Hey guys, here's my Jalopnik writing debut. I'm not here full time, but I did have a piece I wrote.
https://jalopnik.com/i-paid-250-to-drive-for-lyft-last-year-1845712155
"For 2019, my gross income, pre-expense income for both apps was around $29,272. Using the IRS's $0.58 per mile reimbursement fee, and writing off a portion of my cell phone bill, totals out to about $29,500. So, last year I technically paid about $250 to work.
By comparison, in 2018, I earned $22,729 in gross income via ridesharing. But, I had only driven 32,000 miles that year. In 2018, the IRS's reimbursement rate was $0.545 per mile, putting me around $17,500 in expenses. Which meant my profit that year was a little over $5,000."
I think you have some talent. Valuable information for anyone considering a ride-sharing job.
The comment at the bottom by Kaiserserser was a bit nit-picky and totally unnecessary.
Quote from: FoMoJo on December 11, 2020, 12:44:37 PM
I think you have some talent. Valuable information for anyone considering a ride-sharing job.
The comment at the bottom by Kaiserserser was a bit nit-picky and totally unnecessary.
Everyone online is very nitpicky - even if you calculated my "real" income I'm making around minimum wage, and there's a clear trend that I have driven more between 2018 and 2019, and made less money.
In a way, the IRS is kind of subsidizing me being able to drive, since the IRS's mile rate includes maintenance, depreciation, and gas, but not other expenses necessary to keep the "business" running. (Cell phone bill)
There's a very real trend in online car enthusiasm for people to solely dickride corporations, and they'll tend to poke holes in every story that says otherwise. It's cool, I'm used to it tbh.
Is the reduced income a result of more ride-share drivers and more competition pushing fares down?
It's an important distinction though. You list out all your exact costs. You can calculate what you actually made pretty easily, but instead you're using the federal deduction standard, which isn't your actual costs. The reality is, you aren't making much money at all, and I think would be more illustrative if you netted out your actual costs instead of using the federal deduction rate, which everyone knows exceeds actuals by quite a bit.
Anyways, congrats on the gig! Your writing has improved quite a bit over time. Things are much more concise and fluid. Looking forward to what else you write!
Quote from: MX793 on December 11, 2020, 01:01:31 PM
Is the reduced income a result of more ride-share drivers and more competition pushing fares down?
That, plus the fact that surge pricing has been evaporating in many markets. Columbus was one of the last to hold onto the 1 to 1 ratio of surge pricing and driver pay. Now it's completely opaque, Lyft and Uber charge you whatever they think you'll pay, and they pay the driver per mile, per minute.
Quote from: MrH on December 11, 2020, 01:02:48 PM
It's an important distinction though. You list out all your exact costs. You can calculate what you actually made pretty easily, but instead you're using the federal deduction standard, which isn't your actual costs. The reality is, you aren't making much money at all, and I think would be more illustrative if you netted out your actual costs instead of using the federal deduction rate, which everyone knows exceeds actuals by quite a bit.
Anyways, congrats on the gig! Your writing has improved quite a bit over time. Things are much more concise and fluid. Looking forward to what else you write!
I used the IRS deduction rate, because that's how the vast majority file their taxes. Try and get a home loan, or car loan, or apartment even with your "real" income. The leasing office isn't going to hear it. They don't care - I paid $250 to work last year.
How do I know? Because when COVID shut down everything, (thus stabbing rideshare demand in the liver), I got fucked when I applied for the PUA unemployment insurance. ODJFS doesn't care about my "real" income, they only cared about my taxable income, which was $-250. In fact, I used my real, pre-expenses income (I asked, they told me to do this!) only for the state of Ohio to change their minds six months later and then ask for $$$ back.
I'd also argue that the depreciation, insurance costs, and gas for many lyft and uber drivers going about this full time in much newer cars, actually does approach the $0.59 per mile deduction rate. I get away with doing shit because my car is small and cheap to run, comparatively. If i had none of those skills, I'd be at the dealer, paying probably three times the cost of repairs.
