Illustration by Meah Lin
Taken For A Ride
The Hidden Costs of Algorithmic Management for Rideshare Workers
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What Is This Site?
This is an informational website to demystify the technologies used to manage digital gig workers and their impact on workers’ well-being. At the end, we provide some data tools, including a rideshare driver earnings calculator, for drivers (or anyone!) to test out.
More people are turning to gig work as income(?)According to Pew Research’s 2021 Report, 16% of Americans have engaged in online gig work and 58% of active gig workers rely on this income for basic needs. , but the technologies that assign them work and decide their wages are unregulated and secretive. We hope to shed some light and share resources in support of both workers and consumers. This website is based on our 3 academic papers at CHI* 2022, 2023, and 2024. See below for more details.
Works Cited
CHI 2023
ARXIV 2024
*Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Who is this for?
This website is for anyone–whether you’re just curious or you’re working on a specific gig worker initiative!
We especially encourage those in policy- or regulation-related roles (e.g., city policy managers, civic designers, researchers, legislators and their aides) to explore this. We hope it can help you reflect on how policy or regulation can protect gig workers against discrimination, workplace safety concerns, and wage theft.
Please note our research is situated in a U.S. context and may have limited generalizations globally.
Who Are Gig Workers?
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Gig workers are becoming increasingly common and popular. Many of us encounter them in our day-to-day life.
They are the rideshare drivers taking you to the airport...
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Who Are Gig Workers?
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Gig workers are becoming increasingly common and popular. Many of us encounter them in our day-to-day life.
Couriers delivering your takeout, groceries, and packages...
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Who Are Gig Workers?
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Gig workers are becoming increasingly common and popular. Many of us encounter them in our day-to-day life.
Freelancers helping you with home or business tasks...
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Who Are Gig Workers?
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But they are also “invisible”, working behind the scenes
Reviewing social media posts for inappropriate content
An example of a tool Reddit moderators can use. Companies have stated they employ human content moderators but do not share examples of the criteria or interfaces publicly.
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Who Are Gig Workers?
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But they are also “invisible”, working behind the scenes
Labeling hundreds or thousands of data points to help train and make possible new/improved ML models
An example of how workers might label data to train new ML models through platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk.
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Who Are Gig Workers?
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There are many forms that digital gig work can take. Each has its own specific nuances, so we will primarily focus on rideshare drivers here.
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In the U.S., two companies emerged as dominating players in the rideshare market: Uber (2009) and Lyft (2012) . When it launched, Uber was hailed for its use of big data to bring together riders and drivers through its powerful matching algorithm.
The two platforms have grown rapidly since: Lyft operates in 600+ cities across the U.S. and Canada with 1.4 million drivers, and Uber in 10,000+ cities across 72 countries with over 5 million drivers (stats last updated Summer 2024).
Even though these companies tout millions of drivers, they stress that they are software companies and NOT job creators or employers. They classify rideshare drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
In the U.S., this classification means drivers should have full control over their work: what they do, when they do it, how they do it. As a trade-off, they do not have the wage and worker benefits that company employees do.
But... are drivers in full control or are their attempts at work autonomy thwarted by coercive and evolving algorithms?
Are rideshare companies truly just selling software, or is the technology actually managing workers akin to employees?
Overview
To answer these questions, this site is broken into 3 sections. If you’re already familiar with one, feel free to jump to another. Otherwise, we suggest reading the sections in order.
Part 1.
App Breakdown
Functions of and vocabulary used by Uber and Lyft
Part 2.
Case Studies
Policy efforts in U.S. cities and states
Part 3.
Driver Tools
Try it yourself! How much would you make in a week?
Click here for a site appendix if you want to view our references and additional resources!
Part 1: App Breakdown
First, it’s important to understand how tech companies operate to know whether and what policy/regulation is needed. If you’ve never been a rideshare driver, you might not understand how platforms work (that’s okay!). We review rideshare platform operations and terminology to shed light on things like: “What do drivers see?”, “How much of my fare do drivers get?”, “Why is it taking my driver so long to pick me up?”
At the most basic level: rideshare companies connect drivers and passengers.
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Customers sign up on the passenger-side app to request rides.
This is a screenshot taken by one of the team members of the Uber app.
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They enter desired pick-up and drop-off locations, view fare prices, request a ride, and are matched with a driver.
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Drivers use the driver-side app to work.
This is a mock-up of what the driver-side app looks like, based on real screenshots.
