Vance 1

Victoria Vance
Ms. Dahle
English 1010
10 January 2016

Uber, is it Safe?
I would never hop in a car with a random stranger to get a ride. Unbelievable as it may
seem, receiving a ride from a stranger is the concept Uber is based on, and millions of people
use Uber to get a ride every day. From the time we are small, we depend on adults to get us
where we need to go safely; adults drive children to school and to playdates. As those children
grow older, they jump in taxis, shuttles, buses, or Trax, expecting to arrive safely at their desired
destination. Now there is a new component in the transportation industry. The new transportation
companies provide a service described as "one that connects passengers with willing drivers"
(Hughes). While passengers may be getting a ride from a stranger, Uber protects their riders and
drivers and makes a positive impact in all communities where it exists.
Uber is a transportation company that does not own a single car. Uber is able to pull this
off because all of their drivers are independent contractors (Surowiecki). Several companies
have been known to hire independent contractors when in reality they are employees. Companies
do this because if the person is an independent contractor the company is not legally obligated to
provide insurance or health care (Surowiecki). Recently there has been some debate on whether
Uber drivers are actually independent contractors, "A California labor commissioner gave her
answer: she ruled that an Uber driver who had filed a claim against the company was, in fact, an
employee" (Surowiecki). However, this was an isolated case, and the only reason that the Uber

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driver was ruled an employee was because Uber had reimbursed the driver for the gas he used
while working. According to Mr. Keller, all of the other Uber drivers are not reimbursed for gas
(12/01/2016). Therefore all other Uber drivers are indeed independent contractors. Keller says
that this means each Uber driver is kind of their own boss. Ubers drivers choose their own
hours, vehicle, area, and trips. So while some drivers are trying to start a union, it wont be
successful because they cant force those [drivers] who dont want to be a part of [the union] to
join (Keller). Stated another way, since Uber drivers are their own boss, (Keller) or
independent contractors, they cant unionize. While some may truly think that if Uber drivers
formed a union they would be able to make better policies that would keep people safe. It would
be near impossible for Uber drivers to form a union. Keller believes that all the talk about unions
is just the taxi companies attempt to make people uneasy about Uber.
Kellers belief that the taxi company may be out to get Uber is not unsounded. Uber and
the taxi industry have clashed several times, one time in Europe, fights among taxi drivers and
Uber drivers (Scott) broke out. In a New York Times article tells why fights between taxicab
drivers and uber drivers were upset because, Uber drivers dont need the same licensing that
cab drivers need (Scott). Many taxi cab drivers around the world feel threatened by new and
rising companies like Uber. Some cities dont allow Uber to operate in them (Keller), mostly
big cities that have a big taxi industry, like New York City. This is ridiculous, especially in
America. America is supposed to be a free market economy, and that means that competition is
essential to avoid huge monopolies. Plus, according to Mr. Kellers passengers, the taxi industry
has had to clean up their act with Uber around. The cabs are getting nicer and the prices lower in
order to compete with Uber. Before taxis had to compete for riders the cars were trash and they
were charging double what they do now (12/01/2016). The competition that taxi drivers are now

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receiving is actually a wonderful thing. For years the taxi companies were the only option, so
they didnt have to try to get customers. Now, thanks to the competition taxicabs are getting
cleaner, and passengers are getting a better ride, regardless of which transportation mode they
choose.
While rides may be getting cleaner and nicer, according to Phil Baker, many people are
skeptical of the amount of safety riders and drivers receive through the use of the Uber app. As
Uber got started there were numerous horror stories about Uber drivers kicking people out of
their cars half way through the trip or threatening passengers (Baker). Dolan claims Ubers
terms and conditions are a way for the company to absolve itself of any liability in cases of
injury or accident and to avoid responsibility for a drivers actions (Kerr). While that may have
been true when Uber first began, now Uber protects everyone by having an insurance policy for
the trips, (Keller) and by making the phones scrambled, so no one sees the other person's real
phone number (Keller). Uber specifically protects their passengers by doing background checks
on their drivers, vehicle checks on the cars, and being able to see where the driver is at all times.
So riders have no need to worry about safety while using the Uber app.
A company like Uber that grows so rapidly will have some bumps and glitches along the
way, including "the hiring of problem drivers" (Baker). Uber is playing it smart and making
changes for the better when problems arise. This helps prevent repeating mistakes. Uber now
does background checks on their drivers (Keller). Uber also has a dual rating (Carson)
process that allows both drivers and passengers to be rated after each ride. So after each ride the
drivers rate the passengers and the passengers rate the drivers (Carson). The dual rating system
allows drivers to give rude passengers a bad rating so that they won't be paired with that
passenger again (Keller), ditto for the passengers. In addition, the passenger also rates the driver

