# I'm guessing that Uber drivers make their money from tips since **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 30, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-guessing-that-uber-drivers-make-their-money-from-tips-since/764488 "2016-08-30T15:52:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cg16](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@cg16](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cg16)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-guessing-that-uber-drivers-make-their-money-from-tips-since/764488/1 "2016-08-30T15:52:18Z")
My friend was only charged $5.00 to go to her house from the train station which was 20 miles. So the fact that it’s so cheap I’m guessing they depend on tips because why would they be bring all that gas and only charging $5.00? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-guessing-that-uber-drivers-make-their-money-from-tips-since/764488/2 "2016-08-30T16:42:26Z")
Uber has resisted tipping though that appears to be changing. I’d guess your friend had a credit or happened upon some promotion that reduced the fare. The company is currently operating under quite a deficit. ---
**Author:** ![cg16](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@cg16](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cg16)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-guessing-that-uber-drivers-make-their-money-from-tips-since/764488/3 "2016-08-30T16:45:55Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Uber has resisted tipping though that appears to be changing. I’d guess your friend had a credit or happened upon some promotion that reduced the fare. The company is currently operating under quite a deficit. Just thinking about all that gas being burnt for $5:smack:: ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-guessing-that-uber-drivers-make-their-money-from-tips-since/764488/4 "2016-08-30T16:53:13Z")
> [@cg16](#): > > Just thinking about all that gas being burnt for $5:smack:: My car (2010 Subaru Outback) gets about 27 MPG. Gas here costs $2.11 right now. On the surface it still makes money, and there are a lot of cars that get better gas mileage than my Suby. Of course, that ignores all the cost of car ownership. My last Uber trip cost $7 and went for 2-3 miles. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-guessing-that-uber-drivers-make-their-money-from-tips-since/764488/5 "2016-08-30T17:13:59Z")
I would say she got a promo rate, it does not sound like the normal rate. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-guessing-that-uber-drivers-make-their-money-from-tips-since/764488/6 "2016-08-30T18:04:09Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I would say she got a promo rate, it does not sound like the normal rate. Right, there are all sorts of promo rates, especially for first time riders, with the assumption that once you use an Uber and see how nice and easy it was, you’ll keep using them. If you want to see how much a ride would be, there is a [fare estimator](https://www.uber.com/fare-estimate/) that gives you a good idea, though of course the actual fare could be affected by traffic or surge pricing or other things.