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The platform sends drivers ride requests with limited trip information. This “limited trip information” is different for drivers depending on factors such as the city they work in, their star rating, etc. The driver must accept or reject the trip within a few seconds. Platforms charge a commission of each trip fare that customers pay—often called “take rate” by drivers. We will expand on this later.
Platforms also make up their own lingo to describe the different functions—or features—of their app.
Below, we explain 4 platform features. Click the term and then scroll left to right to go through the content. When you’re done, you can click a different term to learn more.
Bonus Incentives
Loyalty Tiers
Dynamic Pricing
Fare Calculation
Platform Terminologies
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Bonus Incentives: How Platforms Describe It
QUESTS are Uber’s promotions where drivers can earn a bonus on top of the base fare. A driver must complete a certain number of trips OR reach a certain earnings amount within a specific time range.
For example, the first screenshot shows a Quest option of working Mon 4AM to Fri 4AM to complete 80 trips and make a bonus of $25. The second screenshot shows a Quest option of working Fri 4AM to Mon 4AM to earn $295 and make a bonus of $65.
The platform decides all parameters of the Quest: whether it’s based on trips or earnings, the required number of trips or earnings amount, the bonus amount, the time range.
(L) Source: UberPeople Forum. (R) Source: r/uberdrivers.
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Platform Terminologies
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Bonus Incentives: How Platforms Describe It
Quest offers can differ between drivers and a driver is not guaranteed to receive the same Quest offer again. Platforms do not disclose how each driver’s Quest offer is created. Quest bonuses are all or nothing: if a driver does not complete the minimum number of trips, they will not receive any bonus.
Screenshot of the Uber Driver app after not completing a Quest. Source: r/uberdrivers
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Platform Terminologies
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Bonus Incentives: How Platforms Describe It
Quests are advertised by Uber as a way for drivers to maximize their earnings and allow the company to increase driver supply on the roads, decrease passenger wait time, and balance fares.
Lyft’s equivalent is CHALLENGES and operates similarly to Quests.
(L) Explanation on Uber's website about a Quest offer. (R) Explanation on Uber's website with a map that details where the trips have to be completed within. Source: The Rideshare Guy.
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Platform Terminologies
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Bonus Incentives: How Drivers Experience It
Although Quests are framed by platforms as opportunities for drivers to drive more and earn more, in reality, drivers experience them as pressuring them to work more.
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Platform Terminologies
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Bonus Incentives: How Drivers Experience It
[...] Uber has their way to keep you driving. So instead of some drivers, you know, sees that, ‘oh, it's not a lot of surge pricing going on. Let me just get sign off’ [ ... but ] you have to complete those Quests, those amount of rides in order to get the bonus money. That's why a lot of driver continues driving.”
—Full-time Chicago rideshare driver we spoke to in 2022, ~6 months experience at the time
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Platform Terminologies
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Bonus Incentives: How Drivers Experience It
Drivers also suspect platforms use dynamic algorithms to offer them lowballing incentives or even prevent them from completing Quests.
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Platform Terminologies
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Bonus Incentives: How Drivers Experience It
[...] they're trying to get you to work for less. That's the whole point [...] you're not getting paid the full amount that you're going to get paid per offer, because there's an artificial incentive at the end.
—Policymaker we spoke to in 2023 with personal experience working on delivery gig work platforms
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Platform Terminologies
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Bonus Incentives: How Drivers Experience It
You're doing it for the bonus. Without the bonus [...] they're garbage, to be honest. You're not making much on them.”
—Rideshare driver and worker-organizer we spoke to in 2023. He’s explaining how the fare of each request before any potential bonuses is unprofitable.
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Platform Terminologies
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Bonus Incentives: How Drivers Experience It
If you are working on a Quest [...] we all notice, once you get into those last few that you need [...] it'll get start getting really, really slow [...] waiting, waiting and waiting for rides [...] feels like you're kind of being manipulated by the app [...] it sort of doesn't want to give you those [...] or it'll suddenly throw in, you know, like a two hour ride thing when you're just trying to get those last few so you can go home.
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For additional lingo breakdown, check out our Index at the end of this website.
Part 2: U.S. Policy Case Studies
Despite unprofitable wages and heavy-handed control by platforms (covered in Part 1), the U.S. currently lacks comprehensive policy and regulation to oversee companies.
This has resulted in an ongoing face-off between platforms wanting to formalize their unregulated status as an industry vs. driver organizations demanding fair work practices. Policymakers face pressure from both sides whose goals are often at odds with one another.
