4 ms·

The drivers were obviously making money, or they wouldn’t be driving

by ChadNauseam 3y ago

spaceman_2020 3y ago
“The slaves must obviously be happy, or they wouldn’t be singing songs”
- treis 3y ago
  There's no masters with whips forcing Uber drivers to drive.
  - asadotzler 3y ago
    Actually, yes, there are. They're called landlords and health insurance companies. When your literal life is in someone else's hands, you do what you need to satisfy them.
    - treis 3y ago
      That's not the same as being owned as literal property. Don't be ridiculous.
fullshark 3y ago
Potentially they were/are trading long term depreciation on their vehicle, as well as the opportunity cost of working for a traditional employer for short term cash infusions and not really making any money.
monocasa 3y ago
Or the costs to them are so abstracted that it's difficult for them to add it all together including gas, commercial insurance (or probability of a situation with liability or damages with no insurance coverage), depreciation of the car, etc.
steveBK123 3y ago
The drivers are for sure making money now. But there was a long period where the rides were like 80% cheaper than they are now, in which they clearly were not, all-in if they ran the math. The problem is between the variability, Uber sign on bonuses, insurance arb, bad bookkeeping on their vehicle wear&tear.. it likely wasn't transparent for them. Basically they had positive looking cashflow I'm sure, but had large unpredictable costs that likely set their hourly rate below minimum wage.
- monocasa 3y ago
  Also, the rate the drivers get is pretty much inversely related to the rates the consumer has been seeing. I've heard from many drivers that their pay has dropped considerably podt-IPO. When the services were trying to corner the market with investor money, they subsidized both consumer and driver. Now that money has dried up and the services are predictably squeezing both sides of the equation.

The drivers were obviously making money, or they wouldn’t be driving

spaceman_2020 3y ago

“The slaves must obviously be happy, or they wouldn’t be singing songs”

treis 3y ago
There's no masters with whips forcing Uber drivers to drive.
- asadotzler 3y ago
  Actually, yes, there are. They're called landlords and health insurance companies. When your literal life is in someone else's hands, you do what you need to satisfy them.
  - treis 3y ago
    That's not the same as being owned as literal property. Don't be ridiculous.

fullshark 3y ago

Potentially they were/are trading long term depreciation on their vehicle, as well as the opportunity cost of working for a traditional employer for short term cash infusions and not really making any money.

monocasa 3y ago

Or the costs to them are so abstracted that it's difficult for them to add it all together including gas, commercial insurance (or probability of a situation with liability or damages with no insurance coverage), depreciation of the car, etc.

steveBK123 3y ago

The drivers are for sure making money now. But there was a long period where the rides were like 80% cheaper than they are now, in which they clearly were not, all-in if they ran the math. The problem is between the variability, Uber sign on bonuses, insurance arb, bad bookkeeping on their vehicle wear&tear.. it likely wasn't transparent for them. Basically they had positive looking cashflow I'm sure, but had large unpredictable costs that likely set their hourly rate below minimum wage.

monocasa 3y ago
Also, the rate the drivers get is pretty much inversely related to the rates the consumer has been seeing. I've heard from many drivers that their pay has dropped considerably podt-IPO. When the services were trying to corner the market with investor money, they subsidized both consumer and driver. Now that money has dried up and the services are predictably squeezing both sides of the equation.