As if the company didn’t have enough problems already. 96 percent of Uber drivers stopped driving for the company within the first year, according to a recent analysis of previously withheld data obtained by The Independent.
The main reason drivers say they have a problem with Uber, according to the data, is—not surprisingly—money. Drivers reportedly complain that they are unfairly paid and are unable to receive tips through the app, the way some competitive apps like Lyft allow.
Indeed, driver pay has repeatedly proven a sticking point for the Silicon Valley startup. Earlier in 2017, Uber agreed to pay out $20 million as part of a settlement with the federal government over allegations that the company mislead drivers about how much they could make, and the company has faced driver strikes in several markets over a list of issues that includes driver pay. An argument over pay was also what led to this year’s inflammatory video depicting Uber CEO Travis Kalanick yelling at his driver, which in turn helped lead to a tsunami of bad publicity for the company.
Uber, for what it’s worth, says it’s well aware of the issue it’s having keeping drivers around. “We recognize we need to improve our relationship with drivers and their experience using Uber,” a spokesperson told The Independent, according to CNBC. (The Drive was unable to directly check the original story.) “We’re working on a range of improvements across our products, our policies, our customer support and how we communicate.”
This, reportedly, includes new ways to compensate drivers for longer trips, and letting users tip their drivers through the app. (We’re sure New York’s threat to force the company to allow tipping is purely coincidental.)