How Uber's Secret Math Game is Changing the Ride

Uber's profits are soaring, but not everyone is happy. Recent studies suggest the ride-hailing giant is using clever tricks to boost its earnings. One study from Columbia Business School looked at millions of trips and found Uber's pricing strategy is designed to squeeze more money from riders while paying drivers less. This isn't just happening in the US. In the UK, researchers from the University of Oxford discovered that Uber drivers saw their pay drop after a 2023 switch to a new pricing system. The company's share of each fare went up, leaving drivers with smaller slices of the pie. Len Sherman, who led the Columbia study, explained that Uber's secret algorithm can figure out who will pay more or accept less. This lets Uber take a bigger cut. In the US, Uber's take rate jumped from 32% to 42% after introducing "upfront pricing" in 2022. In the UK, the take rate rose from 25% to 29%, sometimes even higher. But that's not all. An entrepreneur in Delhi found that Uber's fares can change based on the device you're using or even how much battery it has left. This adds to a long list of controversies for Uber, which has faced legal battles and criticism from regulators. Uber's financial reports show a big turnaround. In 2024, the company made $6. 9 billion in cash, a huge improvement from a $303 million loss in 2022. But the new studies suggest that much of this gain came from quietly changing how fares are split. This raises questions about fairness. Is Uber's success built on the backs of its drivers and riders? The company's clever pricing strategies might be good for its bottom line, but are they fair for everyone else?