Uber, Lyft rides are costing more and taking longer, but not everyone is complaining

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Brett Kramer took a hiatus from giving Uber rides around Kansas City to avoid being in confined spaces with riders. Instead, he turned to food delivery.

But after a few months without giving rides to passengers, Kramer logged back on wondering whether he could make more money.

He definitely could.

Kramer’s 2021 earnings have already surpassed many of his full-year revenues for the five and a half years he has been an Uber driver. Kramer, who teaches psychology at Shawnee Mission East High School, attributes the increase to fewer available drivers on the road.

“It’s all about supply and demand,” he said. “If there are a bunch of people that need rides and there are fewer drivers, then there’s a surge price that happens that’s very beneficial to drivers, and there was a lot of that … A lot of surges that I hadn’t seen in a long, long time.”

Surge pricing occurs when demand for rides outstrips the number of available drivers. Uber says increasing prices at those times helps “ensure that those who need a ride can get one.” Riders can make the choice to pay a higher fee, or wait and see if the price goes down.

The surge prices, along with other added incentives like cash bonuses, have been a tool for Uber and Lyft to combat a national driver shortage that comes as newly vaccinated customers rejoin the ridesharing scene.

“We’re seeing big increases in demand for rides, as vaccines roll out and people start moving again. We’re working to meet demand, including providing incentives to drivers, who are busier and earning more than they were even before the pandemic,” a Lyft spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Kansas City Star.

The sparse supply of drivers came in part from fear of contracting the coronavirus, propelling some drivers toward the safer alternative of food delivery. The eligibility of Uber and Lyft drivers for unemployment assistance during the pandemic also helped alleviate some of the financial pressures for drivers to return to the roads.

“If you drove your car all the time and put miles on it and had to keep it in shape, clean it out, do all that upkeep on your own personal vehicle that you own, then you had a chance to go, ‘No, I don’t have to do that …. and I still get a source of income. It’s just that it’s by unemployment,’” said Richard Plackemeier, who has been giving rides on Uber for more than six years.

Although Plackemeier drives part-time, he said the benefits for full-time drivers to stay home were undeniable.

For riders, the shortage of available drivers has led to longer wait times and higher fares. An analysis from the research firm Rakuten Intelligence found that the cost of a ride was up 40% in April compared to last year, the New York Times reported.

According to Kramer, it has become common in his trips around Kansas City to hear remarks from passengers about experiencing longer wait times and higher fares, which are often accompanied by a note of disbelief about finding a ride.

A regular on ridesharing apps, Casandra Kerr estimates using Uber about five times a week. Since the pandemic, she has encountered situations where there have been no vehicles available — something she had rarely come across in Kansas City.

Kerr, who typically waited under five minutes for a ride before the pandemic, now says she waits at least 15.

Behind the wait are drivers who get pinged for ride requests that are farther away. Plackemeier said a typical ride request used to be about 5-7 minutes away from him. But now, once logged onto the Uber app, he instantly gets pinged for rides that are over 19 minutes away.

“It means I’m the nearest car to that request,” Plackemeier said. “That just tells you, there aren’t any other cars available in between you and that rider needing a ride.”

Because the driver has the discretion of whether to take the ride, Plackemeier said he finds himself declining to drive long distances for shorter rides.

“A lot of the time I’d reject rides or not take them just because I don’t want to drive 19 minutes away to pick up somebody for a $5 ride. It isn’t worth your time,” he said.

But for Kramer, a part-time driver, the profitability of giving rides during this time has been worth it.

“I haven’t looked back,” he said.

This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.