How Uber punishes drivers who refuse to use UberPool [View all]

[FrodosPet]

How Uber punishes drivers who refuse to use UberPool

http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/28/technology/uber-uberpool-timeouts/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom

by Matt McFarland @mattmcfarland
July 28, 2016: 11:59 AM ET

Uber drivers who turn down ride requests risk having their workday paused as Uber locks them out of its system for up to 15 minutes. Some drivers wait patiently for the timeout to end. Others just call it quits for the day.

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With UberPool, riders traveling to similar destinations are grouped together in the same vehicle. Riders receive a discount for using UberPool. Uber claims the service can help drivers make more money because they spend less time waiting between rides. (Ride requests are generally sent to the driver who is nearest to the person requesting a ride.)

Yet Uber drivers are generally unhappy with UberPool, according to interviews with two experts, seven drivers and an extensive review of online forums where thousands of drivers congregate, including Facebook and Reddit. The Independent Drivers Guild, which advocates for New York's 35,000 Uber drivers, calls UberPool a top issue for drivers.

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"True independent contractors have the freedom to decide when they want to work and what kind of work they want to do," said Benjamin Sachs, a Harvard Law School professor. "By giving drivers timeouts, Uber is exercising the kind of control over its workforce that employers exercise over employees."

But taxis suck, and people have had good experiences with rideshare, so we should never criticize Uber!