TAXI v. UBER

by Collin Chipetine, Ahmed Farooq, Jane Ng, Adam Su

Link to our Powerpoint Presentation for a summary of our article.  

Canary Yellow Taxicabs lower case preceding words have been a hallmark of New York City since the early twentieth century. However, due to technological advancement and the upbringing of the millennial generation, Uber has become a more attractive alternative to taxi cabs.

The very first taxicabs in New York City were not the signature Canary yellow that fill Manhattan today. July 1897 brought with it the first taxicab company: Samuel’s Carriage and Wagon (SEA Electric).  The company began modestly with only twelve Hansom cabs in its first year, comma here but due to rising demand the number grew to over one hundred in 1899.  By the roaring twenties, thousands of cabs filled New York City streets and the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company became the most successful with their Checkered lower case yellow and black cabs.

Just as fast as the taxicab industry flourished from its inception, that growth was brought to a screeching halt during the great depression.  At the height of the depression, there were 30,000 cab drivers in New York City.  Unfortunately, the cab drivers greatly outnumbered paying customers, comma here which led to drivers working much longer hours for significantly less pay. This dire situation prompted violent protests by cab drivers, comma here who demanded greater industry regulation. You needed this last comma, otherwise it sounds as if protests were by only a subset of drivers, those who did want more reg, as opposed to another subset who did not. In 1937, New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia addressed this panic by signing the Haas Act.  This Act at its heart is meant to limit the number of taxi cabs in New York City to mirror taxicab demand.  This is the act that created the taxi license and medallion system that is still used today.  The number of cabs allowed was limited to 11,800.

Why are all yellow taxis yellow? In 1967 New York City Mayor Rockwell’s wife, Nettie Rockwell, loved the color yellow, so this was the color chosen for all cabs.  The City wanted a uniform color for taxis to make cabs easily recognizable and cut the number of illegal drivers.  The Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) was established and given jurisdiction over the Medallion Taxicabs in 1971.  The 70’s and 80’s were plagued with violence towards cab drivers.  It became almost commonplace to see or hear about a driver being robbed, assaulted, and even murdered. During this time, bullet proof partitions were introduced and mandated by the Taxi and Limousine Commission.  

The demographics of who yellow cab drivers were drastically changed in the late 80s and early 90s.  According to the 2000 United States Census, of more than 60,000 cab drivers, 82 percent were foreign born, comma here with 23 percent being from the Caribbean and 30 percent being South Asian. According to Payscale, the average income of a New York City cab driver was about $42,000 annually.

We conducted two interviews with yellow taxi drivers to get their take on what the industry has been like since 2009, after the inception and explosion of Uber.  The interviewers you mean interviewees, who will remain unnamed, comma here told us their first-hand experience (on) of the effects that Uber is having on the taxi industry.  Both interviewees are foreign born and have been driving a yellow cab since they immigrated to the United States.

When asked to describe the atmosphere of the industry pre-Uber, one of the interviewees replied: “I began driving yellow cab in 1997, it has always been a reliable, middle-class living. I have been able to provide for my family…Before Uber, 2004-2008 was the best time to be driving. I was making sometimes double what I had made before…The demand was just so high. People who owned medallions charged sky-high rates to drivers…Medallions were selling in the millions. We [cab drivers] felt like we were at the top of the world.” The facts fully support this personal account.  The rising price of the medallion proves that taxi cabs were becoming more and more profitable by the second.

A common critique of medallion owners who did not sell their medallions as uber started taking off is “they should have seen this coming. The signs were there. They should have sold their medallions and switched over.”  The other interviewee stated “Back in 2009, I did not even know what Uber was. At the time, I did not care either.  The thought of anything coming and challenging or disrupting yellow cabs was not even a thought…It is very similar to how unexpected the housing market crash was. No one thought that a phone app could possibly even annoy yellow cabs.” This personal account reflects what everyone else thought, that the taxicab industry is such a behemoth that nothing could upset it. This is also supported by the changing prices of Medallions. While prices slowed due to the recession, the real effect of Uber wasn’t felt until 2012, when an unstoppable decline in prices began. The graph below shows just how shocking the rise of the Medallions was.  The value of an investment in a medallion was 700 percent higher than the return of the Standards and Poors 500.

