Untrustworthy Gig Economy

This week we went over the topic of wages and work within the US, and more specifically the introduction of the gig economy. The gig economy can be defined as a labor market that relies on independent contractors or freelancers who work on an on-call basis. The most prominent example of this is apps such as Uber and Lyft that target these part-time workers.

A couple of days ago in Raleigh, a teen girl jumped out of her Lyft causing serious injuries and permanent trauma. As she describes it, “I was very scared, but then again, I was more so like I’d rather get out of this car than fall asleep in a car with this man I don’t really know.” She managed to jump out of the car though it caused many injuries and when she thought that help was coming it was, in fact, the driver whose car she had just jumped out of. He pretended to not know what had happened and called the police to the scene. Though it left Bowden traumatized, there were no charges filed, and no statement from Lyft.

This incident made me think about the number of times I have gotten in an Uber or Lyft, and now I will never think about them the same. Though these positions have background checks, to my knowledge, you never know someone’s true intentions and there is no way to measure them with the number of drivers that exist. This incident and many others prove that these companies have flaws and need to fix them in order to be trusted fully. How can companies in the gig economy implement policies that will ensure a safer experience?