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Comment by enlyth | Hacker News Reader

Considering a 40 hour work week, $21 hour comes out to about $3350 before tax monthly, is that really too low for driving around a car?

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It's $42k annually and that's before the insurance, maintenance, depreciation and fuel, so down to the mid-to-high 30's. That seems like it would be poverty level in many California cities.

That's a fair point I didn't think about the car maintenance too much.

Neither do most of the drivers, unfortunately. They are going to be the ones holding the bag at the end.

Not to mention most of those hypothetical 40hrs a week (assuming they can get that much work) would be unsociable hours because that’s when demand is at its greatest (eg people leaving the pub).

Family health insurance costs $24K/yr. Rent is atleast $24K/hr. Those 2 alone will kill you...

> Rent is atleast $24K/hr

Heh. I heard it was bad in CA but wow.

..take a different job then?

> is that really too low for driving around a car?

Depends how you look at it. If you're looking purely at supply and demand of drivers, it's fine. If you think people working 40 hours a week should be able to afford decent housing and health insurance it's probably too low.

I'm not familiar with US salaries I guess it greatly depends on the state/city you're in. But in the UK I don't think this amount is uncommon for some doctors or software developers, especially outside of London.

After tax it's probably closer to $2800, and health insurance is around $600/month for a pretty average plan. For a family of three this leaves you $1000 left over, and even the crappiest one bedrooms in California in small towns start around $1300/month.

Comparing different countries’ wages just isn’t a good comparison. Consider the typical health insurance premium and student loan burden for US workers and you’ll already see why a UK comparison would be apples and oranges.

A 30 minute ride already costs me about $18. I assume an hour ride would be around $40 or so. As a rider I would seriously wonder where those other $19 are going... Not to mention I would still feel the standard pressure to tip.

A 30 minute ride in the Bay Area can be close to $40 (with no peak pricing increases).

You're assuming cab drivers only work 40 hours. That's wildly off base.

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