A quick thread on why you should tip your Uber/Lyft driver. Follow along if you'd like some details on why your driver isn't making nearly as much money as you think and the easiest way you can help them.

I'm a part-time driver, meaning I set a goal each week and drive until I reach it. My goal is $250/week.

When college kids are here, I can do this in 12-15 hours. That's $16-20/hour before you factor in taxes, gas, and depreciation.

During the summer, it takes 15-20 hours.

If you're following along, that's $12-16/hour, but that's also offset by the fact that driving for an extra 5 hours means burning a lot more gas.

And gas is more expensive in the summer, so my actual profit is even less.

In a given week, I give 60-80 rides. That means I'm making $3-4 per ride. With short jumps, you can do 3-4 rides per hour. Why so few? Because I have to drive to the rider, wait for them to come out, take them to their stop, then wait for the next ping.

How's that possible when you paid $10 for your short ride? That's because Uber and Lyft pocket most of that money. Jalopnik asked drivers to submit rides to prove this point. https://jalopnik.com/uber-and-lyft-take-a-lot-more-from-drivers-than-they-sa-1837450373

So where does tipping come into this discussion?

Simple. Uber and Lyft don't take any part of a driver's tip. While it would be great if per mile rates went up, that would also mean Uber or Lyft would take more money too.

Tipping goes straight into a driver's pocket.

If every rider tipped me just $1, I would make an extra $240-320/month. If you're keeping track, that would mean I could take an entire week off of driving each month. That's 15-20 hours I could spend with my son. I could sleep. I could have a social life.

Instead, I work 55-60 hours per week between driving and my full-time job. I miss out on sleep. I sit for long periods in my car. Before Covid-19, I worked every single Friday and Saturday night for the last *3 years*. I usually drive 7 days a week.

Some drivers sleep in their cars. Others drive for hours before they turn even a single dollar of profit because they are leasing their cars through a program that takes the car payment directly from your driving earnings.

Just $1 added onto your ride would make a huge impact.

Most people don't tip. My pinned tweet is a riff on this. People would rather lie to your face than give up $1-2. And the effect of that, multiplied over thousands of rides, is that you work yourself to death with someone else's hand in your pocket.

So tip your driver. Tip even if it's a short ride. Tip even if she missed the turn and had to double back.

Don't tip if the driver is a creepy weirdo who hits on you.

But tip for pretty much anything else. One dollar, over and over, makes a huge difference.