Uber job listing hints at sharper focus on subscriptions for drivers – East Bay Times

By Natalie Lung, Bloomberg

An Uber Technologies Inc. job posting suggests the rideshare company is stepping up efforts to test a subscription offering for more of its drivers around the world, following smaller upstarts that have found success with this alternative model.

The company is hiring for a New York-based product manager to “define and execute product strategies that create net-new subscription packages” for its drivers and couriers, according to a listing posted this week. The candidate will also “create a cohesive strategy for global testing and expansion,” and assess how this business model should evolve “given different responses from our competitors,” according to the posting.

Uber has already adopted a flat-fee structure for drivers in India. It is unclear if and to what extent it will ultimately adopt a subscription model more broadly. A company spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Until now, San Francisco-based Uber has made money from the majority of rides by taking a commission from drivers for each trip. It is sharpening its focus on subscriptions at a time when emerging competitors in the US and abroad are tempting prospective drivers with a flat fee that lets them keep more of each fare. Depending on competitive dynamics in a market, subscription models that allow for flexibility in how fares are set can attract more drivers to a platform, which can potentially lead to lower prices for customers.

Meanwhile, trip prices have been on the rise, and some research suggests that consumers are at risk of pulling back on car bookings if they get much more expensive. Ride prices rose 9.6% in December 2025 from a year earlier, while platform fee per trip increased 33%, according to a report by gig-work analytics firm Gridwise published Thursday. At the same time, gross driver pay per trip only rose 3.6% in the same period.