I'm not sure if this is a totally appropriate thread for Car Chat, but, with the Debate forum gone, and Clubhouse usually reserved for non-automotive subjects, I wasn't sure just where to put it.

Anyhow, tomorrow, Wednesday, May 8, Uber and Lyft drivers are going out on strike in a number of major cities, including my own, the Washington, D.C. area. They are protesting their wages and working conditions. I don't really know enough about their operations in detail to be able to take a position either supporting or opposing the strike (and I'm not going to comment on that part of it). But, unfortunately, this could (?) affect a number of people who either don't have a car or whose car is in the shop and they don't have a loaner. I suspect that traditional cab companies will be doing a more-than-average amount of business during the strike.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/trans...d=pm_local_pop

Strike by Uber and Lyft drivers Wednesday has potential to disrupt travel for thousands

Drivers in major U.S. cities are striking over wages and working conditions.

Travelers wait for ride-share vehicles at O'Hare Airport in Chicago in April. Uber and Lyft drivers will go on strike Wednesday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

By Luz Lazo
May 7 at 1:46 PM

Getting an Uber or a Lyft may be impossible — or take longer and cost more — Wednesday when drivers for both companies plan to strike in major U.S. cities to protest what they say are unfair wages and poor working conditions.

Thousands of drivers in at least eight cities — including Los Angeles, New York and Washington — are planning to shut off their apps and join rallies outside company headquarters and regional offices, according to labor organizers.

The national day of action comes as Uber prepares for an initial public offering this week, just weeks after Lyft hit the public market.

It is unclear how the labor action might affect travel, but experts say disruptions are likely in cities where the app-based rides have become a critical mode of transportation. Riders should anticipate surge pricing and longer wait times due to a possible shortage of drivers, they say. In some markets, drivers are asking passengers to support their cause by boycotting the services in cases where drivers are working.

“This is an act of solidarity with drivers across the country, and really across the world, who are suffering with poverty wages,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which is helping organize thousands of drivers in New York.

In preparation for possible service disruptions, some airport authorities said Monday they were urging passengers to plan ahead to use public transportation where available. In the Washington area, officials said they were working with taxi dispatch teams at Reagan National and Dulles International airports to ensure that extra taxis were available in the event of increased demand Wednesday.

“We’ll have extra dispatchers available to help manage any increased crowds in the taxi lines on the curb and ensure that customers can get on their way as quickly and safely as possible,” said Christina Saull, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. “At Reagan National, we always encourage passengers to consider using Metrorail as a good alternative to ground transportation — that advice would definitely apply to Wednesday as well.”

There is a Metro stop at National; bus service is available at Dulles. Metro said it is planning to have extra trains and buses on standby in the event of a ridership surge.

The work stoppage is part of a growing national campaign for better wages for the independent contractors who support millions of trips daily in the United States and abroad. The services have become a preferred choice for many travelers in recent years — for daily commutes, trips to and from the airport, and transportation to entertainment and nightlife. As the ride-hailing services have expanded, they also have become critical for public transit agencies in filling service gaps or providing paratransit services.

An Uber spokeswoman declined to speculate on the possible effects of a strike, and Lyft did not respond to a request for comment Monday. In a statement, Uber said: “Drivers are at the heart of our service — we can’t succeed without them — and thousands of people come into work at Uber every day focused on how to make their experience better, on and off the road. Whether it’s more consistent earnings, stronger insurance protections or fully-funded four-year degrees for drivers or their families, we’ll continue working to improve the experience for and with drivers."

The strike was first called by drivers in Los Angeles, who have held protests in recent weeks over a wage restructuring there for Uber drivers, who had their per-mile rates cut by 25 percent. Drivers in other countries, including England, are joining the strike, with some holding daylong work stoppages and others joining only for a few hours.

In New York, as many as 10,000 drivers are joining a two-hour morning commute work stoppage, organizers with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance said. Although New York drivers won a recent battle when the city enacted a law that mandates ride-hail companies pay them at least $17.22 an hour after expenses, organizers said the rates across the board are below a living wage.

“The wages are so unpredictable and so low, it’s very difficult to make a living,” said Henock Wonderse, 40, a Virginia resident who has driven with Uber since 2012. He plans to shut down his Uber operation Wednesday, joining other drivers in the Washington area at an evening rally at National Airport. “We want better pay, and we hope the passengers join us to get that message across."


Besides better wages, drivers are calling for a more transparent wage structure, attention to safety concerns and a right to appeal “unjust firings” with little to no notice. A Georgetown University study of 40 Washington Uber drivers found some thought the work “unsustainable,” with one-third reporting assaults or safety concerns and saying they went into debt to drive on the platform.

Uber has reported that its drivers have earned more than $78.2 billion on the platform since 2015, and $1.2 billion in tips. The company says that it offers financial rewards for qualifying drivers and that drivers can track their earnings in real time. On safety, Uber cites a number of features, including an emergency button, share trip feature and 911 integration technology in more than 40 cities.

But drivers say they can barely make ends meet after expenses such as gas and vehicle maintenance. And many have problems calculating their compensation, said Katie J. Wells, the Georgetown researcher who led the study in Washington. Uber has reduced the base rate that is paid to drivers since it launched and added fees including a “rider safety” fee, she said.

