> turning what used to be a fairly decent job into something that's barely enough to scrape by on
That hasn't been true in the US. In NYC Uber drivers make $30/hr and don't have to work under the existing exploitative Taxi system where they could actually lose money on an unprofitable day. Also, Uber has brought car service to smaller cities (e.g. Mountain View) where there used to be no Taxi system at all (in fact airport taxis would price gouge you for going SFO -> South Bay). Maybe Europe is different but I don't think you can make blanket statements like that.
Re:Uber hit by legal setback in Europe
by icebraining on Friday May 12, 2017 @04:37AM
(#14322315)
Yeap. Here's NYT report from '95 (so, way too early to be a PR piece for Uber):
"Driving a Taxi, Difficult in Best of Times, Gets Tougher"
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/09/nyregion/driving-a-taxi-di...
As for "Uber drivers can just quit", I think that's a very simplistic argument. Uber are pricing competitors out of the market (using venture capital!), turning what used to be a fairly decent job into something that's barely enough to scrape by on. The people likely to driver for Uber likely don't have as many options, and probably fewer by the day as jobs that don't require are lot of skills are increasingly being turned into temporary jobs and platform gigs. I'm from Scandinavia, which has a very high degree of social cohesion and low economic inequality, and I see it very mch as a regression and a danger to society.