Abstract
Ride-hailing (ridesourcing) companies such as Uber, Lyft, and Didi Chuxing have been a disruptive force in the urban mobility landscape around the world during the past decade. In this paper, we analyse the working conditions, earnings, and job satisfaction of ride-hailing drivers. We begin by discussing the regulatory, labour, financial, and urban mobility effects of ride-hailing companies. Then, we present the results of a self-administered survey to ride-hailing drivers in Chile, which is complemented with the use of online tools for the estimation of driving earnings. Our findings show that the flexibility to choose work times is the most appreciated attribute of this job, even though most drivers follow a somewhat fixed routine each week. By contrast, the level of transparency with which ride-hailing apps determine driver pay is the attribute with the lowest satisfaction score. A large number of respondents drive for long daily and weekly periods, which is a health and safety hazard. Current drivers are not concerned about the future deployment of driverless vehicles for on-demand mobility services. Ordered probit models for job satisfaction show that ride-hailing was better evaluated by drivers who use it as a complement to another part-time job, by those who earn more money per week, and by those who have not experienced undesirable situations while working, such as harassment or traffic crashes.
Highlights
Ride-hailing is defined as an on-demand mobility service in which drivers of personal vehicles are connected with riders that request a specific trip
Ride-hailing has expanded quickly in many countries over the past decade and several transportation network companies (TNCs) have emerged, including Uber, Lyft, Didi Chuxing, Ola, and Cabify, to name a few. This new industry has posed several challenges to policymakers: on the one hand, riders have been using these new mobility services due to several advantages they offer for specific types of trips
We provide an estimation of earnings and costs for ride-hailing drivers that is independent of the platforms themselves, and that, to the best of our knowledge, is the first of its kind in a country outside the United States
Summary
Ride-hailing is defined as an on-demand mobility service in which drivers of personal vehicles are connected with riders that request a specific trip. Calo and Rosenblat (2017) suggest that the problems regarding labour conditions might be increased by asymmetries in information and power, which is confirmed by Wells et al (2018), who interviewed 40 Uber drivers in Washington, D.C. and showed that these drivers (1) do not know the full details surrounding their earnings, (2) are encouraged to take debts, and (3) are exposed to health and injury risks, yet half of them said they would recommend this job to a friend In this context, ride-hailing users have stressed the relevance of regulating the working conditions of drivers (Tirachini and del Río 2019). The survey was open for former drivers, whose answers are analysed separately in “Reasons to quit” section
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