RIDEGURU
chicago49
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/08/silicon-valley-engineers-fear-they-created-a-monster
“There’s something you need to know,” she said in a low voice, “and I don’t want you to forget it. When you’re writing code, you need to think of the drivers. Never forget that these are real people who have no benefits, who have to live in this city, who depend on us to write responsible code. Remember that.” I didn’t understand what she meant until several weeks later, when I overheard two other engineers in the cafeteria discussing driver bonuses—specifically, ways to manipulate bonuses so that drivers could be “tricked” into working longer hours. Laughing, they compared the drivers to animals: “You need to dangle the carrot right in front of their face.” Shortly thereafter, a wave of price cuts hit drivers in the Bay Area. When I talked to the drivers, they described how Uber kept fares in a perfectly engineered sweet spot: just high enough for them to justify driving, but just low enough that not much more than their gas and maintenance expenses were covered.
That's pretty tough to read. But it's not like we didn't know this was true already. Of course they are going to try and maximize profits, at the driver's expense. That's what businesses do. Heck they have a responsibility to do that. That's their whole reason for existence, right?
TonyAlmeida
