Uber and Lyft Drivers Gaming the Business

I loved this story so much I captured it weeks ago and held on to it until I could get it written up here.

To level-set for the audience, UBER and Lyft are essentially taxi replacement services that enable mobile devices to be the call center for service.  The fees for transportation vary dependent on availability of supply versus demand (drivers and cars for passengers).  Simple right?

Economists love the idea because finite resources fit naturally in to a supply & demand scenario for pricing.  Long articles have been written about price-fixing in the New York City housing scene, with good reason.  Passengers don't really care for it because they don't know what they are paying for the service from moment to moment.  A ride home from the airport might cost $50 or $100 depending.  Meanwhile traditional taxi drivers hate it and the new drivers are complaining they don't make enough money from the gig economy.  Who wins in all this?  Uber and Lyft certainly.

Well the drivers have figured out how to game the system.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Though much of the modern internet is premised on the idea that it brings people together, capitalism — not humanity or even a recognizable morality — powers technology companies.

But since technology now powers so many aspects of civic life, we must infuse human rights principles and accountability into how these platforms operate. In the absence of clear pathways of accountability in which workers concerns are addressed, we can expect to see continuous uprisings and actions organized through loosely connected networks of solidarity — and some of them will even use the power of the platforms against their owners.

Here is the whole story:

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/uber-lyft-drivers-are-using-companies-algorithms-against-them-ncna1009026

Welcome to the 21st Century Union of Workers.  :-)

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant