Uber Offers Drivers Hundreds of Dollars in Extra Cash. Here’s What They Have to Do to Get It.

Uber drivers are seeing something they haven’t encountered in years. As the busy holiday season approaches, Uber wants more drivers on the road, and it’s offering hundreds of dollars to get them there. 

According to a new report from Business Insider, Uber is giving drivers big bonuses as it gears up for holiday demand. The ride-hailing giant is offering some drivers extra cash to complete more trips within a set time period. 

Business Insider viewed several screenshots of the offers. In one instance, Uber offered a driver $525 if they completed 45 trips within a few days. Other offers paired lower bonuses with fewer required rides, working out to $10 to $12 per trip.

For drivers who sometimes earn just a few dollars a ride, an extra $10 to $12 per trip could make a substantial difference to their overall earnings, Sergio Avedian, an Uber driver and senior contributor to driver-advocacy platform The Rideshare Guy, told Business Insider.

Avedian said the incentives could signal that Uber needs more drivers available for Halloween and the holiday travel season.

“This may tell the story that they need supply,” he said. “They’re saying that we need to get everybody out there.”

Uber has also offered some drivers referral payments of up to $1,225 to encourage them to recruit new drivers or bring inactive ones who haven’t driven for a few years back to the app, according to the screenshots viewed by Business Insider. 

Together, these offers suggest that Uber is pushing to expand its driver fleet. An Uber spokesperson did not tell Business Insider the details of why the company was offering the payments. 

Uber has previously offered bonuses when drivers were in short supply

This isn’t Uber’s first use of targeted incentives. In the past, the company has used similar payments to motivate drivers.

For example, in 2021, Uber faced a driver shortage when ride demand rebounded after the pandemic had pushed many drivers off the road. 

“When we were coming out of the pandemic, they were short tons of drivers,” Avedian, who was driving for Uber at the time, said. “It was crazy bonuses out there.”

Uber spent heavily to bring drivers back. In April 2021, it announced a $250 million “driver stimulus” aimed at bringing existing drivers back and recruiting new ones. Uber said the money would fund “boosted incentives and guarantees.”

For instance, the company cited offers guaranteeing drivers $1,100 for completing 115 trips in Austin and $1,775 for completing 200 trips in Phoenix.

Uber’s efforts paid off. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on an earnings call in 2021 that Uber increased the number of active drivers on its app by 65% from January to November 2021. Uber later scaled back those incentives and stopped providing extra pay.