How UberX Drivers Salary in NYC is $90000 a year
After a few hundred Lyfts and Uber rides in Boston, I can account for the reason why UberX drivers in New York City can make $90,000 a year.
Here are some comparisons of fare rates in different cities:
Boston Rates:
| Base Fare | $/Minute | $/Mile | Minimum Fare | |
| UberX | $ 2.25 | $ 0.28 | $ 1.45 | $ 5.00 |
| UberXL | $ 3.50 | $ 0.35 | $ 2.45 | $ 7.00 |
| UberBlack | $ 7.00 | $ 0.40 | $ 3.60 | $ 15.00 |
| UberSUV | $ 14.00 | $ 0.50 | $ 4.30 | $ 25.00 |
New York Rates:
| Base Fare | $/Minute | $/Mile | Minimum Fare | |
| UberX | $ 6.00 | $ 0.75 | $ 3.00 | $ 12.00 |
| UberBlack | $ 7.00 | $ 1.00 | $ 4.55 | $ 15.00 |
| UberSUV | $ 14.00 | $ 1.25 | $ 5.00 | $ 25.00 |
If you compare the two rates in these two cities, the “normal” UberX driver in NYC makes about 2.5x the fare as the one in Boston. It is normal for me to make about $30/hr and if you choose the right hours, you can do that for 40 hours a week. It means you’re driving mostly nights, 5pm-2am.
If you make the same calculation, UberX drivers can make about $75 an hour, higher or lower depending on how much they drive compared to how much time they spend in traffic.
$75/hour sounds a bit high, but I’ve checked the Uber map in NYC a few times and there is surge a bit more often than Boston, so I stand behind my calculation of $75 an hour. It really doesn’t matter how much it surges, as long as there is some surge, I believe $75/hour is attainable. If you do the calculation, given a normal 50 work weeks in the week (2 weeks vacation) and the normal 40 hours a week, NYC UberX drivers would average about $45 an hour, which should be pretty easy to do given the figures above. I do note that Boston is much more compact so I usually get rides pretty quick so there is minimal downtime during my day. NYC is much bigger and some trips may be very lucrative, but now they are far away from the hot zones in Manhattan. The $45/hr would seem like a reasonable amount of money. The Uber stats noted it was the median income so we’re not sure what percentage of people make more than that. It could be only 25%.
Here is what Uber isn’t tell you:
All UberX drivers in NYC have a livery license and plates. Its required by law. This requirement is limiting the number of drivers on the UberX system and is relegated to full time drivers. There are fewer drivers so incomes go up. Livery insurance rates for cars are usually a few hundred a month (in Boston, it was about $600 a month for a 2004 Honda Odyssey, and about $1000 a month for a new Escalade). I would figure that it costs about $10k a year to insure the vehicle.
There is a bit of hassle getting the TLC license in NY but otherwise it does seem to be worth it to pull in $80,000 before taxes if you plan on doing this full time. This is only possible as there are fewer available drivers. People who do UberX in NY have livery plates whereas normal UberX drivers in other cities do not, so it keeps a lot of recreational drivers off of the UberX system.
With Lyft expanding into NYC in a few weeks, I believe that Uber either makes another category for livery license UberX cars or flood the market with UberX drivers without livery plates and reducing their prices to keep Lyft out of New York City.
I would caution people from trying to get livery plates in NY to try to make $90000 a year with the heated competition from Lyft. Things can change very quickly in a few months. Already in Boston, with the advent of UberX, Uber Black drivers are having a hard time making enough money to cover their expenses. With XL, now there is almost no reason to order an UberSUV. I believe long term supply and demand will balance out so everyone will be making money but in the short term, the Uber Black and SUV drivers are not doing well. They will have to survive long enough so that demand picks up again.
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