EDIT: I can't reply to ori_b below yet, but: he's completely right, I interpreted the parent comment as saying something it was not. I'm not sure "free market"

EDIT: I can't reply to ori_b below yet, but: he's completely right, I interpreted the parent comment as saying something it was not. I'm not sure "free market" vs. "monopolist" is the best way to name the alternatives here, but I agree that Uber does something more akin to setting wages/commissions than creating a "market" for its contractors. Original comment below for context. > Uber is a price setting monopoly, the "sole authority" of the price within the Uber "marketplace". Within the Uber marketplace dilutes the definition of "monopoly" into meaninglessness. Uber competes for drivers with Lyft, SideCar, taxi companies, limo companies, and, well, every other company hiring (relatively) unskilled labor. Uber competes for passengers with, uh, again, Lyft, SideCar, and taxi companies. A free market does not require that consumers have the freedom to choose exactly what price they will pay for a particular product or service. What defines the free market is the ability to choose between competing products and services.