A new survey of ride-share drivers in 20 cities where Uber and Lyft operate finds that Pittsburgh drivers are roughly in the middle of the pack when it comes to how much they earn per trip.
Technology company SherpaShare, which helps independent contractors track earnings and taxes, surveyed the drivers between January and May. Despite a fare cut by Uber in several cities earlier this year, the results showed the earnings per trip for about 1.5 million trips went up slightly over that period, said SherpaShare cofounder Ryder Pearce.
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According to the survey, Uber trips in Pittsburgh averaged $15 and Lyft trips averaged a little over $11 during the first five months of the year. That compares favorably with most of the other cities at the top of the list, including San Francisco, Austin and Phoenix.
However, the data do not reflect the impact in Pittsburgh of a 15 percent fare cut by Uber earlier this month and 15 percent fare increase by Lyft in June. And the survey doesn’t account for fluctuations caused by surge pricing or prime time pricing, which increase fares when demand rises.
Mr. Pearce said the company’s next project was to try to determine what drivers earn per hour, which may be a more true measure of income potential.
First Published: July 17, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
