Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

[SevenEleven]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/12/uber-may-shut-down-temporarily-in-california.html

Khosrowshahi said on Wednesday that his Plan B if Uber can’t win on appeal would be to temporarily pause service in California. While he said Uber would later resume service in the state, it would likely be more centered in cities, which could mean limited availability in less concentrated areas such as suburbs.

[SevenEleven]

Uber was never intended to be a full time job or even a part time one, it was an opportunity for people to supplement their income or earn some extra money.

I meant people who depend on Uber for transportation.

Contrary to popular belief, Uber is rarely the cheapest option to get between two places. I find it hard to believe there are a significant number of people who only have the option of taking Uber, especially given its relatively recent appearence on the scene. You'd need to be someone who lives in an area with no public transportation, but who still needs to commute long distances, who is wealthy enough to afford Uber, but not wealthy enough to afford a baseline used car. Am I missing some big demographic here?

People who don't need to commute on a daily basis, for one. Or people who need temporary transportation due to whatever circumstances. Or travelers away from home. Or people in the burbs who need a ride home from the bar. Or people unable to drive due to injury, old age, or mild disability. "Depending" on a mode of transportation does not mean there are no other modes of transportation available or that it is the cheapest mode of transportation. Someone living in Long Island could take buses to commute to Manhattan, but that doesn't mean they don't depend on LIRR.

Maybe it's just where I've lived, but cabs tend to be the cheaper option compared to Uber for me. They do tend to be slightly less convenient and take longer to get to where you are unless you're in a high-traffic area, and you tend to gamble more with how clean it'll be, but that also varies city-to-city.

Cabs are way more expensive than Uber or Lyft and far less convenient.

[SevenEleven]

This is the right move. If a city/state wants to make it impossible for a business to operate, the business should let the people there see what life is like without it.

Uber exploits people desperate for money.

exploits?  In your opinion, which entities that hire low skilled people don't "exploit" them?

I mean the fact that you have to own a newer car and carry good insurance kind of belies the "desperate for money" sentiment. Most Uber+Lyft drivers are people who want some extra cash in addition to their job, people who want to be able to work according to their own scheduling, or people who aren't "employable" for other reasons, such as looks or disabilities.

[SevenEleven]

Uber was never intended to be a full time job or even a part time one, it was an opportunity for people to supplement their income or earn some extra money.

Except for all the taxicab drivers who Uber put out of business and had to start driving for them.

Ok? Those people still can have a job doing the exact same thing. Do you seriously think that methods of distribution shouldn't change due to technological advancements?

[SevenEleven]

Uber was never intended to be a full time job or even a part time one, it was an opportunity for people to supplement their income or earn some extra money.

Except for all the taxicab drivers who Uber put out of business and had to start driving for them.

Ok? Those people still can have a job doing the exact same thing. Do you seriously think that methods of distribution shouldn't change due to technological advancements?

I mean, if the argument is that working class people who drive for a living should be shoved out of their livelihoods so some privileged people who "just want some extra cash now and then" and have a new side gig, I don't think that's either humane and just, or accurate as to what actually happened in the market.

Lol, you can't be serious. Yeah, shouldn't pay the neighborhood kid to mow your lawn because you're putting the poor gardener out of business. Give me a break.

[SevenEleven]

Uber was never intended to be a full time job or even a part time one, it was an opportunity for people to supplement their income or earn some extra money.

Except for all the taxicab drivers who Uber put out of business and had to start driving for them.

Ok? Those people still can have a job doing the exact same thing. Do you seriously think that methods of distribution shouldn't change due to technological advancements?

I mean, if the argument is that working class people who drive for a living should be shoved out of their livelihoods so some privileged people who "just want some extra cash now and then" and have a new side gig, I don't think that's either humane and just, or accurate as to what actually happened in the market.

Lol, you can't be serious. Yeah, shouldn't pay the neighborhood kid to mow your lawn because you're putting the poor gardener out of business. Give me a break.

Uh yeah, pretty much. The "neighborhood kid" can always find some other way to get his allowance. The gardner needs a way to send his kids to college. I'll side with the latter every time.

The Uber mythology was always a collusion between the middle class "neighorhood kid" and millionaire/billionaire tech bros. F&#@ Uber.

Your ability to constantly generate the most awful takes is awe inspiring, to say the least. If you're job is so low in skill requirements that nearly anyone can do it, maybe it's time to find a new one. Uber driving is basically a paper route for adults. It requires nearly no skill and has few barriers to entry. You're basically competing with 100+ million people. Pretending that anything that universal can guarantee a lifestyle is a ridiculous notion.

In fact, the show my signature is taken from has some hilarious scenes regarding this very topic.

[SevenEleven]

Uber was never intended to be a full time job or even a part time one, it was an opportunity for people to supplement their income or earn some extra money.

Except for all the taxicab drivers who Uber put out of business and had to start driving for them.

Ok? Those people still can have a job doing the exact same thing. Do you seriously think that methods of distribution shouldn't change due to technological advancements?