Given that the yellow cabs are the industry’s incumbent and Uber is a major industry disruptor, the next question is: how has business changed since the rise of Uber? Both interviewees had similar answers that business had significantly gone down. Our interviewees were both medallion owners and they said, “Before Uber became so big, an easy alternative for drivers, there was always drivers who were in need of a cab to drive. For that need, I was able to charge a good rate and cover a good portion of my expenses. The biggest difference now, and where it is hurting medallion owners the most is that the market for people looking to lease a taxicab is near zero.  My driver who had been leasing my car for the night shift for five years left 7 months ago and I cannot find anyone to replace him…Even as I reduce the lease payment by more than 35 percent, no one is looking to drive yellow cab anymore. When I drive up and down Manhattan, I am seeing less and less yellow cabs and more and more Uber’s.”

 

Concluding from the statements from the interviewees, Uber is the more popular option among drivers right now. What do drivers find more attractive about Uber? “Uber has come and changed the business completely. Everything about yellow cab is rough. Rough driving. Rough interactions between driver and passenger. Rough language. In my opinion, there are genuinely nice and good-hearted people who when they sit in the back of a yellow cab, they turn unkind. Uber is winning in this matter because of the rating system and the driver and passenger profiles. In Ubers there [are] kind interactions…Most importantly, Uber is winning and will win out in the end because of the safety benefits. Years ago, I used to be thankful to a customer who did not pay for the ride and just left. This is because late at night we drop people off in remote neighborhoods and many times I have been robbed. In Uber, this is not even a possibility because everything is on the record.”

A surprising observation taken from conducting these interviews was that both our interviewee’s no apostrophe here b/c no possessive seemed to recognize and accept that their yellow cab industry would probably never be as vigorous as it once was. Lasty, in your opinion, is there anything that is still better about yellow cabs than Uber? “Unity. Community. Two months ago, when the JFK protests were going on the yellow cab drivers came together to show our solidarity. For us, the passion we have in our hearts to be immigrants living a good life in America is special…When that is being denied to someone else, I am proud to say my brothers and sisters who drive yellow cab came together, albeit for a few hours, and said NO! We have a voice and we will be heard. Uber did not.”

It is very interesting that the ability to unite to protest was mentioned by the yellow cab drivers. This is something that the independent contractor model of Uber does not foster, as seen by Uber still operating during the JFK protest.  This is something to keep in mind moving forward and  possibly to incorporate in Uber’ model.  The right and ability to protest is an American cornerstone that has been exercised by yellow cab drivers time and time again to make themselves heard. The most notable of these protests was on October 26, 1993. On this day, thousands upon thousands of taxi drivers blocked traffic in Manhattan to protest against the rising number of driver murders.

This aspect of safety in the driver to passenger relationship is something that is very important but is not mentioned much in the media debate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs as the number one most dangerous job in America by standards of murders on the job. The rate for the murders of taxi drivers is more than double the rate for a police officer and more than eight times than twenty times the rate of all workers. Uber inherently removes this problem. No longer is a nameless, faceless cabbie driving a nameless, faceless passenger. With the use of technology and creation of profiles, every ride is documented and tracked, and every driver and passenger has a history.

With the rise of new technology, safety and accountability features of current transportation methods have greatly improved. As a result of such advancements, Uber has the platform to be more reliable and efficient than taxi cabs.

