Uber beats Lyft with IPO payout to drivers
Uber drivers might not get health insurance or other benefits, but after the ride-hailing company filed to go public Thursday, it's paying out long-time drivers with a cash reward and an option to invest in the company.
In its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Uber spells out details about a driver appreciation reward and directed share program. It's a way for drivers to get something back from the company, even though they aren't technically Uber employees.
More than 1.1 million drivers are eligible for a payout of $100, $500, $1,000, or $10,000 (totaling about $300 million). Drivers in good standing who have completed 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, or 20,000 lifetime trips as an Uber driver will receive the corresponding cash reward.
Drivers can also buy Uber stock at the IPO price -- a whole program is set up, with an option to use their reward money toward a stock purchase. Or not -- drivers can pocket the cash and carry on.
The reward structure is noticeably more generous than Lyft's from last month. Lyft also acknowledged loyal drivers, but only gave $1,000 to drivers with more than 10,000 rides under their belt. If you hit the ultimate feat of 20,000 or more rides, Lyft gave $10,000 -- the same payout rate as Uber. Drivers on Lyft's unique Driver Advisory Council were also rewarded up to $1,000.
Select drivers were also given the option to buy IPO stock. Lyft drivers were even at the opening event at the NASDAQ in Los Angeles. But drivers who didn't reach those benchmarks weren't offered anything.
Uber didn't disclose any information about share price so it's hard to say how far a $100 reward will get drivers who decide to invest -- but Lyft, which has a smaller driver and customer base (1.9 million drivers on the platform vs. Uber's 3.9 million) went public at $72 per share.
We'll have to wait and see what happens once Uber is officially a publicly traded company. It's expected to be valued at $100 billion. That's almost as much as the $78.2 billion drivers have earned since 2015 driving for Uber.
UPDATE: April 12, 2019, 4:32 p.m. PDT The piece was updated to include more about Lyft's reward program for more drivers.
Topics Uber
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
