Where exactly did you get this stat, out of curiosity? I’m aware of the whole subprime auto loan mess Uber got into with Santander — and btw for the record, I am ADAMANTLY opposed to every aspect of this industry. Moreover, I researched it at length back in law school.

That being said, the estimates I’ve seen of the total number of drivers who took out such loans aren’t even remotely close to “hundreds of thousands,” so where did you derive this figure? Also, I’d be very curious to know what specific makes of cars these drivers bought. I’m not defending Uber’s Santander deal in the least, but if a driver took out a subprime loan and went out and bought, say, a late-model Benz, I think it’s fair to point out that they are at least in part to blame. Nearly all of the successful TNC drivers I know own, almost without exception, Toyota hybrids: they get incredible urban gas mileage and basically never break down.