[rosem]

I'm only on board with this if they are covering the bikers that are going to end up in the hospital — otherwise it's on everyone else.

[pdq]

    We’re proud to announce our partnership with the 
    Bike Messenger Emergency Fund (BMEF). The BMEF 
    is a non profit public charity organization that provides 
    emergency compensation to bicycle messengers who 
    are hurt on the job. With the launch of UberRUSH, we 
    will donate $1 from each delivery to the BMEF.

[rosem]

This is not insurance.

[allworknoplay]

Bike messengers are almost universally contractors (there are some wonderful companies who basically exist to treat their messengers well, but they're a small part of the market). That obviously means they don't provide insurance and don't have to carry workman's comp for those employees. Most messengers I know make dirt pay and could never afford insurance except through their spouses (or parents if they're young). They live and die on being careful and help from the community and the BMEF (which is an awesome organization), and they do it because they can barely imagine life off a bike even in the face of the risks. So Uber isn't unique in this sense at all. That said, they're obviously swinging to cut margins out of an industry that already can barely support its workers. I'm more curious about the rates they pay than anything -- I actually suspect few in the industry would object to outcompeting large dispatchers if they pass some of that on to messengers in the form of better/stable pay. But BMEF donations "with the launch" (they do not say long-term) are no substitute for responsible employment.

On the whole I'm a bit surprised -- the messenger industry has been shrinking a lot as people need fewer actual signatures on documents. I suspect they're doing it more to understand the delivery market and pilot a delivery service than for the traditional document carrying market.

[Houshalter]

Why? Is biking particularly dangerous? Shouldn't the bikers themselves have insurance like drivers do?

[unphasable]

of course it is dangerous. but if you are employed by uber and get hurt "on the job" while carrying out their agenda, they should be responsible for your recovery.

[Houshalter]

Your not really an employee as I understand. Also seems like the automobiles should be liable in an accident.

[waterlesscloud]

You're an employee, blah blah blah aside. Come on. They take their cut of the profit, they must take their cut of the responsibility.

[unphasable]

...If they're going to take a cut of your pay but not call you an employee then this is the biggest business loophole in history.

[hueving]

You can look at it as a service connecting bike messengers to people that need deliveries.

A comparable example is Google Play or the Apple store. They take a cut of your pay by connecting you to customers but they don't call you an employee. Where is the uproar there?