I mean, if the argument is that working class people who drive for a living should be shoved out of their livelihoods so some privileged people who "just want some extra cash now and then" and have a new side gig, I don't think that's either humane and just, or accurate as to what actually happened in the market.

Lol, you can't be serious. Yeah, shouldn't pay the neighborhood kid to mow your lawn because you're putting the poor gardener out of business. Give me a break.

Uh yeah, pretty much. The "neighborhood kid" can always find some other way to get his allowance. The gardner needs a way to send his kids to college. I'll side with the latter every time.

The Uber mythology was always a collusion between the middle class "neighorhood kid" and millionaire/billionaire tech bros. F&#@ Uber.

Your ability to constantly generate the most awful takes is awe inspiring, to say the least. If you're job is so low in skill requirements that nearly anyone can do it, maybe it's time to find a new one. Uber driving is basically a paper route for adults. It requires nearly no skill and has few barriers to entry. You're basically competing with 200+ million people. Pretending that anything that universal can guarantee a lifestyle is a ridiculous notion.

Well I guess that settles it then. The tens of millions of people working unskilled retail and service whose jobs could be done by millions of other people with a little training should all just get new jobs and there's nothing bad about kicking them all out of work en masse if some tech billionaires can glorify themselves and some people who don't really need the money can get an extra side gig.

That's not going to cause any suffering. After all, it's the rule of the capitalist economy. The decimation of mill towns in the Midwest didn't have any negative effects either... oh wait.

Yeah, I too spend a lot of time lamenting the fact that I can't put my kids through college by delivering milk door to door.

[SevenEleven]

Uber was never intended to be a full time job or even a part time one, it was an opportunity for people to supplement their income or earn some extra money.

Except for all the taxicab drivers who Uber put out of business and had to start driving for them.

Ok? Those people still can have a job doing the exact same thing. Do you seriously think that methods of distribution shouldn't change due to technological advancements?

I mean, if the argument is that working class people who drive for a living should be shoved out of their livelihoods so some privileged people who "just want some extra cash now and then" and have a new side gig, I don't think that's either humane and just, or accurate as to what actually happened in the market.

Lol, you can't be serious. Yeah, shouldn't pay the neighborhood kid to mow your lawn because you're putting the poor gardener out of business. Give me a break.

Uh yeah, pretty much. The "neighborhood kid" can always find some other way to get his allowance. The gardner needs a way to send his kids to college. I'll side with the latter every time.

The Uber mythology was always a collusion between the middle class "neighorhood kid" and millionaire/billionaire tech bros. F&#@ Uber.

Your ability to constantly generate the most awful takes is awe inspiring, to say the least. If you're job is so low in skill requirements that nearly anyone can do it, maybe it's time to find a new one. Uber driving is basically a paper route for adults. It requires nearly no skill and has few barriers to entry. You're basically competing with 200+ million people. Pretending that anything that universal can guarantee a lifestyle is a ridiculous notion.

Well I guess that settles it then. The tens of millions of people working unskilled retail and service whose jobs could be done by millions of other people with a little training should all just get new jobs and there's nothing bad about kicking them all out of work en masse if some tech billionaires can glorify themselves and some people who don't really need the money can get an extra side gig.

That's not going to cause any suffering. After all, it's the rule of the capitalist economy. The decimation of mill towns in the Midwest didn't have any negative effects either... oh wait.

Yeah, I too spend a lot of time lamenting the fact that I can't put my kids through college by delivering milk door to door.

I mean if that was your job you would. You're saying the kids of blue collar or unskilled workers don't deserve to go to college?

No, I'm saying your argument is incredibly stupid. The places where cab drivers can actually drive full time have very high costs of living and are unlikely to result in enough savings to put multiple kids who somehow can't even get scholarships through college. And even then, colleges and universities should be more merit-based with lower costs.

The nice thing about jobs is that you can always get another one. You can always acquire new skills if you put in the effort. The suggestion that I should pay $20 for something that has a market value of $10 is insulting. If you want a bigger paycheck, no one is forcing you to drive a taxi. Unskilled workers are always going to have a tougher time because skills are valuable. If that's a problem for you, the solution is easy. Acquire skills.

[SevenEleven]

Truck haulers can make decent money operating a vehicle for a living. Of course, you have put in more effort to acquire skills and certification than a taxi/Uber driver is asked.

Thanks to modern platforms, I've been able to get rides from deaf drivers (as opposed to taxi cabs, who focused more on utilizing blind drivers). Increased demand has led to a lot more work, including various food, grocery, and package delivery providers that create lots of new opportunities. The nature of the app helps to prevent racial discrimination that we are aware of being very prevalent in the past.

Anyone who suggests the taxi cab days were better is going for shock value. It's an indefensible position.

[SevenEleven]

I recently had my first driver mention Prop 22. He didn't know what AB5 was. He told me to vote No on 22, then told me to vote Yes on 22. It was a very weird experience.