[To be clear: I've never used Uber nor would I generally consider it over my local 'trolley' in the ~35K population town in which I live.]
In economics and particularly in industrial organization, market power is the ability of a firm to profitably raise the market price of a good or service over marginal cost. In perfectly competitive markets, market participants have no market power.
I'm pretty sure I don't have the exact facts on what Uber's operating agreement with drivers is, but I always thought a given driver could choose to only drive during surge pricing, no? We always tried to manage our drivers for an elastic supply of capacity (much like an ad exchange). Otherwise, we'd be overwhelmed like the under-covered transport problem in Austin during SXSW (I believe a result of the lack of Uber availability). Uber's radio adverts explicitly state that it's "drive when you want for extra money," and if that is not what they actually offer then Lyft has a huge opportunity to acquire/retain more/better drivers and maintain a rapid ability to scale for capacity.
I am of the belief that Uber presents a unique opportunity to rethink the whole structure of unions in the US (I don't actually care if Canada bans Uber altogether, for example, I am more interested in the concepts themselves), and maybe a total rethink about how to organize labor.
I would have interest in building a commercial platform to help labor organize and coordinate themselves better (that they own) in the modern world. I think it would look like a gated digital community with microblogging, discussion, and voting functions.
The driver does not raise the price, Uber does. Uber has the market power here.
>I'm pretty sure I don't have the exact facts on what Uber's operating agreement with drivers is, but I always thought a given driver could choose to only drive during surge pricing, no?
Perhaps, I should have been more direct. A contractor should be able to set and negotiate rates. If they can't do that I think they're an employee. For example, if I need to hire a general contractor for a construction job I can shop around, compare rates, pick the best one AND haggle with them if need be. If I need to hire an Uber, I have no "haggle-power" OR ability to shop around because Uber sets the rate. None of the contractors are competing against each other because Uber controls the marketplace and this is where I think the contractor designation breaks down. If you tightly control the market, the people in it are employees, if the market is more free, the people in it are probably contractors.
>I am of the belief that Uber presents a unique opportunity to rethink the whole structure of unions in the US, and maybe a total rethink about how to organize labor. I would have interest in building a commercial platform to help labor organize and coordinate themselves better (that they own) in the modern world. I think it would look like a gated digital community with microblogging, discussion, and voting functions.
This sounds interesting but personally I'm of the mind that poor labor organization is a political problem. How would your app help workers beyond just a place to communicate?
Uber also doesn't control the market. There is also Lyft and any other competitor is welcome to start and offer better rates for the driver. Or even offer variable pricing where every driver can set their own rates and consumers can pick the lowest bidder. Drivers have the power to switch providers or use multiple simultaneously.
I'm reasonably certain the tax code has no regulation that says you must be classed a contractor if you meet certain criteria.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dial-a-truck
These systems morphed into what is called a 'load board,' and Landstar operated what was more of a network of independent trucking brokers with their own shared/ private load board.