To untangle this face-off, we break down the motivations and strategies of platforms and driver organizations. We explain the most commonly pursued policies and, if applicable, why they are still in contention. Here, we also provide select case studies about how several U.S. states and cities have approached rideshare policy/regulation.
A Brief Summary of Platforms vs. Driver Organizations Face-Off
1. State Pushback
Following their launch, Uber and Lyft were met by rare instances of pushback but otherwise faced little resistance entering markets.
In 2013, California became the first state to regulate rideshare driving by mandating universal background checks on drivers and requiring companies to hold a corporate insurance policy. (See the Case Studies for more about how rideshare regulation and policy has unfolded in CA).
Other local city governments tried to follow suit. Early legislation and regulation mostly addressed licensing and insurance rather than regulating companies for their labor practices. Some examples: driver background checks, fingerprinting, and (less commonly), minimum wage laws.
2. Platform Pushback
Platforms retaliated by threatening to leave markets and lobbying against pro-driver regulations. For example: Seattle (2017), California (2020), & Minneapolis (2023).
In other cases, platforms did completely abandon regions until new (state) legislation passed to lift platform regulations. For example: Alaska (2014), San Antonio & Houston (2015), & Austin (2016).
**Rideshare platform companies are often referred to by governments as Transportation Network Companies (TNC) or Transportation Network Providers (TNP). This does not include delivery drivers which can be confusing because some companies like Uber also offer other gig work services like UberEats (food delivery).
3. Platform Initiatives in the U.S.
In an attempt to institutionalize their unregulated status across the U.S., platforms began and continue to lobby states over two main objectives.
- 1. Pushing for state preemptive policies that override local, city-initiated regulations. Cities are often where regulations which attempt to restrict rideshare companies and protect drivers begin.
- 2. Pressing states to declare drivers as independent contractors, thereby concretizing their status as workers without benefits. This initiative allows platforms to reduce overhead costs and transfer risk and liability to workers.
4. Driver Organization Initiatives in the U.S.
Gig work is by nature a solitary activity, but drivers have found ways to collaborate, such as offering strategies or emotional support (See Uber Drivers Forum, RideGuru Forum, r/uberdrivers in addition to local groups). In some areas, drivers have formed organized groups to advocate for their rights. For example, Rideshare Drivers United started in CA from a grassroots effort and now has over twenty thousand members. Work they do includes organizing drivers to strike over poor working conditions, pushing back on platform initiatives, and informing policy making through driver pay studies.
Read the case studies below to view city/state-specific driver groups as well as platform and/or driver organization initiatives.
Two main policy initiatives have historically been pursued…
First, what should rideshare drivers be classified as?
Rideshare Companies (Platforms)
Rideshare companies want to cement rideshare drivers’ status as independent contractors within each state. This allows them to keep overhead costs low compared to if drivers were employees.
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Rideshare Driver Organizations
Driver objectives for joining gig work platforms are so varied that it’s difficult to reach consensus on this matter in a way that doesn’t compromise some workers’ objectives over others.
Read More on Classification
Why Do Platforms Want Rideshare Drivers to Be Considered Independent Contractors?
In the U.S., classifying drivers as contractors means platforms can reduce overhead costs and transfer on-the-job risks to workers.
An example of overhead costs of employees include paying for benefits such as health insurance and vacation time, reimbursing workers for expenses accrued on the job such as vehicle wear and tear and maintenance.
An example of on-the-job risks is physical injury and the accompanying financial loss: drivers who are get into accidents on the job will face monetary loss while unable to work, whereas employees would be eligible for worker's compensation for a duration while unable to work.
Why are drivers split on the classification issue?
Many drivers join gig work platforms in search of autonomy and flexible work. They prefer being self-employed because in theory, this means they should be able to control their schedule, their pay, and the jobs they choose to work. However, in practice, as we explained above, there are different controls imposed by platforms that prevent drivers from having basic information or control that an independent contractor is supposed to have.
Some drivers (e.g., part-time drivers) feel they are able to exert control in turning down unpreferable rides and not feeling pressured to pursue gamified incentives. Others who do this full-time–often from vulnerable populations–do not have this luxury. In order to earn a living then, they must accept the risks in hopes that the pay-off is worth it.
Basic rights [...] shouldn't have anything to do with whether you are classified as an employee or classified as an independent contractor. If you get on an algorithmic, you know, a tech driven application where you get your job assignments, or you look for jobs, or whatever it is, there are some things that you should have rights within that system, to know and to see and have available to you.
—State Legislator from Study 3
Second, should there be a wage floor or minimum pay standard?
