Weekly Roundup: Gig Workers Reveal What They Actually Earned in 2025

Gig workers reveal how much they actually made in 2025. Lyft bets on robotaxis. Portland considers capping rideshare company fees at 20%. Gig-related auto insurance claims surge 96% since 2021. An Uber-backed lobbying group gets caught sending pro-reform emails to New York legislators from dead people. We break it all down for you.

Gig Workers Reveal What They Actually Earned in 2025

Source: Business Insider

Business Insider surveyed 12 gig workers across the U.S. and verified their 2025 earnings through 1099s and earnings statements, revealing a wide pay range from $2,000 to $65,000 depending on platform, location, and hours. The report underscores that headline hourly rates rarely reflect take-home pay once gas, maintenance, and downtime are factored in: one Phoenix Uber driver grossed $65,000, but netted closer to $40,000.

• A 63-year-old Denver Lyft driver said the company publicly claims drivers earn $30+/hour, but after expenses his real rate was closer to $14/hour.

• Multiple drivers reported per-trip pay has shrunk over time; one Florida Lyft driver now receives $16 (pre-tip) on a $48 fare, compared to nearly the full fare years ago.

• NYC’s $18 minimum wage law boosted a Queens Uber Eats rider’s earnings, but tips collapsed when apps moved the tip prompt to post-delivery, reversing only after the city mandated checkout-time tipping.

Lyft Bets on Robotaxi Infrastructure with 80,000-Sq-Ft Nashville Depot

Source: Sherwood

Lyft’s Flexdrive unit is building an 80,000-square-foot Nashville facility, opening this fall, to charge, clean, service, and maintain Waymo’s autonomous fleet under their partnership. The strategy positions Lyft as the back-end operations partner for AVs rather than a vehicle owner, a sharp contrast to Uber’s $10 billion commitment to buying robotaxi vehicles outright.

• Lyft is hiring 70+ Nashville workers this year, technicians, ops managers, fleet coordinators, and is recruiting from its existing driver pool; over one-third of Flexdrive’s national workforce are former rideshare drivers.

• Satellite charging and cleaning sites will be added across Nashville as the fleet scales, designed to minimize vehicle downtime and rider wait times.

• The announcement highlights a core industry truth: even “driverless” fleets require substantial human labor and capital-heavy logistics, a departure from the asset-light gig model that built ride-hail.

Portland Weighs 20% Cap on Rideshare Company Take as Uber Threatens Exit

Source: OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

Portland City Council is considering a proposal to cap the share Uber and Lyft can take from each fare at 20%, down from current takes that sometimes exceed 40%. Uber has warned the rule would force it to exit Portland, while business, sports, and arts groups, including the Trail Blazers and Oregon Symphony, have publicly opposed the measure over fears of reduced service affecting event attendance.

• Portland drivers currently average just over $12/hour according to UC Berkeley’s Center for Wage and Employment Dynamics, below the city’s $16.30 minimum wage, while Uber and Lyft cite $30+/hour figures that only count time with a passenger in the car.

• Uber argues Portland already charges the nation’s highest per-ride fee at $2.00 and that combined mandated costs already exceed the proposed 20% cap.

• A committee vote is expected next month, with full council action unlikely before summer; Councilor Pirtle-Guiney also plans to fund a “driver resource center” offering labor-rights education and legal aid.

Gig-Related Auto Insurance Claims Jumped 96% Since 2021

Source: Digital Insurance (Paywall free)

Verisk’s latest report shows gig-related commercial auto claims surged 96% from 2021 to 2025, from 89,000 to 175,000, even as overall commercial auto claims fell 5% last year. Food-delivery claims spiked 300% over the five-year period and rideshare claims rose 66%, with gig work now accounting for 10% of all commercial auto claims.

• Overall commercial auto claims dropped to 1.84 million in 2025 (down from 1.94 million), though volume remains 14% higher than 2021 levels; personal auto claims also fell 8% to 31.6 million.

• Autonomous vehicle claims quadrupled from 100 in 2021 to 400 in 2025, and autonomous ride-hailing claims grew 20x in the same period as Waymo, Zoox, Cruise, and Tesla Cybercab expand deployment.

• Uber’s $10 billion AV investment and its plan to launch robotaxis in 28 cities by 2028, with partners including Rivian and Lucid, will likely accelerate the liability and severity questions insurers are now tracking.

Uber-Backed Lobbying Emails to NY Legislators Coming from Dead People

Source: Newsday (Paywall free)

New York legislators are receiving emails backing Gov. Hochul’s rideshare auto insurance reforms from deceased constituents, jailed individuals, and people who say they never signed up, all tied to Citizens for Affordable Rates (CAR), an Uber-funded lobbying group that has spent over $9.4 million since late January. CAR called the fraudulent emails “rare technical anomalies,” while Uber says its separate 100,000-email campaign requires rider opt-in.

• Assemblyman Charles Lavine received a pro-reform email from his late friend Jon Dolecki, a Glen Cove baseball coach who died in February 2025; Assemb. Jen Lunsford contacted 10 supposed senders and found only one had actually submitted.

• Uber is the nation’s largest auto insurance purchaser, with 27% of every rider fee going to insurance costs, making Hochul’s proposal to cap damages in multi-party lawsuits financially significant for the company.

• Lunsford questioned whether promised $200 annual driver savings, roughly $16/month, justify the lobbying spend, while Reinvent Albany’s John Kaehny warned the pattern suggests potential consumer-law violations if emails were sent without genuine consent.

QUICK HITS

• DoorDash is on the defensive after being involved in a stunt that involved a Dasher delivering a McDonald’s order to The White House. – Daily Beast

• Lyft and Uber are launching airport shuttles in Boston and are giving riders the right to skip the TSA line. – WCVB 5

• Want to learn more about the robotaxi industry? Subscribe to The Driverless Digest, our new newsletter and podcast dedicated to the future of autonomous vehicles.

Must Listen Or Watch RSG Content

Here are this week’s featured podcast episode and YouTube videos:

• RSG268: Uber’s NEXT Big Move? Taxis!

• Uber’s New Bonus Called Uber Leagues?!

• Uber’s Bundled Rides Are Here… And They’re CONFUSING

• Lyft’s New Feedback System Is a Problem

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