That's a good data point, but not perfect, since the amount Uber charges customers isn't necessarily directly correlated with the amount they pay drivers...
They do. However I believe compensation to drivers is more complicated because of what are essentially marketing costs in the form of subsidized rides. A year or so ago before Uber left Austin a driver told me one weekend that Uber guaranteed him something like $400 to drive for the weekend so long as he picked up 30 fares (I'm fudging the numbers a bit here because I cant remember). Based on promotions being run for customers and increased rates Uber was definitely going to have to come out of their own pocket to meet that guarantee.
Back when UberX was pushing in my city, I was lured to drive for Uber since I was a Lyft driver: They offered me $1000 signing bonus, $1000 to my referrer; then $40/hr for 50 hours for three weeks. I went to a starbucks in the most distant part of the coverage area and worked on the paperwork for my nonprofit and various coding side projects... Between that and various promotions, Uber spent about $6000 cash on me that year (based on my 1099-G) and based on my 1099, they made about $2500 on me on fares.