One of the major issues with taxi cab rides is fraud. The New York City taxi cab driver taking advantage of the tourist visiting the city story is almost cliché. The tourist hails a cab from Pennsylvania Station looking to reach bright and bustling Time Square. Catching onto that the tourist doesn’t know the area, the driver smiles, nods, and drives off— in the wrong direction. After taking half an hours’ worth of twists and turns, they reach their destination. What should have been a ten-dollar, eight-block cab ride has turned into a 40-dollar wasteful trip. Not to play into stereotypes, as taxi drivers are very hard working people, this anecdote is necessary to highlight this specific issue.

Uber is the immediate solution to the this problem. When an Uber rider requests a trip, the app automatically optimizes the route, provides an estimated cost, and track

s the vehicle’s current location in real time. Both the customer and the vendor have constant access to the map, ensuring that the correct route is being followed. In the rare case that an Uber driver attempts to go off-course, both the customer and Uber customer service are notified. Additionally, because all Uber trips are documented, a customer can always use their digital receipt, which shows the route taken by the vehicle, as evidence. Drivers are held accountable, as are riders. In contrast to Uber, there is no such technology that prevents intentional detours by taxicab drivers. Since transactions are mostly paid in cash and communicated by word of mouth, rides are often untracked. In a case where a customer may want a refund or try to provide evidence of a scammed ride, he or she may struggle to present tangible evidence.

Uber is more effective at using incentives to increase the safety of their rides. One surprising feature of Uber, distinct from almost any other transportation service, is their removal of gratuity payments. Far too often, cab drivers are tipped based on the speed at which they reach their customer’s destination. Consequently, the taxi cab driver is incentivized to drive faster and make riskier maneuvers in order to please the time-conscious customer in exchange for a better tip. Since Uber discourages tips and has full compensation included in the price of the ride, which is calculated before the trip begins, the Uber driver does not have to feel the pressure of varying pay based on their driving “performance”. Rather, their driving must be evaluated by the rider out of five stars, which may have the same effect.The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles reported in 2014 that there were 4,270 crashes involving medallion taxi cabs. Could some of these crashes been avoided by removing the incentive for tips?

It is easier to  discuss only how well Uber optimizes technology to make their service as reliable and efficient as possible, but it is crucial to understand that although the ride sharing service has many tech-savvy components, there have still been many reported incidents of kidnaps, harassments, and accidents with Uber.

One of the core components of Uber is that anyone can be a candidate to become a driver. A potential driver for UberX must be at least 21 years old with 3 years of driving experience, have an insured sedan with 4 doors that is model year 2001 or newer, and has passed inspection with in-state license plates. Additionally, all Uber drivers have to pass a background check free of criminal history, DUI’s, and reckless driving incidents in the last 7 years. Of course, becoming an Uber driver is much easier than becoming a medallion taxi driver. (Uber) Looking at this topic from a “pro taxi” perspective, perhaps the increased barriers to entry for medallion taxi drivers would make their drivers more professional. If you’re a criminal with malicious intent, are you more likely to drive Uber or taxi? The logical answer would be Uber, because it is much easier to pass tests. Also, obtaining a medallion costs thousands of dollars.

Uber’s vetting system is far from perfect. There have been numerous incidents of sexual harassment and assault reported. An incident occurred in October 2016 in Washington, DC. According to a Fox news report, a 29-year-old Uber driver drove a “blacked out” female passenger to her home, but then proceeded to take a trip to a nearby hotel. He signed in and even used the victim’s credit card to make purchases at a nearby convenience store. This goes to show that even though Uber is set up with the platform and business model to outperform taxi cabs with higher safety standards and a rating system in place, there is still much work to be done. Uber is still a very young company that has great potential. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s fatality analysis reporting system, Uber has seen a 16.6% decline per year in responsibility for fatal accidents. It seems that with incidents and errors, come reform, and that is exactly what Uber plans on continuing to do.

