Racial Bias and Uber - Printable Version

Racial Bias and Uber - Printable Version

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Racial Bias and Uber - Boudica - 11-02-2020

I've recently seen some race related articles surrounding Uber (rides) and Uber Eats.

Uber Eats has been hit with claims that it is committing reverse racism. Thousands of demands for arbitration were received because Uber chose to remove the delivery fees for medium/small sized black-owned restaurant chains. Uber was aiming to find a way to support black business owners in the wake of the outcry following George Floyd's death.

Code:
In one of these claims, viewed by TechCrunch, a customer says Uber Eats violates the Unruh civil Rights Act by “charging discriminatory delivery fees based on race (of the business owner).” That claim seeks $12,000 as well as a permanent injunction that would prevent Uber from continuing to offer free delivery from Black-owned restaurants.

My opinion: While I fully support the idea of helping and boosting those who are less fortunate, or who are facing more challenges, I don't agree with measures of exclusivity. I'm 100% against actions like this, such as affirmative action. I say this, because I believe it strengthens the problem, as opposed to providing a solution long-term. If we really want to help people, let's examine and tackle the route of the problem, which rarely has anything to do with your skin, and more to do with society, economics, and equal access to opportunities.

On the flip-side, the driver/ride portion of Uber, has received complaints claiming that the customer controlled, rating system is racially biased.

Code:
Uber is no stranger to lawsuits, so this one shouldn’t come as a surprise. Uber is now facing a lawsuit regarding its customer ratings and how the company deactivates drivers whose ratings fall below a certain threshold. The suit alleges the system “constitues race discrimination, as it is widely recognized that customer evaluations of workers are frequently racially biased.”

In a statement to NPR, Uber called the suit “flimsy” and said “ridesharing has greatly reduced bias for both drivers and riders, who now have fairer, more equitable access to work and transportation than ever before.”

My opinion: From my personal experience of using Uber's ride service, I don't see how this could be true, as it is one of the better, and more diverse ride services I have ever used. I genuinely feel that if Uber went, you would be losing a truly diverse company, who provides opportunities for everyone, in ways other taxi companies don't. I'm not saying there isn't a problem of racism, but I don't think a lawsuit against Uber will solve the problem. Perhaps there are changes Uber can make to their deactivation procedures? If drivers are dropped based on their ratings going too low, I think that's an overall issue of Uber's processes, and not necessarily a race-related one. Is there any human-made review process, that looks into the reasons for these rating? How does this work? Perhaps a new system should be in place.

What are your thoughts?

RE: Racial Bias and Uber - gr4 - 01-21-2025

I hate uber I almost got sexually assaulted in one

RE: Racial Bias and Uber - Dismas - 01-22-2025

Uber "supporting black-owned businesses" is just a marketing scheme. Uber is trying to gain business by pandering to the gullible and likely scalping the businesses in the process. The occasional driver might get a bad review because of an idiot racist, but it's not the norm. The best thing Uber can do to support minorities (or the population in general), is paying drivers more.

Pick restaurants because the food is good. Tip/rate drivers because they did a good job.