It’s safe to say most Americans are well past the point of inhumane industrial-age wages. Still, one dad in Florida has the internet, raising its eyebrows at a rather egregious payment rate from Uber Eats, nonetheless. Because, while the Uber Eats driver revealed that he earns on average $6 per hour (which really isn’t acceptable anymore in the US), most of that wage will go to his gas bill, leaving him with almost nothing regardless of how long his shift was.
The testimony came from TikTok user Joel Harvey of Florida, aka theharveys7. Harvey posted a video on February 9 detailing his 3rd day as an Uber Eats delivery driver, which he does after his main full-time work. Apparently, Harvey has four kids and a stay-at-home wife, which is why he supposedly put up with Uber Eats.
In the video, Harvey goes around buying grocery items and take-out food for customers. Near the end of the video, Harvey reveals he had been working for 2.5 hours and only earned a whopping $15.02, which, when averaged, equates to around $6/hour before taxes and gas. Sadly, gas in Florida costs around $4 to $5 per hour of driving in cities and nearly $6 per hour on highways, which means Harvey’s net pay is a measly $1-2 in Uber Eats.
“So yeah, do you think doing Uber Eats is worth it, guys? And do you think Uber Eats is paying their delivery drivers fairly?” questions Harvey after summing up his earnings. Of course, one also has to factor in the wear-and-tear on the car, so technically, Harvey’s Uber Eats earnings could be in the negative if he keeps doing it (if it wasn’t already from the gas and taxes).
People online are calling out Uber Eats
As expected, Harvey gained equal counts of sympathy and outraged reactions online. His video has since ballooned up to more than 2.6 million views at the time of writing. People online were in disbelief at how they thought Uber Eats was more than unfair to their delivery drivers. “Not worth it man, time with your family is way more important,” according to a commenter, with another echoing the sentiment, “Commenting so you can spend more time with your wife and kids 🌺🤙🏻.”
Others were criticizing the $152.72 billion company as to why their rates are like that and calling the structure terrible, “Wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy,” says a commenter. Some also pointed out that the money was just going to gas, as per our quick math above, “Every dollar ur making is just going right back to gas,” though in some states, Uber Eats apparently reimburses gas expenses for their delivery drivers. Even so, the rates are not exactly decent considering other factors.
In any case, it’s not clear whether Harvey plans to continue working part-time at Uber Eats. Some concerned TikTok users advised him to just do something else, as anything else would be better, such as “donate plasma instead,” or “You would make so much more money in less time, bartending. Waiting tables. You would do well.”