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on performance and cleanliness. When drivers are given bad ratings Uber looks into the situation
in order to find what went wrong and what could have gone better. Uber has also changed some
of the features in their app to make it more user friendly. For example, Drivers can now see how
many cars are waiting at the airport (Keller). Drivers like this new feature because now they
know if there are a lot of drivers at the airport, and they can decide if they want to wait to get a
rider or go to another area. Uber is clearly on the right path, but if they want to avoid problems
before they happen, they need to think outside the box. Some future changes they may need to
make in the future, if not now, are allowing the drivers to see who they are picking up after they
accept the ride, meaning that after drivers agree to the trip they see a picture of who they are
picking up, this could help make the app safer by allowing the drivers to know who they are
picking up, so that their cannot be any pickup mistakes. Lift, Ubers biggest rival, allows their
drivers to see a picture of their passenger if the passenger has chosen to use a profile picture. Lift
also gives passengers the ability to tip drivers on the app, which is one of the biggest pulls
toward Lyft. Many Uber drivers would like to be able to receive tips in [the] Uber [app],
(Keller) because it simplifies payment and then passengers dont need to carry cash. While Uber
does not want passengers to feel like they have to give a tip, several drivers like to, which means
that they would have to carry cash, making Uber's attempts at allowing customers to travel
without cash redundant. So Uber should have a place on the app for passengers to tip drivers if
they so desire, in order to fulfill the advertisement that passengers dont have to carry cash.
Uber truly makes a positive impact in all communities/cities it is a part of. Uber helps
keep drunk drivers off of the road (Safety Behind the Wheel). While it is true, taxi cabs can
also perform this public service, it is much harder to find a taxi in the less major cities or
towns. In Utah for example, a taxi or cab is a rare sight. So if a person wants to out with friends

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on the weekends and have a couple of drinks, chances are that you will be driving home
intoxicated. Even though, a lot of people who want to go to the restaurants and drink...they
dont want to go out and drive [drunk], [so] they feel like its their responsibility to get a driver
(Keller).It is then the drivers responsibility to get all the people who use Uber home safely. "Uber
has actually lowered the fatalities, drunk driving and DUIs in cities by having their services
(Keller). This is especially true in places that are not a taxi hotspot, like Utah. Uber helps with
the DUIs, but they are still only drivers and some people take advantage of their services by
drinking more than they probably should; drinking in a large amount could cause people to
become more violent, or cause them to make more shoddy decisions than they usually do. One
Uber driver tells a story about how he was paid to take a fare home, but the man didnt want to
go home, so he went to another bar. There was one rider where his brother paid for his Uber to
take him home [but] he [the rider] says, look I dont want to go home, I just want to go to
another bar. I tried to talk him into going home, but I couldnt, so I dropped him off at the bar
(Keller). However, even though the passenger ended up at another bar, he was safe, and he was
not driving around drunk. So we can assume that lives were spared one more horrible drunk
driving accident.
While the concept of paying a stranger for a ride may seem strange at first, many
passengers lose their fear of Uber when they look at the facts. With an open mind, the passenger
realizes that Uber is a reliable and trustworthy business. Uber is a company that helps to connect
reliable drivers to passengers; Uber vigorously protects the people who use their app; while
taxicab drivers feel threatened by the new up and coming transportation apps, Uber drivers are
not replacing them; Uber helps all the communities it is allowed to take part in by helping to
lower the number of drunk driving accidents and DUIs. Uber and companies similar to it have

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swept the world and have changed the way that we view transportation for the better. Uber
provides a safe, reliable, and affordable ride to anywhere one can reach by car, and I would
gladly hop in to get a ride from a stranger, as long as theyre an Uber driver.

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Works Cited
Baker, Phil. "Tech.Pinions - Perspective. Insight. Opinions." Tech Pinions Perspective
Insight Analysis. 29 Feb. 2016 Tech Pinions. https://techpinions.com/uber-andsafety/43795 Accessed 06 Nov. 2016.
Carson, Biz "Uber is Making Changes to Eliminate the Fear Factor for Drivers"
bisnessinsider.com 27 Nov. 2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-is-recommittingitself-to-putting-its-drivers-first-2016-11 Accessed 27 Nov. 2016.
Kerr, Dara. "How Risky Is Your Uber Ride? Maybe More than You Think." cnet.com. 08
Oct. 2014. CNET.https://www.cnet.com/news/how-risky-is-your-uber-ride-maybemore-than-you-think/ Accessed 07 Nov. 2016

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Hughes, Matthew. "What Is Uber and Why Is It Threatening Traditional Taxi Services?."
makeuseof, 4 July 2016. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/uber-threatening-traditionaltaxi-services/ Accessed 3 Nov. 2016.
Keller, Bart. Personal Interview. Uber Driver. 01 December 2016
"Safety Behind the Wheel" uber.com. Uber. https://www.uber.com/drive/safety/
Accessed 07 Nov. 2016
Scott, Mark New York Times "In Europe, Is Uber a Transportation Service or a Digital
Platform" 27 November 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/27/technology/ubereurope-court-ecj.html?_r=0 Accessed 27 November 2016.
Surowiecki, James. "Gigs With Benefits." EBSCOhost. The New Yorker, 6 July 2015.
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=d799565e-dfd1-40fb-aa0811c6d23ebddc
%40sessionmgr4008&vid=57&hid=4109&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ
%3d3d#AN=108537409&db=tth Accessed 3 Nov. 2016.

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Additional Sources
Legal | Uber. uber.com, Uber, www.uber.com/legal/community-guidelines/en/.
Accessed 07 Nov. 2016
"Safety." uber.com. Uber. https://www.uber.com/ride/safety/ Accessed 07 Nov. 2016.
"Safe Rides, Safer City." uber.com. Uber. https://www.uber.com/safety/ Accessed 07
Nov. 2016
"Trip Safety" uber.com. Uber. https://www.uber.com/ride/safety/ Accessed 07 Nov. 2016