Unpacking Uber and Lyft’s Predatory Take Rates

In 2024, the average Uber driver earned less than they had the prior year, while working more. [1] Lyft drivers worked fewer hours in 2024, but earned 14 percent less than they had in 2023. [2] Both companies regularly paid drivers wages less than the applicable minimum wage, while at the same time increasing consumer prices by over 7 percent. [3]

The disconnect between driver wages and consumer fares raises an important question: What cut of a passenger’s Uber or Lyft fare actually goes to drivers? It’s a question only Uber or Lyft can answer definitively because only they have access to wage data for all of their drivers—data they have consistently refused to disclose. But new survey data, driver reporting, and corporate earnings statements give us a much better sense of Uber & Lyft’s “take rates.”

Download our factsheet to learn why we need a federal cap on Uber & Lyft’s take rates as the companies use secret algorithms to charge passengers more, pay drivers less, and pull in record profits.

Endnotes

[1] Gridwise 2025 Annual Mobility Report, Gridwise Analytics (2025) https://gridwise.io/analytics/2025-annual-gig-mobility-report/.

[2] Id.

[3] Ken Jacobs, Michael Reich, et al., Gig Passenger and Delivery Driver Pay in Five Metro Areas, U.C. Berkely Labor Ctr. (May 20, 2024), https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/gig-passenger-and-delivery-driver-pay-in-five-metro-areas/.