Was Today a Good Uber Driving Day?
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Download the Uber Cost Calculator Spreadsheet Here
I went out for a short afternoon of Uber driving with a simple goal: make a little money, stay close to home, get my car washed, and be back for dinner. By the end of the day, I had completed five rides and earned $59.80. My mileage tracker recorded 66.8 business miles.
But revenue is not profit.
My Tesla costs about 30 cents per mile to operate. That figure includes electricity, depreciation, maintenance, and repairs. Here’s the math:
66.8 miles × $0.30 = $20.04 in estimated vehicle costs
After subtracting that from my earnings, I was left with an estimated profit of:
$59.80 − $20.04 = $39.76
That works out to approximately:
$0.60 in profit per business mile
$11.81 per hour measured door to door
$16.57 per online hour
$20.93 per active hour
The same five rides can produce three very different hourly numbers. That’s why I always want to know what someone means when they say how much they make per hour driving Uber.
In the episode, I also calculate the estimated cost per mile for Connie’s 2015 Chrysler Town & Country. With depreciation, $4-per-gallon gasoline, and a maintenance and repair reserve, her estimated cost comes to about 35 cents per mile.
I created a free calculator so you can enter your own vehicle, mileage, fuel or electricity costs, maintenance estimate, and Uber earnings.
Was this a great day of earnings? No. But I accomplished everything I set out to do, met some interesting people, and made it home for dinner.
You can download the calculator below.
