An algorithm that questions. An American study of the New York Columbia Business School, transmitted by The Guardian, accuses Uber of using his algorithm to significantly increase their profits to the detriment of drivers and passengers of the VTC application.
The study published on Wednesday, June 25 is based on the analysis of tens of thousands of trips and more than two million travel applications. Therefore, according to these researchers, the company would have implemented the “algorithmic tariff discrimination” that has increased passenger prices and reduces the remuneration of drivers in billions of breeds, systematically, selectively and opaque. “
“Uber reduces drivers’ salary”
Specifically, the Uber algorithm allows the company to better understand the behavior of drivers and users. Result, Uber can determine which passenger is ready to pay more for a trip, or what driver is ready to accept less money, to increase the part that the company is confirming.
A study confirming the findings of other British researchers. Last week, the University of Oxford was interested in the dynamic price algorithm introduced in 2023 by Uber. This system allows you to set the remuneration of drivers and the cost of traveling for passengers.
The researchers revealed that many English drivers were winning “considerably less” for every hour of travel and that passengers paid more since the shared travel application had introduced their dynamic price algorithm.
The Uber commission would amount to 29% on average in each race, or even 50% in some cases, depending on the study. Initially, the company scored 20 to 25% of the price of races.
Enough to do the technological giant business. In 2024, Uber generated $ 6.9 billion in profits. As a comparison, in 2022, the company registered a net loss of $ 303 million.
“Our dynamic price algorithms allow to balance supply and demand in real time to improve the reliability of the platform,” says a company spokesman. “The suggestions that our systems manipulate unjustly or discriminatory prices are simply false and are not backed by evidence.”
Source: BFM TV