Rideshare Companies (Platforms)
Rideshare companies are generally opposed to an earnings standard or minimum pay standard. However, they may work with officials to negotiate down rates or agree to it in exchange for advancing their own agendas (permanently categorizing drivers as independent contractors).
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Rideshare Driver Organizations
Drivers are in favor of better wages, but they do not agree on having earnings standards nor how standards should be created. This is related to worker classification because some view a minimum wage as an infringement on being independent contractors. In these cases, drivers prefer that platforms reduce “take rates”(?)Take rates are the commission platforms take from each fare.. However, many agree that without policy or regulation, platforms will never implement a payment model that benefits drivers.
Read More on Minimum Wage
Why is a minimum wage standard needed?
Check out “Fare Calculation” that we explained in Part 1! Essentially, there is no regulation right now(?)Last updated Summer 2024 on the maximum that platforms can charge customers nor is there regulation on how high a commission platforms can take from drivers.
What do minimum wage standards look like?
These standards often incorporate the following variables into a pay formula (this presentation from Minnesota’s DOL is a very helpful resource):(1) Per minute rate–this accounts for a minimum hourly rate and can include an offset for accruing paid time off and paying employer payroll tax(2) Per mile rate–this is meant to offset typical expenses like gas, maintenance, wear and tear(3) Utilization rate–this is to ensure drivers are being paid for all their time worked which includes 1) having the driver-side app on and waiting for a request to come through, 2) driving to pick up a passenger, and 3) driving a passenger from pick-up to drop-off. (These periods are often shorthanded as P1, P2, and P3. See our glossary for a detailed explanation and other resources if you want to read more!)
How have platforms opposed or negotiated minimum wage policies?
At a high level, platforms have responded to proposals for minimum wage through one (or a combination of) the following:(1) Threatening to exit the region (e.g., Minneapolis)(2) Negotiating lower minimum wage ranges (e.g., Minneapolis, Seattle)(3) Agreeing to rates on the grounds of new provisions which limit future worker initiatives, such as cementing driver status as independent contractors
What are drivers' perspectives on minimum wage standards?
Here are a few examples of drivers’ feelings:(1) Supportive: These are often drivers who work full-time on gig work apps, so some form of minimum wage should theoretically offer them more stability.(2) Desire alternatives: Drivers have raised other models for minimum wage not based on trip miles/minutes. One example is regulation to limit the commission platforms can charge from a customer’s pay. Another is guaranteeing a minimum pay after completing a pre-specified number of trips.(3) Against: These drivers believe an earnings standard is too close to a minimum wage policy that would result in them becoming employees and limit their flexibility. Or they firmly believe drivers make their own destiny and do not pay heed to algorithmic factors platforms might impose.
Unfortunately, these two issues, especially classification, have sometimes devolved into (partisan) distractions from achieving meaningful change for drivers. So most recently, driver organizations have begun moving towards a new initiative: algorithmic transparency. Regardless of whether rideshare drivers are employees or independent contractors, or the existence of an earnings standard, drivers should be entitled to basic worker rights.
Pick A State or City to Learn More
*The information on the following pages is not meant to be comprehensive, but rather highlights of policy/regulation efforts for the selected cities/states.
Denver, Colorado
Chicago, Illinois
State of California
State of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
State of Massachusetts
New York City, New York
Seattle, Washington
State of Washington
Part 3: Try It Yourself
So far, we’ve covered how the app works, what rideshare drivers experience, and a brief overview of the current rideshare policy/regulation efforts in the U.S.
Here we offer some interactive data visualization tools so you can test out what it’s like to be a driver. By combining data with worker stories, we hope to convey the impact of algorithmic management on workers and why gig worker protections are necessary.
Index
A Glossary Table of terms covered in this study
A detailed Timeline Table of integral events in Gig Work from 2009–2023
A Table of Reports related to rideshare gig work policies
Feedback Form
Who made this?
We’re a team of researchers studying AI’s Impact on the Future of Work at the University of Texas at Austin. Learn more about our Human-AI Interaction Lab here!
This research was partially supported by the National Science Foundation; Good Systems, a UT Austin Grand Challenge for developing responsible AI technologies; and UT Austin’s School of Information.
Project Team
Lab Manager
Min Kyung Lee
Team Lead
Research and Writing
Rose Rana, Nithila Sathiya, Angie Zhang
Data Probe Development + Research
Alex Boltz
Data Probe Simulations
Praveen Mogan, Anjie Liu
Website and Graphic Design, Illustration
Website Development
Additional thanks to Joseph Lee, Jonathan Lynn, and Bianca Talabis