 

Founded less than a decade ago in 2009, Uber began to quickly revolutionize the way in which the car service industry operates. Allowing for registered and insured drivers to sign up their own cars to provide transportation to those who hail them through the app, Uber allows for individuals to not only make some money for themselves on the side, but also provides for them the liberty to work whenever they want. This phenomenon not only sparked the interest of thousands of potential drivers looking to make an extra wage with no outside pressure, but also a new generation of customers, one that strives for comfort and expediency. Aggressively climbing in both revenue and stature, Uber appears to be taking the transportation industry by storm, shutting down and even acquiring many of the former yellow taxi cab companies and employees held in such high esteem for years preceding Uber. However, while it may appear Uber has no limit in the near future, speculation is nothing without statistics, a variable Uber can’t seem to control just yet.

At a first glance, Uber appears to be the simple solution to the one problem every taxicab driver faces when first starting off; medallion pricing. Legally required to own a medallion to operate a taxi in New York, drivers have always been resistant to the taxi industry due to staggering prices of a medallion. Just four years ago, a single medallion would cost a driver $1.32 million dollars, almost 24 times the average New York familial income of $56,000. While many drivers do split these costs by switching off shifts, the medallion still remains a major investment that many are not ready to make. When Uber arrived in New York City in 2011, it took only a year for taxi companies to realize just how quickly this tin certification would devalue. By the fourth financial quarter of 2016, medallions were going for as low as $650,000, approximately a 51% decrease in price and is predicted to exponentially decrease if Uber’s valuation continues to rise past the current $70 billion dollar mark. (Bloomberg)

While Uber has almost crippled the medallion business in the matter of years, it’s important to go beyond a single facet of an organization. At the core of its appeal, Uber is providing rides generally at a price even 50% of what a normal yellow taxi would cost an average consumer for the same distance. However, for those involved with the new ridesharing phenomena on the quantitative side of the business, the most appealing part of the model may just be the most daunting. It’s no secret that Uber’s revenue is still growing aggressively, pulling in gross bookings of $5.4 billion and net revenue from the 20% Uber takes from each booking of $1.7 billion in 2016. (Tech Insider) Yet these impressive numbers pale in comparison to that of Uber’s losses. Calculated even before interest and other factors are weighed in, Uber’s losses are not only at near 100% of their actual revenue, but actually appear to continuously be getting higher as Uber continues its expansion into new markets.

Many factors can contribute to these figures. However, the main one seems to be the simple fact that Uber’s rides may not be as cheap as everyone thinks they really are. “Using their access to capital, Uber is driving prices down for everyone, putting the ride sharing app at risk,” says Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at NYU Stern. (CNBC) This statement holds true, with Uber highly subsidizing each ride it provides. Is Uber simply running its business at a loss to take down the yellow taxi and can the yellow cab prevail if it holds onto its outdated business model?

The answer to these questions lies in the future of the taxi industry. Attempting to evolve into a more tech-oriented service like Uber, taxi companies are working to ensure its consumers will have not only an easier experience in hailing taxis, but also a safer ride. They hope to retain their current users and are also targeting new riders. Another important factor the taxi industry has taken on is the legal aspect of what each company can provide for its employees. Allowing drivers to use their own cars, Uber’s policy is to consider their drivers as independent contractors, excluding them from reimbursements that may stem from unexpected expenses and also official full time benefits, a source of major contention among many Uber drivers. In the last year alone, Uber has been involved with over 50 lawsuits, many of which stem from the question of classification of drivers as employees or independent contractors. These lawsuits have not only continued to force Uber to consider changing its very business model it prides itself on, but have allowed the taxi industry to maintain a foothold in the industry, boasting a quarter of the number of lawsuits Uber has faced in just the last year. (Fusion)

Uber was founded to supplement the taxi industry in population-dense areas, creating a technologically efficient method of hailing a personal car. Despite its socially positive intentions, it has faced several legal and PR issues relating to the treatment of its drivers, its corporate environment, and the public’s perception of the company. Negative publicity relating to Uber has gained traction and some people have begun to boycott the app for other means of transportation and other apps. Millennials, a large fraction of Uber’s customer base, have become especially aware of these scandals.

