WASHINGTON, D.C. Mar. 6 (DPI) – A Washington Post finance columnist opined today that rides with Uber and Lyft are heavily subsidized by investors who are yet to see a return, so the cost is likely to soar in the years ahead, which will diminish ride-hailing’s appeal.

Moreover, the columnist, Megan McArdle, argued that drivers’ income after expenses has been paltry, so the long-term incentives won’t be there to maintain a plentiful supply of drivers.

But readers who are both customers and drivers responded that many factors will sustain the ride-hailing juggernaut: For starters, both major brands in ride-hailing – Uber and Lyft – are heavily staffed, and aren’t structured to grind out a profit, but to grow revenues as they approach their initial public stock offerings later this year.

Uber alone has 16,000 employees – who are not drivers. It is estimated that there are 2 million people worldwide working part-time or full-time as Uber drivers.

Then there is the problem of predicting the behavior of ride-hailing drivers. McArdle suggests that drivers are working for peanuts, and they will eventually wake up and realize that, after the cost of gas and depreciation of their car, their efforts won’t be worthwhile.

Readers, though, point out that many drivers are doing pretty well – $20-$30 per hour – working under the Uber and Lyft business model.

Then of course there are the broader issues of city regulation, and driverless ride-hailing, which seems to be the long-term focus of both companies.

Most popular comment linked to the column:

Wow for a business minded conservative you’ve missed the entire point of Uber and Lyft
They’re not trying to make money on ride sharing, they’re training AI for driverless cars.  These aren’t investor subsidies, they’re investments in a future business with little to no human costs. THEN we’ll all pay for it, with fewer jobs to go around.
Sorry, that’s just capitalism.

Other popular comments:

Uber has 16,000 employees – who are not drivers. With their IPOs imminent, neither Uber nor Lyft is under great pressure to show a profit, only strong growth in revenues. And they have other objectives beyond their current business model. If they can’t launch their driverless fleets – for whatever reason, regulatory, technological – they will simply cut staff dramatically, and show a profit. There will always be millions of people willing to drive around for $5 an hour in their free time.
Remember, Craigslist operates with 50 employees.

Uber (and to a slightly lesser extent Lyft) is symptomatic of that fact that a lot of people are really bad at math. There is a difference between revenue (the cash that comes to you) and profit (what you net after expenses), and the latter is what you are interested in. Driving for Uber feels like you are making much more money than you actually are.

I drive for Uber 8-10 hours every weekend and do very well for a part-time job.  Before expenses I earn somewhere between $25-$30/hour.  I spend about $30 on gas along with wear and tear and there are always repairs to be made, but those are business expenses, because I’m an “independent contractor”,  Coming up on 4 years/3000 rides (4.94 rating) very soon.  So much more preferable to having to work a part-time job at some place that is always changing your schedule and hours.  Driving is agreeable with my full-time job because of the flexibility.  I know passengers really enjoy the convenience of door to door service, especially during a polar vortex.  Megan McArdle is an idiot.

For me the benefit of Lyft versus a taxi isn’t so much the price, it’s the convenience. Before, I’d call for a taxi, maybe get put on hold, and then wait for who knows how long for it to show up. Sometimes you’d wait 40 minutes or longer. Sometimes no one ever showed up. With Lyft I know exactly how long I’ll have to wait and I think the longest has been 7 minutes.

I used Uber for several days while on vacation in PR, and it was cheaper than renting a car.
The drivers were also like tour guides and didn’t appear hurried to move on to their next ride. In fact, I found them extremely accommodating. In one instance she offered to  go out her way to show me a local beach and in another the driver actually help me in finding an item I desperately needed. Sounds crazy, but true !