Even if you do my "real" income, that means I made around ~$16k in 2019. That equates to around $7.70 an hour, less that US minimum wage. And yet again, I have no health insurance, and if someone hits my car I'm fucked.
Quote from: 2o6 on December 11, 2020, 01:21:18 PM
That, plus the fact that surge pricing has been evaporating in many markets. Columbus was one of the last to hold onto the 1 to 1 ratio of surge pricing and driver pay. Now it's completely opaque, Lyft and Uber charge you whatever they think you'll pay, and they pay the driver per mile, per minute.
I used the IRS deduction rate, because that's how the vast majority file their taxes. Try and get a home loan, or car loan, or apartment even with your "real" income. The leasing office isn't going to hear it. They don't care - I paid $250 to work last year.
How do I know? Because when COVID shut down everything, (thus stabbing rideshare demand in the liver), I got fucked when I applied for the PUA unemployment insurance. ODJFS doesn't care about my "real" income, they only cared about my taxable income, which was $-250. In fact, I used my real, pre-expenses income (I asked, they told me to do this!) only for the state of Ohio to change their minds six months later and then ask for $$$ back.
I'd also argue that the depreciation, insurance costs, and gas for many lyft and uber drivers going about this full time in much newer cars, actually does approach the $0.59 per mile deduction rate. I get away with doing shit because my car is small and cheap to run, comparatively. If i had none of those skills, I'd be at the dealer, paying probably three times the cost of repairs.
Even if you do my "real" income, that means I made around ~$16k in 2019. That equates to around $7.70 an hour, less that US minimum wage. And yet again, I have no health insurance, and if someone hits my car I'm fucked.
The bolded above is a much more effective argument IMO.
Taxable income is only relevant for tax reasons. Loans, unemployment benefits, etc is all based on your take home pay typically, not taxable income. It looks like Ohio made a ton of mistakes with unemployment during the pandemic and screwed it all up.
Part of me wants to say something in the comments, but a lot of me doesn't really care to. I think I'm going to be one of those writers who doesn't really engage in the comments.
Quote from: 2o6 on December 11, 2020, 03:39:51 PM
Part of me wants to say something in the comments, but a lot of me doesn't really care to. I think I'm going to be one of those writers who doesn't really engage in the comments.
Don't; or at least be very brief and selective.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on December 11, 2020, 03:48:07 PM
Don't; or at least be very brief and selective.
Yeah - this is their space, for the most part. Being righteously catty in the comments wouldn't accomplish anything, in fact, it would make people dislike me in an industry where I'm only just now starting.
Even if they don't like my math, it's very obvious to see that ridesharing is a losing battle. I think these companies prey on people who are desperate and can't do the math. The job itself was easy, but I was constantly frustrated at how little money I was making. I kept doing it because it was more flexible than a shitty retail job, and I was applying for "real" jobs, which only recently just now panned out. That's why I kept doing it. I kept getting interviews where a real job with benefits was "just around the corner" - and I just kept not getting the jobs. (Until now)
I don't think the "this is a free market!" type of people understand how this is a losing proposition for literally everyone. A profitable job has been cooked on the books to the point where NO ONE is making money, including the companies that offer the service.
There is clearly a problem with the pricing structure.
Very well written, but I didn't understand either what you meant by paying $250 to work last year, and found the math hard to follow.
If you do Uber/Lyft part time on the weekends to make a bit of extra cash, it probably works fine. The wear and tear on your car + fuel costs might not be noticeable enough to matter much. But full time is definitely a different beast, since you have to treat it like a real small-business and look at all costs.
Quote from: CaminoRacer on December 11, 2020, 04:26:31 PM
If you do Uber/Lyft part time on the weekends to make a bit of extra cash, it probably works fine. The wear and tear on your car + fuel costs might not be noticeable enough to matter much. But full time is definitely a different beast, since you have to treat it like a real small-business and look at all costs.
