21st century slave labor. Doesn't Uber and Lyft hall in majority of the profit?
Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
71–80 of 273 posts
Re: Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
5 years ago I was told the same thing, and 5 years before that. Maybe 5 years from now, but it’s been the same story forever.
Honestly, it really hasn't been the same story forever. In the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge, of 21 teams entered, 15 qualified to race on the course, and none finished the 240 km course. The best result was 12km. That was off road, with no requirement to obey traffic laws or other cars to hit. Since 2009, Google/Waymo has 5 million driverless miles under their belt. Is it 5 years away? I don't know, but this is not the…
That's the problem with exponential development. It seems like you're getting nowhere for decades, then all of a sudden it's starting to amount to something, and in the span of maybe a year or two it goes from impractical to plausible to obvious and ubiquitous.
The problem with predicting these curves is there's usually a confluence of factors that lead to that tipping point. When the right algorithms, hardware, and software are combined it'll be obvious in retrospect, but right now we're still fumbling around with primitive solutions.
When will there be a TPU-type device suitable for in-car use? When will there be adaptive deep-learning algorithms available that can work in the demanding real-time environment of a vehicle? When will enough testing be done that we know such a solution can work without endangering people?
It will happen, but pinning down when is very hard. You'll only know when you're close, and by then you're already flipping from impossible to inevitable.
Re: Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
#73That seems too low. Most drivers I use have been doing it for years. They wouldn't at those rates.
I haven't read this study but I the past I've often found the depreciation figures to be higher than what they are in real life. They sometimes kind of assume you just buy a new car at the dealers and then two or three years later trade it in for a new car which means every three years or so you lose 50% of the cars new cost. Almost no one hard up does that. Get good deal on a 3 yr old car, keep it 5 yrs, your costs are much lower.
Re: Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
#74Re: Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
The insurance point deserves further discussion - in many states your normal coverage is voided by driving for profit. So if you get into an accident where they can prove you were working, you aren't going to get anything. I know many people who are driving for Uber and Lyft and have no idea about this
Both Uber and Lyft have insurance policies that cover drivers and passengers during rides, and in most cases the maximum coverage per accident is $1 million. https://www.uber.com/drive/insurance/ https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013080548-Insuran...
However, the insurance provided by Uber and Lyft only cover when you have a passenger in the car -- they don't cover you when you are driving to pick up the next person. And your own insurance also doesn't cover you during that period, unless you buy a separate commercial rider.
Re: Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
#76This doesn't surprise me at all and it's because of hidden costs incurred by the driver, combined with an implicit bidding system that drives down wages. Hidden costs: 1. Vehicle wear and tear (cars cost you money when you drive them) 2. Vehicle depreciation (cars cost you money even when you aren't driving them) 3. Interest and fees associated with auto loans and leases 4. Insurance premiums 5. Gas 6. Unexpected/unp…
The difference may be that there is no end goal with Herbalife.
With Uber and Lyft, once the self driving cars start working it will truly displace all the drivers. So perhaps they are just pawns in this endgame.
Re: Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
The insurance point deserves further discussion - in many states your normal coverage is voided by driving for profit. So if you get into an accident where they can prove you were working, you aren't going to get anything. I know many people who are driving for Uber and Lyft and have no idea about this
Uber and Lyft both now verify that you have supplemental insurance. It's kind of screwy. If you have a passenger in the car, Uber/Lyft coverage is in place. If you are driving around working but no passenger, it's the driver's rideshare insurance - which is typically a rider on their personal policies. This probably changes regionally, but that's how it works in California.
Which is a good first step... but if I'm injured at a regular job? workers comp will cover my own bills and lost wages while I recover(usually even if it was my own goddamn fault) - Uber drivers don't get that benefit, and they are a lot more likely to be injured on the job than I am.
Re: Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
The insurance point deserves further discussion - in many states your normal coverage is voided by driving for profit. So if you get into an accident where they can prove you were working, you aren't going to get anything. I know many people who are driving for Uber and Lyft and have no idea about this
Both Uber and Lyft have insurance policies that cover drivers and passengers during rides, and in most cases the maximum coverage per accident is $1 million. https://www.uber.com/drive/insurance/ https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013080548-Insuran...
1 million is a laughable low coverage. Get into a single accident where someone has to get emergency surgery, a few months in the hospital, and then needs physical therapy to walk again. One million is gone faster than you can imagine.
Re: Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
#79This doesn't surprise me at all and it's because of hidden costs incurred by the driver, combined with an implicit bidding system that drives down wages. Hidden costs: 1. Vehicle wear and tear (cars cost you money when you drive them) 2. Vehicle depreciation (cars cost you money even when you aren't driving them) 3. Interest and fees associated with auto loans and leases 4. Insurance premiums 5. Gas 6. Unexpected/unp…
I drove for a few days as an experiment. What struck me was how low skilled work it is. No judgement. Just, it felt like having a really easy job.
And a little humiliating. I’m old, and with drunk kids being a little condecending, plus seemed like my car smelled like booze for days!
But, how low it pays and it shocks me there are ALOT of people with free time willing to work for sub minimum wage.
Re: Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Driverless cars in urban areas are decades away
I find it interesting how the same people that have no problem accepting that the last 10% of a random software project accounts for a significant portion of the total time spent, can at the same time be so unreasonably optimistic that a whole sphere of tech can go from like 70% to 100% (where 100% is also the minimum amount required) in a really short period.
I think the disagreement is what the last 10% are. I see urban driving as part of the 90%. My 10% are rural gravel roads with puddles, snow covered roads and similar bad road and weather conditions.