"Earn up to $35/hour" is technically true for someone, somewhere, during a surge. It's very rarely true for you, on a normal Tuesday, after expenses.
Regulatory Scrutiny Under FTC Policy Guidance
Gig economy platforms — rideshare and delivery apps in particular — face active FTC enforcement under Section 5 of the FTC Act for deceptive earnings claims made to prospective independent contractors. This isn't a hypothetical concern: the FTC has already brought a major enforcement action over exactly this practice.
How the Advertised Number Diverges From Reality
The advertised (deceptive) rate: "Earn up to $35/hour in your city!" — a figure typically calculated using peak, top-decile earnings during surge pricing hours only, and one that omits unpaid waiting time between dispatch requests entirely.
The actual net income calculation:
Gross Earnings − Vehicle Depreciation − Fuel − Self-Employment Taxes (FICA, 15.3%) = Real Net Earnings
Once these deductions are applied honestly, actual net earnings frequently land far below the state minimum wage equivalent for the hours actually worked — even though the advertised headline figure was, in a narrow technical sense, achievable by someone.
The FTC's Enforcement Precedent
This isn't a theoretical concern for gig platforms. In FTC v. Uber Technologies, Inc., the FTC brought a $20 million enforcement action specifically over deceptive earnings claims made to prospective drivers — official confirmation that inflated, cherry-picked earnings advertising is treated as a genuine Section 5 violation, not just aggressive marketing.
What This Means for You
Treat any advertised "up to $X/hour" figure as a ceiling reached by a small fraction of drivers under ideal conditions, not a typical outcome. Before committing meaningful time to a gig platform, calculate your own real numbers using the formula above — the IRS standard mileage rate is a reliable baseline for vehicle operating costs if you're not tracking your own fuel and maintenance separately.
Use our Gig Worker Earnings Checklist to work through your actual take-home calculation before assuming the advertised rate reflects what you'll really make.
Related Kibbo Tools
- Gig Worker Earnings Checklist →
- Gig Economy Resources (Directory) →
- Before Signing a Contractor Agreement Checklist →