When a passenger pays €30 for an Uber ride, the €30 doesn't go to the driver. Since November 2024 in France , the platform has used upfront pricing: the price charged to the customer and the driver's commission are calculated separately by an algorithm, based on factors such as distance, estimated duration, demand, traffic, and historical data. A report published this week by the European Trade Union Confederation and Worker Info Exchange claims that Uber's share can, in some observed cases, reach up to 45% in France. Uber disputes this claim and asserts that its overall commission has remained stable and that "the vast majority" of the fare goes to the drivers.
On a €30 ride, a 25% deduction would leave the driver with approximately €22,50 before their own expenses. With a 45% difference, the maximum amount noted in some cases by the report, only €16,50 would remain. However, these two figures should not be presented as a fixed rate applied to all rides: specifically, the new system separates the price paid by the customer from the offer made to the driver. Therefore, the same percentage is no longer necessarily deducted for every trip. Uber also acknowledges that the offered amount can vary depending on the characteristics of the ride and market conditions, while informing the driver of their compensation before they accept or decline the service.
From the 16,50 or 22,50 euros, the driver's fees must still be deducted.
Most importantly, the amount paid by Uber does not constitute the driver's net personal income. Ride-hailing drivers using the platform are self-employed: they must finance their vehicle or its lease, fuel or electricity, professional insurance, maintenance, tires, cleaning, and, depending on their status, their social security contributions and taxes. The burden of these expenses depends heavily on the vehicle, the annual mileage, and the chosen legal status. A ride resulting in €20 paid by the platform therefore does not mean that the driver earns €20. Their actual income can only be calculated after taking into account professional costs and the time spent waiting for or meeting the passenger.
This issue is all the more important given that official data shows a decline in the purchasing power of some drivers. In its 2026 analysis of nine platforms between 2021 and 2025, the French Employment Platforms Social Relations Authority (ARPE) notes that, for the majority of platforms studied, the increase in nominal hourly earnings did not keep pace with inflation over the period. The differences are also considerable from one application to another and from one year to the next. In 2025, the change in gross hourly earnings observed by ARPE ranged from -3,4% to +48,6% depending on the platform, indicating a market that has become highly heterogeneous.
Minimum incomes exist, but they don't answer the whole question.
Social dialogue has gradually established safeguards. Sector agreements stipulate a minimum fare of €9 per ride after platform fees are deducted, as well as a guaranteed minimum of €30 per hour worked and €1 per kilometer traveled, according to the terms of the approved agreements. The hourly calculation takes into account the driver's travel time to the customer. These minimums prevent some particularly low bids but do not guarantee an equivalent net salary, since the driver remains responsible for their professional expenses.
The debate is therefore less about a single "Uber commission" than about how the algorithm now distributes the value of each ride. Worker Info Exchange believes that this separation between customer and driver fares makes the system more opaque and allows for discrepancies of up to 45% on some trips. Uber responds that drivers remain free to refuse any offer and maintains that dynamic pricing should allow compensation to adapt to market conditions. Notably, the platform itself acknowledged this summer that 70% of drivers surveyed in its 2026 consultation cited the fact that the offered rides were "not well paid enough" as the main reason for their reduced earnings, while only 17% considered the dynamic pricing system satisfactory.
On a €30 ride , the calculation can be summarized as follows: approximately €22,50 is paid to the driver with a 25% difference, but only €16,50 in a case where the difference reaches 45% . And it is only after this that the driver's expenses begin. This difference between the price displayed to the passenger, the amount received by the driver, and their actual income after expenses is now at the heart of the debate on the platform's business model.
