Ride Sharing Services: Cultural and Social Impacts to Society
As promised in my previous blogs, I will be sharing my thoughts about Ride Sharing Services (RSS) cultural and social impacts to society. This week’s blog was inspired by an article I read about virtual institutions and cultural consequences. I will be focusing on three areas:
- Positive cultural impacts of RSS to the society
- Negative cultural impacts of RSS to the society
- Offline and virtual institutions (communities)
Positive Cultural Impacts to the Society
RSS has disrupted the transport industry not only in New Zealand but around the globe. It opened opportunities for individuals and diversified cultural norms. It provides the following:
- Opportunity- As discussed in my second blog, RSS opened opportunities to unemployed and offered options to underemployed and employees who wish to have extra income. Looking at the current RSS statistics, 51% of Uber and Lyft drivers have never previously worked as a driver. RSS gives a chance to people who cannot secure a blue/white collar jobs but has a working knowledge of driving a vehicle.
I reckon, people who are struggling to find jobs due to life circumstances (i.e. no degree, less experience, etc.) now have options to earn a decent living through RSS. You do not have to be a seasoned driver to be an RSS driver-partner.
- RSS may provide extra income to employees and underemployed individuals. It is interesting to see a high number of people (who already have jobs) engaging with RSS companies for part-time work opportunities. As an example, Taxi Magic and Uber’s partner-driver profile is composed of 52% part-timers.
From my perspective, partnering with RSS companies is a great opportunity. RSS offers an option to use private vehicles and existing skills to earn additional income around driver’s existing work responsibilities.
- Equality- RSS does not discount applicants based on gender. As an example, in Massachusetts, 7000 out of 20000 RSS drivers are women. Across the United States of America, 29 % who joined RSS as drivers in fall of 2015 are female (the highest percentage in the RSS industry).
RSS drivers can be anyone for as long as he/she passed the screening process and have completed all the requirements to provide transport service to the public. RSS driver-partners can be the parents, caregivers, students, veterans and retirees locked out of traditional office work by force of circumstance.
- Ride Options- RSS is evolving. It is now increasing its coverage by offering customized services for conservative people (i.e. people who are uncomfortable taking RSS from a male driver). There are now RSS start-up companies like Chariot for Women which provides services specifically to female riders. This type of RSS is not only providing more options for female job seekers but also provides options for conservative female RSS customers.
Negative Cultural Impacts to the Society
RSS have many positive cultural impacts on the society. However, I would like to acknowledge the other side of the spectrum and discuss the cultural consequences it brings to the community.
- RSS can trigger unfair treatment to local transport groups. Policies vary across different cultures and societies. Licensing requirements for public vehicle drivers may differ from each country. As an example, US license policy may be different from NZ.
In New Zealand, Uber allows its drivers in NZ to operate without P licence (license needed to drive a vehicle for commercial purposes). This triggered protests among local taxi drivers in the country. For local transport groups, it is unfair and irresponsible for RSS companies to drive passengers and operate without the P license.
If the NZ government does not regulate soon enough, the value that the society gives to safety and qualifications will slowly shift. Local transport groups may start to consider driving RSS instead as it has lighter and cheaper requirements to operate.
- RSS companies hire drivers based on skills and vehicle requirements (and not based on cultural background, age, gender or religion). Having no discrimination when hiring drivers is good, but what happens when a driver has issues on communications? NZTA requires all taxi drivers to have the ability to speak English to effectively communicate with passengers. This is not the case for RSS companies. For example, Uber, Taxi Magic, and Lyft do not have a language requirement in their screening criteria. How will an RSS driver communicate to a passenger if he does not know how to speak English (or local language in other non-English speaking countries)? This may spark misunderstandings among customers and service providers.
Offline and Virtual Institutions (Communities)
The topics on positive and negative impacts of RSS are discussed offline and online. People talk about it in meetups, forums, online chat, and social media channels.
Technology has helped us to communicate information faster and more efficiently. Online channels makes it possible to organised social communities that operate exclusively on the Internet. These virtual communities have similar features as an institution regarding values, norms, social structure, and rules. It is collaborative and purely voluntary. RSS has indirectly created virtual communities (either a group of ranters or fans). RSS companies paved the way for people to connect, interact and share experiences online.
As an example, there are now local group events, forums, Facebook Groups and Twitter community for Uber, Lyft, and Taxi Magic. These platforms connect riders, drivers, and franchisees to communicate and interact (i.e. inquiries, complaints, ratings, etc.). I reckon RSS should now start utilizing the information collected from these communities to improve its services and create a collaborative culture for all of its stakeholders. Getting feedback first-hand is the best way to improve services to the customers.
The challenge for RSS companies would be identifying which feedback are valid for consideration, some of the comments online may be bogus or not true (i.e., competitor trying to spread bad reviews to win customers).
I reckon RSS companies should start utilizing the offline and online communities to their advantage. They may use the data (i.e. positive and negative feedback) to improve their services and be more connected to its stakeholders. A dedicated RSS resource is recommended to monitor, moderate and control these offline and online communities. Big companies are already doing this e.g. having a digital platform administrator. In this way, all inquiries or issues may be addressed in a timely manner.
I would like to open a discussion to my readers. Can you think of any other cultural consequences of RSS? How can the society leverage on the positive cultural impacts and minimize negative impacts of RSS? Feel free to share your inputs.
References
Choi, J., Jung, J., & Lee, S. W. (2013). What causes users to switch from a local to a global social network site? The cultural, social, economic, and motivational factors of Facebook’s globalization. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(6), 2665–2673. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/science/article/pii/S0747563213002446
Hall, J. (2015). Who is choosing Uber: A diverse group with different use cases. Retrieved from https://newsroom.uber.com/in-the-drivers-seat-understanding-the-uber-partner-experience/
Memmi, D. (2015). Information technology as social phenomenon. AI & Society, 30(2), 207–214. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/article/10.1007%2Fs00146-014-0565-4
Thadani, T. (2016). Ex-Uber driver creates ride-sharing service for women. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/04/02/ex-uber-driver-creates-ride-sharing-service-women/82557796/
