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by zeroname
2665 days ago
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Taxis aren't very different things at all. That's why in many countries, Uber has been banned. They're regarded as taxis circumventing taxi regulations. > It really is a job platform designed to take advantage of people who need multiple jobs, and surprise surprise, there's a slew of 'em here. Any job offer is taking advantage of the fact that people aren't magical self-sufficient entities. There's nothing wrong with offering a job, nobody is forcing anyone to take it. > It simply wouldn't work in a country that did not have such huge wealth disparity. Wealth disparity has nothing to do with it. Uber prices are set by supply and demand. In some countries, Uber may need to pay more to attract drivers - and raise prices as a result. |
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It's a platform for turning random unskilled people with cars into a cheap, temporary, on-demand labor force. You don't have to invest in a vehicle fleet, you don't have to train anyone, you don't have to pay for medallions. You just grab a random yo-yo with a vehicle and a clean driving record and they start making you cash.
You can't do that with a Taxi. For a Taxi there's a huge capital, personnel, and operational investment. To become a NYC Taxi driver, you need:
An application, an $84 licensing fee, a $75 fingerprinting fee, criminal background check, $15 copy of state driving record, no outstanding traffic or parking tickets or child support payments (??), a medical examination [you pay for], a $26 drug test, a six-hour $50 defensive driving course, attend taxi school (24 to 80 hours, $125 to $325), $25 English written and spoken proficiency test (optional $20 prep test), and a $60 wheelchair accessible vehicle training course. For the license you may have to memorize lots of information about your municipality. Only half of license test takers pass. You can join a company and earn 2/3 your fare per day minus fuel costs, or rent a cab for ~$100/day plus fuel. If passengers pay by card you may pay up to 10% in fees. You may have to carry general liability even if your cab company insures you.
Or you can become an Uber driver if you have a new car, insurance, and a clean record.
To make money with a Taxi, you need to drive around 10-12 hours 5 days a week, ideally at peak hours. The base rate is around $10 an hour, but if you get good you can make double that. Tips can make up to 40% of income. Based on this, you can make minimum wage or higher.
With Uber, you drive when you want. But you can't drive an unlimited amount. So if you're doing this to support a family, you have to drive both Uber and Lyft and maybe work another job or two on the side. It's expected that this won't be your only job. You have to already be investing tens of thousands of dollars in a vehicle, and also already have other income.
This kind of driver never existed before. Someone who is partially wealthy, but needs more cash, but doesn't have time to go job-hunting and find part time work. Someone who never would have driven for a Taxi company, but will take their own car and time to make odd trips around the city for hours at a time. A non-Taxi driver who will do Taxi-like things.
So what's new is the Uber driver herself. She only exists now because she was formerly lower-middle class, and now she needs 3 jobs to support herself. It's the platform designed for the widening wage gap. And it is horrifying that that's where our economy is now: a slow, steady erosion of economic security for more and more of the country.