Are Ride-Sharing Platforms Good for Indian Drivers? An Investigation of Taxi and Auto-Rickshaw Drivers in Delhi
Résumé
It has been several years since ride-sharing platforms such as Ola and Uber have entered the Indian market. As a type of matching service, mainstream economic theory predicts that they will bring economic efficiencies to hired transportation. In this study, we investigate the impact of ride-sharing on drivers of taxi cabs and auto-rickshaws in New Delhi through a mixed-methods study involving 60 drivers. We find mixed outcomes for drivers with little clear evidence of overall benefit. We saw no statistically significant impact of ride-sharing on drivers’ average revenue per day, though the data is suggestive of income gains of 7–18% which seem likely to be due to longer hours driven. In contrast to the corporate marketing where driver autonomy and flexibility are oft-cited perks, our participants tended to report less autonomy and control with ride-sharing. And, we find evidence that drivers face greater uncertainty with respect to their income as ride-sharing companies offer intermittent promotional incentives. Our findings are consistent with technological amplification theory. Through ride-sharing platforms, unequal power dynamics between large corporations and low-wage workers are amplified: ride-sharing companies wrest control from drivers while providing little in return.
Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
---|