Drivers for the ridesharing company make more on average than their counterparts who work for traditional taxi companies.
BY JACOB PALMER | OB DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Drivers for the ridesharing company make more on average than their counterparts who work for traditional taxi companies.
The Washington Post reported on the survey that found drivers make up to $15 more per hour than competitors in the New York market.
These gross earnings don’t account for the considerable costs drivers pay to deploy their own cars as modern-day taxis. But Uber argues that these numbers paint a picture of decent work in a shifting economy where tens of thousands of people — nearly half of them with college degrees — have recently found supplemental income and more flexibility doing a job that has long been the domain of immigrants and middle-aged men.
The analysis, drawn from internal figures as well as a survey of about 600 UberX and UberBlack drivers, offers the most extensive look at how fast the company has grown, who’s driving for it and how this work supplements their other employment. Krueger, who previously served as chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, contracted with Uber to write the analysis, along with the company’s head of policy research, Jonathan Hall.
A decision on Uber’s fate in Portland is expected by the April 9 City Council meeting. The popular app’s overture into the city has been a hot topic in Portland politics for months as it encircled the city by launching in the suburbs, ultimately making its unwelcome debut in PDX for 10 days in December.
For more context, read Oregon Business editor Linda Baker’s rundown on the Streetfight looming in Portland, as well as a recap of the Transportation Fairness Alliance’s — a group of already-operating taxi companies — rally in Pioneer Courthouse Square urging the city to give consideration for the companies that have been following regulations.
