6 ms·

don't know why this is getting down voted, all of you folks using lyft/uber.. get ready for the prices to double or triple.

Barrin92 7y ago
is this supposed to be an unintended consequence? We all know that the cheap rides of Uber are (partially) the result of them dodging around employer obligations.
- onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
  And also losing $1B per quarter subsidizing cheap rides for growth and market share. There just really isn't that much demand for a $20 2-mile ride in the city. Uber has show that there is a HUGE demand for the same trip at $4.
  - jackmodern 7y ago
    you ever take a lyft or uber in NYC? you'd be surprised how many people are willing to pay those prices.
- paul_f 7y ago
  I disagree with this. What other job on the planet allows me to work when I want to work, bring my own tools, have no boss, and never even talk to the company I am working for?
  - friendzis 7y ago
    This is usually called "self employment" or "owning a business"
  - IG_Semmelweiss 7y ago
    I dont understand why your comment is being downvoted. It is sad
  - mdorazio 7y ago
    To me, this is a lot like someone a hundred years ago asking, "what other job on the planet allows children to work around heavy machinery for half an adult wage?". No one here is saying that people shouldn't be able to drive for a rideshare company. We're saying that people who choose to do that should at least be paid a minimum wage for their time and given basic worker protections. If you oppose this kind of thing, you should probably also oppose minimum wage laws in general (which is a valid opinion).
AndyMcConachie 7y ago
If that means people driving for Uber/Lyft can now have a decent standard of living I'm all for it.
- clinta 7y ago
  Even if it means that fewer people get the opportunity to to do it at all? I know people who drive for a little extra money while they work other jobs. This kind of flexibility is what might be at risk, excluding many people who need that extra income from ever getting the opportunity.
  - moate 7y ago
    So the trade off is always "more jobs" vs "better jobs". A company can hire 10 people at 10 dollars an hour or 20 people at 5 dollars an hour. Which situation is you believe is "better" depends on your end goal: Are you trying to make more small jobs, or are you trying to make jobs meaningful in their earning ability? Framed another way, the people you know driving for "a little extra cash" are chipping away at opportunities for someone to be consolidating those jobs into a single, better job. Not going to debate which is actually "better", because that's just personal opinions/economic model preferences.
    - miracle2k 7y ago
      > A company can hire 10 people at 10 dollars an hour or 20 people at 5 dollars an hour. No, it will probably exclude people who just want to work 2 hours some evenings whenever they have time to make some extra money, who'd make the full 10 dollars an hour like other drivers do in the time that they do work.
      - moate 7y ago
        Frame it another way: You have 120 hours of shifts that you need covered at your job in a given week. You can hire 12 people who each work 10 hours, or 3 full-time employees. The "better" choice again comes down to your goal: More jobs or "better", full time jobs.
drngdds 7y ago
>don't know why this is getting down voted It's literally just "regulation bad!" with no argument backing it up
Tiktaalik 7y ago
Oh no workers will make a reasonable income!
- mlindner 7y ago
  No, workers lose their jobs. 2-3x increase in prices is not sustainable for such services except for a minority of rides. UberX will disappear and it will become only UberBlack.
  - IG_Semmelweiss 7y ago
    Indeed. No one in hacker news is a senior or retirée knowing how uber changed their austere lives, for the better. Or riders for that matter. To my 80yr old mother, using uber has been a godsend. Its the only app she uses in her mobile. I dont even have uber on my phone. Somehow she figured out how to instal it and run it. She does not drive due to her age and she cant wait outside due to the cold at bus stops. Now thanks to this, either pricing will skyrocket, or availability will fall. No one in HN is a senior, so they are oblivious to it all. And this is 1 example. I'm sure there are others of families not having to do transportation juggling to move kids around, all of which is helped by ubers. But to the wage justice warriors of HN, it matters little that less people are earning, and less customers benefit. Or that elderly people that qualify for Medicaid like my mother , can free themselves from the chain of lack of transport... What matters to the wage warrior is that they can show "liveable wages" for the limited few. Disgusting

