What Uber’s ‘take rate’ is costing riders

A Driver’s Union report examines the massive increase in Uber’s take from rider fares 

SEATTLE, WA (September 5, 2025) — The cost of a ride or delivery through Uber has risen noticeably in Seattle and King County. That fare increase is often blamed on recent efforts to ensure drivers earn a fair wage. But in a new report from the Driver’s Union, the flaws in that simplistic narrative are laid bare.

Published in August, that report — Taking Seattle for a Ride: How Uber’s Increasing Take Rate Is Costing Riders — sheds light on a little-reported reason for rising rideshare costs: what Uber takes from riders’ fares.

Drivers Union collected Uber generated tax summaries from 347 Uber drivers, covering 1,414,553 trips from 2019 through 2024. Uber’s yearly tax summaries show aggregate data on the number of trips a driver completed, gross charges for riders, and amount of driver compensation.

Drivers Union members pose for a photo in October of 2024. Photo: Driver’s Union

From 2019-2024, Uber’s “take rate” — the amount of each fare they keep as a commission — from rider fares jumped from $4.69 per trip to $13.06 per trip, amounting to a whopping 178 percent increase.

Uber currently takes 35 percent from each passenger fare, nearly double their original percentage. Drivers’ pay, meanwhile, has risen only half as much.

Pay rates for Seattle drivers have increased to $1.59/mile and 68¢/minute with a trip minimum of $5.95. Pay rates for the rest of Washington have increased to $1.34/mile and 39¢/minute, with a trip minimum of $3.45. While far below the company’s increased take, these pay rates constitute the nation’s highest statewide pay standard.

Uber has complained over the years that efforts to ensure drivers aren’t making poverty wages are driving up customer costs. But the Driver’s Union analysis indicates that if Uber reinstated their previous take rate limit of 20 percent of rider price, they could immediately lower prices for riders by 19 percent—reducing the average rider fare from $37 to $30.

In February, Uber announced they ended 2024 with their “strongest quarter ever” with an annual revenue of $12 billion.

Drivers Union is an association of drivers who work for UBER, LYFT, and other app-based transportation platforms to promotes fairness, justice, and transparency in Washington’s personal transportation industry. Learn more at driversunionwa.org.