The humans behind the wheel: why we should respect Uber drivers – and worry about the model behind them

I use Uber several times a week and have never had a bad ride. Behind that convenience are highly educated, resilient people – and a system that does not always treat them fairly.

Article link: https://open.substack.com/pub/johanosteyn/p/the-humans-behind-the-wheel-why-we?r=73gqa&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Audio summary: https://youtu.be/6Ns1HlG_EZ4

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I write about various issues of interest to me that I want to bring to the reader’s attention. While my main work is in Artificial Intelligence and technology, I also cover areas around politics, education, and the future of our children.

I use Uber in South Africa two or three times a week. In all that time, I struggle to think of a single interaction with a rude or incompetent driver. Quite the opposite. Many are graduates, former professionals or entrepreneurs who turned to e-hailing after retrenchment or in search of flexibility. I have learnt about economics, politics, migration, parenting and business from these conversations in the front seat.

Being an Uber driver, in my view, is an admirable job in a very tough economy. Yet almost every time I ask about fuel, rental and commissions, I hear the same story: the app is busy, the passengers are mostly decent, but the numbers barely work. The people doing the driving seem to carry most of the risk, while the platform and fleet owners capture a disproportionate share of the value.

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

Uber and other e-hailing services have become part of daily life in South Africa’s cities. They provide safer, more predictable transport for many passengers and create income opportunities for tens of thousands of drivers and couriers. The marketing story emphasises flexibility: log in when you want, earn as much as you like, be your own boss. For some, especially those with few alternatives, it is better than unemployment.

But the labour market context is important. We live in a country with high unemployment, rising living costs and limited formal jobs. Many of the drivers I meet did not grow up dreaming of working for an app. They are there because corporate downsizing, visa restrictions or professional barriers left them with few options. They bring education, experience and emotional intelligence to a role that is often treated as low-status.

INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS

The commercial model behind this work is more complex than the glossy marketing suggests. Uber typically charges a significant service fee on each trip, while the driver pays for fuel, tyres, insurance, maintenance and, in many cases, a monthly rental to a vehicle owner. Fuel prices have climbed sharply in recent years; so have other costs linked to inflation. Yet drivers repeatedly tell me that per-kilometre rates do not rise in line with these increases. The result is long working days and modest take-home pay, even when the gross earnings on the app look impressive.

Technology sits at the heart of this imbalance. Algorithms decide fares, dynamic pricing, which driver gets which trip, and even whether a driver is “deactivated”. From the driver’s perspective, these AI-driven systems are largely opaque. They see the outcome on their phones, but not the logic behind it. The same tools that optimise efficiency for passengers and the platform can leave drivers feeling powerless and monitored by a distant, invisible manager.

At the same time, AI is often presented as a looming threat: the possibility that one day, autonomous vehicles will replace human drivers altogether. That future is still some distance away on South African roads, but the narrative matters. If we treat drivers as a temporary inconvenience on the way to driverless cars, we are less likely to invest in making their current working lives fair and sustainable.

IMPLICATIONS

So what should we do with this tension: deep respect for the people behind the wheel, and deep unease about the model they work under? For passengers, there are simple starting points. We can choose respect as a default: greet drivers by name, treat them as professionals, and recognise that they are running small businesses under difficult conditions. Tipping when we can, especially on short, low-fare trips, is a concrete way of acknowledging the gap between what the app charges and what the driver actually sees.

For policymakers and platforms, the task is more structural. There is a strong case for greater transparency about how fares and commissions are calculated, regular review mechanisms that explicitly track fuel and operating costs, and a serious conversation about the employment status and rights of platform workers. AI should not only be used to squeeze more efficiency out of drivers; it can also be used to model fairer pricing, reduce dead kilometres, improve safety and give drivers better tools to understand and manage their own performance.

CLOSING TAKEAWAY

When I think about the future of work and AI, I often picture the Uber drivers I talk to every week. They are educated, resilient and doing honest work in a system that depends on their effort but rarely shares power with them. If we believe that technology should serve people, not the other way round, then we cannot be indifferent to how e-hailing platforms treat those behind the wheel.

The convenience we enjoy as passengers rests on their shoulders. The least we can do is respect them, listen to their concerns and push for a model in which the benefits of technology are shared more fairly – for the sake of today’s drivers and for the future of our children who may one day work in similar platform economies.

Author Bio: Johan Steyn is a prominent AI thought leader, speaker, and author with a deep understanding of artificial intelligence’s impact on business and society. He is passionate about ethical AI development and its role in shaping a better future. Find out more about Johan’s work at https://www.aiforbusiness.net