Editor’s note: This story has been corrected since original publication. An earlier version stated Uber had cut rates by 25%. The cut has been 33%. Daily Report regrets the error.
A group of Uber drivers in Baton Rouge is encouraging all local Uber drivers to go on strike this weekend by turning off their apps from 5 p.m. Friday until 8 a.m. Saturday. Organizers say the move is in response to a recent rate cut that went into effect last weekend—the second since the ride-sharing service moved into the local market in the summer of 2014.
“We’re hoping to get enough drivers to do it to create a surge in Baton Rouge, which will get the customers’ attention,” says Leslie Hollier, a retail clerk by day who moonlights as an Uber driver and is an organizer of the strike. “It will also give a message to Uber that these rate cuts are not acceptable in Baton Rouge.”
On Jan. 29, Uber cut its Baton Rouge rates by 33%—from $1.35 per mile to 90 cents per mile. That’s about half what they were in mid-2014—$1.85 per mile—when Uber started service here. Though the company has advertised the cuts as a boon for its customers, drivers say they cannot afford to operate at those prices.
“They take out a safe rider fee, which they just increased to $1.75, then they take 25% commission on top of that and then we have to pay taxes, which can go from 25% to 35%, depending on your bracket,” Hollier says. “On top of that you have expenses like gas, vehicle maintenance and the bill for your cell phone bill, which you have to pay for to have their app.”
Local drivers say with the new rate structure, they earn between 65 cents and 72 cents per mile, which effectively puts them at a loss.
An Uber spokesman says the cuts are designed to boost demand for drivers during a time of year when, historically, business is slow.
“Over the course of time, Uber has done this quite a bit and have seen earnings for drivers rise,” says Bill Gibbons, a company spokesman.
Since the start of the year, Uber has reduced fares in about 100 U.S. and Canadian cities. Gibbons says drivers in most cities have seen their earnings increase when rates are reduced. He says in cities where that hasn’t happened, the rate cuts have been reversed.
But local drivers aren’t buying it. For one thing, they say demand during the winter in Baton Rouge is already high as a result of the Mardi Gras season. Also, there simply aren’t that many trips one can physically make while on the clock.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” says Stephen Rice, another driver involved in the protest effort, who notes that after the fare reductions went into effect last weekend many drivers didn’t bother to work, causing a surge, which resulted in higher rates for customers.
During surges, Uber increases its rates exponentially to account for the imbalance between drivers and customers.
“On Monday there were surge prices all day because drivers were pissed and weren’t signing up,” he says. “So it’s really ridiculous.”
Rice and Hollier are drumming up support for their strike effort on an international forum for Uber drivers, uberpeople.net. They’ve taken their page from the playbook of Uber drivers in other cities, who have become more vocal of late about the company’s treatment of its drivers.
They’re also distributing fliers and are planning a demonstration at 7 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of the Walmart on College Drive, where they will hold up signs and encourage Uber drivers to turn off their apps.
“I’m a little worried they’ll deactivate us,” Rice says. “But a lot of cities have gone on strike so far.”
Uber does not take action against drivers that protest, according to the company’s stated policy.
—Stephanie Riegel
