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Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

lyft.com

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Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#721

Post by smsm42 »

xzel wrote: post #655
idoh wrote: post #633

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This idea of micro-shifts sounds made up. Can you reference any companies that have this setup as an employer-employee relationship?

I've done tutoring for people in small increments like 15-30 minutes for questions before tests. That seems similar to micro-shifts though that is freelance. Lawyers have billable hours and work for multiple clients. Some firms do have compensation tied to billable hours as well. While it's not exactly the same thing the result feels similar to me.

Lawyers that do billable hours aren't the employees of the client they bill. So you actually are proving the point opposite to what you wanted to prove.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#722

Post by throwaway_kufu »

tommoor wrote: post #692
lsiebert wrote: post #625

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically this. As best I can tell, most of the flexibility Uber and Lyft want is the flexibility to pay people less and give them less benefits and prevent them from being able to unionize/organize effectively.

No employer would accept fulltime employees working for their direct competitor at the same time?

You think Burger King gives a shit if their cashier also takes shifts at McDonalds?

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#723

Post by yzmtf2008 »

mft_ wrote: post #586
ffggvv wrote: post #516

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yes let’s make all public policy based on your sense of poetic justice. and not numbers. i know cost is just a number to you but that’s other people’s money you’re spending

Well, not based on one person, but sometimes making uneconomic decisions based on human decency? That’s the society I’d rather live in. I mean, if numbers are all that matter, I’m fairly sure someone could come up with a model to deprioritise and disenfranchise almost anyone - the disabled, the elderly, the retired...

Is forcing wheelchair users to use subway human decency to you? We're talking about a situation where it's cheaper to let them use taxi service, and it's a better experience.

My uncle lives in a wheelchair by the way. The horror of imagining him having to use the subway...

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#724

Post by aabhay »

umvi wrote: post #678
AgloeDreams wrote: post #582

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lyft and Uber are favored due to convenience and price. Nothing stops a regulated Uber that pays fair wages from convenience...but the price paid will have to become higher to support people. This is like McDonald's paying workers $3 an hour, charging $2 for a value menu meal, and then people saying 'wow, McDonald's has made Burger King obsolete!'. Of course customers will prefer the cheaper service that screws worke…

Before Uber/Lyft existed, the taxi experience sucked. Uber/Lyft provided: - A way to pre-pay - A way to communicate current location and destination clearly to driver - All from an intuitive app on your phone I'm guessing you never went to NYC, tried in vain to find a taxi when you needed one, then got a taxi driver who barely spoke English, tried to communicate where to go, ended up paying way more than you intended…

I agree, but imagine that this Uber/Lyft experience was not subsidized by VC money. Would you be willing to pay 2x of a typical taxi to get this enhanced experience? Probably most people would stick with the street taxi in that case...

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#725

Post by dmode »

bassman9000 wrote: post #485
dmode wrote: post #231

I dislike Uber and Lyft's practices as much as the next guy. But I also believe AB5 is a terrible bill and will be voting in November to exempt Uber and Lyft from AB5. AB5 was written to impose a 20th century employment model to a 21st century situation. As such, the bill is distorted that it carve out hundreds of exemptions to musicians, freelancers, journalists, doctors, hair stylists and so on and so forth. A bill…

Shameless plug of my own post https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24226783

What has your posts got to do with anything ? Are you saying that the massive success of LA, SF, and CA economies are due to Democratic politicians ?

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#726

Post by ericsoderstrom »

electricviolet wrote: post #646
cactus2093 wrote: post #604

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you on one point, "ridesharing" is a silly word. I would call it something like an "Open Car Service". The main reason I can't get on board with the rest of this line of argument is that it ultimately just comes down to paternalistic protection of the poor disenfranchised gig workers that you clearly view as being less than capable, rational adult humans. The number of gig economy workers has been growin…

MLM companies continue to be popular, despite the fact that the majority of people lose money by participating. I agree that portions of the left can be paternalistic sometimes, but that doesn't mean Uber and Lyft aren't exploitative.

I think MLM is different. A small number of people might make a lot of money, funded by the losses of most of the rest. In that respect its more like gambling, and people can be more easily fooled to think that they'll be one of the lucky few.

Working as a driver for uber/lyft isn't really like that at all. You know approximately how much you can stand to make per hour. There isn't a small pool of drivers somehow making tons of money at the expense of the rest. Being a driver isn't predicated on mistakenly calculating your odds of winning big.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#728

Post by fdshgaerfhe »

seankimdesign wrote: post #699

Kudos on that moral victory California. You robbed my mobility-impaired younger sister of her legs without providing any alternative. Fuck your sorry excuse of public transit filled with gawkers and requiring her to wonder whether there will be connected sidewalks for her to solve her last-two-mile trip on her chair. "Oh, but Uber and Lyft were brought down by their own greed" Well, where is the non-greedy alternativ…

Where in California does your sister live that doesn't offer Paratransit services?

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#729

Post by hpcjoe »

pmcollins wrote: post #220
blhack wrote: post #131

Lot of my friends who work in non tech jobs use driving for Uber or Lyft as a way to either get a little extra cash, or bridge themselves across gaps in employment. This would devastate them. Absolutely heartless move on behalf of the California government. Don’t kick the little guys while they’re down to make some political point. It’s not the time.

The interesting thing is that this may not have been a heartless move, it seems to have been, from what I can tell, a well-meaning move that is going to hurt the very people politicians were trying to help. I feel like this is a theme of the last 100 years repeating itself over and over. The road to hell...

Not for nothing (and feeling somewhat old for remembering this) but lyrics from a song from the late 80s come to mind[1].

"That those who know what's best for us Must rise and save us from ourselves"

It was on a playlist I was listening to last week walking my dog. Seems quite apropos here.

[1] https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rush/witchhunt.html

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#730

Post by PHGamer »

seankimdesign wrote: post #699

Kudos on that moral victory California. You robbed my mobility-impaired younger sister of her legs without providing any alternative. Fuck your sorry excuse of public transit filled with gawkers and requiring her to wonder whether there will be connected sidewalks for her to solve her last-two-mile trip on her chair. "Oh, but Uber and Lyft were brought down by their own greed" Well, where is the non-greedy alternativ…

moral victory? this is government overreach. people set their own hours. they are contractors not employees. the government changed the rules not because they care for you but because they collect more taxes from employers than contractors.
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