Uber is a multinational ride-sharing company offering a wide variety of services, ranging from ride service hailing, peer-to-peer ridesharing, micro-mobility services, and even food delivery, known as Uber Eats. What’s more, according to the latest Uber statistics, the company is poised for success and has immense potential still. Namely, the company is present in over 60 companies with drivers and operation offices in over 700 metropolitan areas. Its services can be accessed via the dedicated Uber mobile app compatible both for Android and IOS.
In this article, we’ll take a deeper dive into the operations of this ridesharing giant. If you want to find out more about this topic, just strap yourself in, ladies and gentlemen, and enjoy the ride!
Top 10 Key Stats and Facts About Uber
- Since launching in 2009, Uber has acquired over 22,000 employees.
- In 2019, Uber lost $5.2 billion in just 3 months.
- At $32.15, Uber has one of the most-watched IPO stocks on the market.
- According to 2018 data, 36% of all US adults used ridesharing services.
- In April 2020, Uber’s business was down by 80%.
- Rideshare drivers in San Jose, CA, earn an hourly median of $21.80.
- An average Uber ride costs about $25.75.
- The company’s first-ever report on safety disclosed 3,045 incidents of sexual assault.
- Uber announced that 9 people were, in fact, murdered during Uber rides between 2017 and 2018.
- The most original item left in an Uber car was a set of valuable Nordic walking poles.
General Uber Statistics and Facts
1. Since launching in 2009, Uber has acquired over 22,000 employees.
(Uber) (Craft)
The company was founded by Travis Kalanick, Garett Camp, and Oscar Salazar Gaitan in San Francisco, California.
Currently, the company has around 22,000 employees and is present in over 60 countries and 700 cities across the globe.
2. It wasn’t until 2011 that Uber began its true expansion.
(Uber) (Investopedia)
When we talk about Uber history, it’s worth noting that the first-ever ride request occurred in San Francisco on July 5, 2010.
However, it wasn’t until next year that the company truly lifted off. After raising $11 million in Series A funding, Uber expanded to Seattle, Boston, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., and even managed to go international with a hub in Paris too.
By the end of the year, founders announced that they’ve raised an additional $37 million in Series B funding, and shortly after, the company introduced UberX — hybrid car services that were less expensive than traditional black car services.
3. Uber charges a 25% fee for ridesharing services.
(Investopedia)
How does Uber make money? Well, the above-mentioned fee covers fares, software use, credit card commission, and invoicing.
Moreover, the platform has over 90 million active monthly users — hence, it’s no great surprise that the revenue for 2018 was an astonishing $11.3 billion; of that 80% is from ridesharing services.
4. In 2019, Uber lost $5.2 billion in just 3 months.
(Business Insider)
As a result, the company’s stock was in free fall on a daily basis by some 8%.
But, why does Uber lose money? According to its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, a lot of it has to do with one-off expenses and the financial burden of creating a robust Uber infrastructure.
On the other hand, analysts also stated that Uber should be viewed more as a long-term investment rather than a short-term financial endeavor.
Financial Stats on Uber
5. At $32.15, Uber has one of the most-watched IPO stocks on the market.
(Yahoo Finance) (Investor’s Business Daily) (Retire Before Dad)
The stock debuted on the NYSE with an IPO price tag of $45. By the end of the day, shares traded for $41.57 and dropped another 13% the next day.
Market professionals warn that the Uber stock price is heavily influenced by quarterly revenue reports and that the success of said stock will depend mostly on the ability to maintain and increase the current market share.
Nevertheless, professionals also argue that with such market potential, investors disregard fundamental stock market rules and focus solely on growth.
6. According to Uber revenue figures from 2019, the company managed 7 billion trips over 69 countries.
(Uber’s Annual Financial Report for 2019)
Judging by the brand’s annual financial report, total gross bookings have reached $65 billion on a global scale.
7. In Q1 2020, the total Uber loss for this year netted $2.9 billion.
(CNBC) (Statista)
It’s not just success stories that characterize Uber. Namely, in May 2020, the company laid off some 3,700 people (14% of corporate employees) to cut costs.
On the other hand, the company’s first-quarter results also include revenue of $3.54 billion, which is still 12.7% lower than Q4 of the previous fiscal year.
8. In 2019, the company lost a total of $8.5 billion.
(The Verge)
The gross Uber profit was about $18.1 billion by the end of Q4 2019, which represents a yearly growth rate of 28%.
