Uber's Fleet Partnerships Might Be Undercutting Uber's Promise To Drivers

Companies can rent their older cars out to aspiring Uber drivers, but the costs might not add up. “The [Uber] rates are so cheap … and the commission and gas is too high,” one driver tells BuzzFeed News’ Johana Bhuiyan.

Uber Press Kit

Uber has pegged itself as a service that is good for both riders and drivers. That's a sentiment the company continues to echo even after it announced the discounted fare prices that the company introduced as a summer promotion in New York City and San Francisco — which aim to make UberX rides cheaper than a taxi — permanent all year-round: Uber provides the best economic opportunity for drivers.

The idea is that Uber drivers are making more money than they did before the price cut, according to Uber NYC General Manager Josh Moher, because they can accept more rides per hour due to a higher demand from customers who like the low rates.

And in drivers' minds — save for the company's no-tip policy and the low UberX fares — app-based car services like Uber, Lyft, and Gett do make their lives better. With these services, drivers can make their own hours, don't have to wait at a base to be dispatched, and are not subject to the whims of a dispatch agent or a "middle man," as one driver told BuzzFeed News in a previous interview.

But those prospective benefits for drivers are seemingly undercut by a service in New York that Uber hasn't been touting: the fleet partner program. According to the site, a fleet partner is anyone who owns more than one car in the Uber system and pays the drivers themselves, instead of Uber paying the drivers directly.

Here's how it works: Car services or private individuals who own more than one car and register with one of Uber's bases can either rent their cars to or set up a contract with Uber drivers. These fleet partners — who are usually looking to make an extra buck on older cars in their fleet or idle inventory — then accept payment from Uber and pay the driver accordingly. In some cases, fleet partners take a percentage of the drivers' total fares, in others, fleet partners charge a standard weekly (or in rare cases monthly) rental fee, a price point the fleet partner decides. Theoretically, then, these fleet partners can operate as mini-Uber bases, much of the time mimicking some of the economics and practices of yellow cab or black car bases — fees, lack of flexibility, and middle men.

Uber encourages potential and current fleet partners to look for prospective drivers and renters on the Uber marketplace, which serves as sort of a Craigslist for both drivers looking for cars and renters looking for drivers. Not all listings on the site are for fleet partners, however. Some listings are just car owners looking to cover some of the expenses on a car they may not use often but still need by renting it out to Uber drivers.

At its best, the program offers a low-commitment way of becoming an Uber driver. At its worst, however, drivers can be bound to several months-long contracts where they only see 60% of the net fares — after Uber's 20% cut and other taxes and fees — and may be forced to pick shifts that are less flexible.

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