Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) faced new questions on Monday after new research pointed to differences in the company’s per-ride charge for insurance and operations on nearly identical trips.
Analyst Questions Uber Insurance and Operations Costs
The analysis, conducted by a Columbia University executive in residence and adjunct professor, Len Sherman, said that riders as well as drivers may not be able to calculate insurance and operations costs from one ride to the next, Business Insider reported on Sunday.
Uber did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
Sherman reviewed 120 Uber Reserve rides taken over two years on a repeated run between Ithaca, New York, and the Syracuse airport by a single driver using the same Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model Y and largely the same highway route for roughly 60 miles, the report said.
Sherman found Uber’s stated insurance-and-operations charge moved between $13.75 and $50 across all of the rides. He said that identical trips by the same driver and the same car on the same route should not have a “higher variation in what you say your commercial insurance costs are," Sherman said.
Separately, Gridwise data cited in the Business Insider report said that insurance represents about 21% of the typical rider fare on Uber and Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) rides, based on first-quarter 2026 trip data.
Uber Sues Mamdani-Led New York
The news comes as Uber recently sued the city of New York, led by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The company filed the lawsuit seeking to stop the City from enforcing a new law that would limit when large ride-hailing platforms can remove drivers.
Uber argues that the measures adopted by the administration could make it harder for ride-hailing companies to remove drivers accused of misconduct.
Uber Ends Waymo Partnership
The ride-hailing giant recently ended its partnership with Alphabet Inc.-backed (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Waymo in Phoenix, Arizona, as Uber looks for alternative operators to partner with.
The company also entered into a partnership with WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ:WRD) to expand its Robotaxi operations to Madrid. Uber is also partnering up with automakers like Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID).
Benzinga Edge Rankings show Uber providing excellent Growth and a favorable price trend in the Short and Medium term.
Price Action: Uber Technologies shares were up 0.47% to $74.78 during premarket trading on Monday
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor.
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