K2 assignment - annotation Read the below New York Times article about Uber. Write a summary, in which you describe the situation. 1-2 paes !"rial#Times New Roman, 11#12 pt $ont si%e, &ine spacin' 1.( lines, alinment' )usti$ied*. You may use tables, raphs or charts i$ it supports your summary. +eadline' ##21/ 0ay attention to answerin the $ollowin sub-uestions. owe3er, please note that they are meant to uide you, so you do not ha3e to con$ine yoursel3es to them or answer them in this order. • •
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What is the main reason $or the dri3ers4 dissatis$action5 +escribe the chanes and the relationship between the supply and demand o$ Uber and other ta6i companies a$ter Uber4s market entry. 7upport your answer with raphs. 83aluate the elasticity o$ the ser3ice, and calculate the current elasticity considerin the data in the article. Why did Uber promise a minimum hourly wae $or its dri3ers5 What are the dri3ers costs and what bene$its do they et $rom Uber5 What steps could sol3e the problem the dri3ers $aced5
http'##www.nytimes.com#2 http'##www .nytimes.com#21/#2#21#nyre 1/#2#21#nyreion#uber-dri ion#uber-dri3ers-up-aai 3ers-up-aainst-the-app.html nst-the-app.html
Uber Drivers Up Against the App FEB. 19, 2016 By ALAN By ALAN FEUER FEB. Photo
Drivers who assembled in front of the compan!s "on# $sland %it office on Feb. 1 to protest &ber!s latest red'ction in their rates. (n )'per Bowl )'nda, a few h'ndred &ber drivers met in the cold in a p'blic par* in +'eens, plottin# to disr'pt the app that tho'sands of ew -or*ers were abo't to 'se to #et in place to watch the bi# #ame. athered an#ril on rows of wooden benches were &/be*s, ai*s, 'ssians, 3enans, )erbs and Ban#ladeshis, man of them wavin# handmade si#ns. heir ellow placards attac*ed the ride4hailin# service in the inn'merable lan#'a#es of pol#lot ew -or*. 5)hame on &ber7 one anno'nced in )panish. 5&ber Bro*e ('r 8earts7 said another in ibetan. hen in En#lish 5:e ;ade -o' Billionaires7 and 5:e
$t!s hat )imple.7 Photo
5his is the form'la7 he hollered to the crowd. $t has been nearl five ears since &ber arrived in ew -or* %it. :ith its andian philosoph and proprietar al#orithms, the compan promised to reshape the drivin# ind'str, and in man was that promise has come tr'e. < million ew -or*ers have become acc'stomed to ma*in# cars materiali/e b p'llin# o't their smartphones > and not 'st in ;anhattan, b't also in the other boro'#hs, which have lon# been 'nderserved b for4hire providers. $n part as a res'lt, ta?i owners have seen their profits cr'mble, ta?i lenders are slowl #oin# 'nder and ta?i 'nions are scramblin# to protect their members! obs. ;ore recentl, however, &ber!s indomitable rise has been clo'ded b an ins'r#enc from a small b't vocal portion of its own drivers who sa the feel ne#lected, even 'sed. From sprin# 201@ to sprin# 201=, the compan A'adr'pled its b'siness in the cit, and for nearl a ear it has been si#nin# 'p new c'stomers at a rate of 0,000 a wee*. he drivers ar#'e that s'ch dnamic #rowth wo'ld not have been possible witho't them he, after all, s'ppl the cars that *eep the networ* liA'id. Drawn to the compan b advertisements that promised decent wa#es, man now contend that the are victims of a corporate bait4and4switch. @,000 in ew -or* > are independent contractors who b' their own cars, pa for #as and maintenance, and provide their own ins'rance.
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&ber drivers at a rall in 'ne with osh ;ohrer, the #eneral mana#er of &ber ew -or*.%reditHn#el FrancoIhe ew -or* imes wo ears a#o, ravis 3alanic*, &ber!s chief e?ec'tive, said in an interview abo't the compan!s plan to field a fleet of driverless vehicles that a reason the service was relativel e?pensive was that c'stomers were pain# for5the other d'de in the car.7
warnin# and remoteness were softened b the fact that &ber promised, for a month, to #'arantee an ho'rl wa#e at pre4c't levels. :ithin das of the anno'ncement > and despite the #'arantees > ;r. Diallo and two other drivers, Fabio 3rasniAi and Farr'*h 3hamdamov, decided on a stri*e. %allin# themselves the &ber Drivers etwor* , the created a Faceboo* pa#e, desi#ned a flier and paid for nearl 20,000 copies at a print shop near "a 'ardia. 5People can!t ma*e a livin#,7 ;r. Diallo said on the phone after a meetin# to coordinate the ew -or* actions with others in "ondon and )an Francisco. 5he!re pic*in# 'p K fares. he!re drivin# their cars into the #ro'nd. %ollectivel, there!s a lot of mone comin# in, b't no one individ'al is ma*in# m'ch. Photo
a?i drivers rallin# a#ainst &ber in 'l. %redit8iro*o ;as'i*eIhe ew -or* imes 5$t!s #otten to the point,7 he said, 5where it!s literall 'nbearable.7 &ber li*es to sa that its drivers, not its riders, are its c'stomers.
