In 2016, Rajesh Raut started driving an Uber taxi in Mumbai, hoping he could earn more than the $215 he received each month for making flatbreads at a roadside stall.
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – In 2016, Rajesh Raut started driving an Uber taxi in Mumbai, hoping he could earn more than the $215 he received each month for making flatbreads at a roadside stall.
Thanks to attractive cash incentives offered as Uber lured drivers in one of its biggest markets outside the United States, Raut’s monthly earnings jumped to $1,280. He managed his car loan and home rent with ease, and sent more money than before back to his family in a village in eastern India.
But as Uber slashed incentives, Raut’s earnings dwindled swiftly. His income dropped to about $540 a month this year and he defaulted on his taxi loan payments. Deciding after an accident that he couldn’t afford to fix the vehicle, he quit Uber and now his monthly income, from a new job driving a truck, has crashed to $200.
“There is no benefit in driving for Uber… my life was much better just as a cook,” said 26-year-old Raut.
Former Uber India executives say incentives were sharply cut in early 2017 because of growing pressure from the U. S. head office to improve financial performance ahead of an initial public offering (IPO), which values it at as much as $90 billion. Uber is set to debut on Friday on Wall Street.
In interviews in the metropolises of Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru, more than 35 drivers said discontent against Uber was growing.
Mounting debt from taxi loans was a key concern. Many drivers took loans to buy cabs, while some leased cars from the companies themselves.
To be sure, many drivers from Uber are still earning more than they could get in other blue-collar jobs in India. The national minimum wage in India is only about $2.50 a day.
“It’s not that we are making a fortune, but it does give us a livelihood,” said Prakash K.