The company originally stated that 2021 will be the first year to see some solid profit. However, at the start of 2020, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that Uber will try its best to move the profitability timeline up to the end of this year.
9. Between 2017 and 2019, the total Uber market cap decreased by 3%.
(Statista)
Even though Uber became synonymous with ridesharing, the company’s market share in the US has been declining at a slow rate. This drop has clearly benefited the rival company Lyft, whose US market share stood at a solid 29% in May 2020.
10. Speaking of which, the combined Lyft and Uber market share equals a dominating 98% in the US.
(Statista)
Hence, with such sheer dominance of the market, how can other contenders expect to make any impact at all?
11. According to 2018 data, 36% of all US adults used ridesharing services.
(Statista)
Data also shows that the number of people using these services has more than doubled from 2015; 3.7% of respondents even reported that they used these services on a daily basis.
Although ridesharing does help reduce emissions, there are other, alternative ways people can minimize their carbon footprint.
12. In April 2020, Uber’s business was down by 80%.
(Quartz)
Uber statistics for 2020 paint a grim picture for the brand. Due to global safety measures induced by the COVID-19 pandemic (such as social distancing), the ridesharing company took a huge blow in Q1 of 2020.
However, compared to Q1 2019, the company managed to grow its revenue by 14%, mostly thanks to Uber Eats.
How Much Money Can You Earn Driving Uber?
13. Rideshare drivers in San Jose, CA, earn an hourly median of $21.80.
(Gridwise) (Hyrecar) (CNBC)
It’s hard to tell really as there are simply too many variables at play. The above figure is the highest median for 2020, based on 2019 data from Gridwise’s tracking app.
Older data suggests Uber drivers in the US earn up to $19 an hour, on average, with around $1,000 being the upper limit a driver can earn either by driving 10 hours a day (5 days a week) or by utilizing different tactics; like having different entertainment features in their cars (such as Play Octopus).
Still, $1,000 a week seems pretty unrealistic for most people, seeing how the majority of them drive Uber as a side hustle; most report earning only around $500 during a typical week with an input of 30 hours.
14. According to recent Uber driver statistics, as much as 45% of drivers were satisfied back in 2019.
(Statista)
Throughout 2017 to 2019, ridesharing firms have been criticized for classifying their drivers not as employees but as independent contractors. This essentially meant that drivers were responsible for their own operating expenses and might not have had access to basics, like the minimum wage.
Uber also had to face legal action because of underpayment issues and for false claims regarding potential earnings. Despite these facts, almost half of all its drivers are satisfied with the brand.
15. 3.9 million was the number of Uber drivers on December 31, 2018.
(S-1)
Since 2015, drivers earned over $78.2 billion on the platform worldwide, according to Uber’s own report from 2019.
16. Drivers have earned an additional $1.2 billion in tips since their introduction in 2017, Uber tip statistics from 2018 reveal.
(S-1)
As such, the total earnings of Uber drivers have also increased.
17. An average Uber ride costs about $25.75.
(Ridester) (Ridester)
Conversely, an average Lyft ride is slightly cheaper at just $19.20; for comparison, the average taxi ride costs around $29.52.
Also, when looking at the average Uber price per mile, we come to about 2$, just like Lyft.
Uber and Safety
18. The company’s first-ever report on safety disclosed 3,045 incidents of sexual assault.
(The Verge)
Out of these, 235 were actual cases of rape, whereas the others entailed different types of sexual assault; the majority being non-consensual kissing or groping.
Ironically, riders and drivers have also reported assaults at somewhat similar rates.
19. Uber statistics on safety claim that the company has removed around 40,000 drivers thanks to its continuous screening conducted in 2017/2018.
(Uber Safety Report)
Uber is the first ridesharing firm that, apart from the regular yearly background checks, implemented an innovative screening technology for drivers — thus flagging and monitoring criminal offenses across several sources.
20. Uber announced that 9 people were, in fact, murdered during Uber rides between 2017 and 2018.
(The Verge)
This puts the total tally of Uber deaths that year to 67 since an additional 58 people died from auto-related crashes.
21. Uber states that 99.9% of their rides end without any safety concerns or issues.
(Uber Safety Report)
In 1.4% of all trips, riders sought support regarding lost items, route feedback, or refunds.
Likewise, 0.1% of trips had concerns related to safety but these were mostly minor issues like verbal arguments with drivers and complaints on driving style (like harsh braking, for example).
Critical safety incidents were reported in merely 0,0003% of all trips.
These self-reported Uber statistics regarding safety look promising. Nevertheless, some experts argue that there’s more to safety than meets the eye.