Before Uber, few companies or technologies had managed through the years and remained as stable as the yellow cab. The yellow cab has not only redefined the way in which the service industry can adapt to consumers needs, but has provided to those in need of quick transportation a relatively cheap solution. With the basic framework and mechanisms of an automobile remaining stagnant over the past century, the yellow cab has been able to reign supreme over both the transportation and service industries in some of the world’s most prominent cities, especially New York. However, after over a century of strong profit margins, the yellow cab is no longer alone on the crowded streets of Manhattan. Seen as the next step in car services, Uber and its forward-thinking, new method of putting the power back in the driver’s hands has begun to already make its mark as one of the most successful startups to date. The emergence of such a service makes the average consumer wonder how much longer the yellow cab industry has left when faced with the radical shift Uber has brought on, and whether there is anything the cabs, or anyone, can do about it.

On October 13th, 2016, the NYS Department of Labor in the court case Aleksanian et al. v. Cuomo et al. (filed 2016) in New York City, decided that Uber drivers are employees, not independent contractors. Legal Services NYC’s Brooklyn branch filed a federal lawsuit for the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Jakir Hossain, and Levon Aleksanian on the grounds that the New York State Department of Labor was refusing to investigate drivers’ claims for unemployment benefits. (Legal Services NYC)
On October 28th, 2016, a UK court went a step further, and didn’t just rule that Uber drivers are employees, not self-employed contractors. Two drivers, Y Aslam and J Farrar, sued UK branches of Uber for employment rights, including minimum wage and paid leave, and won their case. For now, they are the only two employees with this status but this decision has far-reaching implications on other apps and companies that contract independent workers. (Cnet)

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Independent contractors are significant players in the gig economy, with autonomy over their hours and their ability to write off work-related expenses. For instance, a driver that contracts to work with a driving platform can pick and choose who to drive, and write off gas, cellphone usage, and car insurance. This set up especially benefits those who drive Uber part-time, but may disadvantage those who drive Uber full-time. If Uber classifies a driver as self-employed, it does not have to cover costs like Social Security, sick leave, and car maintenance that company regulations might mandate. The Fair Labor Standards Act lists factors that distinguish an employee from an independent contractor: service necessary to employer’s business, permanency, workers’ managerial skills impacting profits or loss, investments in facilities and equipment by worker and employer, and nature and degree of control by the employer. Uber has a relatively high degree of control: specifies vehicle and price, directs drivers to customer, discourages tips, prohibits drivers from accepting cash payment, and handles customer complaints. To draw a comparison, black car bases are employers in the eyes of the law and control similar aspects of their drivers to Uber’s directives. If Uber is in fact only a digital marketplace that acts as a middleman between drivers and riders, the drivers should not considered employees; this would, however, limit their rights to minimum wage under FLSA. If drivers are considered employees, it could call into question whether they can legally operate two driving apps simultaneously as some drivers do to maximize profit. Additionally, if Uber were forced to consider all drivers employees and pay employee expenses, they would have to cut costs and limit the number of drivers. All of these factors affect Uber drivers’ livelihoods. (US Dept. of Labor)

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With over 10,000 full-time (working over 40 hours a week) drivers in New York City, Uber’s official numbers are anything but easily available. Claiming their median income for a driver logging at least 40 hours a week is a staggering $90,766, Uber has been unable to support this figure with hard evidence. Yet, like in most businesses, the more hours an individual can log, the higher a wage he or she is going to earn. For example, a driver who is able to commit 50 to 60 hours a week can reliably expect to earn anywhere from 25 to 35 dollars an hour. On the flip side, those that are only able to log 30 hours or less can earn a huge range of income, from as high as a full-time driver’s income, but more often as low as 15 dollars. and many people who drive part-time usually capitalize on the app during surge pricing times. WIth such a large amount of hours needed to guarantee a high net earnings, the given median of Uber seems inflated. However, with the median familial income of New York holding at $56,000, it is reasonable that if a driver were to be making even $60,000, much lower than the given median, they should be able to afford a middle-class living situation in New York City. (Uber)

