- Rideshare drivers for Uber and Lyft say their income has collapsed amid coronavirus, and support from the rideshare companies has been sparse.
- Business Insider surveyed over 1,000 rideshare drivers and gig workers. Drivers who are still working said their weekly earnings have dropped by anywhere from 50% to 80% in the past month.
- Many have stopped driving altogether due to safety concerns. Others are pivoting to delivery work, which they say has remained more profitable amid the quarantine.
- Uber and Lyft have promised to give drivers disinfectant supplies, and Uber promised paid sick leave, but drivers say those benefits are unreliable and difficult to access.
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Driving for Uber is Eddie Kobayashi's full-time job - the 66-year-old Honolulu resident regularly works 10 hours a day on the app.
A month ago, he could net $200 per day from Uber. By last week, his income had plunged to just $25 per day spread across 10 hours. The money has become so negligible that Kobayashi finally decided to stop driving altogether.
"I currently earn $2.50 per hour, on top of the exposure to riders who possibly carry the virus," Kobayashi told Business Insider. "I cannot for my own sanity justify to myself why I would jeopardize the health and well being of other riders and of course my own family's."
Lockdowns amid the coronavirus outbreak have been financially devastating for rideshare drivers across the country. More than 1,000 rideshare and delivery workers responded to a Business Insider survey this week - drivers quoted in this article, whose employment Business Insider has verified, described drops in income that mirror Kobayashi's.
Both Uber and Lyft, which have near-identical business models and pricing, have rolled out measures to support drivers through the coronavirus outbreak - both companies say they provide free disinfectant supplies to drivers, and Uber has vowed to cover two weeks of paid sick leave for drivers. But drivers told Business Insider that the free cleaning supplies are often hard to find, and that Uber's sick pay is unreliable.
A Lyft spokesperson told Business Insider that cleaning supplies are delivered in bulk shipments, and drivers will be notified when they arrive.
An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider that the company is "committed to working with drivers and delivery people around the world to help support them," but declined to answer specific questions about cleaning supplies or sick payments. Uber SVP Andrew Macdonald tweeted Thursday that shipments of disinfectants are "now starting to make their way to drivers."
In the immediate term, drivers are poised to get some relief from the newly-passed CARES Act, which extends unemployment benefits to gig workers for the first time ever. Some drivers also told Business Insider they're pivoting to delivery work, which they say has remained profitable amid social distancing measures.
Here's exactly how much of a financial toll coronavirus is taking on rideshare work, according to drivers.
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