Dan Ocampo

Here’s what I had to say about the bills at the city council back in December:

s27147.pcdn.co/app/uploads/...

It builds on the success of the food delivery worker minimum pay standard, which increased wages to $19.78 an hour—while NYC’s app delivery industry continues to thrive.

The landmark package of bills passed by the City Council would ensure better pay transparency, safeguard worker tips, and extend the city’s nation-leading minimum pay rate to include grocery and package delivery workers for companies like Instacart and Amazon Flex.

Proud to stand alongside my friends at Los Deliveristas Unidos yesterday to celebrate another major victory for New York City’s delivery workers.

Excellent work @jmlstein.bsky.social @rdbinns.bsky.social

6/ In sum, Uber is using its AI algorithms to squeeze more value out of workers, while drivers are earning less and their working conditions are worse.

It's one example of the "enshittification" of work from AI and surveillance capitalism--and it's a story that won't stop with Uber.

5/ Working conditions are also worse. Drivers now spend more time waiting for trips than carrying passengers, and pay is much less predictable. This forces them to organize their lives around an algorithm without knowing what they'll earn.

4/ Uber is also capturing much more "surplus value" (the revenue generated per on-trip driver hour minus labor cost) with dynamic pricing, mostly by taking a higher percentage of high-value fares, a phenomenon obscured by the overall average take rate.

UK Uber drivers’ earnings cut after changes to secretive algorithm Introduction of ‘dynamic pricing’ also coincided with company raising trip prices, researchers finds

3/ Meanwhile, Uber’s median take rate in the UK increased from 25% to 29%. On some individual trips, Uber pocketed more than 50% of the fare, with higher take rates concentrated on more valuable trips.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

2/ The data show a significant drop in driver pay after dynamic pricing was introduced. Average hourly pay fell from £22.20 to £19.06--before factoring in driver expenses. For a subset of 114 consistent drivers, 93 of them now earn less per hour.

Not Even Nice Work If You Can Get It; A Longitudinal Study of Uber's Algorithmic Pay and Pricing Ride-sharing platforms like Uber market themselves as enabling `flexibility' for their workforce, meaning that drivers are expected to anticipate when and where the algorithm will allocate them jobs, ...

1/ Another study about algorithmic wage-setting!! This one from Oxford and @workerinfox.bsky.social, analyzing 1.5 million Uber trips in the UK, shows how dynamic pricing has made the experience of driving for Uber much worse.
arxiv.org/abs/2506.15278

Not Even Nice Work If You Can Get It; A Longitudinal Study of Uber's Algorithmic Pay and Pricing Ride-sharing platforms like Uber market themselves as enabling `flexibility' for their workforce, meaning that drivers are expected to anticipate when and where the algorithm will allocate them jobs, ...

New paper out today, accepted at #FAccT2025, led by Jake Stein and me: "Not Even Nice Work If You Can Get It; A Longitudinal Study of Uber's Algorithmic Pay and Pricing" arxiv.org/abs/2506.15278

Over the last 3 years, we've been working with @workerinfox.bsky.social to audit Uber's algorithms. 1/

New Research Exposes Deepening Exploitation of Uber Drivers by Algorithmic Pay New Research Exposes Deepening Exploitation of Uber Drivers by Algorithmic Pay

New - Oxford University research in partnership with @Workerinfox exposes deepening exploitation of Uber drivers by algorithmic pay
www.workerinfoexchange.org/post/new-res...

Excellent work @jmlstein.bsky.social @rdbinns.bsky.social

6/ In sum, Uber is using its AI algorithms to squeeze more value out of workers, while drivers are earning less and their working conditions are worse.

It's one example of the "enshittification" of work from AI and surveillance capitalism--and it's a story that won't stop with Uber.

5/ Working conditions are also worse. Drivers now spend more time waiting for trips than carrying passengers, and pay is much less predictable. This forces them to organize their lives around an algorithm without knowing what they'll earn.

4/ Uber is also capturing much more "surplus value" (the revenue generated per on-trip driver hour minus labor cost) with dynamic pricing, mostly by taking a higher percentage of high-value fares, a phenomenon obscured by the overall average take rate.

3/ Meanwhile, Uber’s median take rate in the UK increased from 25% to 29%. On some individual trips, Uber pocketed more than 50% of the fare, with higher take rates concentrated on more valuable trips.

2/ The data show a significant drop in driver pay after dynamic pricing was introduced. Average hourly pay fell from £22.20 to £19.06--before factoring in driver expenses. For a subset of 114 consistent drivers, 93 of them now earn less per hour.

That's why @nelp.org is making the case for greater transparency--so drivers know what they'll earn, and researchers & policymakers can better understand this industry.

6/ To protect this model, Uber has aggressively opposed transparency, suing Colorado over disclosure requirements and now refusing to share its take rate figure with shareholders.

Uber’s Price-Gouging and What We Can Do About It - National Employment Law Project Uber has reached record profitability by gouging both consumers and drivers.

5/ Drivers once had a per-mile and per-minute wage floor; now they earn as little as the algorithm deems possible.

And Uber does the same on the other side of the ledger, repeatedly probing customers to figure out the highest price they’re willing to pay on every trip. www.nelp.org/ubers-price-...

4/ Because of its extensive data surveillance on drivers and riders, and its increasingly powerful AI algorithms, Uber can now pay drivers whatever they are willing to accept for a trip.

2/ New analysis from Len Sherman and Columbia Business School shows how Uber’s shift to “upfront pricing” in 2022 decoupled prices from wages, allowing the company to maximize its “take rate”.

The company now pockets about *42%* of each customer fare, up from 32% at the start of upfront pricing.

How Uber Became A Cash-Generating Machine Uber has achieved one of the most impressive turnarounds in recent corporate history — a $12 billion swing in free cash flow over the past…

1/ Over the last five years, Uber has gone from burning cash to becoming an extremely profitable company, with a $12 billion swing in free cash flow. How? By using algorithmic “upfront pricing” to hike customer prices and cut driver wages.

len-sherman.medium.com/how-uber-bec...

Uber’s Price-Gouging and What We Can Do About It - National Employment Law Project Uber has reached record profitability by gouging both consumers and drivers.

5/ Drivers once had a per-mile and per-minute wage floor; now they earn as little as the algorithm deems possible.And Uber does the same on the other side of the ledger, repeatedly probing customers to figure out the highest price they’re willing to pay on every trip. www.nelp.org/ubers-price-...

4/ Because of its extensive data surveillance on drivers and riders, and its increasingly powerful AI algorithms, Uber can now pay drivers whatever they are willing to accept for a trip.

Drivers once had a per-mile and per-minute wage floor; now they earn as little as the algorithm deems possible.

2/ New analysis from Len Sherman and Columbia Business School shows how Uber’s shift to “upfront pricing” in 2022 decoupled prices from wages, allowing the company to maximize its “take rate”.

The company now pockets about *42%* of each customer fare, up from 32% at the start of upfront pricing.

For the record, before the 1830s or so--that is, during the US founding era--all of New York City's food markets were publicly owned.

eh.net/book_reviews...

Because nobody’s paying attention and everybody knows who Cuomo is