Uber, Lyft and others must have rules or workers will lose out | Elizabeth Warren
While technology has undoubtedly improved our lives, history shows we need rules and regulations to ensure workers can share in the gig economys wealth
Across the country, new companies are using the internet to transform the way Americans work, shop, socialize, vacation, look for love, talk to the doctor, get around, and track down a 10ft feather boa which was my latest Amazon search.
These innovations have improved our lives in countless ways, reducing inefficiencies and leveraging network effects to help grow our economy. This is real growth.
The most famous example is the rise of ride-sharing platforms in our cities. The taxicab industry was riddled with monopolies, rents and inefficiencies. Cities limited the number of taxi licenses and charged drivers steep fees for taxi medallions. They required drivers to pay additional fees to pick up passengers at airports. They micromanaged the paint jobs for individual cars and even outlawed price competition.
Uber and Lyft, two ride-sharing platforms that came on to the scene about five years ago, radically altered this model, enabling anyone with a smartphone and a car to deliver rides. They also enabled customers to find a ride any time of day, with the touch of a button. The result was more rides, cheaper rides and shorter wait times. The ride-sharing story illustrates the promise of these new businesses and the dangers.
Uber and Lyft fought against local taxicab rules that kept prices high and limited access to services. But as the dispute in Austin, Texas, has demonstrated, the companies fought just as vigorously against local rules designed to create a level playing field between themselves and their taxi competitors, and they have also resisted rules designed to promote rider safety and driver accountability. While their businesses provide workers with great flexibility, companies like Lyft and Uber have often resisted the efforts of those same workers to access a greater share of the wealth generated from their work. Their business model is, in part, dependent on extremely low wages for drivers.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/20/elizabeth-warren-uber-lyft-gig-economy-workers