Uber recently announced it would be changing the way its earnings statement for drivers looks. Will this new earnings statement make things more transparent for drivers – or less? Senior RSG contributor Sergio Avedian analyzes the news and shares his thoughts below.
I am no stranger to reviewing almost every update to the Uber driver app. I am also not shy to call it the way I see it.
Some new driver features have been beneficial, but mostly they are cosmetic in nature. What drivers have been asking for a long time has been an increase in rates.
I don’t think this new change is going to make that much of a difference in driver earnings, but it may clarify Uber’s take rate once and for all, which has been a hotly debated topic in my past articles and on my Show Me The Money Club (SMTMC) YouTube streams.
Below, you will see what Lyft’s current earnings statement looks like.
I’ll also cover the newest driver feature Uber is releasing: changes to our driver earnings statements. I’ll outline what drivers will now see on passenger receipts, what this new feature might remind you of, and my thoughts about this new feature.
New Driver Earnings Statement
With this new feature from Uber, drivers will have access to their weekly earnings on their apps as usual, but the format and breakdown will be changing to simplify things for drivers going forward.
As a driver, you will also be getting weekly earnings statements via email for the previous week.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Lyft has been doing it this way for a long time.
“With this new earnings statement feature, you’ll see how much you made and how much you already cashed out.
You can then log in to your app to see how much you made on trips, promotions, and tips. You can also see adjustments related to previous weeks, like tips that were added many days later.
These new statements will also include how much customers paid and how much the weekly Uber Service Fee was.”
In favor of this new format, Uber will be discontinuing the partial statements you currently get every time you cash out.
Uber also will be simplifying and condensing in-app passenger receipts, but if you like, you can continue to access them in full on drivers.uber.com.
Takeaways for Drivers
I hope these changes will create some goodwill toward drivers and make things simpler to understand since there has been an ongoing perception amongst the driver community that Uber is taking too much from the passenger fares. Hopefully, this new statement will clarify things with full transparency.
I am looking forward to the new statements, and I will hold my final judgment until I have them for a few weeks.
Any change is something drivers need to get used to, but we are an adaptable bunch, and we will figure out soon if this change is beneficial to us or if it is another attempt to make things more complicated and convoluted.
What do you think about Uber’s new earnings statement announcement? Do you think this will make things more transparent or less?
-Sergio @ RSG
FAQs for Uber’s New Earnings Statement
When do I get a weekly statement?
Every time you earn with Uber, you get an earnings statement via email the following Monday.
What are Third-Party Fees and Operational Expenses?
These fees are charged to customers and cover various third-party fees and operational expenses.
The amounts listed in the weekly statement are not new, as they were reflected on previous trip receipts in the app. In this new format, the fees are now aggregated and featured at the weekly level.
Is the Uber service fee changing?
No. In fact, the weekly statements make it easier for you to see how much you’ve been paying Uber every week.
How much is the Uber service fee?
The service fee is the fee drivers pay Uber, which varies from trip to trip. It’s the difference between what a rider pays and what a driver earns on a trip, excluding tips, tolls, and certain fees, taxes, and surcharges.*
* Uber charges a service fee on certain fees and surcharges, including but not limited to wait time fees, promotions, and cancellation fees.
How much is the Uber weekly service fee?
The weekly service fee, for a particular weekly period, is the total amount of service fees a driver paid Uber minus any other payments to that driver that were not included on the per-trip receipt, including but not limited to weekly promotions.
Why are the Uber service fee and/or the weekly Uber service fee sometimes negative?
The Uber service fee and the weekly service fee are the amounts we take to serve users and grow the business. If one of them is negative, that means what you earned beyond fares (such as promotions) was greater than the fee(s) you owed.
How does Uber spend the service fee?
Uber uses the service fee to better serve everyone who uses the platform. This includes customer promotions, marketing, and adding new earnings opportunities. This also covers tech improvements to make the app better.
Did trip receipts change?
Yes. In favor of these new, detailed weekly statements, they’re shortening trip receipts, but you can continue to see them in full on drivers.uber.com.
