A new study from researchers in the University of Oxford's Department of Computer Science has found that Uber's use of dynamic pricing has led to higher fares for passengers and lower earnings for drivers, while increasing Uber's share of revenue.

The study analyzed data from 258 UK Uber drivers over more than 1.5 million trips between 2016 and 2024. This revealed a significant shift when Uber introduced a dynamic pricing algorithm in 2023. Passengers now pay more per trip, but drivers’ earnings have declined. Adjusted for inflation, drivers’ hourly income fell from over £22 to just over £19 before operating costs, and drivers are spending more unpaid time waiting for rides than before. Uber’s commission has risen from around 25% to 29% and in some cases, Uber took over half the value of the fare.

  • otacon239@lemmy.world
    371·
    1 year ago

    Why would it work any differently? If there’s a way for the company to make more money off both and there’s no punishment for doing so, what’s the incentive for anything else?

    • lectricleopard@lemmy.world
      72·
      1 year ago

      Yeah, my first thought was this isn’t news. This is literally reporting that someone is doing their job.

      It sucks that the goal in capitalism is just more money. Unions are how labor gets stuff in capitalism. Even if they aren’t perfect, dont hate the player, hate the game.