There are major problems with ubers business model for the average worker, consumers and our society as a whole.
First of all, although it’s promoted as sharing and peer to peer it really isn’t. It’s a centrally controlled platform, that views the people who provide the service as completely disposable.
There are no workers rights, the drivers who provide the service have no recourse whatsoever, someone can hit one button and they are gone.
When you get in an uber car, keep in mind you are now selling your data- where you go, what hotel you are in, your patterns, it’s all being logged and for sale to whoever wants it. Selling your data is baked into the terms of service.
Uber has saved millions by bypassing all the regulations that other transportation companies have to follow since they are “just an app”, but once they put the taxis out of business, the workers (independent contractors) will be replaced as soon as self driving cars can be obtained, regardless of how long they worked for the company or how much they still have on their leases.
With the data mining they can do, after the honeymoon period is over, they will be able to maximize the profits from each customer not for the driver, but for the investors. “Elastic demand” is something algorithms can go to town with, but it’s not always in the public interest and here is just one reason- in cities like New York or even San Francisco, any public transportation accessible by tourists and visitors needs to be fair and transparent, because the safety and good experiences of tourists and business visitors is paramount to that cities economy. And interestingly enough, much like the sellers of eBay are the profit center as well as the goods, look for news stories of the drivers getting squeezed later on. I have used “surge pricing” to get a taxi in the rain in New York, but what about uber using my purchasing history against me and charging me a few dollars more here or there at other times? After they have driven the taxis out of business what recourse do I have?