22. Some data suggest that ridesharing might be just as dangerous as riding a taxi.
(Wired) (Investopedia)
Out of 3,200 taxi drivers who got killed or hurt while on duty, 180 of them got injured by a violent person.
Data from 2010 also states that taxi drivers are around 20 more likely to become murder victims compared to other workers.
Uber statistics on safety also point out that drivers aren’t put through the same rigorous testing as taxi drivers. In fact, Uber drivers can have traces of alcohol in their blood as long as it’s under the legal limit (this is prohibited for taxi drivers).
Nevertheless, Uber requires newer car models than taxi firms and checks their cars more frequently than taxi companies.
Interesting Uber Facts
23. The most commonly forgotten item in an Uber car is a phone.
(Uber)
Rings and keys take second and third place, respectively, and wallets and glasses follow suit.
As for the “most forgetful” US cities, Los Angeles takes the prime spot, followed by New York. Honorable mentions include the third-placed San Francisco, fourth-placed Chicago, and fifth-placed Miami.
24. The most original item left in an Uber car was a set of valuable Nordic walking poles.
(Uber)
Passengers also left other “crazy” items such as paintings, paychecks, sweet potato care packages, and a lobster (of all things).
25. 350,000 was the number of Uber drivers in India in 2016.
(Statista) (Uber’s Investor Presentation 2020)
Uber commands a little over half of the total ride-hailing market in India; Ola, its domestic rival, controls the rest.
26. Around 40 million people in the US used food delivery apps.
(eMarketer)
Out of that, 25.2% preferred Uber Eats. Also, according to eMarketer, by 2023, the number of people using these apps in the US will reach 60 million.
27. On average, Uber Eats drivers make $10 an hour.
(Ridester)
Do you make money with Uber Eats?
Well, according to Ridester, it depends on a few factors. For instance, how much you’re willing to work and the location (city) being the major ones.
In addition, the rates are determined by a few factors like per-mile rate or per-minute rate in some cities. And in some places, Uber takes a flat commission, whereas in others you get a flat pick-up or drop-off fee.
28. The Uber Helicopter price ranges from $200 to $225 per person.
(The Verge)
Introduced in 2019, three years after disclosing details about its flying car project, Uber launched its helicopter rideshare service, which focuses more on giving aerial city tours in place of hands-on transportation from point A to point B.
FAQs
Which state uses Uber the most?
(Business Insider)
According to Gridwise’s report from 2019 — based on the total hourly earnings per city in the US — California has the most Uber rides.
Moreover, rideshare drivers (both Uber and Lyft) make an average of $23.28 per hour in the SF Bay Area. Data also suggests that ridesharing is popular in San Jose as well with drivers making $22.27 per hour.
In Los Angeles, this figure is more around $17.07, and $16.75 for San Diego.
How many rides does Uber do a day?
(Investor Uber.com)
According to Uber’s financial reports for 2019, the ridesharing company made 17 million trips per day on average.
How do I check my Uber stats?
(Guiding Tech)
The best way to check your riding history and riding stats is either by using your app or by using Chrome. Just log into your account on Uber and download the extension called RideShare Trip Stats (if you are on Chrome). The extension will redirect you to a page called Tripps, which is pretty much like the Tripps section in the app.
There, you can generate a detailed report of your trip data and ride statistics, like your number of total rides, the total amount of money spent, and so on.
What cities use Uber the most?
(BuildFire)
Uber is the most popular in San Francisco, based on average monthly spending per Uber user — an average of $110. Next on the list is Boston with $95, and New York takes the third spot with an average monthly spending per person of $84.
Conclusion
Uber offers a lot of potential and not just from an investment and business standpoint, but also from an environmental one by lowering the total number of cars in traffic and decreasing our carbon footprint.
All in all, we hope these Uber statistics gave you a much better idea of the company’s strong points, finances, and struggles.
Sources:
- BuildFire
- Business Insider
- Business Insider
- CNBC
- CNBC
- Craft
- eMarketer
- Gridwise
- Guiding Tech
- Hyrecar
- Investopedia
- Investopedia
- Investopedia
- Investor Uber.com
- Investor’s Business Daily
- Quartz
- Retire Before Dad
- Ridester
- Ridester
- Ridester
- S-1
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- The Verge
- The Verge
- The Verge
- Uber
- Uber
- Uber
- Uber’s Annual Financial Report for 2019
- Uber’s Investor Presentation 2020
- Wired
- Yahoo Finance
