I got a text this morning from somebody names Brian from Uber. It stated, and I quote.”Hi Scott. We noticed you haven’t been online recently. Are there any questions I can answer for you?” My questions as follow might not be what he was looking for.
My first question was,”Why was the surge multiplier stolen from drivers?” Once upon a time, when ride requests outstripped driver availability prices surged by some multiple of the base rate. Most commonly you would see that during holidays such as New Year’s Eve. At just past midnight requests would so far outnumber the number of drivers on the road that the multiple would reach 8-9x (or more) the base rate. As an example, right now from where I am currently (within 5 miles of my home) to the major area airport, a ride would cost almost $50. On New Year’s Eve with an 8x surge multiplier that would be a $400 ride. Now, rather than have a multiplier, it is a base rate plus some random amount tacked on that comes nowhere near what the multiplier amount used to be.
My second question was, “Why was the ability to set individual multipliers stolen from drivers?” One of the concessions made to drivers prior to the passage of Proposition 22 was the ability to set an individualized rate multiplier. It might limit the number of requests you got but was made up for by driving less for more money. People aren’t going to stop going places. They might cancel on the guy who has set his multiplier higher than they’re willing to pay but they’ll eventually either pay or wait long enough to find a driver. who doesn’t value his/her time as much. Besides, setting rates is something independent contractors do and Uber’s claim is that drivers are indeed independent contractors.
My final questions was really the crux of the matter. I asked,”Why did Uber spend millions on Prop 22 to convince people that AB5 would keep drivers from being independent contractors and then, after its passage, remove all the things that gave the drivers the illusion that was actually true?