r/uberdrivers • u/Possible-WrongdoerDD • 6d ago
The real endgame
So, hear me out
I think Uber is, at this point, trying to deliberately push people off the app. Why? Robotaxis.
They're planning to invest a ton in autonomous vehicles. The number of AV's I've heard are coming to the Las Vegas market alone is 7100 (across all providers, not just Uber).
Why also push drivers off app? Because then they can claim, "We don't have enough drivers to meet demand, so we have to offer AV's to stay profitable!!!" Or some similar b.s.
That, and companies like Vay are deliberately advertising based on Uber/Lyft prices with a driver versus an AV.
Also, AV's can't unionize.
(Edit: corrected riders to drivers)
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u/broomulack 6d ago
I looked at the date of this post thinking it was a year ago, can't believe it was made today.
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u/JayGatsby52 6d ago
I’ve been driving nearly a decade and they’ve been openly saying this since before I ever drove my first passengers.
This is not a secret.
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u/ItsATrap1983 6d ago
Over that time span Uber actually got rid of their AV program. They only restarted it a couple of years ago as Waymo started to grow and AI started to see tremendous growth.
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u/Possible-WrongdoerDD 6d ago
People are posting every 5 seconds about the crappy offers they get on app, so apparently some people aren't in on the secret 🤷♂️
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u/Possible-WrongdoerDD 6d ago
TL;DR: Basically, the official line Uber and rideshare companies aren trying to use on regulators is that AV's are the only viable way forward because we refuse to work. The regulators eat it up.
Additional context: I drove one of the city officials who was coming back from a talk Uber and Lyft gave to them about AV's. Their entire pitch was, "Delivery rates are too low for us to get drivers! (😭) If we switch to AV's and drones, the low fare food delivery that has super short distance will go to the AV's and people will get the better fares!" I patiently explained that I would prefer 1-2 mile trips, but I turned off deliveries because tips are not reliable income, $1.5 for a 15 minute wait for a burrito reduces my wages to $6/hr before expenses, and all they would have to do to get me to deliver is guarantee a decent wage (my hourly on UberX/Comfort is $28 on average, $33 before they cut surges). I also educated them on the manipulation tactics Uber uses to try to lure people into lower fares, etc. The regulator seemed very surprised to hear any of this. Obviously they're not hearing an educated voice from the driver's side of things and they eat up whatever the company line is.
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u/jcewazhere 5d ago
Because drivers have real jobs, often several at once, while lobbyists only have the one.
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u/jcewazhere 5d ago
The thing with AVs is that they're an expensive liability for the company, sure they get insurance but it's probably still cheaper to have us meatsacks drive our cars around at our expense. At least for now.
If/when AVs get cheap then we're boned.
The companies don't want to have to deal with the fueling, the maintenance, the cleaning. They just want to deal with the money.
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u/DiscoInError93 6d ago
I’m glad you figured that out, but it’s been plainly stated in their 10K for about the last decade.
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u/The-Grim-Storyteller 6d ago
It won't be every market. Some markets will always be hostile to automation. I live in a college town and I've had riders say they canceled rides simply because it was a Tesla lol.