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Re:US Reps Urge DOJ to Investigate Anticompetitive Conduct A... by vkou on Monday November 28, 2022 @07:30PM (#33781988)
Drivers don't pick the price in Uber (Or with traditional taxis), they only signal whether or not they are willing to work. You can't be a driver and undercut other drivers on that platform.

But nothing stops a landlord from undercutting any other landlord. It's the difference between the Uber 'Marketplace' and an actual market.

> The mechanism is "you lose money"

Yes, that's a market mechanism, it's not a cartel mechanism.

Re:US Reps Urge DOJ to Investigate Anticompetitive Conduct A... by ceejayoz on Monday November 28, 2022 @07:32PM (#33782006)
> Drivers don't pick the price in Uber...

Yes, that's the point. This fact is getting them in hot water in a variety of jurisdictions, as independent contractors are supposed to set their own rates.

RealPage is trying to play the same regulatory evasion games - "it's not collusion, everyone just uses our prices". I hope it ends poorly for them.

Re:US Reps Urge DOJ to Investigate Anticompetitive Conduct A... by pandaman on Monday November 28, 2022 @09:35PM (#33783001)
>independent contractors are supposed to set their own rates

I am missing this point. Uber drivers can set their rates and not take the rides that are below those rates, can't they? Or do you mean they have to be able to make exactly the rate they set, e.g. the driver's rate is $21.25/h, Uber offers only $30/h and more and the driver takes Uber to court saying he could not set his desirable rate and had been paid more?

Re:US Reps Urge DOJ to Investigate Anticompetitive Conduct A... by ceejayoz on Monday November 28, 2022 @09:52PM (#33783107)
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...

> You are not an independent contractor if you perform services that can be controlled by an employer (what will be done and how it will be done). This applies even if you are given freedom of action. What matters is that the employer has the legal right to control the details of how the services are performed.

It's a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction battle at the moment, but the tide seems to be turning. A number of judges have already ruled that Uber and similar companies exercise enough control over their "contractors" for them to be over the line into employee territory.

Re:US Reps Urge DOJ to Investigate Anticompetitive Conduct A... by pandaman on Monday November 28, 2022 @10:12PM (#33783257)
I have not found anything about the rate on the page you linked. There might be some other considerations in the case of Uber drivers but I specifically asked about the point you had been making about the rate.