 

We conducted an interview in a short Uber ride in midtown Manhattan right before surge pricing took effect. Khushnud Gulyamov immigrated from Uzbekistan with his three children and wife a decade ago. His eldest son is applying to college now and Khushnud supports his family by chauffeuring private limousines and driving Uber. He does both jobs part-time for a total of 40 hours per week and especially enjoys his flexible hours and 70% commission driving with Uber. He has driven with Uber for the past 4 years and doesn’t have any plans of switching to a different driving app or occupation in the near future. However, Khushnud also uses the driving app Juno (offers 80% commision but has fewer users) simultaneously with Uber to maximize his customer base and time. When asked about any trends he’s observed over the past few years, he recalled his experience driving with a cab company about six years ago and how that wasn’t making any money anymore. He noted that switching to driving apps, especially with user rate increasing, is much more profitable. He views the app as both beneficial to drivers who like being their own boss and to New Yorkers looking for an affordable, comfortable means of transportation.

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Two interviews were conducted by PBS Making Sen$e in October 2014. Bob, a software development consultant, drove for Uber and Lyft part time for a few months. In his interview, Bob has more cons than pros to list out. He starts with the way Uber’s rating system works. The riders aren’t briefed on how the five star system reflects on the drivers. A four star rating is a vote to get a driver fired, and drivers are expected to stay above a 4.6 or be terminated abruptly. Customers also aren’t informed of the differences between UberXs (can be older model and not black) and Black Car service, so they give lower ratings when they pay the price for an UberX but don’t receive the expected amenities. Additionally, Uber is quick to take rider disputes over fare out of the drivers’ pay. When asked how Uber compared to driving taxi, Bob pointed out that Uber’s are cleaner, faster, cheaper, and less costly on the driver, who would have to drive taxi from 50 to 70 hours a week to turn a profit. Bob used to drive 20 hours a week, surge pricing hours being especially profitable, but moved to 10 with rate cuts. Rate cuts coupled with Uber’s rising commission (from 20% to 30%) make driving for a living unsustainable. The constantly growing pool of fresh and eager drivers undermines any effort to fight for better benefits. Katherine, on the other hand, quit her job in the mortgage banking and real estate industry after three decades to drive for Uber full-time. She was recommended by Uber to PBS and had glowingly positive things to say about her experience. From the financial and work side of things, she acts as an independent business owner and can write off expenses like her car, gas, food, and insurance. She is making about the same as in her previous job, but with flexible hours, dress code, and no regulatory fees. (PBS)

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Apart from mixed reviews from its drivers, Uber is facing a multitude of public relations nightmares that have hit their reputation and user base hard. These incidents are neatly arranged in the graphic below, and those that stood out are described in more detail.

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https://www.marketplace.org/2017/03/03/tech/make-me-smart-kai-and-molly/blog-short-history-ubers-many-scandals (follow link for interactive timeline)

On February 19th, 2017, a female engineer who had worked at Uber wrote a blog post that went viral. It detailed the sexual harassment that took place in Uber’s corporate offices, the lack of action Uber took against the managers, and the highly competitive environment that facilitated this behavior. Specifically, Susan J. Fowler was aggressively propositioned by a male senior officer and she reported him to HR. They didn’t do anything because he was too high up, too important to the company, despite complaints from numerous women in the company. In a later incident, she requested a transfer to a different team, because she couldn’t see herself improving and growing any more with her current team. Her request was denied and she found out it was because her manager could boast a more diverse team with her than other managers. This result produces an equally effective almost reversed glass ceiling. Due to awareness about diversity and social justice, diversity has become a status symbol that can in fact hold back minority populations. Women in technology fields face many barriers, and the dog-eat-dog thirst for innovation and rapid growth in Silicon Valley start-ups contributes to this oppressive setting. After her manager threatened to fire her after she kept reporting sexist incidents to HR, she left. At the time she left, in the SRE (site reliability engineering) teams, of over 150 engineers, only 3% were women. (Fowler)

