You’ve probably heard of Uber. It’s a ride-sharing service where people use an app to announce they need a ride somewhere. A nearby driver gets an alert and shows up within a few minutes in their own car. The rider is then charged through the app and the driver gets paid. Doesn’t sound like a huge deal, right? Well, Uber has 40 million monthly riders all over the world with more than 600,000 people offering up their time and their car to get people where they need to go in the US alone.
Uber drivers are attracted to it for many reasons, including the ability to make decent money and set their own hours. Uber, however, has just settled a case for inflating reports on what their drivers make in order to entice more drivers. The Federal Trade Commission ruled that Uber had to pay $20 million for distorting the truth.
According to Uber, drivers in San Francisco, CA made over $47,000 a year. They claimed New York drivers made over $90,000. The real numbers were $53,000 and $61,000, respectively. Their Vehicle Solutions Program also lied about the prices for leasing and owning vehicles. When drivers realized they weren’t making the money promised to them and tried to cancel their auto agreements, they lost more money.
As per the terms of the settlement, Uber will be paying out $20 million and won’t be allowed to misrepresent drivers’ earnings or car payments going forward.