You know what'd make this whole employee/contractor thing moot? A robust driver's union that was willing to shut down Uber on their own.
Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
821–830 of 887 posts
Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
#822Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It clearly needs to be a franchise. Think bigger. Why should transportation infrastructure (which is a public good) be controlled by a private, for-profit corporation?
Because that’s how innovation happens in the US? How are passengers trains innovating over the past 60 years?
Yes, the US sucks at investing in public infrastructure, especially transit. Obviously we should do nothing to try to change that. =)
Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
#823Earlier quoted context omitted.
> A lot of drivers were sure forced to drive for Uber for lack of other alternatives but that is not Uber's problem. They did not add to the problem. Uber ignored local laws to force their way into the taxi market without having to compete on the same terms as existing businesses. Uber also classified their drivers as contractors to avoid having to pay fair wages and provide benefits. They've been criticized for this…
So Uber driver’s are too dumb to realize they’re being paid unfair wages? Why would anyone work for such a company if they have better alternatives?
Rent, food, clothes, medication...
Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
#824Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to work at Uber. I'll focus on one particular point: allowing drivers to see where riders are going before they accept the trip. Uber, at least when I worked there, was heavily against this functionality as it allows drivers to discriminate against riders who are going to poor neighborhoods or from cities to suburbs where they may have difficulty in getting another rider. That feature is bad for the overall ec…
> or from cities to suburbs where they may have difficulty in getting another rider. That just indicates Uber is undercharging for these type of rides.
Its possible that if they charged more ridership and Uber's profits would go down.
Incentives are not aligned.
Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
#825Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, that's delusional. The state is at most interested in recouping revenue because it's out of money due to Covid. There are proposals on the table that would realistically improve the environment around gig work, but the state doesn't appear to care about those.
So altruistic Good Guy Underdog Uber fighting in good faith to stick it to Big Bad Government is not delusional? Also, the legal wrangling over this started long before Covid.
To first order, both Uber and drivers were willingly choosing to work together. The state is outlawing a money-making venture consenting adults wanted to do. You don't know that the second order effects will be what you want. Government is a blunt instrument and many ordinary people will be upset and perhaps completely screwed by this. As the story says, for the next several months at least, the state may have cost people their source of income. Owners of taxis and shuttle services should be thrilled though. Were they the little guy here?
Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
#826Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple has Apple Music, a publishing division, where the head of it has the title Global Director of Music Publishing. It's kind of absurd to say that Apple isn't in the business of music publishing.
If Apple has actually started publishing its own music then indeed Apple would be a music publisher. But has Uber done the same? Can you charter a car actually driven by Uber employees? As far as I am aware, Uber exclusively builds a platform to link passengers with independent drivers - who can and often do drive for competing services. Akin to what iTunes was before Apple started publishing its own music.
Your argument is circular. Uber drivers aren't employees because they are contractors. They are contractors because driving isn't Uber's core business. Uber's core business isn't driving because they don't have any drivers as employees.
Uber buys cars and leases them to drivers, it offers full-time professional drivers through Black, it invests billions of dollars into self-driving cars, it offers delivery as a B2B service. Look at the Uber Eats advertising[1] - they aren't claiming to connect you to drivers, they are claiming to connect you to your customers.
Uber's core business is clearly driving.
Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
#827I work at Uber outside of the rides/eats business and observed many feature releases to adjust the business after AB5. What I saw released: - Enabling drivers to see where a rider is going before accepting the trip [0] [2] - Removed a main penalty for declining rides, “No More 85% Acceptance Rate Requirement For Uber Pro” [2] - Drivers get set their own fare with a multiplier [1] (the article details screenshots and…
Was one of the features health insurance?
Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
#828I work at Uber outside of the rides/eats business and observed many feature releases to adjust the business after AB5. What I saw released: - Enabling drivers to see where a rider is going before accepting the trip [0] [2] - Removed a main penalty for declining rides, “No More 85% Acceptance Rate Requirement For Uber Pro” [2] - Drivers get set their own fare with a multiplier [1] (the article details screenshots and…
“I work for uber.” So you are getting paid for this comment?
Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
#829Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is horrible for customers, the worst part is when drivers don't want to pick you up.
I have never used Uber so I'm a bit ignorant. What is so bad about a driver not wanting to pick up? Wont it just keep searching for the next one. It is not really different than if there for one reason or another no drivers are available nearby?
The discrepancy between finding a ride quickly to low-crime areas, while finding one slowly or not at all to high-crime areas will be attacked as systemic racism from the organization. Political correctness basically requires drivers to take rides without regard for their safety.
Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California
#830Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that's absolutely true, and it's one of the reasons that society benefits from the idea of an "employee" relationship, where you can rely on a single corporation, beholden to some kind of public consensus, to enforce a uniform set of rules. A world where everyone is a "contractor" is one where everyone is subject to the tragedy of the commons. (e.g. "You can't get a ride in a poor neighborhood") But part of t…
Taxis have had "You can't get a ride in a poor neighborhood" for ages. If California kills Uber, we're back to the same taxis. So how exactly what is happening now helps solve the "You can't get a ride in a poor neighborhood" problem? > Those features aren't a good faith attempt to comply with the law There can be no good attempt to comply with this (completely terrible) law from Uber, since this law was meant to out…
> Taxis have had "You can't get a ride in a poor neighborhood" for ages.
Also restaurants refuse to deliver to poor neighborhoods after their delivery person gets robbed there once or twice. I've seen this problem in New York.