How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong

Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by goelakash on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @01:37AM (#18862783)

"About a third of what passengers pay goes to Uber for commissions and booking fees." Holy shit. That's way too much commission for a company that uses software and not actual labor to connect drivers to riders.

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by ovi256 on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @07:42AM (#18864265)

Software costs labor to develop, maintain, and operate. If you feel operating Uber's systems should cost much less, why not invest or found a competitor ?

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by mschuster91 on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @04:33AM (#18863504)

Hmm. Not an Uber user myself as we have cheap and reliable taxis in Germany, but how is payment handled? Does Apple take their usual 30/15% cut as with Netflix, Spotify and friends?

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by kranner on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @04:59AM (#18863608)

The 30% cut is only for digital products sold via native apps.

That's why the Amazon iOS app lets you buy physical products but e.g. Kindle ebook purchases are not supported in the app.

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by TulliusCicero on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @06:27AM (#18863936)

I'm an American in Munich, and while taxis here are indeed reliable, I wouldn't call them cheap. Ballpark, I'd say they're about twice as expensive as the Uber/Lyft trips I've taken back in the States.

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by mschuster91 on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @02:50PM (#18868151)

> I'm an American in Munich, and while taxis here are indeed reliable, I wouldn't call them cheap.

Compared to the stories I have heard about US taxis (underqualified drivers, bad technical maintenance, general unreliability), I am not surprised. You can't have reliable and cheap.

In addition to the mentioned factors, of course Uber/Lyft can be less expensive in the US - they ditch the contributions to social security, healthcare and pension system that is required for German employees.

btw, I am Munich-based too... yes our taxis are expensive indeed but so are the living costs. Can't have no taxi drivers when they don't have a place to live in.

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by TulliusCicero on Thursday January 10, 2019 @11:34AM (#18875142)

> You can't have reliable and cheap.

Well, the ones I've taken so far in the US have been fine.

> btw, I am Munich-based too... yes our taxis are expensive indeed but so are the living costs.

Much of my Uber using has been in the SF bay area, which is substantially more expensive to live in than Munich. It's still way cheaper.

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by scarface74 on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @08:03AM (#18864373)

Just to add to a sibling poster, Uber doesn’t require, but does allow you to use Apple Pay for rides. Apple Pay costs about the same as a regular credit card payment to the merchant.

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by selestify on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @04:16AM (#18863431)

And yet they're still losing money fast.

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by TeMPOraL on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @04:20AM (#18863444)

Rapid expansion and getting away with illegal behaviour by staying inside legal system's OODA loop cost money.

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Re:How Estimates of the Gig Economy Went Wrong by techslave on Wednesday January 09, 2019 @10:13AM (#18865246)

how do you feel about app store commissions?

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