Here’s how much money Uber drivers make in the UK
A new independent study, published by researchers from the University of Oxford in partnership with Worker Info Exchange, shows that the introduction of dynamic pay has had a major impact on Uber drivers in the UK.
Uber’s dynamic pay system uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to set pay and assign work in real time, with no transparency for drivers and no ability to challenge automated decisions for pay and work allocation.
This has resulted in reduced driver pay, increased Uber’s commission, and made pay more unpredictable and unequal for its workforce, the researchers said.
The data is based on an algorithmic audit of 1.5 million trips from 258 drivers who accessed their own trip data with Worker Info Exchange using GDPR subject access rights.
This participatory audit, co-designed with Uber drivers themselves, is the first of its kind to leverage data subject access requests (DSARs) at scale to evaluate the impact of algorithmic pricing on gig workers’ livelihoods.
How much Uber drivers earn in the UK
A key finding of the report is that pay has declined since the introduction of Uber’s dynamic pay system.
Gross hourly pay has dropped from £22.20 to £19.06 before considering operating costs, including vehicle rent, maintenance, fuel, commercial insurance, licensing, cleaning, parking, congestion charging and other costs.
This leaves many drivers consistently earning below the national minimum wage despite the notional protection of the 2021 Supreme Court ruling against Uber, the researchers said.
Pay inequality has also widened, indicating active algorithmic wage discrimination. 82% of longer-serving Uber drivers are now earning less per hour than they did before dynamic pay and pricing were introduced. A small minority are earning more, but these gains are not shared evenly, with benefits going to newer drivers and part-time workers, the researchers said.
Pay has become less predictable – while Uber takes more
Machine learning models show that drivers’ ability to anticipate earnings based on time, location, and trip type has drastically diminished. Whilst Uber often claims that drivers are free to work where and when they want, the report shows that the tacit knowledge of working drivers on the job has been degraded by Uber’s algorithms, which seek to shape the market to their advantage only.
Prior to dynamic pricing, Uber’s commission was fixed at 25%. After the introduction of AI-driven dynamic pay, Uber is taking much higher cuts, up to 50% or more on certain trips.
The data also shows that drivers are now waiting longer for trips. Drivers now spend more time on standby waiting for dispatches than on paid trips. Standby hours have risen by over an hour per week on average since 2022.
