Wednesday 25 January 2017

More than half of Uber driving is done by people who work more than 35 hours a week

"More than 1.5 million people all over the world drive for Uber. The company has won many court battles over its classification of them as contractors and not employees.  Over the last eight years Uber has upended the taxi industry and is credited with creating a new sector of the workforce: the “gig economy.” The company proudly proclaims that the share of drivers who work less than 10 hours a week has climbed to more than 60 percent.
In one recent TV commercial, a smiling actor playing a sometimes-driver quips, “These days, everyone needs a side hustle, and driving with Uber lets you go from earning to working to chilling at the push of a button.” The sound of a cash register chimes in the background.
What Uber has never said publicly is that half of the driving gets done by people who work more than 35 hours a week. Those workers generate about half of Uber’s revenue and are responsible for about half of Uber’s trips, Uber confirmed after Bloomberg analyzed a study of its drivers conducted by the company. A small number of those drivers will go to extremes, like sleeping in parking lots, to make a living."
Source:  Bloomberg, 23rd January 2017
Note - its possible for both 60% of the drivers to work less than 10 hours a week, and for more than half the driving to be done by people who work over 35 hours a week.


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