Uber drivers in New York earn more than city emergency workers: report

They save New Yorkers’ lives, but maybe it’s better to drive for Uber.

Apple’s Uber drivers who worked 32 hours a week for 50 weeks a year earned an average of $52,900, according to an October report from the ride-sharing company. That figure dwarfs the $39,386 base annual salary for the first year of employment with the city. emergency medical technicians.

Despite spending hundreds of hours vital health skills trainingincluding training to perform emergency deliveries, treat fractures and perform trauma assessments, emergency physicians can expect to work five years before earning a maximum base salary of $59,534 plus benefits.

Union leaders said the paltry wages have forced ambulance workers to seek work in other cities or in the private sector.

“I have friends who left these jobs to go to Instacart, Uber, Lyft,” Oren Barzilai, president of Local 2507 of District Council 37, which represents the city’s 4,100 EMTs and paramedics, told The Post.

“We save thousands of lives every year, and the starting wage is $19 an hour,” he added. “How do you (expect) people to survive on this?”

Uber drivers, whose pay rates along with other ride-sharing motorists are regulated by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, have seen five raises since 2020, most recently receiving a 3.49% pay increase in March tied to inflation.

However, Uber and Lyft are also reportedly were locked their drivers have been disconnecting from apps for hours at a time since June to avoid millions of dollars in pay. Salary data for Uber’s October report was based on rider earnings and expenses for the 12-month period ending in April.

Meanwhile, city ambulance workers have been without a contract for more than two years.

Barzilai said he and his colleagues working in the city’s fire department are seeking “pay parity” with others security forceswhich Mayor Adams promised during his 2021 campaign but has not been able to achieve success so far.

“Either through collective bargaining or management, (emergency workers) are desperate for a pay raise,” said City Councilwoman Joanne Ariola (R-Queens), who chairs the Fire and Emergency Management Committee.

The mayor’s office referred a request for comment on EMT pay to TLC spokesman Jason Kersten, who said Uber jobs “haven’t been particularly secure lately,” citing rideshare driver lockouts.