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Comment by crazy1van | Hacker News Reader

In my completely unscientific survey of asking my Uber drivers how they like their job, I've never had a single one complain about their employment arrangement. Most of them talk about how much they like the flexibility to work the hours they want. This is across a diverse group of drivers from young college kids, new immigrants, and semi-retirees. Is my sample set an anomaly or have others heard similar stories?

If the workers in the "gig economy" really are generally happy and their employers are happy and their customers are happy, I'm not sure I see a good reason to toss new regulations into the mix.

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I think you underestimate how powerful the rating system is on the behavior of the people who serve you on a day to day basis is.

It's quite possible that Uber drivers do not want to give you any reason to give a negative rating, including being open about their actual feelings about the economic arrangements that govern their relationship to you.

I have a friend I met completely outside of Uber who is a full-time Uber driver. He says he loves driving, meeting all sorts of people, and choosing his own hours. It's obviously just one anecdote, but I'm pretty sure he's not lying.

I'm sure he likes that part of it, but does he like how Uber does things specifically?

Recently he was annoyed that they were taking longer than he'd like to process the paperwork for his newly purchased car. Other than that I don't recall any specifics.

I was on the verge of giving an Uber driver a bad rating once because he wouldn't stop yapping about how great Uber is for him (I had not asked, and I generally prefer my rides to be quiet).

And let's not forget pride, and denial. I have had many lousy jobs in my life. When I get the second universal question, "Do you like your job?". I always respond, "It's o.k.--it's just temporary anyway!" (The first universal question I get is "What do you do?".)

I really don't like those questions. I know they are necessary questions in some settings, but overused questions by the "I define myself by what present occupation I currently have people."

As to this rating system; I'm sorry people, companies are overusing it. I'm kind of sick of it. I couldn't imagine buying a four door, 2008 or newer vehicle(until recently), Uber approved vechicle, and have to worry about customer ratings. These ratings should be private, and if the employee is a bad apple; fire him!

Uber drivers who are unhappy probably leave uber more often than if they were happy.

Therefore any random driver is more likely to enjoy uber instead of disliking uber.

Right. That's a grain of salt I take when I talk to Uber drivers. That said, I've had several drivers who were former taxi drivers, and much prefer working for Uber.

Here in Minneapolis, the taxi driver business is dominated by our large (30k+) Somali community. I'm starting to see Somalis and Kenyans more as drivers now, when just a year ago they tended to be caucasian. This tells me Uber is making a real dent in the taxi driver employee base.

did it cross your mind that they may not bitch about their job to a person who can fire them (you)? If their rating falls below 4, they are essentially canned by uber.

Also, there's plenty of room for regulation even if customers and employees are happy. Uber is a giant negative externality, and we should force them to internalize it.

> Uber is a giant negative externality

Could you elaborate on this?

They're told by Uber that they must give this narrative. It may be true for some, but for others, telling the truth would be grounds for termination.

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