increased the avera#e driver!s #ross ho'rl wa#es from 2K to L. (n 'esda, ;r. ;ohrer released n'mbers indicatin# that from the three wee*s before the last ro'nd of c'ts to the three wee*s after, drivers! wa#es went 'p b 1L percent. &ber also disp'tes the claim that there are too man drivers in ew -or*. here are still more ta?i riders that the compan co'ld woo, and, accordin# to ;r. ;ohrer, after the recent c'ts were made, trips in the Bron? and +'eens, where man drivers live, went 'p b nearl 2= percent. B't if all this data has the wei#ht of script're for &ber e?ec'tives, it has been less pers'asive to the drivers, who sa the statistics do not f'll describe the e?perience of wor*in# for the compan. ho'#h lower prices mi#ht increase their wor*load and th's their #ross, the sa, the increased reven'e will be eroded b a correspondin# increase in e?penses.
&ber drivers demonstratin# in s'pport of the compan in ;a.%redit;ichael
or triple the rate of their peers in smaller cities. 5he!re more vested and en#a#ed in &ber, so we ta*e a more caref'l approach here,7 ;r. ;ohrer said. 8e added 5$t!s a deeper relationship.7 B't deeper doesn!t necessaril mean easier. < few wee*s a#o, ;r. ;ohrer met with the leaders of the stri*es at his office on :est 2Lth )treet in %helsea!s #aller district. 8e said the had a fran* disc'ssion abo't the rate c'ts, which co'ld be rescinded if the c'ts do not achieve their #oals. :hile he was not e?plicit abo't what those #oals mi#ht be, he insisted that the conversation had been 'sef'l. 5$ want to do this re#'larl,7 he said. 5ivin# drivers the opport'nit to spea* to me and m staff can res'lt in more rapid chan#e.7 he stri*ers fo'nd the meetin# less s'ccessf'l. 5$t was a o*e,7 ;r. Diallo said. 5he treated 's li*e o*ers.7 From his perspective, ;r. ;ohrer offered no concessions on the c'ts and was firm on onl one position that there wo'ld never be a tippin# option on &ber!s app. with o'r friends and families,7 ;r. 3rasniAi roared. 5
at the %ol'mbia B'siness )chool who st'dies the ta?i ind'str. 5B't this is not :est Oir#inia coal miners who all #rew 'p to#ether in the same small town.7 &ber has been somewhat cl'ms in dealin# with the problems with its fleet. $n a stro*e of 'nfort'nate timin#, :ired ma#a/ine p'blished a ,0004word treatise on &ber!s new corporate lo#o one da after the drivers went on stri*e o'tside its ew -or* office. $t was an inadvertent st'd in tech4world navel4 #a/in# as h'ndreds of immi#rants were splashed across the $nternet attac*in# &ber, :ired described how ;r. 3alanic* had been wor*in# for two ears on the lo#o, immersin# himself in or#anic color schemes and *ernin#. here is a potential wild card %lass4action laws'its have been filed a#ainst &ber, incl'din# in the federal co'rts in Broo*ln and )an Francisco, which see* to ma*e the drivers f'll emploees. $f the s'its are s'ccessf'l, the co'ld cripple &ber!s b'siness model, tho'#h some le#al e?perts have said the are s*eptical that the drivers co'ld prevail when the 'se their own vehicles, and decide themselves when and whether to pic* 'p passen#ers. Photo
&ber drivers at the compan!s help des* on :est 2Lth )treet in ;anhattan this month.%reditDave )anders for he ew -or* imes hat leaves the traditional ro'te of 'nion or#ani/in#, which, in the case of the stri*ers in ew -or*, has become chaotic.
petition with the ational "abor elations Board as*in# to represent another 600 &ber drivers who wor* at "a 'ardia. ;r. Diallo and his team have been wor*in# on a secret weapon a driver4owned app to compete with those from "ft and &ber, those from other ride4hailin# companies li*e ett and Oia, and the ta?i ind'str!s own two e4hailin# sstems, :a2ide and to b'ild a real partnership and reall be partners.7 For now, however, the are still plannin# stri*es, even if the one on )'per Bowl )'nda was of A'estionable effectiveness. he drivers celebrated the action on their Faceboo* pa#e, postin# a screen shot of &ber!s app that ni#ht > accompanied b the hashta# )8&D(:)&PEB(:" > that showed a wait time at 3enned s 0aper =7ubscribe
