Henry
Laks
Dr.
Brown
ENGL
306
October
23, 2015
Uber
Fare Cuts Protest
Today Uber is a highly valued
independent contractor transportation platform, with a market value just over
60 billion (Balakrishnan, Anita). Uber
started its “tap a button” rider and driver platform in 2008. Since its launch, it has steadily become more and
more popular. It has expanded immensely
and is used all over the world. Over the
years, it has gained many supporters and advocates, but in the process Uber has
also run into some disputes. The subjects
of these fights are too numerous to list.
However, they generally consist of accusations and attempts by groups to
challenge Uber’s legality. This paper is
addressing one problem which recently surfaced after the newly emplaced fare
cuts. Some people speculate that these
price cuts were introduced, because too many drivers have signed up for
Uber. It could be for a number of
reasons but Uber says it will help “To attract more customers”. Experienced Uber drivers are not pleased that
they are getting paid less money than when they had first started. These
protesters want to be compensated for their hard work, and they claim that they
can’t make ends meet because of the fare cuts.
Both sides of this protest have valid points and goals, but ultimately
the economy will be the determining factor in this protest.
Uber has been trying to convince drivers that
everything will work out with the newly incorporate fare cuts, but working for
less money initially enrages many Uber drivers.
On their own news website Uber has gone into detail explaining the logic
behind the price cuts. The title of this
article is “Beating the Winter Slump — Price Cuts for Riders with Guaranteed
Earnings for Drivers” (Uber Newsroom).
The title illuminates a lot of Uber’s perspective in this argument. The winter months usually generates less business
for drivers than the warmer months during the year. Uber knows a lower price will be more appealing
to customers and hopefully will bring in more of money during the cold months. Uber is confident that enough people will come
and get rides to where the drivers will see a boost in their pay. To bring some more reassurance, Uber uses
logos to its advantage, by showing readers some figures. The figures show how well Chicago has done after
the fare cuts from 2013-2014. Chicago
has had the most aggressive fare cuts of 23% but drivers are earning 12% more
per hour, as a result (Zara: Uber Newsroom).
Fare cuts are a major move by Uber to eliminate competition with Lyft
and other taxi services (Baldwin: Engadget).
Uber intends to eliminate competitors by choking them out with the
lowest fare prices possible, but they offer their drivers a guaranteed price
per hour.
Uber’s guaranteed
per hour earning system offered to the drivers, is an attempt to try to make
amends for the lower fare rates.
Protesters think this is a nasty move by Uber, because for them to
qualify for this guarantee per hour pay they need to comply with “some
changes”. In the past drivers have had
the option of using multiple apps or platforms, similar to Uber, to find people
who need rides. This guaranteed pay
policy eliminates that freedom. The
policy forces people to solely rely on Uber for their pay and to work meet a
tough rides quota. The guarantee forces
drivers to be extremely productive if they want to make anything like what they
have in the past (Huet, Ellen). Roberto Baldwin wrote an article on a crowd of the
“Uber Drivers United” group. In early
February they protested outside the Uber headquarters in San Francisco
(Baldwin: Engadget). The leader of the
group “Mario”, his last name is not mentioned for privacy, had put together
this gathering through a Youtube invitation.
He had been expecting 1500-2000 protesters to show up, but roughly 150 actually
made an appearance at this meeting.
In Mario’s speech he expresses his concern with Uber’s
fare cuts. They are making less than
when they did when they first started driving for Uber. They feel like Uber is ripping them off after
they have loyally supported the company.
From Mario’s point of view, they are the reason Uber has done so well. Many of the drivers came forward saying their
pay was continuing to decrease, and they all agreed that the fare cuts were not
bringing in more riders.
During the speech Mario uses both pathos and logos to
his advantage. Mario’s message was
purposefully spoken just outside of the Uber headquarters to inspire its
followers, and to make sure Uber officials heard their complaints. During his speech Mario pointed his megaphone
directly at the building as he yelled, “Who made this company a $60 billion
company? Drivers” (Baldwin: Engadget).
He got the crowd going by yelling into a megaphone that they “have them
by the balls”, because he had been told that fare cuts would soon bring in only
50 cents per mile. Mario claimed the
fare cuts were going to take place right before the super bowl. Mario also noted that he had tried to set up
a meeting with the CEO of Uber, but Uber had never been responded back to him
on that.
Right now is a key time for a leader
to rise amongst transportation platforms.
The platform which is able to find the perfect balance between fare
price and pay for drivers will win. Uber
by far has made the most money out of all the platforms, so in order for them
hold this position they will do whatever supply and demand calls for, in this
case it is decreasing the price for fares.
Protesters such as Mario are understandably upset about their pay going
down. Unfortunately, they will have to
get use to the low fare prices until fares go back up again. There really isn’t that much Uber can do to
raise the pay unless they start firing drivers.
That is where as Adam smith put it “the invisible hand” comes into play.
Works Cited:
Balakrishnan,
Anita. "Uber Taps Morgan Stanley Clients in Latest round." CNBC.
