there is only one overarching goal for how to make more than $1,000 per week with Uber. That goal is to get your earnings into the 90th percentile of Uber drivers. Let’s look at the numbers, and you’ll see what we mean.
Uber driver earnings, January–September 2023
| Period | Gross earnings per work hour | Total trips | Work hours | Work miles | Hours required to achieve $1,000/wk | Earnings for drivers performing in the 90th percentile |
| 2023-01 | $20.04 | 112 | 35.4 | 768.2 | 49.9 | $30.70 |
| 2023-02 | $21.61 | 112 | 35.1 | 773.5 | 46.27 | $32.53 |
| 2023-03 | $21.70 | 117 | 38.9 | 849.9 | 46.08 | $33.01 |
| 2023-04 | $21.63 | 110 | 36.8 | 803.5 | 46.23 | $33.53 |
| 2023-05 | $19.84 | 103 | 36.5 | 802.3 | 50.40 | $31.54 |
| 2023-06 | $18.31 | 98 | 37.1 | 812.5 | 54.61 | $29.42 |
| 2023-07 | $18.40 | 100 | 37.1 | 817.0 | 54.35 | $29.43 |
| 2023-08 | $18.68 | 103 | 38.4 | 840.9 | 53.53 | $29.07 |
| 2023-09 | $19.62 | 111 | 39.0 | 857.6 | 50.97 | $31.00 |
How much does Uber pay? As you can see, the average gross Uber driver pay per hour (column 2) hovered between $18.31 and $21.70. The best month in 2023 was March, when drivers earning the average had to work just over 46 hours to earn $1000 a week with Uber.
But let’s focus on column 7. In the first three quarters of 2023, gross Uber driver pay per hour for those drivers in the 90th percentile was anywhere from $29.07 to as much as $33.53. As reflected in column 8, these drivers worked under 35 hours a week during the first nine months of 2023; and in April 2023, drivers in the 90th percentile worked less than 30 hours to achieve the $1,000 goal.
Let’s look at it another way. Drivers in 2023 who were in the 90th percentile of earnings earned 50% more per hour than those in the average gross Uber pay rate. If they worked 40 hours a week, they were averaging over $1,200.
As an Uber driver, you can’t afford not to be in that 90th percentile.
How to make more money on Uber: The strategies and details
There are things you can do to move yourself up to that 90th percentile of the Uber pay rate, and the reality is that these strategies are relatively straightforward. If you incorporate them into your daily driving, they’ll quickly become routine. We briefly touched on them, but now we will go into more detail.
Monitor all the numbers
“What gets measured gets improved.” This is the foundation of business philosophy, and it’s true. Smart drivers look at all the numbers.
- Bonus and incentive earnings. Are you taking advantage of rate surges and driver incentives?
- Tip earnings. This area is where you can have the greatest impact, and it doesn’t take much.
- Total trips. This is also looked at in terms of per-trip earnings. What it comes down to is how much you average per trip. You increase earnings if you can increase your number of trips per hour.
- Work miles. Fuel is your largest expense. Concentrate on driving in target-rich areas with many rides, and shave a few travel miles off each day.
- Work hours. How long did it take you to realize your earnings?
Remember, what gets measured gets improved. It’s an important strategy of a successful Uber driver.
HOT TIP #1: Download the Gridwise app and use the Earnings Tracker. You can follow all these numbers and see them at a glance on one screen.
Know when and where to drive with Uber
Uber drivers in the 90th percentile have a good philosophy. They drive where the rides are and when they are there.
Busy times and areas often have patterns. Most often, rides tend to be in urban areas, where the people are. More rides go into the areas of employment in the mornings, with a higher number coming out in the evenings. These times parallel rush hours. There are also more rides in and around the hot spots for evening nightlife.
Remember, though, every driver is different. We knew of a driver who hit the road around midnight and stayed out until at least 8:00 am. He knew the hot spots, including hospitals and employers that operated around-the-clock shifts. His Uber driver salary averaged $1,400 a week.
HOT TIP #2: The Gridwise app includes the invaluable features When to Drive and Where to Drive. Download the Gridwise app today.
How Gridwise works
Be selective about the Uber rides you accept
Now that the Uber driver app tells you your destination upfront, you can be more selective about the rides you accept. The main question you have to ask yourself is, Does the drive end in a location where I have a reasonable chance of getting another ride quickly? A long drive to the outer suburbs might look like a tempting price tag, but if it leaves you in an area with few rides, you have an empty car. As a rideshare driver, empty cars make no money.
A more attractive ride brings you to an area where you’re likely to get another passenger quickly. A series of shorter rides in a metropolitan area will often net you more than the long rides occupying the same time.
We’ve all heard the urban legend of a gig driver who took a passenger from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It was an excellent fare, but the reality is that they likely had an empty car on the way back.
Yes, being selective will affect your acceptance rate, but the rideshare companies are not as persnickety about acceptance rates as they were a few years back.
Uber surges
When a special event lets out, or the bars start turning out the last revelers shortly before 2:00 am, the Uber app often has a situation where there are more passenger requests in a specific area than there are drivers. The app automatically attracts drivers by increasing fares by a multiplier (we’ve seen it anywhere from x0.25 (a 25% increase in fare) to a x4 (a 400% increase in fare). Surges are indicated on your phone by a heat overlay. The darker the overlay, the higher the surge. One or two surge rides can turn a mediocre shift into a really good haul.
HOT TIP #3: Don’t chase surges. Surges are transitory. As soon as there are enough drivers, the surge is gone. Unless you’re seconds away, driving to a surge overlay on your map is a waste of time.
