You may be surprised to learn that one earnings question The Rideshare Guy regularly receives is ‘can an Uber and Lyft driver earn $100,000 a year driving rideshare?’ It may seem like an elusive goal – but is it attainable?
Senior RSG contributor Sergio Avedian breaks down the numbers to show if it’s even possible to make six figures as a rideshare driver.
How Can Uber & Lyft Drivers Make $100K a Year?
As a six-year veteran, I have seen the good (2016-2017), the bad (2018-2019), and the ugly (2019-early 2020).
The good was really enjoyable, as I would consistently bring in $3,000 week after week.
Then the cuts of the base rates (in Los Angeles, Uber pays $0.60 cents a mile and $0.21 cents a minute; Lyft pays $0.80 cents a mile and $0.12 cents a minute) came fast and furious as well as the elimination of the Surge Multiplier.
By the time 2019 rolled around, my income was down by 40-50% due to oversaturation, lower Utilization Rate (UR), and lower Incentives (Quest, CRBs, Boost, etc.). That was the moment I decided to become a part-time driver and when the pandemic hit, I stopped driving for Uber/Lyft altogether.
I picked it up again on the weekends last August. I discovered that Los Angeles was short of drivers, my UR was back up to 95% and with all the Incentives, I was making the same amount of money per Online/Active hour that I was in 2017-2018, even though Uber/Lyft had not increased the base rates.
I was enjoying driving again! Where can someone make $60 an hour and clock out when they choose to do so?
However, while my earnings are good, are they $100,000 a year good? Keep reading below to find out exactly how to make $100k a year as a rideshare driver!
Related:
Is it Possible for Uber and Lyft Drivers to Earn $100,000 a Year?
Mathematically, YES, especially in Los Angeles. Here is my breakdown of the numbers.
As all the Show me the money club (SMTMC) members know, I don’t drive unless Uber/Lyft “show me the money.” The only way I can still average $50-60 an hour is because I pick and choose my spots for a few hours during the weekends and make sure all the Incentives overlap.
In order to make $100,000 a year, a driver must average $2000 GROSS a week. But assuming everything stays the way things are in Los Angeles at the moment, a young or very motivated person, with no back or health problems, can earn that type of cash week after week.
In Los Angeles, the picture above repeats itself day after day during weekday morning/afternoon rush hour and on the weekends.
Sign-up to Drive for Uber Here!
Variability Factors
We all know that, other than turning the apps on and off when we want, we are not in control of what we can earn; we’re at the mercy of the algorithms. The strategy will only get you so far.
In order for our hero drivers to make $2000 a week for 52 weeks in a row, they must be on the good side of the Uber/Lyft algorithms in receiving decent bonuses. They also must know the city they are driving in extremely well. They must be familiar with the demand patterns of the city as well as apply the three Ps (Patience-Position-Planning) consistently.
There is also the seasonality factor one must consider before attempting such a super-human task. But for this experiment, I am going with a UR of 75-80% for our driver.
It is a must for drivers to use both Uber and Lyft. Without it, I don’t think it is possible to achieve the results below.
How Much Do I Need to Make to Earn $100k/Year?
Here’s a breakdown of how to meet your yearly six-figure goal.
$2,000 a week for 52 weeks ($2000 X 52 = $104,000 a year)
Driving 65 hours a week ($2,000/65 = $30.75 per hour)
I gross almost double that amount but I am part-time. In today’s market conditions, a decent driver should earn at least $30 an hour without many strategies.
Bottom line: It will take at least 60-65 hours a week of driving full time using multiple rideshare apps, taking advantage of all the Incentives, CRBs, Boost, and definitely Surge in order to make $100,000 as a rideshare driver.
One thing humans can not change or adjust is how many hours are in a day. So out of the 24 hours we have in a day and 168 hours a week, I can easily come up with 65 hours which are the most profitable times to drive passengers around.
The most profitable times of the day to drive as an Uber or Lyft driver is:
- 6-9 AM on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
- 3-8 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
- 11-12 hour days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when the city is lit up with Surge
There are 65 hours where peak earning opportunities exist. This hero driver of mine will have plenty of time to work out, sleep well, take multiple breaks, etc. during the remaining 103 hours of the week.
What About Expenses?
Another assumption is that he/she is driving the right car. The car our hero drivers are using has a lot to do with how much of the $104,000 GROSS income they keep at the end of the year.
A 10-year-old Prius with its 9-gallon tank, or better yet, a used EV such as a Chevy Bolt would be great for this task since the driver does not have to worry about depreciation that much.
With the Prius, assuming our driver is filling up every 450 miles (50 MPG – let’s say they drive 5000 miles a month), the driver has to fill up about 11 times a month.
That would be about 100 gallons of regular gas at today’s prices, roughly $550 a month (less if done at Costco). The 10-year-old Prius would need at least half a dozen oil changes, brakes, and a set of tires which would increase the cost over an EV, but it won’t break the bank of our hero.
For an EV, like a used Chevy Bolt with a 200-mile range, our driver has to charge it fully on a daily basis at home or at a fast charger available all over the city. No oil changes, most likely no brake jobs but maybe a set of tires, and that is the total expense, plus depreciation.
Other costs to consider would be rideshare insurance, car payments (preferably they own their car), and any other maintenance costs that could arise.
AND DON’T FORGET TAXES!
Can You Make $100k a Year with Uber & Lyft?
Could this be really done? In Los Angeles, YES. In other parts of the country, probably NOT (although if you can prove me wrong, let me know!).
This will heavily depend on the driver’s will, physical, and mental health, and probably age. I don’t see why a driven, energetic person would not be able to accomplish this seemingly impossible task. I recommend they save most if not all of the money earned for one year of hard work in order to start their own business or further their education to land a job in a more lucrative field.
Even after expenses and depreciation, I think the Prius driver would net at least $90,000 and the Bolt driver would net $95,000 out of the $104,000 GROSS income if they owned the car outright without making payments.
I am going to take a chance and say that there are actually drivers earning at least $2500 for less than 60 hours a week in Los Angeles, but to do it week after week for a whole year will take a special human being.
