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”.
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 what the protestors want is to be treated like true employees.
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 about planned
gathering of the “Uber Drivers United” group.
On February 1st 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. Mario encourages other drivers to join him in
his protesting, “For our rights, to be treated fairly, to get paid fairly, and
stop this game Uber is playing with us… so I am asking you guys please, please,
show up make a difference otherwise you can look forward to seeing 50 cents per
mile before the super bowl,” (Girma, Zolla: YouTube Video). Drivers at this protest are angry they are
making less than when they 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.
Mario uses some rhetorical language to motivate the drivers in this protest.
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 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. Mario
also uses Ethos in his speech when he talks about how Uber is stealing them
away from their families. Mario tells
his followers that Uber is enslaving them, and its taking them away from their
families to work for unfair conditions so the company can make more money.
On the other hand, technically Uber
hasn’t actually hired anyone. All of the
drivers they are independent and can do as they wish. If no driver is legally hired by Uber, they
are reaping the benefits of a contractor. In other words, they don’t actually have any
employee rights. Many protesters such as Mario are trying to make a strong argument that they have rights, which is
true, but they do not have the rights that by law that companies are required
to give to employees. According to the
law Uber is following the rules.
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 they need to keep ahead of competitors. There
really isn’t that much Uber can do to raise the pay unless they start firing
drivers and actually start hiring them as employees. What the protestors want is to be treated
like employees, but that would defeat Uber’s greatest advantages over taxi
companies. 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.
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/>.
Girma,
Zolla. "January 31, 2016." YouTube. YouTube, 31 Jan. 2016. Web. 08
Mar. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3HNBSq9pag>.
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/>.
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