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This what I think is absolutely ridiculously nuts. Taxi services are typically heavily regulated and in major markets a permit (e.g. medallions auctions[1]) can

This what I think is absolutely ridiculously nuts. Taxi services are typically heavily regulated and in major markets a permit (e.g. medallions auctions[1]) can cost hundreds of thousands, if not over a million dollars and are strictly limited in supply. Thus, drivers are employees of a bigger company who manages every other part of the economic relationship. Kinda like Uber (and Lyft, etc), but because "you can bring your own gear" people are fungible (nothing stops you from working multiple companies either) and subject to agreements that: - Expose minimum liability to the company - Provide maximum profitability to the company (even w/ surge pricing -- the house still wins) - Minimizes extra legal obligations to employees In other words, it's a game of "heads I win, tails you lose". If all goes well it's steady, relatively straight-forward (just do what the app tells you to do) work. The gig-taxi industry certainly doesn't stand alone and they have exploded over the last decade (and especially so in the last year). These jobs/companies do (and should) bring out a lot of strong opinions. [1] https://duckduckgo.com/?q=new+york+city+medallions+auction&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=new+york+city+medallions+auction&i... Edit: to be clear, what makes this so unique is that there are significant safety risks inherit in the job (accidents, crime, drunk/offensive/dangerous/etc riders). They scale linearly with how much you do it and some times/places/events add multipliers to that.

hnthrowaway450 5y ago
There are significant safety risks for many other occupations -- truck drivers, construction workers, security guards, even fast food workers. These are not as controversial because the pay is time-based not output-based, and it's easier to unionize and access some level of benefits. All of these occupations are reasonable and available options for nearly any gig worker, and they should be, especially if those aspects are important to someone. Gig working is an alternative to any of these occupations which have existed for decades -- one that is arguably less dangerous and, more importantly, enables output-based compensation and completely flexible work hours. It's a mostly-unprecedented career option, and it's net new (i.e. there's no evidence that other job opportunities, other than being a taxi driver, of course, have decreased), so no one is forced to pursue it. For those that do, there is major upside, but there are also a few risks. Most notably, the risk of "performing poorly", choosing poor hours/locations and not making enough money, and the very low risk of a safety incident like this unfortunate carjacking. Uber was generous to cover Morrow's costs in full, it can't be expected to go beyond that for any incident that happens. Those are the risks of the job. And Uber is absolutely well within its rights to ask for an NDA and non-disparagement in exchange. This is standard, whether you accept severance from a job, are raped in an Airbnb, etc. And it's certainly a hell of a lot better than you'd get as a taxi driver.
contra-doubts 5y ago
> Thus, drivers are employees of a bigger company who manages every other part of the economic relationship. That's totally incorrect. The vast majority of taxi drivers are also independent contractors. They lease the vehicle+medallion from a taxi corporation. https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/d/download_file_49380.pdf https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/d/d... - an informative breakdown from 2007.

hnthrowaway450 5y ago

There are significant safety risks for many other occupations -- truck drivers, construction workers, security guards, even fast food workers. These are not as controversial because the pay is time-based not output-based, and it's easier to unionize and access some level of benefits. All of these occupations are reasonable and available options for nearly any gig worker, and they should be, especially if those aspects are important to someone. Gig working is an alternative to any of these occupations which have existed for decades -- one that is arguably less dangerous and, more importantly, enables output-based compensation and completely flexible work hours. It's a mostly-unprecedented career option, and it's net new (i.e. there's no evidence that other job opportunities, other than being a taxi driver, of course, have decreased), so no one is forced to pursue it. For those that do, there is major upside, but there are also a few risks. Most notably, the risk of "performing poorly", choosing poor hours/locations and not making enough money, and the very low risk of a safety incident like this unfortunate carjacking. Uber was generous to cover Morrow's costs in full, it can't be expected to go beyond that for any incident that happens. Those are the risks of the job. And Uber is absolutely well within its rights to ask for an NDA and non-disparagement in exchange. This is standard, whether you accept severance from a job, are raped in an Airbnb, etc. And it's certainly a hell of a lot better than you'd get as a taxi driver.

contra-doubts 5y ago

> Thus, drivers are employees of a bigger company who manages every other part of the economic relationship. That's totally incorrect. The vast majority of taxi drivers are also independent contractors. They lease the vehicle+medallion from a taxi corporation. https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/d/download_file_49380.pdf https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/d/d... - an informative breakdown from 2007.