DENVER — For four hours Saturday morning, dozens of rideshare drivers who work the route to and from Denver International Airport shut off their apps and picked up signs.
They were striking against companies like Uber and Lyft for better pay and more transparency.
“You know, gas is expensive, mortgage is expensive, rent is expensive,” Hamouda Ahmed said.
Ahmed has been driving for both companies for five years. He said in recent years there have been times when the companies have taken more than half of the ride’s total cost.
Denver7 reached out to Lyft and Uber, both companies stand by how they compensate their drivers.
Lyft released the following statement:
“We care deeply about the concerns of our drivers. The Lyft platform continues to provide drivers with the ability to earn on their own terms. As Lyft recently announced in its third quarter 2022 earnings call, U.S. drivers earned on average north of $35 per utilized hour including tips and bonuses in Q3. We recently expanded our cashback rewards program to help drivers save at the pump, we launched a new cohort of our Driver Advisory Council to hear from drivers directly, and because we know transparency and choice are critical, we recently launched upfront pay in Denver and across the country, which shows drivers ride information and what they’ll earn before accepting a ride.”
Uber’s app also shows fare and destination information to a driver before they accept the ride. They released a statement saying,
“Not only do all drivers receive the fare and destination information upfront before they accept a trip, but earnings for drivers in Colorado are some of the highest in the country, at more than $37 an hour for time spent engaged on the platform.”
Uber went on to say, according to their most recent data, their average "take rate" on ride trips is 19.2%.
While talking to Ahmed at Union Station in downtown Denver, our crew ordered a Lyft to the airport.
The app showed the ride would cost the rider $33.94. Ahmed accepted the ride, as a driver his app showed his take-home pay would be $16.50, less than 50% of the fare.
“We’ll never stop until Uber has gone back to 25%,” Ahmed said about the potential of future strikes.
Uber said the strike Saturday morning did not have an impact on service at the airport. According to them, there were more Uber drivers on the road that day compared to the same time last year.