Uber Hourly Guarantees, Price Reduction, Driver Discounts
I just received an email from the local Uber Boston office highlighting three pretty large changes. Scroll down to see the original email sent to me.
Price Reduction:
Because of the increased demand of UberX in Boston due to their summer promotion of 25%, they will now reduce prices by 15%. This is a move to react to Lyft when they reduced their prices by 20%. See post for more information about the Lyft reduced prices and commission fees.
I think that the UberX reduced pricing (seems to be nationwide, but percentages may vary from Uber city to Uber city) will lower driver earnings but may be slightly offset by increased demand. When I was busy 100% of the time, I used to earn about $25 an hour on the old prices. Now I figure that I’ll be making closer to $20 when there isn’t Uber surge pricing.
Hourly Guarantees
Uber Hourly Guarantees are back! I’m only partially excited as throughout the summer, we saw $40/hr as they were desperate to get more drivers out on the road. A sizeable number of drivers left Uber to drive on Lyft because of the $10/week phone fee to a point where drivers started to see large Uber surge pricing on some Friday and Saturday nights.
Now the Uber hourly guarantees are either $15 during off-peak hours and $25 for peak hours. It’s not as lucrative as it once were but it will help out the full time UberX drivers. This is before the 20% commission so they are effectively working for $10 an hour on Uber in some cases. $15 an hour is a very easy number to get above when you’re driving for UberX. I would expect the new pricing to adjust Uber driver salaries to around $20 an hour.
Driver Discounts
Now Uber is offering two UberX (and Uber) driver discounts, one on gas (40-60 cents a gallon) and on routine maintenance via OpenBay.com. They haven’t released a lot of information about the Uber driver gas discount yet but see below for more information on OpenBay car maintenance discount. Uber noted that they will be sending out more information on the UberX driver gas discount.
Original Email:
Hey <<FirstName>>,
Summer always ends too quickly – this year that is especially true as Uber Boston saw demand soar! Loyal riders are happier than ever with fast and reliable service, new riders are coming on by the thousands each week, and most importantly, our partners are making more money than ever before!
LOWER PRICES = INCREASED DEMAND + HOURLY $$$ GUARANTEES
Uber’s 25% summer rider promotion is coming to an end, so to continue record growth on uberX, we’re decreasing uberX prices by roughly 15% with no change to minimum fare or cancellation fee. The new rates, effective Saturday, August 16th at 5pm, are as follows:
- Base: $2.00
- Per mile: $1.20
- Per minute: $0.21
- Minimum trip: $5.00
- Cancellation fee: $10.00
The decision to permanently reduce uberX prices comes after extensive pricing experiments in more than a dozen cities across the United States (including Boston), with Uber investing millions of dollars to ensure that partner revenue would not be negatively affected as a result of the tests.
The tests worked – rider demand has been so strong recently that uberX partners made over 15% more over the last 4 weeks than they did all of May! And the best news is things only get better from here – with September approaching, we are now entering the busiest time of the year. Vacations are ending, students are returning, and the weather is getting colder. If growth is anything like 2013, uberX partners will be busier than ever.
Given this data, we’re confident the new prices will continue to grow your rider base and ensure that uberX remains the best way to get a ride in greater Boston.
NEW $$$ GUARANTEES 24/7
We expect your demand and revenue to grow dramatically come September – but why should you have to wait until then? We know you like the flexibility of driving when you want and how often you want. Starting with the price change, we’re excited to offer a $$$ guarantee no matter when you drive!
- Log online in the zone between Saturday, August 16th 5pm and Monday, September 1st 3:59am and accept at least 80% of your trip requests.
- Depending on the time of day, you’re eligible for either $15 or $25 in gross fares per hour GUARANTEED during your time online!
See the chart below for the hourly guarantee levels for each day of the week:
Incentive payments will appear as a miscellaneous payment on your payment statements for Monday, August 18th, Monday, August 25th, and Tuesday, September 2nd. Please note, the guarantees will not be reflected on your trips dashboard.
NEW DISCOUNTS TO REDUCE PARTNER EXPENSES
We know increased trips means more miles on your vehicle, so we’ve put together some great deals for uberX partners to help offset some of the costs that come with more usage:
All partners can fill up at the following gas stations, where prices tend to be $0.40-0.60/gallon lower than nearby stations! Stay tuned for more information on a gas discount program:
We’ve partnered with Openbay to help you save hundreds of dollars on vehicle service:
Sign up at at Openbay.com to save on oil changes, brake pad replacement, belt and battery replacement, and more
Uber partners get an additional $50 off with the promo code ‘driverbenefits711x’
Show your Uber Driver App to get 15% off oil changes at any area Valvoline Service Center. To find a service center near you, click here.
NEW MARKETING INITIATIVES FOR EVEN MORE RIDERS
Along with the initiatives described above, we’ll be launching a series of marketing campaigns to increase uberX awareness across the Boston area.
Uber for Business introducing a new set of corporate customers
Partnerships with local universities
Regional expansion efforts towards Worcester and MetroWest
As always, thank you for your continued partnership. We will be working every day to grow demand and your revenue. We’re always eager to answer questions or hear your feedback
Uber on
Have more questions about Uber or Lyft? Head on over to our Rideshare Driver Training Course! Driver Promotions- New Uber Drivers will get up to a $800 bonus after signing up: Sign up for Uber.
- New Lyft Drivers will get up to $800 if you sign up here using this link.
