I'd be curious to know how many riders consider Uber/Lyft drivers as "professionals" or whether the view is that rideshare drivers are just spending their free time making an extra buck.

I lived in Japan for 18 years - grew up there. Totally aware of their tipping culture. And you make the best point so far - Rates need to be high enough before attempting to abandon the tipping culture. Some Japanese restaurants in Manhattan are doing precisely this.

Uber did the opposite. They lied to early riders, and told them that tips were included. But the rates were much higher. Then they said that tipping wasn't necessary. OK - that's cool. But then they slash the rates, making food service a viable alternative to driving. At this point, the survival instinct is for the drivers to revert to the custom of tipping that was precisely created to shift the burden of wages from the employer directly to those who were serviced.

I drive between 15-30 hours a week. I'm an aircraft engineer. I do this for fun. I could be a professional driver, but I enjoy doing it part time. That being said, whenever I drive, I strive to be as professional as I can.

Driving is a service industry, customarily tipped.

From the other side, I'd also be interested to know how many drivers report their tips on April 15th. My guess is it's a much smaller percentage than other service industry providers who customarily earn tips

Honestly, it doesn't matter very much. Our expenses far exceed that of a bartender or waitress. The deductions offset our declared income.

And, no, most servers declare the minimum required by law. Interestingly, that law has been changing. Now they are expected to declare based on a percentage of the restaurant's gross revenues. I think in the past it was only that you had to declare enough to show you made minimum wage.

110% Everything you wrote : )

Tips on Uber are so miniscule that it would not really matter, especially against costs. Lyft In-App tips are reported within our 1099 automatically.

If you raise rates less people will use Uber, and that means drivers will have to wait around longer for a passenger. It would probably work out in bigger cities where the average income is higher, but it wouldn't work out in smaller cities. It would only destroy a lot of Uber jobs, or many drivers would be waiting long periods for a passenger thus their income wouldn't increase by much, or even possibly decrease.

The problem is we all have different definitions about what is fair. In Japan, waiters get paid like $10 USD at regular restaurants. In California, it's $10+ plus tips. I know plenty of waiters that can easily pull $20+ an hour. You could argue that waiters in Japan are underpaid or waiters in California are overpaid.

Probably half of the 45,000 registered Uber drivers in L.A. used to be Cab drivers. And, many of the drivers are just trying to make an extra buck, as well. All of them are professionals because they are being paid. Just some more professional than others....and that word 'professional' can be very subjective and have many meanings, both positive and negative.

IF a server in Japan earns only $10 an hour it comes with free company housing and paid train pass. McDonalds pays more than $10 an hour in Japan now. When I was there in the 90's they paid 1,000 yen ($10) an hour.

Passengers will get what they pay for over time. Period.

If I offer a friend $20 to help me move, that doesn't make him United Van Lines.

I was more interested in rider perception.

Do you have any proof? I've never heard of anything like that.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/McD...1,16_IN123.htm
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/j...123_KO6,14.htm

You don't always get what you pay for. You've lost my respect with that statement.

Then you should know better

Awkward or not, you'd probably have way more success explaining it as you just did than if you had a sign in your car. One is genuine while the other is in poor taste.

Thank you.

I'm totally guilty of this. I always seem to automatically assume that Uber drivers are driving on their free time and I'm surprised at when they explain that it's their full-time gig.

Yes, I saw that you were asking Riders that question. It is a rather loaded, and maybe even intentionally insulting one, too.

That said, I will depart and leave all you Riders to your own assumptions and expectations.

Ciao

How anyone could drive for Uber is way beyond me.

You can't even admit when you're wrong. No evidence to back up your statements, and you run away when asked. Servers are overpaid in California, and you want to be overpaid as well.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/busines...000-employees/

This is what happens when employees with very little skill demand more money.