Drive passengers for Uber or Lyft in your own car and get paid per trip, plus bonuses and tips.
BRI Score
out of 100
Suits
People who want paid hours quickly, without building an audience or a business.
Not for
Anyone looking for income that grows without more hours.
What would change our view: A new distribution channel or a policy change that removes low-quality sellers could reopen it.
One person in the US, about 10 hours a week, after 12 months
Recalculated daily from the latest data; the history chart appears after the second daily update.
70% the method's unit economics ($283 a month for an active practitioner), 30% the US side-hustle distribution.
| Pay per active hourLyft median to Uber average gross per hour, 2025. | $19.48–$23.88 | Source |
| Expenses as share of gross (gas, wear, insurance)Gridwise: net is 30–50% below gross; the full IRS mileage rate would imply about 80%. | 45% | Source |
| Share of logged-in hours that are paidNYC TLC measured 53.3%; Toronto open data shows 50–56%. | 55% | Source |
| Hours logged in a week | 10 | BRI assumption |
IRS business mileage rate rose to 76¢ per mile from July 1, 2026
CPA Practice AdvisorIn 2025 Uber drivers averaged $23.88 gross per hour and Lyft $22.45; net pay is 30–50% below gross, with fuel and maintenance at $0.40–0.70 per mile
GridwiseHourly pay fell in every robotaxi market, July 2024 vs July 2025
Business Insider (via AOL)NYC TLC set the industrywide utilization rate (time with a passenger ÷ logged-in time) at 53.3%, plus a $0.879 per-mile expense factor
NYC Taxi & Limousine CommissionGridwise says gross driver pay rose 4.1% per hour in 2025 while rider prices rose almost 10% and platform fees per trip rose more than 33%.
