An epiphany in Michigan

Eric Tingwall of Car & Driver signs on with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Roadie, gets an education in how the New Economy really works.

As my mind simmers in the silence, it occurs to me that I've signed on to be more than a driver. I'm now a professional waiter, as in someone who waits so that others don't have to. I will stand in lines and bide my time as clerks hunt for packages. It's a reminder that so much of what is passed off as technology is really just hiding the humans at the other end of a machine: warehouse packers, proxy grocery shoppers, line cooks, and drivers doing the mundane tasks just out of sight of the end customer… Tech companies often don't eliminate the humans; they merely eliminate the human interactions…

Of course, the success of any of these apps largely relies on drivers not thinking too long about the economics involved. A 2018 study from the Economic Policy Institute found that after fees, vehicle expenses, and basic benefits, Uber drivers earned an average of $9.21 an hour. Spoiler alert: I do even worse than that.

• Car & Driver - ‘Making Money with Door Dash and Uber Eats isn’t easy’ (link)