Today’s photo is of the original and first ever Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s in Quincy Massachusetts. It has the original styling and they just did some remodeling. It’s just more history in the Boston area. 
Passengers are encouraged to ask the driver how much they’re getting paid. For the first time I had a passenger ask me that. She had been using Uber for about six months as she didn’t have a car. She was experimenting going car free in Boston. She was in the habit of asking the drivers how much they’re getting paid. She took long rides. Often her rides were in the $50-$60 range. What she found is the drivers were getting paid half that and sometimes less.
This morning, I took this passenger from the Kenmore Square area of Back Bay up to Peabody, Mass. She asked me how much I got paid. I told her the amount that I received was $19.70. She paid just over $41.67. Here’s the receipt.
This customer is not happy. Not happy because she knows that Uber is gouging her. It’s particularly upsetting because she’s a loyal customer. On top of that she knows that I’m not getting paid a fair amount. The mafia does a better job of protecting people in its neighborhoods. It seems our elected officials are not doing as well.
I dropped her off at a car dealership where she is picking up her new car. She won’t be taking Uber much anymore. Not if she can avoid it. 
Update to the story
As luck would have it after taking a coffee break at a nearby Panera Bread (1 mile from the dropoff) I got a ride request going back to nearly the same place the above ride originated. These two rides are nearly identical in everything except the price to the customer and the payment.
The table below is a summary. Yes, you read that right. My net pay for the 2 rides is just $1.15.
| Real Driver Earnings |
| Total passenger payments = $41.67 + $25.06 = $66.73 |
| Gross driver earnings on the 2 rides was $19.70 + $16.16 = $35.86 |
| Total miles on the 2 rides was 25.1 + 24.49 = 49.59 miles. |
| 2025 IRS mileage expense = 49.59 x $0.70 = $34.71 |
| Net driver earnings on the 2 rides is $35.86 – $34.71 = $1.15 |
Yes, my taxable income is just $1.15 on these two rides. This is why I get food stamps, heating fuel assistance, and say thank you to taxpayers for giving me good roads to drive on.
It is widely accepted that Uber profiles customers and drivers in order to rig the pricing so as to get the maximum out of both sides of the transaction. In the first case the pickup was on Marlborough St. in Boston. A very well to do neighborhood. This passenger was charged $41.67. In the second case the pickup address was an apartment complex in Peabody. This person was charged $25.06. The first ride receipt is above. The rest are to follow.
The first ride from Kenmore to Danvers was 25.1 miles while the return was 24.49 miles. A difference of only .61 mile.
Below is the details of the first ride from Kenmore to Danvers. The customer paid $41.67.
The Uber Service Fee is $19.31. What could possibly be the source of these fees?
This return ride to Kenmore Sq. in Boston shows the Total customer fare to be $25.06. Then there’s a mysterious line item deduction for Customer promotions. It explains that the customer paid $18.79. I assume there was a promotion of some sort used.
It’s interesting here that the Uber Service Fee is a mere $0.19. A difference between the two fares of over $19.00.
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