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You assume too much. Uber might be good for the customer, but it is a total jerk to the driver. Last scandal at my hometown, that is unlikely to reach the Engl

You assume too much. Uber might be good for the customer, but it is a total jerk to the driver. Last scandal at my hometown, that is unlikely to reach the English speaking world, is as follows. Our airport, which lays on federal grounds, grants a monopoly of transportation services to certain well established company. Not even city taxis are allowed in (they can drop passangers, but cannot pick up anyone else while they are on premises). Uber attitude towards this situation is the standard one, basically an extended middle finger to every law, institution or authority of the land. The problem is that if airport security catches an unofficial taxi on premises, they call federal police, the car is taken to a seized and the driver cannot recover until he's paid a very considerable fine (think several months of blue collar wages). Uber strategy to deal with that is to swarm security, so they always catch someone, but the process to deal with the offender is very time consuming and all other Uber cars are free to do business while the guards are preocupied. Uber will punish any driver that refuses to take airport calls with bad karma, and will "gratiuouly" pay for your fine... once (if you get caught twice, it is on you), but they will not pay you any wages while your car is locked in federal grounds (a time that is measured in weeks, not days). They will also not pay for any damages to the car itself, which unfortunatelly is a rampant problem in this country when vehicles end up under the custody of the government. So, be very glad to have a car and a chauffeur at your fingertips beck and call, but please do not assume the driver is enjoying it as much as you do.

chairmanwow 9y ago
While this is unfair of Uber, this is a pretty insane situation. They impound your car for weeks for providing a service consensually? I think that's the real issue here.
- crpatino 9y ago
  Yes, most governments worldwide suck like that. My point is that when SV executives talk about "disruption", they are not really aware of the very real ocupational risks of running in the face of law enforcement agencies. They put their employees and/or associates in harm's way on behalf of the company. In this particular case, Uber pays for the fine... it only see the monetary tradeoff between paying vs loosing market share. But the externalized cost is never considered, and drivers suffer for it. If Uber asked its drivers to walk into a cage of hungry lions, it would be stupid to say that the lions are the real issue. In some sense they are, but lion nature is not going to change just because Uber wishes to line its metaphorical pockets... company policy changes faster than overall society.
CodeWriter23 9y ago
Trust me, this story plays out in most US Cities. Google Los Angeles Bandit Cab Enforcemt to find out about Uber and Lyft drivers getting their cars impounded with steep fines and months-long impounds. And then dig around uberpeople.net to see it happening in other cities.
will4274 9y ago
I always felt that $70 was an absurd price for the $10 worth of gas and 30 minutes to get home from the airport that taxis used to charge before Uber. I believe that Uber creates a more efficient allocation of drivers permitting drivers to make more transactions in a work day. Why should I be concerned that the taxi driver is making too little money when he wasn't concerned about charging me too much money before? We are both engaging in the transaction consensually and we are both able minded adults - why shouldn't that be the end of it as far as ethics go?

chairmanwow 9y ago

While this is unfair of Uber, this is a pretty insane situation. They impound your car for weeks for providing a service consensually? I think that's the real issue here.

crpatino 9y ago
Yes, most governments worldwide suck like that. My point is that when SV executives talk about "disruption", they are not really aware of the very real ocupational risks of running in the face of law enforcement agencies. They put their employees and/or associates in harm's way on behalf of the company. In this particular case, Uber pays for the fine... it only see the monetary tradeoff between paying vs loosing market share. But the externalized cost is never considered, and drivers suffer for it. If Uber asked its drivers to walk into a cage of hungry lions, it would be stupid to say that the lions are the real issue. In some sense they are, but lion nature is not going to change just because Uber wishes to line its metaphorical pockets... company policy changes faster than overall society.

CodeWriter23 9y ago

Trust me, this story plays out in most US Cities. Google Los Angeles Bandit Cab Enforcemt to find out about Uber and Lyft drivers getting their cars impounded with steep fines and months-long impounds. And then dig around uberpeople.net to see it happening in other cities.

will4274 9y ago

I always felt that $70 was an absurd price for the $10 worth of gas and 30 minutes to get home from the airport that taxis used to charge before Uber. I believe that Uber creates a more efficient allocation of drivers permitting drivers to make more transactions in a work day. Why should I be concerned that the taxi driver is making too little money when he wasn't concerned about charging me too much money before? We are both engaging in the transaction consensually and we are both able minded adults - why shouldn't that be the end of it as far as ethics go?