When someone takes a ride with you, they are charged a fare plus a “Rider Fee”. The fare for UberX in Los Angeles is currently $0.15 a minute + $0.90 a mile. If there is “Surge Pricing” then the entire fare is multiplied by that number. Surge Pricing means Uber increases the fare prices during certain times of higher demand, making these hours more attractive for drivers.
Let’s say for example someone takes a ride from West Hollywood to Downtown L.A. (which is approx. 8 miles and 30 minutes). Furthermore, let’s add a 1.3 surge. The calculation for the ride looks like this:
(8 mi. x $0.90 + 30 min. x $0.15) x 1.3 surge + $1.65 Rider Fee = $16.86
This is the total amount charged to the passenger.
What percentage do Uber drivers make?
Uber takes a commission out of the $16.86.
After a deduction of the $1.65 Rider Fee, Drivers keep 75% of the total fare price for a given ride. Uber takes 25% of the fare.
So here is the math for our example after Uber’s commission:
$16.86 – $1.65 Rider Fee – ($15.21 x 0.25) = $11.41
This is how much the driver is paid before any expenses. My rule of thumb (this may not be an accurate number for you) is that I spend about 10% on gas and other vehicle expenses and 10% on taxes on average (after all the deductions). Which in this case is calculated as follows:
$11.41 x 0.80 = $9.13
This is the approximate net income from the 30 minute-ride.
http://www.alvia.com/how-much-do-uber-drivers-make/