Uber 'discriminates on gender and race' - BBC News

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37834774/
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Ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft may discriminate against black people and women, a study from three US universities suggests.

Black riders faced longer wait times and more frequent cancellations than white riders, the research indicates.

Women were more likely to be overcharged or taken on elongated routes, it says.

Researchers took nearly 1,500 rides in Seattle and Boston, gathering data from three taxi-hailing companies.

The two-year study was conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford and the University of Washington.

Undergraduates were given identical phones with three ride-sharing apps - from Uber, Lyft and Flywheel - and instructed to take a handful of prescribed routes.

They noted down when:

    the ride was requested
    it was accepted by the driver
    they were picked up
    they got to their destination

In the Seattle experiment, the researchers came from a range of different racial backgrounds.

In the Boston test, each researcher requested rides under two different names - one "white sounding" and the other a "distinctively black name".

In Seattle, trip requests from black riders took up to 28% longer to be accepted by both UberX and Lyft than those from their white counterparts.

In Boston, the cancellation rate for black-sounding names was more than twice as frequent as for those using white-sounding names.

Male passengers with black-sounding names requesting a lift in low-density areas were more than three times as likely to have their trip cancelled.

For women, the results suggest that female travellers are often driven further.

Female researchers reported "chatty" drivers who drove extremely long routes, on some occasions even driving through the same intersection multiple times.

"The additional travel that female riders are exposed to appears to be a combination of profiteering and flirting to a captive audience," the researchers noted.

The report authors concluded: "Passengers have faced a history of discrimination in transportation systems.

"Peer transportation companies such as Uber and Lyft present the opportunity to rectify long-standing discrimination or worsen it."

"Removing names from trip bookings may alleviate the immediate problem but could introduce other pathways for unequal treatment of passengers."

In a statement provided to the BBC, Rachel Holt, head of North American operations at Uber, said: "Ridesharing apps are changing a transportation status quo that has been unequal for generations, making it easier and more affordable for people to get around - no matter who they are or where they live.

"Discrimination has no place in society, and no place on Uber.

"We believe Uber is helping reduce transportation inequities across the board, but studies like this one are helpful in thinking about how we can do even more."

Lyft spokesman Adrian Durbin said in a statement: "We are extremely proud of the positive impact Lyft has on communities of colour.

"Because of Lyft, people living in underserved areas - which taxis have historically neglected - are now able to access convenient, affordable rides.

"We provide this service while maintaining an inclusive and welcoming community and do not tolerate any form of discrimination."
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Uber & Lyft ditch black, female riders or keep them waiting – study

http://www.rt.com/usa/365017-uber-racist-sexist-study/
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"UberX drivers are nearly three times as likely to cancel a ride on a male passenger upon seeing that he has a ‘black-sounding’ name,” the study said. “In these extreme cases drivers are more than four times as likely to cancel on a African-American male passenger than on a white male passenger.”
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“It is impossible to say in any individual case that a driver discriminated, because there are many valid reasons that a driver might decline or cancel a trip, or choose a certain route. But when we see many such decisions disproportionately affecting certain groups, that points to discrimination in the aggregate,” he wrote. “Interestingly, we observed that in some cases, drivers would not officially cancel the trip, but would make no attempt to actually pick up the traveler using a ‘black’ name, or would even drive in the opposite direction for 20 minutes or more, until the research assistant canceled the trip.”

There was no discrimination in rating the passengers, MacKenzie noted, as both white and black passengers earned “virtually identical” ratings over the course of the experiment.

The study attributed the discrimination to “decentralized decisions of individual drivers” rather than anything in the company policies. Uber and Lyft responded with statements disavowing any form of bias.

BBC - Link

"The additional travel that female riders are exposed to appears to be a combination of profiteering and flirting to a captive audience," the researchers noted.

YEP

I never used Uber. But I have been been taking cabs for years & years.
I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THESE STUDIES ARE TRUE.

That's a bit disingenuous on the part of the BBC, at best, IMO.

In the U.S. Uber drivers are not considered employee's of Uber.
In the U.K. a lawsuit was won where Uber drivers are legally considered employees I think.

British saying Uber is discriminating while using U.S. drivers as proof isn't being honest unless part of Uber's contract with U.S. "self employed" subcontracted drivers reads "by driving for Uber I hereby agree to conform to the Uber policy of discriminating based on gender and race."

Otherwise all the "study" is showing is "Uber does business in a country where a study may indicate some private individuals have a gender and/or racial bias."

Then...Thanks to the BBC and brainiacs at MIT, Stanford, and UofW for pointing that out.


Never understood the mind of Uber drivers; "I'm going to give rides to random strangers for less than what it 'really' costs me to do so. As long as I don't figure in sunk or indirect costs, time, or risk, I'm making money!"

Next thing there's going to be an Uber pool. "Rent out your home pool to the neighborhood kids while you're at work by undercutting the local community pool!"

wow, twice in one day

I happen to believe an independent contractor should have more personal right to discretion,, even discrimination, than an actual 'employee'

Racist is limite as the co. It self .....don't doubt about the humanity's judgement but the sex activity .....because it's kind of artisan activity so. There are words like this some how the art it self is unlimited.......

This is nothing new. It is a known fact that in N.Y.C the cabbies are reluctant to or actually will to pick up black men. especially in the night or over night hours.

They won't admit it.. and have denied it countless times in the press, but it is a fact.

Why?

Because they have been robbed or worse.. murdered. countless times. And 9 out of 10 times when the criminal is caught.. it is a black man. The color on the T.V screen, tells the tale)

So, they don't pick them up.

I know its not PC, but you know what.. If I were a cabbie in NYC I wouldn't pick up ANYONE who I thought would possibly rob me or kill me.

Is it discrimination against a entire group.. absolutely. But the bad apples and past long history of assaults, robberies & murders against cabbies in NYC ruin it for the majority of good black people.

The cabbies just want to stay alive thru their shift.

Uber is no different.. no matter how you peel it.. its a cab.