How Ridehail/Transportation Network Companies affects Education and Workforce

Ride-hail drivers, part of the gig economy, are contracted as independent employees and often lack legal protection on labor rights and employment benefits that would be offered to traditional employees [1]. Existing research on ride-hail drivers focuses on the labor conditions of the workforce and understanding the motives behind becoming a ride-hail driver. Research reveals ride-hail drivers attract a diverse group of populations. According to Benner [1], 78 percent of the workforce is people of color and 56 percent are immigrants. Hall [2] concludes drivers are attracted to gig work due to schedule flexibility and additional income outside of their full-time or part-time jobs. There is limited research on the interests and capabilities of current workers in order to develop effective workforce development programs that will empower drivers to take collective action [3]. The current research suggests workforce development tools should also be aimed towards individuals outside the gig workforce, self-employed individuals, or platform workers [3]. While the industry lacks widespread collective action among drivers, many drivers have taken to various strategies to advocate for themselves such as business planning, leveraging platform competition, activism through social media, and using technology to manage the workforce [3].

References

  1. C. Benner, E. Johansson, K. Feng, and H. Witt, “On-demand and on-the-edge: Ride hailing and Delivery workers in San Francisco,” May 2020. [Online]. Available: https://transform.ucsc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/OnDemandOntheEdge_ExecSum.pdf

  2. J. V. Hall and A. B. Krueger, “An Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber’s Driver-Partners in the United States,” ILR Rev., vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 705–732, May 2018, doi: 10.1177/0019793917717222.

  3. J. Woodside, T. Vinodrai, and M. Moos, “Bottom-up strategies, platform worker power and local action: Learning from ridehailing drivers,” Local Econ. J. Local Econ. Policy Unit, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 325–343, Jun. 2021, doi: 10.1177/02690942211040170.

Related Literature Reviews

See Literature Reviews on Ridehail/Transportation Network Companies

See Literature Reviews on Education and Workforce

Note: Mobility COE research partners conducted this literature review in Spring of 2024 based on research available at the time. Unless otherwise noted, this content has not been updated to reflect newer research.