“Travis Kalanick tells a driver to take responsibility for his problems and boasts about a tough culture.” (Bloomberg)

On February 5th, 2017, Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick was filmed arguing with an uber driver. The driver, Fawzi Kamel was arguing that reduced pricing has hit drivers very hard while Uber has the monopoly on the business model. The CEO angrily retorted that people [drivers] need to take responsibility for themselves. Uber promotes as open opportunity, inclusive, socially responsible image in its advertising and on its website, but this video, leaked online shortly after, contradicts that. (Bloomberg)

On April 24th, 2017, the New York Times released an article detailing an incident that took place in early 2015 concerning Uber breaking contractual regulations set by Apple (the tech giant). Uber had been secretly fingerprinting (tagging and tracking with a piece of code) iPhones even after the app and contents had been wiped off the phone. This was done to prevent account fraud by drivers who were creating multiple fake accounts to then accept rides from themselves, in order to collect incentives for taking on more rides. Fingerprinting violates Apple’s privacy guidelines, and Uber attempted to hide this tracking code from Apple headquarters, but engineers in outside branches quickly caught on. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, met with Travis Kalanick and threatened to ban the app from Apple’s app store and effectively cut off access to millions of users if he did not stop. Public perception of Uber has become increasingly negative in the same population-dense cities where Uber has its customer base, making it a less attractive alternative to traditional taxi cabs. (The New York Times)

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Yellow taxi cabs are a dying industry and Uber has contributed to their decline with its technologically advanced platform and competitive prices. Yellow cab drivers used to be able to support themselves by splitting the cost of medallions but will no longer be able to afford middle-class living. The taxicab industry can revitalize itself by further developing a smartphone app to quickly hail drivers, but Silicon Valley startups have the edge here. However, rate cuts to keep Uber pricing competitive among other driving apps have hurt drivers, who also do not receive employee benefits. And, in the past few months, Uber has been racked with a series of public relations issues and bad press, undermining its value and reputation. Uber’s ease of use and low pricing is more attractive than the clunky taxicab model, but its appeal is offset by distasteful conduct and unethical behavior.

 

Works Cited

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Editor, Making Sen$e. “What It’s Really like to Be an Uber Driver.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 06 Oct. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Edwards, Jim. “Uber’s Leaked Finances Show the Company Might – just Might – be Able to Turn a Profit.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 27 Feb. 2017. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

“Fact Sheet 13: Am I an Employee?: Employment Relationship Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).” Fact Sheet 13 – Wage and Hour Division (WHD) – U.S. Department of Labor. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Griswold, Alison. “When Is Driving for Uber Actually Worth It?” Slate Magazine. N.p., 01 Dec. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Isaac, Mike. “Uber’s C.E.O. Plays With Fire.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2017. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

“Reflecting on One Very, Very Strange Year at Uber.” Susan J. Fowler. N.p., 19 Feb. 2017. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Newcomer, Eric. “In Video, Uber CEO Argues With Driver Over Falling Fares.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 28 Feb. 2017. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Rogers, Kate. “Uber, Lyft Put More Pressure on Taxi Companies.” CNBC. CNBC, 27 Jan. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

“Why Taxi Medallions Cost $1 Million.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

“What Does a Typical New York UberX Partner Earn in a Week?” New York. N.p., 07 Sept. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Zuylen-Wood, Simon Van. “The Struggles of New York City’s Taxi King.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 27 Aug. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Whalen, Kate. “New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Uber Drivers Win Employee Status.” Legal Services NYC. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.