I’m not sure the pay/hour in the article that Tom linked to is correct, if anything way overestimated (after all it is UBER propaganda). I have heard that wages could be on the order of $9/hr before expenses such as wear and tear on the car, and then one has to consider that most insurance companies won’t honor payouts once they figure out that the driver is working for UBER.
As for regulations versus technology, sure UBER is making better use of technology, but they are also bypassing labor laws by claiming it is a ride-sharing app.
As for the drivers themselves, I think this type of job is our future because it sidesteps all of the employer discrimination going on in a flooded job market.
Steve