Uber/Lyft STRIKE disruption May 8-10

[amberpi]

You understand this was a one day strike, correct? And that there was no official strike in your city?

Of course. I'd still hate to see a service unavailable that so many have grown to depend on shut down. I'll certainly live, but it stinks. I wouldn't mind paying more for the service either to keep it working for all parties.

 

[JimMIA]

We don't have great mass transit here or I'd happily use it.

I wasn't talking about mass transit. I'm talking about door-to-door transportation for those who really need it. Here in Miami, we use it a lot for Grandma. Here's a link to what we have:
https://www8.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1471890065439510

If I didn't match my dollars with my words, why bother?

I figured you did; just teasing a little!

 

[JimMIA]

Of course. I'd still hate to see a service unavailable that so many have grown to depend on shut down. I'll certainly live, but it stinks.

Well, nobody's talking about shutting anything down -- and realistically, drivers certainly do NOT have that power. Nor do we want to.

The point drivers are trying to make is that Uber and Lyft cannot continue the process of periodically reducing driver pay. For example, Uber recently cut Los Angeles market driver's pay from $0.80 per mile to $0.60. That is a 25% pay cut!

To give you an idea just how low that is, the IRS deduction for business use of your personal car (which they estimate as the cost of operating a car) is $0.58 per mile for 2019.

LA drivers are being paid 2 cents per mile more than the IRS allowance. Miami drivers are being paid 4.5 cents more ($0.625); ORLANDO drivers are being paid 5 cents per mile LESS ($0.53).

The people who get hurt the most by these pay cuts are the fulltime drivers who use Uber/Lyft to support their families. Those drivers often have no alternative but driving; for whatever reason, it's the only job they can get.

MANY Los Angeles drivers literally live in their cars in the LAX staging lot. As one of our Miami drivers often posts, "Desperation has no limits."

I wouldn't mind paying more for the service either to keep it working for all parties.

Right. But you already ARE paying more. A LOT more, in many cases -- because Uber and Lyft have to dramatically increase their revenues to break even. Uber lost more than $1 Billion in the first 3 months of FY 2019. Lyft lost $776 million. At some point, they will run out of investor cash.

So both Uber and Lyft are now using "upfront pricing" which results in higher fares -- sometimes, much higher. At the same time, they are cutting driver pay 21% in Orlando and 25% in LA and other cities.

Another change is the handling of surge payments during peak periods.

The companies still charge the rider surge, but almost none of that gets passed on to the driver. One of our Miami drivers recently posted a screenshot where his rider paid something like $60 more than the regular fare -- the driver got $1.75 extra. That's what all the fuss is about.

 

[MrKnight]

Ugh. Disagree.

Another who totally disagrees that WDW transport is better than Uber. I have to wonder if that person has used the service across the resort as it saves a metric butt ton of time and you get SO much closer to your destination (except maybe MK).

From a local's standpoint, the Orlando metro area is already severely congested with road traffic and sky-high demand for Uber/Lyft which results in hefty surcharges during peak times, a big chunk of that is unnecessary short-distance trips in areas where there are established alternative transportation methods available such as on Disney property with WDW Transportation. The whole purpose of the WDW Transportation system is not only to provide a service for WDW Resort guests but also to minimize road traffic on WDW property which is busting at the seems, hence the boom in roadway expansions, parking garages, etc.. all over property..

Long story short, Uber/Lyft is good as an ALTERNATIVE for situations where WDW Transportation may not be ideal, such as super early morning or late evening (after park close), or for a group that has special needs or guests medical needs who may have difficulty with riding buses/monorails, etc. In those scenarios it makes sense, but for regular scenarios IMHO WDW Transportation is the best option and its FREE so not sure why anyone would think twice..

 

[kaytieeldr]

so not sure why anyone would think twice..

We live in the age of Veruca Salt: "I want it all, and I want it now!" People are reluctant to wait.