Interesting. One of the limits for independent contractos is that you can't really give them a specific schedule like you would an employee. If you do, the government could eventually come down on you and tell you that you really need to classify them as employees.

In Uber's case, they let drivers work whenever and wherever they want, but give them strong suggestions about where they should be.

Obviously employment law wasn't designed to account for the kinds of businesses we have today, and I think a strong case could be made that it needs to be rethought entirely, but regardless, Uber is certainly benefiting a great deal from their relationship With their drivers and how they are able to use data to motivate them as opposed to outright telling them what to do.