Uber passengers urged to ‘Compare the Fare’ as report claims commissions reached 58% on some Newcastle trips
- Perry Richardson
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Uber passengers in Newcastle are being encouraged to ask drivers how much they are being paid for their journey after new research claimed the platform retained as much as 58% of the fare on some trips.
The call comes as Worker Info Exchange published a detailed examination of Uber driver earnings in Newcastle between 2022 and 2025. The organisation is also urging drivers to join a collective legal claim challenging Uber’s use of automated decision-making to calculate driver pay.
According to their findings, which analysed data from 23 Uber drivers covering more than 420,000 trips, Uber’s average commission in Newcastle increased from 25.2% in 2024 to 30.1% in 2025. During the same period, the report claims drivers’ real terms earnings fell by 6.4%.
Worker Info Exchange says Uber’s dynamic pay system has resulted in drivers receiving significantly different payments for near-identical journeys, with drivers unable to see how their pay has been calculated before accepting a trip. The report also claims Uber’s average take rate increased by 4.9 percentage points in a single year.
One example highlighted in the report involved a journey between Newcastle upon Tyne and Ryhope, where Worker Info Exchange claims Uber retained 58% of the passenger fare.
Kola, an Uber driver featured in the report, said: “When we started, it was 25% commission they’re taking. Whatever the rider is paying, you’re getting 75%, 25% goes to them. But this time around, we have been blinded from both sides. The rider doesn’t know how much you’re getting; we don’t know how much he is paying. We only know how much we’re getting. The only person being happy here is Uber.”
Worker Info Exchange has launched a “Compare the Fare” campaign encouraging passengers to ask drivers what they are being paid, compare it with the fare they paid and share the results on social media.
James Farrar, Director of Worker Info Exchange, said: “Next time you take an Uber, ask your driver what they’re being paid and tell them what you paid. Drivers can no longer see the full fare charged to passengers or how Uber calculates its commission.
“We believe that’s not only unlawful but fundamentally unfair, because every worker has the right to know the basis on which their pay is calculated.
“Drivers have beaten Uber before. In 2021, the App Drivers and Couriers’ Union won a landmark Supreme Court case that secured worker status for drivers. We believe we can win again. When this landmark legal action succeeds, it could end dynamic pay for good and secure compensation for drivers who have lost earnings because of it.
“Our message to drivers today is simple: join a union and join the Dynamic Pay Claim.”
