Uber Discounts

[Rat Catcher]

Back to 30% in my passenger app... which is good for me as I'll need a taxi to the station this evening.

However, I noticed drivers who work for Uber are giving some clients more than 30% discount.... I drove a regular Uber client to Bettystown both Sunday morning and yesterday morning. The fare on Sunday was a euro or two over €30 but as she pays cash and she had €30 in her hand I said sure just give me the 30, that's what it normally is (well, six days of the week) including a very small tip / rounding up or whatever and I had a follow on job to Drogheda to get to.... so she happily gave me the €30 and then when she was gone I entered the €30 on the app and it told me to collect €19 from the client. In the heat of the battle I'd neglected to check how much Uber was contributing before taking her used notes. Anyway, she was happy enough so no real harm done.

Got her again yesterday and  she handed me a used €50 note requesting €20 change. Now I was already feeling a little guilty at having stolen her money on Sunday so I checked with the app while she was showing me some photos of the rain and such like in Bettystown over the previous few days and, again, it says collect €19... so I told her she had a bit of a discount on the app so a score would do... she says ahh no take the 30 so I said sure we'll split the difference and gave her a pony back.

€11 off €30 works out at 37% discount and obviously it wasn't a one off special or an introductory offer or anything like that which begs the question how low can Uber drivers go and where/when will it all end?

[mercenary for hire]

I dunno if anyone heard on the news but Uber is only 116k away from being profitable so their strategy is working so far.Lets see what other levers they can pull this year as drivers feel the pressure.

There was a few articles in different papers but for some reason I can't link them in my browser. I deffo read the numbers in the Examiner for anyone interested.

[watty]

Uber to provide financial support to Irish subsidiary amid annual loss (Irish Examiner, 16 Feb 2026)

US taxi firm Uber has promised to meet all the liabilities of its Irish subsidiary for two years as its costs increased to nearly €3m resulting in a loss during 2024, the company’s latest financial statement shows.

There has been ongoing backlash to Uber’s activities in Ireland over the past few months. In December, taxi drivers announced that they were going to hold a series of protests in Dublin over the company’s decision to introduce fixed fares.  However, the protests were suspended pending the outcome of a meeting with the Government over the issue.

In its year-ending 2024 financial statement, Uber Ireland Technologies Ltd — a subsidiary of the US firm Uber Technologies Inc — recorded total turnover of €2,956,819, over double the €1.47m recorded in 2023.  However, the company's administrative costs also increased significantly over the course of the year.  Throughout 2024, the company incurred operating costs amounting to €2,958,005, up from €1.55m the year prior. As a result, the company posted a total comprehensive loss for the year of €116,581 — up from a loss of €72,784 in 2023.

“The significant risks and uncertainties impacting on the business of the company relate to the impact of acceptance by customers of the Uber group's products, which is dependent on general market conditions and the positioning of those products and the associated impact on the activities of the company as service provider to group companies,” the company statement said.  The financial statement added that on December 31, 2024, Uber Technologies Ireland received a letter of support from its ultimate parent that confirms it will “provide the company such financial support as is necessary to enable the company to continue as a going concern and to meet all liabilities as they fall due for a period at least 24 months from the date of the letter of support”.

The company described its principal activity as the “provision of support to other related companies in providing on-demand services through mobile devices and web-based requests”.

During 2024, the company said it only had five employees with wages and salary expenses reaching just over €550,000. 

[There's a bit about Uber Eats that I didn't quote]

In 2024, a turnover just shy of €3M with 'operating costs' of c. €3M leading to a loss of €0.11M.  Turnover and operating costs both doubled on the previous year (2023). 

Is it a coincidence that turnover and costs cancel each other out in both years, leading to a small loss in each year?  Is there creative accounting going on?

I'm wondering if the Irish taxi fare money goes through this company or Uber Holland?  What sort of money is on the books of Uber Holland?

[mercenary for hire]

Thanks Watty.

[Rat Catcher]

Uber's financial structure is wonderfully complex and extremely tax efficient.

I'm not sure what Uber Ireland Technologies Ltd does but the Irish rideshare platform is owned and operated by Uber B.V. which is based in Amsterdam.

However, we don't need any particular financial expertise to conclude that it can't make a profit by charging riders less than it pays drivers. Similarly, it's pretty obvious that - like Free Now - it's requirement for profit is fast approaching hence I think it's a pretty safe bet that rates of commission will increase very substantially in the not too distant future.

I found a couple more reports on Uber's profits in the Cork Examiner - as per the next couple of posts:

[Rat Catcher]

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41326942.html

Uber reports first annual profit since 2019

Wed, 07 Feb, 2024 - 18:55

Michelle Chapman, Associated Press

Uber has reported its first full-year profit since going public in 2019 and its shares hit an all-time high as strong bookings in the final quarter of the year pushed revenue beyond Wall Street expectations.

Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said “2023 was an inflection point for Uber” after struggling through the Covid-19 pandemic when government lockdowns kept millions at home.

Uber has focused on cutting costs and building up a food-delivery division, which has since become a major revenue driver.

Uber’s ride-hailing service has gradually bounced back too and figures from the fourth quarter suggest the company is moving in the right direction.

Delivery revenue grew 6% and revenue for the ride-share part of the business climbed 34%.

Our audiences are larger and more engaged than ever, with our platform powering an average of nearly 26 million daily trips last year

Uber earned 1.43 billion dollars (£1.13bn), or 66 cents per share, much better than the per share earnings of 15 cents that Wall Street had expected, according to analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research.

The company earned 595 million dollars (£471bn), or 29 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Revenue totalled 9.94 billion dollars (£7.87bn), beating Wall Street projections for 9.75 billion dollars (£7.72bn).

Gross bookings surged 22% from the prior-year period to 37.6 billion dollars (£29.8bn).

For the year, Uber posted a profit of 1.89 billion dollars, or 87 cents per share, on revenue of 37.28 billion dollars (£29.5bn).

“Our audiences are larger and more engaged than ever, with our platform powering an average of nearly 26 million daily trips last year,” Mr Khosrowshahi said.

Last month Uber announced that it was shutting down alcohol delivery app Drizly at the end of March so that it could focus on its core Uber Eats strategy of helping consumers get almost anything on a single app.

Shares of Uber Technologies, based in San Francisco, reached an all-time high early on Wednesday.

[Rat Catcher]

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/arid-30951159.html

Uber generates 41% growth in Irish profits

Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of ride-sharing taxi firm Uber increased by 41% last year to €860,487.

Tue, 17 Sep, 2019 - 06:15

Gordon Deegan

Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of ride-sharing taxi firm Uber increased by 41% last year to €860,487.

Newly filed accounts for Uber Centre of Excellence Ltd show that the business generated revenues of €19.65m, representing a yearly increase of 47.5%.

While Uber does not have a licence to operate its taxi service on Irish roads, its Limerick-based operation acts as a major support services hub for the group’s operations across the rest of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Uber companies in countries in those regions pay the Limerick company for support service use.

When setting up in Ireland in 2015, Uber signed a 10-year lease for its Thomas Street facility in Limerick.

Last year was another period of a rapid rise in staff numbers employed at the Uber unit, with 419 employed at the end of the year — up from the 288 people employed at the end of 2017.

Staff costs jumped from €9.1m to €14m.

The transportation network company made a post-tax profit of €625,471 following a corporation tax payment of €235,016.

In 2017, it emerged that the National Transport Authority (NTA) told Uber that a proposal for a pilot scheme in Limerick that would allow private car users to offer their services to passengers through Uber was “undesirable”.

[Rat Catcher]

Notably, what is referred to as "Irish profits" in that (2019) article has nothing to do with the Irish (Amsterdam based) rideshare service. The company referenced there, Uber Centre of Excellence Ltd, is (or was) merely a tax efficient base for rideshare services in other parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

[silverbullet]

Back to 30% in my passenger app... which is good for me as I'll need a taxi to the station this evening.

However, I noticed drivers who work for Uber are giving some clients more than 30% discount.... I drove a regular Uber client to Bettystown both Sunday morning and yesterday morning. The fare on Sunday was a euro or two over €30 but as she pays cash and she had €30 in her hand I said sure just give me the 30, that's what it normally is (well, six days of the week) including a very small tip / rounding up or whatever and I had a follow on job to Drogheda to get to.... so she happily gave me the €30 and then when she was gone I entered the €30 on the app and it told me to collect €19 from the client. In the heat of the battle I'd neglected to check how much Uber was contributing before taking her used notes. Anyway, she was happy enough so no real harm done.

Got her again yesterday and  she handed me a used €50 note requesting €20 change. Now I was already feeling a little guilty at having stolen her money on Sunday so I checked with the app while she was showing me some photos of the rain and such like in Bettystown over the previous few days and, again, it says collect €19... so I told her she had a bit of a discount on the app so a score would do... she says ahh no take the 30 so I said sure we'll split the difference and gave her a pony back.

€11 off €30 works out at 37% discount and obviously it wasn't a one off special or an introductory offer or anything like that which begs the question how low can Uber drivers go and where/when will it all end?

If you go unprotected you can earn upwards of three times the fare.

[silverbullet]

Notably, what is referred to as "Irish profits" in that (2019) article has nothing to do with the Irish (Amsterdam based) rideshare service. The company referenced there, Uber Centre of Excellence Ltd, is (or was) merely a tax efficient base for rideshare services in other parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

I wonder do the gulls working in the Uber call centre down in Luimneach pay their income tax in Holland?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ppMEK2Uj_o

[Rat Catcher]

Average salary over €100,000 - that's a lot of cut price taxi fares.