Uber Eats Changes Its Payment Structure in Select Markets

Uber Eats has recently made some changes in select markets, but are these the changes for the better or worse? In this video we’re going to be talking about the changes that Uber Eats has made in select markets. The overall way that drivers are paid as well as various information Uber lets us know about upfront has changed.

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What are the Changes to the Uber Eats Pay Structure?

Uber Eats shows you more information before you take a trip, which is good. They show you the customer drop off location, they show you the restaurant and they also show you how much they’re going to pay you. Now I should note that the amount that you see on the screen when the trip pops up may not be the final amount because they do not show the tip. So this is strictly what Uber’s going to pay you, but it may be actually more if the customer has tipped.

They’ve also changed how the payment structure works. Before, it was a combination of base fare, per minute and per mile. Now they changed it so that you’re paid a combination of base fare and what they call ‘trip supplementation.’

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How Do the New Changes Affect Drivers? Do

It’s overall going to vary depending on your market, but base pay is around$2 – $2.50. But note that that’s subject to change and this trip supplementation is they’re going to reimburse you how much the difference between the base fare and the amount that guaranteeing that you’re going to make when you see the trip.

Do you make the same or are you actually losing money? We’re going to compare some screenshots I have from my old earnings per trip to my new earnings. And in these screenshots I drove similar distance, the boost was the same, so we can make a overall just very conclusive comparison. So let’s go to the computer.

Okay. On the left side, we have the old original earnings before the changes. On the right side we have the earnings with the changes. So we see that on the left side, this trip pay $4.25 The distance was 0.54 miles and the boost was 1.5 and paid $1.42. On the right side, which is the side on the new changes the trip paid, we’re not going to count that tip. It paid $3.14. The distance was actually more, it was about a mile, and the boost paid a 1.5 and it was $1.01.

With this example on the old model it paid $8.35, distance was about seven miles. The boost was 1.3 and it paid $1.94. Now on the right side, under the new model, we’re not including the tip like usual, pay $6.20. It was about a 6.3 miles, which is slightly less and the boost was still 1.3 and it paid $1.16.

In our last example, the old model paid $9.51 cents. We’re going to subtract that tip, so we’re not including that. The distance was 3.28 miles. The boost was 1.9 and it paid $4.51. Under this new model, the overall earnings was $6.97 cents, it traveled 4.75 miles and the boost is 1.9 and it paid $3.09.

So the end result in all of these situations is you end up making a little less money.

Pros: See Customer Drop-off Location, See the Restaurant

The biggest one in my book is you can now see the customer drop off location, so it’s not so much a matter of hitting the lottery as far as where you end up. You can see that information, then you can make a judgment call on if you want to take it or not. When I remember the times where I would take a delivery and all the way to the restaurant, I’m just curious where I’m going to be going, only to find out that I’m heading to a place primary like another city or just somewhere that’s outside of my work zone. And if I knew that ahead of time I probably wouldn’t have took it. Now I have that information so I can make a judgment call on if I want to take it or not.

Another big pro is you can now see the restaurant before you take the trip. Before, you could zoom in on the map and kind of deduce what the restaurant would be because you’re familiar with your market.  Now there’s no guessing. You know what it is because it says it.

A huge pro is they show you what Uber Eats is going to pay you before the trip even starts. So you can use all that information to make a full judgment call on if you want to accept a trip or not.

Con: Less Earnings, Lack of Disclosure With Earnings

A huge con is in most results that you saw in the screenshots before, you are going to make less money. So in some instances you might make around the same, but generally speaking you’re going to make less. Any changes that results in a cut in a driver’s earnings is always going to be a negative in my book.

Arguably the biggest con now is your payment has changed and the information they give you is different. Before, you had your per mile, your per minute rate, you knew what your earnings were and what they’re based off of, but now it’s hidden under base fare and trip supplementation.

That means that the per mile and per minute rate could be changing on each trip and you wouldn’t even know it because you don’t see the numbers. You could be getting paid 70 cents per mile, one trip and 55 cents per mile another trip, and that’s just not full disclosure. That doesn’t sit with me, that’s a con.

And the last con is they don’t show you the tip ahead of time. They show you the amount that Uber pays before the trip, but that does not include the tip. You’re not going to get a full assessment of how much money you could potentially make because they’re not showing you the tip. A good example is you could take a trip, it says you’ll make $4 and you decided to decline it because, based on the distance, that’s just not enough for you. But let’s say the customer tip like $6 you would’ve never knew because it didn’t appear.

Final Thoughts: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The pros are great but they don’t outweigh the cons and some of these cons are pretty significant. It is nice to be able to see the final drop-off location, the restaurant and also how much Uber is going to pay. So they showed more information, but it came at the cost of concealing information in a different spot. That being how our rates are actually calculated because it’s hidden under base fare and trips supplementation.

So they revealed more information then hid other information. In my book, you’re back where you started.

We would love to hear how you feel or your thoughts in the comments below. If you have any other questions, feel free to leave those in the comments too, or shoot us an email. This is Elijah signing off for the Rideshare Guy. Stay through profitable driving everyone.

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