Uber waits to annoy British passengers after drivers exit in droves

App Drivers and Couriers Union found that in a survey of 1,212 members, 49% of drivers had switched to other sources of income in the past 18 months.

Drivers interviewed by Bloomberg News complained that Uber increased the service fee for some people from 20% to 25%, prompting many to become couriers for a surge in delivery services or lower-charge competitors such as Bolt Technology.

“A lot of drivers left. When I was out for work on Saturday, customers told me they had to wait for hours,” said Amar Ullah, an Uber driver in Glasgow.

He said a driver he knows is now working as a courier for Uber Eats, Just Eat Takeaway.com or Amazon. “They are happy. They said,’I made a hundred pounds in a few hours. We don’t need to listen to passengers. We don’t need taxi insurance, and it’s safer.”

In November 2019, in this photo in London, England, a commuter used the Uber Technologies app on his smartphone and saw that 30 St Mary Ax is also known as the “Gherkin.”

Uber lost its London license for the second time in less than three years, putting it at risk in one of the largest markets outside the United States after transportation regulators said they failed to resolve safety issues.

Customers complained on social media about longer waiting times and higher fares during peak hours because the lack of drivers would trigger high prices. Hafsah Noor, who was heading to east London for a graduation party, said her waiting time for the ride quadrupled to 20 minutes after booking.

“I cancelled the rebooking, and when I rebooked, I was booked by the same driver for another 20 minutes,” she said.

For many years, Uber has been struggling to respond to complaints about its treatment of drivers, but it has encountered shortages on a global scale. The company said in April that it would spend $250 million on bonuses and other incentives to attract more drivers in the United States, resulting in more than expected losses in the last quarter.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the time that Uber “invested in recovery by investing in drivers.”

During the pandemic, labor shortages have skyrocketed, and workers need better incentives to return to work. The driver initially left the industry because the risk of infection made the passengers dangerous.

Uber also said that in 2020, many drivers will quit their jobs because they can’t expect to get enough trips, but this year’s ride requests have begun to fall short of demand.

Uber said in an email statement: “As the city moves again, we encourage 20,000 new drivers to register to meet the needs of passengers.”

“We believe that we will continue to expand our driver base because Uber is the only operator that provides all drivers with the rights and protections they deserve-guaranteed wages, holiday pay and pensions.”

Uber’s treatment of drivers peaked in February, when a landmark ruling by the British Supreme Court forced the company to recognize a group of drivers as “workers” and grant them a minimum wage, holiday pay and other benefits. A similar statement followed, and Uber eventually said it would extend this classification to all British drivers.

Even with the new benefits, Abdurzak Hadi, a driver in London, said that service charges, coupled with the rising costs of car rental and insurance, are “not feasible” for many drivers.

Drivers who spoke with Bloomberg also reported that abuse from customers is increasing. “Finally, if there is no return, it is easy to walk away.”

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