Colorado Uber drivers say payouts are falling as costs rise

When Denver Uber driver Stuart Lowry recently accepted a $140 ride from Colorado Springs to Denver, he said he received about half of what the passenger paid.

“I had one ride that was $140 from Colorado Springs to Denver, and I only got $70 out of it,” Lowry said. “Why does Uber have to take that much when I am the one driving?”

After about a year and a half driving for Uber in Colorado, Lowry said the gap between what passengers pay and what he earns has become larger.

“The rides are paying less, and Uber is taking more and more,” Lowry said.

Bucket List Community News reached out to Uber for more information, but the company declined to comment.

Lower pay has changed the way Lowry works. Rather than accept whatever trip comes his way, he waits for fares he considers worthwhile.

“Unless I sit and fish out the good ones, I just stop after a drop-off, and I’ll wait for like 30 minutes,” Lowry said. “I’m not just going to drive around the city aimlessly for barely any money.”

Lowry, who lives alone, spends roughly 50 to 60 hours a week driving for Uber. The flexibility remains one of the job’s biggest advantages.

“I don’t have kids or a wife, so it provides me a lot of flexibility,” Lowry said. “I would say I can pay my bills comfortably for the most part.”

Still, he said tips can determine whether a day behind the wheel feels worthwhile.

“Tips make or break my days,” Lowry said. “If people are bad tippers, then that can make a good day go to like a bad day easily. It’s terrible. I don’t even look at what the passenger is paying anymore.”

Drivers in Colorado now have more information about prospective trips than they did a few years ago.

Senate Bill 24-075, signed into law in 2024, requires rideshare companies such as Uber to disclose certain information to drivers before they accept a trip. Since Feb. 1, 2025, that has included the amount the driver will be paid before tips, along with estimated mileage and time.

After a trip, companies also must provide information showing what the rider paid, what the driver received and certain amounts retained or charged by the company. The law increased transparency but did not establish a minimum pay rate for rideshare drivers.

Lowry said that without tips, Uber’s base fares would not be enough to keep him driving.

“If they took away tips, that’d be catastrophic,” Lowry said. “I don’t think anyone would drive Uber anymore.” It’s very tip-heavy, very tip-reliant.”

The difference between what riders pay and what drivers receive has drawn scrutiny nationally.

In a June 2026 analysis, Columbia Business School adjunct professor Len Sherman examined the trip histories of three veteran Uber drivers in Texas and Florida who had completed about 50,000 rides combined. Sherman found that Uber’s share of their rider fares rose from roughly 15% to 20% earlier in their driving careers to more than 50% in 2026.

For longtime Denver driver Steve Stitt, however, the change in his earnings was noticeable.

“The percentage definitely changed later on,” Stitt said. “It was a lot better when I first started driving.”

Stitt began driving for Uber in 2019. As a single father, he said declining earnings were more than a frustration with the platform — they affected his ability to support his son and cover everyday expenses.

“I would definitely like to have been making what I did in 2019,” Stitt said, “but when you’re in a position where you’re a single dad and that’s the only choice you have, you can’t argue with it.”

He stopped driving for Uber in 2025 and began delivering pizzas for Domino’s. Stitt said he now earns more while putting fewer miles on his car.

“I actually make more money driving less mileage, delivering pizzas,” Stitt said. “That’s crazy.”

For drivers who remain on the road, what they receive from Uber is only part of the equation. Gas, maintenance, repairs and other vehicle expenses come out of their earnings.

Tiberius McDougald, who has driven for Uber since 2025, estimated that he keeps between half and three-quarters of what he earns after expenses.

“If I make $300 to $400, then I keep about half to three quarters of it,” McDougald said.

Those costs can quickly escalate beyond gasoline.

“Something small in your car that needs to get done could cost a few hundred dollars that a lot of people just don’t have right now,” McDougald said.

Drivers have always had to account for the costs of using their own vehicles, but Lowry, Stitt and McDougald said lower payouts make those expenses harder to absorb. Looking back at what he earned when he started driving in 2019, Stitt said he has little interest in returning.

“I wouldn’t go back to Uber,” Stitt said. “It just wouldn’t be enough these days.”