Barrin92 7y ago

is this supposed to be an unintended consequence? We all know that the cheap rides of Uber are (partially) the result of them dodging around employer obligations.

onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
And also losing $1B per quarter subsidizing cheap rides for growth and market share. There just really isn't that much demand for a $20 2-mile ride in the city. Uber has show that there is a HUGE demand for the same trip at $4.
- jackmodern 7y ago
  you ever take a lyft or uber in NYC? you'd be surprised how many people are willing to pay those prices.
paul_f 7y ago
I disagree with this. What other job on the planet allows me to work when I want to work, bring my own tools, have no boss, and never even talk to the company I am working for?
- friendzis 7y ago
  This is usually called "self employment" or "owning a business"
- IG_Semmelweiss 7y ago
  I dont understand why your comment is being downvoted. It is sad
- mdorazio 7y ago
  To me, this is a lot like someone a hundred years ago asking, "what other job on the planet allows children to work around heavy machinery for half an adult wage?". No one here is saying that people shouldn't be able to drive for a rideshare company. We're saying that people who choose to do that should at least be paid a minimum wage for their time and given basic worker protections. If you oppose this kind of thing, you should probably also oppose minimum wage laws in general (which is a valid opinion).

AndyMcConachie 7y ago

If that means people driving for Uber/Lyft can now have a decent standard of living I'm all for it.

clinta 7y ago
Even if it means that fewer people get the opportunity to to do it at all? I know people who drive for a little extra money while they work other jobs. This kind of flexibility is what might be at risk, excluding many people who need that extra income from ever getting the opportunity.
- moate 7y ago
  So the trade off is always "more jobs" vs "better jobs". A company can hire 10 people at 10 dollars an hour or 20 people at 5 dollars an hour. Which situation is you believe is "better" depends on your end goal: Are you trying to make more small jobs, or are you trying to make jobs meaningful in their earning ability? Framed another way, the people you know driving for "a little extra cash" are chipping away at opportunities for someone to be consolidating those jobs into a single, better job. Not going to debate which is actually "better", because that's just personal opinions/economic model preferences.
  - miracle2k 7y ago
    > A company can hire 10 people at 10 dollars an hour or 20 people at 5 dollars an hour. No, it will probably exclude people who just want to work 2 hours some evenings whenever they have time to make some extra money, who'd make the full 10 dollars an hour like other drivers do in the time that they do work.
    - moate 7y ago
      Frame it another way: You have 120 hours of shifts that you need covered at your job in a given week. You can hire 12 people who each work 10 hours, or 3 full-time employees. The "better" choice again comes down to your goal: More jobs or "better", full time jobs.

drngdds 7y ago

>don't know why this is getting down voted It's literally just "regulation bad!" with no argument backing it up

Tiktaalik 7y ago

Oh no workers will make a reasonable income!

mlindner 7y ago
No, workers lose their jobs. 2-3x increase in prices is not sustainable for such services except for a minority of rides. UberX will disappear and it will become only UberBlack.
- IG_Semmelweiss 7y ago
  Indeed. No one in hacker news is a senior or retirée knowing how uber changed their austere lives, for the better. Or riders for that matter. To my 80yr old mother, using uber has been a godsend. Its the only app she uses in her mobile. I dont even have uber on my phone. Somehow she figured out how to instal it and run it. She does not drive due to her age and she cant wait outside due to the cold at bus stops. Now thanks to this, either pricing will skyrocket, or availability will fall. No one in HN is a senior, so they are oblivious to it all. And this is 1 example. I'm sure there are others of families not having to do transportation juggling to move kids around, all of which is helped by ubers. But to the wage justice warriors of HN, it matters little that less people are earning, and less customers benefit. Or that elderly people that qualify for Medicaid like my mother , can free themselves from the chain of lack of transport... What matters to the wage warrior is that they can show "liveable wages" for the limited few. Disgusting