Right. Me staying in front of the game with doing my own maintenance and buying a car that can't depreciate very much I guess is smart in the sense that I made a shitty job work.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2018/09/13/your-car-might-be-costing-lot-more-drive-than-you-think-aaa-says/
Even compact cars can be "expensive" to run.
My per mile cost is lower than the $0.59 a mile, but I'd bet a lot of drivers are not. Even still, the taxable income of $-250 is awful. If all jobs were like this, our society would probably collapse.
Quote from: 2o6 on December 11, 2020, 04:34:38 PM
Right. Me staying in front of the game with doing my own maintenance and buying a car that can't depreciate very much I guess is smart in the sense that I made a shitty job work.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2018/09/13/your-car-might-be-costing-lot-more-drive-than-you-think-aaa-says/
Even compact cars can be "expensive" to run.
My per mile cost is lower than the $0.59 a mile, but I'd bet a lot of drivers are not. Even still, the taxable income of $-250 is awful. If all jobs were like this, our society would probably collapse.
Like WalMart and McDonalds; paying wages so low that only government assistance makes it feasible. It's quite parasitic, at the expense of taxpayers and society and to the direct benefit of shareholders.
Great write up! Pre-pandemic I had 3 cars and since last June when my lease was up on the Camry, I've managed well with two cars. Even though my lease was cheap, and the car was very new, there are so many other costs with just having that extra car you don't realize. Insurance, tax (Connecticut has this costly tax just for having a car based on town mill rate), gas, maintenance (especially tires), auto body repair. You explained so realistically and richly detailed how those costs ate all the money you made.
Kevin!!!! Great work!!
I saw this headline from google news and skimmed a bit of it but hadn't realized it was you.
Awesome job with making dry facts readable, engaging the reader, and most important for news- driving home an important point.
(Will Uber/Lyft come after you?!?!)
Kevin's a free man, the gig economy can't do shit to him anymore.
aww thanks guys!
The gig economy can't really do anything. However, I wrote a similar article in January, about how frustrating it was to be a rideshare driver and having unemployment blue balls, while living in a city I can't really participate in. It kind of started this writing career of mine. That piece went viral, and i ended up on the news and reported on in a few other outlets locally.
Uber and Lyft responded to one of the news outlets that profiled me. Lyft in particular used my name in their PR response, refuting my story on how little money I make rideshare driving.
Then, a week or so after it went viral, both companies audited my driving record.
They called you out by name? Wow
We've seen you emerge from the grimmest of circumstances. Really happy to see you break out.
As for the gig economy, where everything is new!!! up is down, loss is profit, black is white, exploitation is "opportunity!!" ... eventually the industry matures, reality takes hold, the CFOs are hired and the squeeze is applied, starting with the expensive low hanging fruit: drivers.
Suddenly it's no longer an exciting new rule-breaking gig economy.
Quote from: Morris Minor on December 17, 2020, 06:03:32 AM
We've seen you emerge from the grimmest of circumstances. Really happy to see you break out.
As for the gig economy, where everything is new!!! up is down, loss is profit, black is white, exploitation is "opportunity!!" ... eventually the industry matures, reality takes hold, the CFOs are hired and the squeeze is applied, starting with the expensive low hanging fruit: drivers.
Suddenly it's no longer an exciting new rule-breaking gig economy.
It's a pretty horrendous end-run around labor laws. Workers have zero rights as serfs in the Gig Economy.
For realz! :(
The best choice is to just not participate.
I feel like driving for Uber is just way to make a small amount of cash if you do it sparingly and just roll your car depreciation in maintenance in as a fixed cost you were going to incur otherwise. Clearly doing it full time isn't really worth it.
I've seen a LOT of rental trucks with people delivering packages this week. Gig!
Apparently though the "part timing for Amazon deliveries" is a real circus too.
I would enjoy being a delivery driver in my free time but I don't want to put up with Amazon's shenanigans.