CNBC, 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/11/uber-seeks-new-funding-valuing-the-company-at-625b-sources.html>
Baldwin, Roberto. "Uber Drivers' Rates Protest Takes to the SF Streets." Engadget. Engadget, 02 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016. <http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/02/uber-drivers-rates-protest-sf/>.
Huet, Ellen. "Uber's Clever, Hidden Move: How Its Latest Fare Cuts Can Actually Lock In Its Drivers." <i>Forbes</i>. Forbes Magazine, 9 Jan. 2015. Web. 26 Feb. 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2015/01/09/ubers-clever-hidden-move-how-fare-cuts-actually-lock-in-its-drivers/#5a63ec972bd6>.
Zara. "Beating the Winter Slump - Price Cuts for Riders with Guaranteed Earnings for Drivers." Uber Global. Uber Newsroom, 08 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2016. <https://newsroom.uber.com/beating-the-winter-slump-price-cuts-for-riders-with-guaranteed-earnings-for-drivers/>.
Baldwin, Roberto. "Uber Drivers' Rates Protest Takes to the SF Streets." Engadget. Engadget, 02 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016. <http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/02/uber-drivers-rates-protest-sf/>.
Huet, Ellen. "Uber's Clever, Hidden Move: How Its Latest Fare Cuts Can Actually Lock In Its Drivers." <i>Forbes</i>. Forbes Magazine, 9 Jan. 2015. Web. 26 Feb. 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2015/01/09/ubers-clever-hidden-move-how-fare-cuts-actually-lock-in-its-drivers/#5a63ec972bd6>.
Zara. "Beating the Winter Slump - Price Cuts for Riders with Guaranteed Earnings for Drivers." Uber Global. Uber Newsroom, 08 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2016. <https://newsroom.uber.com/beating-the-winter-slump-price-cuts-for-riders-with-guaranteed-earnings-for-drivers/>.
Hi Henry,
ReplyDeleteOverall, what you've written flows pretty well. That made it easy to read, which was nice, and it shows you're able to write fluidly. I think what is missing is a way to tie the paper together so that everything that you've written is in service of dissecting the protest.
So far, it seems that your paper is wanting to be about Mario's YouTube video. I say this because the only times you mention rhetorical appeals are in reference to Mario's speech or video. If you do choose to continue to go in that direction, it seems like you can use the Roberto Baldwin article to supplement your analysis of that specific event.
The first three paragraphs offer a lot of information. It might be a good thing to condense them into a single paragraph that gives the readers enough information to understand the problem and also to introduce your protest. The rest of the paper can then be used to talk about what Mario did, how he did it, and why it was an act of protest. Clearly, it doesn't have to be about Mario, but that's where I thought the paper was heading.
In terms of the paper's structure, I am having a hard time finding the topic sentences of your paragraphs. I understand that the paragraphs individually address a topic, which is a good thing. The problem is that there is a lack of clarity in understanding how each paragraph helps support the argument. Also, it is nice to have a topic sentence as a precursor to understanding what the paragraph will be about.
Dear Henry,
ReplyDeleteI happen to agree with Brenda when she mentions having a hard time locating the topic sentences. I would like to extend that a little bit further and maybe suggest incorporating transition sentences… that might make your paper a little bit more structured. In terms of readability, I think you did a great job! Your paper has a strong sense of audience which makes it a good, easy read.
I think your break down of the use of pathos and logos was effective. However, a suggestion that I will throw in there, might be to (like Brenda touched on) extend grace to the efforts of protest that Mario is using and maybe you will be able to find some use of ethos to write about.
One last thing that I think you did well is including a conclusion paragraph. With that being said, more hearty sentences in this area is what I think would make it more effective. Though many of your sentences are summarizing the main points from your paper, I think it would help wrap everything together if you added some more substance to your sentences. Finally for this paragraph, I would consider adding some sort of telling who “Adam Smith” is in order to give him credit and make your paper more reliable.
Thank you for your time,
Saphire Miramontes
Hi Henry,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your essay. There was a lot of information I was unaware of that you mentioned in your essay. I like that your topic was a current issue and that you included a lot of background information.
In the first part of your essay, I liked that you mentioned that there were countless issues with the company, but I think you should maybe write about a couple of them. I feel like this could add more to the argument.
As Brenda mentioned, I also believe you should talk more about the video and condense the first part of your essay. After reading about the video, I wanted to hear more about it in detail.
I like the structure and grammar of your essay and do not think you need to change much. Maybe you could make your thesis tie in with your essay a little more.
Response,
ReplyDeleteI will talk about Mario’s use of logos and how it is not as effective as it could be. His youtube video introduction should be talked about more. I will determine whether or not to talk about his protest being logical. He did not getting the following he was expecting.
My paper needs better transitions and clearer paragraph topic sentences. Improving these areas will create a stronger structure and help clarify my points throughout the paper. I will delve into Mario’s use of ethos too.