HOT TIP #4: Surges often happen in repetitive patterns. If you see a surge, remember it next time you’re driving in the same area at the same time. It could be connected to a theater that lets out at a certain time, a sporting event, or a large employer at shift change.
Special events
Trade shows, conventions, concerts, and sporting events all offer the chance to make extra money. Keep tabs on what’s happening in your region. One sure way is to download the Gridwise app and check out the Events tab.
Driver incentives
Uber used to have an incentive where you could earn a bonus if you accepted a specific number of drives in a specified period of time. For example, accept four rides in a designated area in a two-hour period and earn a $15 bonus.
Incentives like these were interesting because as soon as you completed your last ride in the series and then accepted the next ride, the bonus started over again; and sometimes the only thing required was that your first ride happen within the specified period. The remainder could extend outside the period. These bonuses were usually announced in the app.
Incentives depended on whether the app perceived there was a specific need for drivers in an area. Sometimes the rules changed, and for some inexplicable reason the offer was often driver-specific (not every driver would get the same offer).
Uber might also run an incentive like this in advance of an anticipated need for drivers (such as a sporting event or concert letting out). Some drivers theorize that these offers were made to new drivers to keep them from getting discouraged in those first few weeks.
In August 2024, Uber released a promotion called trips in a row that applies to UberX drivers. There will be specific offers, seen on your app, in which you can receive a bonus of 5% for accepting a ride in a designated region during a designated time. The next ride you accept increases the bonus 5% more (that’s 10%). The increases go up by 5% per ride until you reach 20%. The offers are in select markets, and there is no word as to what markets those are. You can even cancel a ride during the period and not lose your incentives; you just get knocked down a level. If you’re at a 10% bonus level and you cancel a ride, then the next one remains at the 10% level.
There are also other incentives. You need to be vigilant. Bonuses and incentives almost always appear on the app and are designed to keep drivers loyal to the Uber app, as opposed to multi-apping.
Multi-apping
While we are on the subject, let’s talk about multi-apping, or the popular practice of operating two or more apps at the same time. If you’re on the Uber app, then you’re automatically cleared to deliver for Uber Eats. Drivers work the other food delivery apps also.
Roadie, which specializes in package delivery, can dovetail nicely with Uber rideshare. Get an assignment from Roadie to pick up a suitcase at the airport and deliver it later that day to a passenger at a hotel or their home. What’s nice is that the time requirements to get the job done are flexible. To learn more about Roadie, refer to these Gridwise blog posts: The Ultimate Guide to Being a Roadie Driver, and How Much Do Roadie Drivers Make in 2024?
Airports
Airports are a favorite of many drivers and a good source of rides. It’s not uncommon to drive into the airport, drop off your passenger, and leave with another one. The areas surrounding an airport are often carpeted with hotels and restaurants, all good sources of rides. Download the Gridwise app and check out the Airport tab, which features arrival times, flight delays, and other info.
Track your Uber mileage
As a contract employee, you’re in business for yourself. Uber doesn’t withhold taxes and neither does any other gig job. Mileage is the most significant write-off you have as a gig driver, and there is no better tool than the Gridwise mileage tracker. Download it for free as part of the Gridwise app. Set it up once, and it passively tracks your mileage.
Also track your expenses in the Gridwise expense tracker. At tax time, you can download your mileage record into an Excel file for easy handling. While you’re at it, use Gridwise to help you file your taxes. You won’t realize these savings on a weekly or monthly basis, but at the end of the year, taxes are a big deal.
Increase your tips
Tips average 10% to 11% for rideshare drivers, but as a driver in the 90th percentile you should be earning more in tips. Here are some things you can do:
- Maintain a playlist of good music. Have a couple of different genres and mix it up.
- Carry gum and mints. Useful for those passengers on their way to a date or job interview, or who enjoyed a recent garlic-laden dinner.
- Supply charging cords. Set your car up so that passengers can charge their iPhone or Android phone.
- Open the car door. While a passenger is getting their stuff together, you should be holding the door open for them.
- Be a good conversationalist. Most people love to talk, and it’s an extra bonus if you call them by their first name. People love to hear the sound of their name.
- Dress nicely. People respect someone who takes a few minutes to look well presented.
- Maintain a few cash apps. For whatever reason, a customer might want to tip you off the app but they don’t carry cash. One good example is car dealerships that use Uber to their shuttle service customers. The dealership is paying for the ride, so if the passenger wants to tip you, they can’t do it through the app. This happens more than you would think. Maintain a selection of cash apps on your phone (they’re almost always free), so this is no longer a problem.
There are other things you can do to earn more tips, but these are the big ones. If you have a few minutes, check out this Gridwise blog post, How to Boost Rideshare Driver Earnings and Earn Bigger Tips.
How Gridwise can increase Uber driver earnings
We filled this blog post with information on how to make $1,000 a week as an Uber driver. We’ve talked about When to Drive and Where to Drive features. We also revealed how you can save big money by using the Gridwise mileage tracker to keep tabs on your mileage. You can also follow the Gridwise blog, which is full of information about the latest trends in gig driving, and how to earn more by working smart. Numerous benefits and discounts on insurance, car repairs, and other services are also available in the Gridwise app.
You owe it to yourself to check out the Gridwise website and download the Gridwise app. It’s the ticket to the best earnings as a gig driver and an expert guide for how to make $1,000 per week with Uber, or whichever gig driver service you choose to work for.
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