Ask HN: How can Uber drivers make money when pool rides are so cheap?

I'm not factoring in the time component of the fare, because for average rides it is immaterial. In Los Angeles, Lyft pays $9/hr for regular Lyft and $6.60/hr for Lyft Line. Only when there's a rider in the car. So if you wait 3 minutes after drop off for the next request (like if it's busy and you aren't in an alligator pit of drivers competing for requests. You can also end up waiting an hour between rides if you're really unlucky or get taken outside of the hip zones where riders are plentiful), then take 3-10 minutes to arrive at the pick up, then give a typical ride of 5-6 minutes, your time payments are less than $5/hr. Possibly less than $1/hr.

The only way to eek out a slight profit is to rent a vehicle under a partnership and hit your ride quota to get the rental cost bonused back to you. At that point, your expense is fuel, and if you hypermile the right vehicle, the cost is about $.10/mile. Then on top of that, you need to win the lotto several times daily and get the vaunted long ride with a $12-$20 fare or $80-$90 if you hit the jackpot and you'll then be doing better than working in fast food. But don't forget there are plenty of unpaid miles. Getting back to your hot spots to increase ride count/decrease idle time, returning from the sticks after the jackpot ride, and driving home from the other side of the region when you're too tired to drive any more.

If you want to view it that way then it's both drivers and Uber that's losing money.

I do Lyft on the side over summer as a poor grad student. I only have 3 pool ride and those three the passenger didn't have to share any ride with anybody and I made less than if those ride were not pool.

You're also implying that in the long ride Uber will win if it works as if the speculative end will justify the mean.

Which, personally, I think a flaw and weird way of seeing it.

Are there not laws against predatory pricing like this?