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If they're using a fraudulent route as the basis for the price, that's like your contractor billing you for more manhours than it actually took.

by Steko 10y ago

Consultant32452 10y ago
Uber drivers get paid based on time and mileage. What the passenger pays is irrelevant. So the only thing that would matter is if the driver's tachometer and clock don't match up with Uber's.
sathackr 10y ago
When I'm asked to provide a quote for service, I estimate the amount of time it will take me, and send the customer a quote based on this. But I don't tell the customer that they are paying me by the hour -- I say this is what I am charging you for me to do X. If I estimate 40 hours but it takes 37, the customer still pays for 40. If it takes 43 hours, the customer still pays 40. I believe this is how a good portion of contract work works.
- hypersoar 10y ago
  That doesn't seem to be quite the whole story, though. Suppose I'm a contractor you've hired to remodel your house. I tell you that I can get a plumber to do it for $5,000, of which I'll get some cut, and you agree. Then I go to a plumber and tell them you're willing to pay $4,500 for the job, and they agree. I pocket the extra $500. Have I been honest in this scenario?
  - inverse_pi 10y ago
    No I think you've got it wrong. Drivers are paid by miles and minutes after the trip is done. It's like "I'm a contractor you've hired to remodel your house. I tell you that I can get a plumber to do it for $5,000, of which I'll get some cut, and you agree. Then I go to a plumber and ask them to do the work, of which I'll pay them $50/hour. If the actual work take them more than 100 hours (>$5000). Then I'll pay the difference. If the actual work take less than 100 hours then I pocket the difference." Have I been honest in this scenario?
  - RodericDay 10y ago
    It's very similar to that Jobs and Wozniak story, about how Jobs scored a contract and split it with Wozniak, and much later found out that the contract was actually for a way higher price and Jobs pocketed almost all of it. Weird to see "hacker" news full of people defending Jobs/Uber, but I guess it is what it is.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- Steko 10y ago
  These aren't just estimates, they are minimum bills that are purported to be based on "time and distance of the route"[1] and if they systematically and intentionally padding time and distance that sounds an awful lot like fraud. IANAL and it may not be technical fraud but it is at best a deceptive business practice and again one of the reasons we have taxi regulators. [1] https://help.uber.com/h/d2d43bbc-f4bb-4882-b8bb-4bd8acf03a9d https://help.uber.com/h/d2d43bbc-f4bb-4882-b8bb-4bd8acf03a9d

If they're using a fraudulent route as the basis for the price, that's like your contractor billing you for more manhours than it actually took.

by Steko 10y ago

If they're using a fraudulent route as the basis for the price, that's like your contractor billing you for more manhours than it actually took.

Consultant32452 10y ago

Uber drivers get paid based on time and mileage. What the passenger pays is irrelevant. So the only thing that would matter is if the driver's tachometer and clock don't match up with Uber's.

sathackr 10y ago

When I'm asked to provide a quote for service, I estimate the amount of time it will take me, and send the customer a quote based on this. But I don't tell the customer that they are paying me by the hour -- I say this is what I am charging you for me to do X. If I estimate 40 hours but it takes 37, the customer still pays for 40. If it takes 43 hours, the customer still pays 40. I believe this is how a good portion of contract work works.

hypersoar 10y ago
That doesn't seem to be quite the whole story, though. Suppose I'm a contractor you've hired to remodel your house. I tell you that I can get a plumber to do it for $5,000, of which I'll get some cut, and you agree. Then I go to a plumber and tell them you're willing to pay $4,500 for the job, and they agree. I pocket the extra $500. Have I been honest in this scenario?
- inverse_pi 10y ago
  No I think you've got it wrong. Drivers are paid by miles and minutes after the trip is done. It's like "I'm a contractor you've hired to remodel your house. I tell you that I can get a plumber to do it for $5,000, of which I'll get some cut, and you agree. Then I go to a plumber and ask them to do the work, of which I'll pay them $50/hour. If the actual work take them more than 100 hours (>$5000). Then I'll pay the difference. If the actual work take less than 100 hours then I pocket the difference." Have I been honest in this scenario?
- RodericDay 10y ago
  It's very similar to that Jobs and Wozniak story, about how Jobs scored a contract and split it with Wozniak, and much later found out that the contract was actually for a way higher price and Jobs pocketed almost all of it. Weird to see "hacker" news full of people defending Jobs/Uber, but I guess it is what it is.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
Steko 10y ago
These aren't just estimates, they are minimum bills that are purported to be based on "time and distance of the route"[1] and if they systematically and intentionally padding time and distance that sounds an awful lot like fraud. IANAL and it may not be technical fraud but it is at best a deceptive business practice and again one of the reasons we have taxi regulators. [1] https://help.uber.com/h/d2d43bbc-f4bb-4882-b8bb-4bd8acf03a9d https://help.uber.com/h/d2d43bbc-f4bb-4882-b8bb-4bd8acf03a9d