“There’s real safety and financial concerns in the workplace,” Wells said.

 

No surprise. Everybody wants everything for free but they want to get paid a lot of money to do whatever menial task they perform.

 

On one hand, I can agree....it doesn't take a college degree or a whole lot of specialized training. But on the another hand, if you have ever driven in or around Washington, D.C., Southern California/Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, or a number of other large cities, especially during peak-traffic times, while coping with that congestion, a good argument can be made that that is anything but a menial task. Friend, that is work.

 

so is washing dishes but that doesn't mean it should pay a lot.

 

Lyft has data that shows their drivers are averaging $20/hour. I use Uber at least twice/week and I'd say 90% of my experience is that drivers fall into one of three categories:
1) They're doing this as a job to complement their existing work schedule
2) They're doing it part time (less than 10-20 hours/week) to complement their school schedule or they have kids in school and do it to make money during those hours
3) They're retired and do this to keep busy and/or to prevent their spouse from getting sick of them being in the house too often

Being an Uber or Lyft driver offers you maximum flexibility and seems to offer the opportunity to make some money on your terms. Neither Uber nor Lyft have turned a profit yet, but the drivers are up in arms over the big bad company going public for $90 billion (estimated for Uber) and some workers are requesting the company lowers their "cut" of each ride by up to 50%. So the company loses money on each ride, pays drivers what averages out to well above minimum wage (and gives them uncapped earning potential), gives them 100% control of their own schedule... and they're a horrible corporation because...why? They're going public? Sorry, I don't get it.

 

Like most industries, the corporation will likely take a huge cut of the revenue leaving just a small part for the workers. I use Uber when I need to, however I can’t imagine it is that easy to to break even or make a big profit for the drivers. I feel as though the Uber platform is designed to take advantage of new entry drivers to the market.

 

I think Uber takes 25% or 30% of the fare and finally allowed riders to tip their drivers through the app about a year ago (I believe Lyft always offered tipping). My typical one-way Uber ride on a weekend going out for dinner/drinks is around $22, plus a $5 tip for the driver - so the driver should net a total of around $19 to $21 and the distance to achieve that is around 14 miles and time is 20 minutes.

I also take Uber to grab a rental car at a location exactly 2 miles from my house. The fare is always right at $7, I tip $2 or $3, so the driver nets $7-$8 in a 5 minute trip. I think they do better than you think, although it will vary in areas with insane traffic like NYC, etc.

 

Been meaning to mention this and see what anybody knows. When visiting relatives in Brooklyn, of course, we see tons of NYC T&LC plates everywhere. Driving, parked, I mean everywhere.

Maybe 1-2 mos ago, literally when I posted about the Hyundai Santa Fe turn signals being too low, we have been infested with NYC T&LC plates all over Phila., and even in my own neighborhood, which is 9 miles from downtown Center City. They are cruising for and carrying fares. What's going on? If I had to guess, these vehicles belong to Lyft. Why should they not be paying registration fees to our area? What's the angle?

 

Well that explains why I just looked to get an Uber and was surprised by how few there were and the long wait for one...

Super.

 

Well considering Uber's drivers are their customers and not employees it's more of a boycott than a strike. Regardless, the percentage the driver gets for each ride is very substantial compared to what the company gets.

 

In a Lyft right now. At least in DC the “strike” seems to be impacting Uber more than Lyft. Impossible to get an Uber but Lyft is no problem.

 

Some spectacularly simplistic thinking in this thread.

The “calculations” about driver earnings herein take no account of the myriad costs the drivers incur, which are significant relative to income, and take no account of non-earning time, which again can be significant (per people who drive for Uber and Lyft). Driver costs are also partly fixed, with only some of their cost being variable cost.

 

Uber and Lyft do not pay enough to be worth it for many drivers. You put miles on the car, burn gas, have more wear and tear, etc. None of that stuff is made up for by the amount they pay. In addition, with the new tax law changes, it might not even be worth it to itemize the miles, expenses, etc. because the standard deduction is so massive now.

How do I know? My wife was doing Lyft part-time for a while (and no longer is, thankfully), and, according to our tax pro, lost money on the deal. Again, part-time only... And we got nothing in return at tax time. So it's no wonder people who do it full-time or fuller-time than my wife did are upset.

She also quit doing Uber and exclusively did Lyft after she realized Lyft was paying better.

 

The strike is mainly Uber because of Uber's upcoming IPO on Friday.

 

Because to do the "calculations" you speak of, you have to take into account the type of vehicle the driver owns so you can estimate gas mileage, you'd have to know how many miles they do/week to get a true sense of things like oil change interval, tire wear, brake wear, etc. You'd have to compare this to what the Uber driver would be doing in their traditional job (compare how many miles/week they drive to the office vs. how many miles/week they drive for Uber) to get the actual added cost of working for Uber. Since I have no interest in asking each Uber driver that and tracking their expenses on a spreadsheet to share with the forum, in my "simplistic thinking" I was just providing the framework of where the driver net pay begins after Uber takes their share and giving examples of how this works out on trips I take every single week. This forum never ceases to surprise me.

Uber drivers are better off now than they were just over a year ago because you couldn't tip through the app before and 99% of the people I know never have cash so weren't able to tip the driver at all. If it isn't profitable employment or not the right fit, they'll look elsewhere.