On-demand, ride-hail drivers face debt, danger, says study

Ride-hail platform drivers in the metro DC region face financial debt, threats from customers, constantly changing rules that make calculating their earnings nearly impossible, and work hours that may make them a public safety hazard, according to a new Georgetown study. Katie Wells, a post-doctoral fellow with Georgetown’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, presented the report and its recommendations to the Council of the District of Columbia yesterday. The Uber workplace, said Wells, is “so full of gamification elements that it resembles a casino in which the gamblers – the drivers – often lose.” Recommendations include the creation of a publicly funded commission to study the impact of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) such as Uber; establishing a prevailing wage for TNC drivers and requiring such companies to share data on their working conditions.
Wells and study co-author Kafui Attoh discussed the report on Your Rights At Work yesterday; search for Union City Radio on your favorite podcast platform or click here (LINK) to listen. 
photo by Dan Gold

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