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While I agree in general, in specific, a significant proportion of Uber drivers I've used in Canada were doing it not even for supplementary profit, but for Fun

While I agree in general, in specific, a significant proportion of Uber drivers I've used in Canada were doing it not even for supplementary profit, but for Fun. I've been picked up in $80k vehicles by guys who did it a few hours a week to see the town, meet people, kill time in productive ways. Of course, I've also seen people who were current or ex taxi drivers, working fulltime on several services.

kgrin 7y ago
Taking that at face value, I'd say that "limit drivers doing it 'for fun' in exchange for better pay/protections for drivers doing it to eke out a living" seems like a reasonable trade-off...
- i_am_proteus 7y ago
  No individual has any right to make a living doing anything they want to. If sufficient people are willing to do a job at a reduced wage because they enjoy it, that is their right. This is like saying that libraries should ban unpaid volunteers in order to justify the hiring of more librarians.
  - blub 7y ago
    Labour laws set minimum standards that all companies and employees / contractors / whatever should adhere to, because it reduces the likelihood of abuse. The "right" you mention doesn't exist in e.g. countries with minimum wage laws.
  - lazyasciiart 7y ago
    It is illegal in the US to have volunteers do work that would otherwise be done by a paid employee. That's why unpaid internships are, by default, illegal - to be legal they must replace the payment with school credit and valuable experience, basically.
bryanlarsen 7y ago
Anybody doing it for fun is going to be doing it less than 32 hours. So they'd be a part-time employee instead of a contractor. Part-time employees don't get many benefits either.
maxehmookau 7y ago
These people are the exception that Uber uses to push its bullshit narrative. We shouldn't be buying in to it. People need dependable employment to survive and thrive.
- ekianjo 7y ago
  How do you know it's the exception? You have hard figures?
  - bigwavedave 7y ago
    No, but he has an ax to grind, which is better than data. /s
- nostrebored 7y ago
  Why do you think this? This is absurdly regional. Do you live in the region considering the legal change and take uber regularly enough to know if it's their fte?

kgrin 7y ago

Taking that at face value, I'd say that "limit drivers doing it 'for fun' in exchange for better pay/protections for drivers doing it to eke out a living" seems like a reasonable trade-off...

i_am_proteus 7y ago
No individual has any right to make a living doing anything they want to. If sufficient people are willing to do a job at a reduced wage because they enjoy it, that is their right. This is like saying that libraries should ban unpaid volunteers in order to justify the hiring of more librarians.
- blub 7y ago
  Labour laws set minimum standards that all companies and employees / contractors / whatever should adhere to, because it reduces the likelihood of abuse. The "right" you mention doesn't exist in e.g. countries with minimum wage laws.
- lazyasciiart 7y ago
  It is illegal in the US to have volunteers do work that would otherwise be done by a paid employee. That's why unpaid internships are, by default, illegal - to be legal they must replace the payment with school credit and valuable experience, basically.

bryanlarsen 7y ago

Anybody doing it for fun is going to be doing it less than 32 hours. So they'd be a part-time employee instead of a contractor. Part-time employees don't get many benefits either.

maxehmookau 7y ago

These people are the exception that Uber uses to push its bullshit narrative. We shouldn't be buying in to it. People need dependable employment to survive and thrive.

ekianjo 7y ago
How do you know it's the exception? You have hard figures?
- bigwavedave 7y ago
  No, but he has an ax to grind, which is better than data. /s
nostrebored 7y ago
Why do you think this? This is absurdly regional. Do you live in the region considering the legal change and take uber regularly enough to know if it's their fte?