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Uber Technologies Inc is suffering from an exodus of UK drivers to other ridesharing and delivery apps, resulting in longer wait times and frustrated customers.
The Drivers and Couriers Union App found that 49% of drivers in a survey of 1,212 members have switched to other sources of income in the past 18 months. Drivers who spoke to Bloomberg News complained about Uber slashing service charges to 25%, down from some 20%, prompting many to work as couriers for proliferating delivery companies, or competitors who charge lower fees, like Bolt Technology OU.
“A lot of drivers have left, and when I work on a Saturday, customers tell me they’ve been waiting for hours,” says Amar Ullah, an Uber driver in Glasgow. He said the drivers he knows now work as couriers for Uber Eats, Just Eat Takeaway.com NV or Amazon.com Inc. “They are happy. They say, “I gain a hundred pounds in a few hours. We don’t need to listen to the passengers. We don’t need taxi insurance, and it’s also safer ”.
Customers have complained on social media about longer wait times and higher rates during rush hours as a lack of drivers sparks prices soaring. Hafsah Noor, traveling to a graduation party in east London, said the wait time for his ride quadrupled to 20 minutes after booking. “I canceled to change reservations and when I changed reservations I was again booked with the same driver for 20 minutes,” she said.
Uber, which has struggled with complaints about how it treats drivers for years, suffers from shortages around the world. The company announced in April that it would spend $ 250 million (RM 1.04 billion) on bonuses and other incentives to attract more drivers to the United States, contributing to a larger-than-expected loss in the last quarter. Uber “invested in the recovery by investing in drivers,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the time.
Labor shortages have proliferated around the world during the pandemic, with workers needing better incentives to return to work. Drivers first left the industry because the risk of infection made picking up passengers unsafe. Uber also said that in 2020, many drivers quit because they couldn’t count on enough rides, but ride requests started to exceed supply this year.
“We are encouraging 20,000 new drivers to sign up to meet passenger demand as cities move again,” Uber said in an emailed statement. “We are confident that we will continue to grow our driver base as Uber is the only operator to provide all drivers with the rights and protections to which they are entitled: a guaranteed salary, paid vacation and a pension. “
Uber’s treatment of drivers came to a head in February when a landmark UK Supreme Court ruling forced the company to recognize a group of drivers as ‘workers’, entitling them to minimum wage , vacation pay and other benefits. Similar claims followed and Uber eventually said it would extend the classification to all of its UK drivers.
Even with the new benefits, London-based driver Abdurzak Hadi said the service charges, coupled with rising car rental and insurance costs, have made this “impossible” for many drivers. Drivers who spoke to Bloomberg also reported an increase in customer abuse. “In the end, if it’s not rewarding, it’s easy to walk away. “- Bloomberg
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