> I really struggle to understand why we need bureaucrats imposing their idea of what a market should look like on an fairly efficient market.
Because, that's not the argument. The argument is the precedent it sets. We've seen companies utilize weak independent contractor regulations in the past to take advantage of individuals (most specifically, the Dynamex case that lead directly to this), despite many of them not knowing/not complaining. This is why California is so hard on independent contractors. I would prefer a state strong on worker's rights than vice versa.
> From my experience the drivers are perfectly aware of the costs that go into driving so I really don't buy the exploitation argument.
Your anecdotes don't mean anything, sorry. We have vast evidence that companies will take advantage of worker's in an independent contractor situation to their benefit. We have evidence that Uber had requirements in it's worker interactions (route penalties, hour requirements, etc) that do not fit independent contractor ideals.
> Seems like a loss for everyone except bureaucrats.
The bureacrats gain nothing.
> Also don't see how it's realistic to expect them to be able to adjust to this on a dime.
I can only assume you don't live in California. This isn't on a dime. They were notified over three years ago. The FTB and legislature have been on them about it constantly. The law was introduced in 2018-12-03 and signed into law on 2019-09-18. I know operations can be slow, but two years should be plenty of time, considering how fast they were able to adjust to failing markets like Germany that they ultimately lost anyways.
> Although large, California is still a minority of their revenue.
It makes up 16% of Lyft and Uber's users. It has the highest valued rides, lowest effective overhead (driver retention, driver acquisition, passenger acquisition) and most effective mileage.
But you're right, they should give up their most established and profitable market or California should shut up. Because you talked to some people.