By Whitney Kimball

“Drivers’ lives are in the hands of Uber and Lyft,” Ugwu told Gizmodo. “This is our time to make money for our own selves, instead of enriching those giant companies. We made them giant, by the way. Drivers invested their money in big cars— eighty or ninety thousand dollars, just to drive for them, and they don’t care.”

The thank-you banners are down, but New York City residents have a real opportunity to show their appreciation for a population of low-paid, primarily immigrant frontline workers. New York City residents can help now by ditching Uber and Lyft for a competing driver-owned alternative app called “Co-op Ride,” created by the mostly volunteer-run Drivers Cooperative. If Co-op’s proposal plays out, drivers could make more money while their passengers, particularly those in underserved communities, could end up paying less for rides.

Launched this past weekend and now available to New York City residents in the App Store and Google Play, Co-op Ride is a cooperative, driver-owned business. Each driver owns one share of the company, giving them a vote in the company’s leadership and an even cut of any and all profits. (Even if you’re not in New York, you can donate here to help them grow and achieve profitability.) The app is powered by a combination of Google Maps’ API, Stripe, and Waze.

Co-op Ride claims to take a 15% commission from fares for operating expenses: much lower than 25%-30%, which drivers have said Lyft and Uber take. Neither Lyft nor Uber provide standard commission percentages on their website, due to the fact that it varies based on location and trip times relative to distance (profitability), leaving open a possible range from zero fees to exorbitantly high ones. (Oddly, Uber also cites a 25% flat commission here. It’s unclear whether this is out of date.) Longtime driver and Co-op Ride recruiter Michael Ugwu told Gizmodo that Uber can take up to 40%, depending on the circumstances.

Ugwu, who’s incurred thousands of out-of-pocket expenses on car payments, primarily wants drivers to at least know that they’re getting the maximum benefits from their labor. “Drivers’ lives are in the hands of Uber and Lyft,” Ugwu told Gizmodo. “This is our time to make money for our own selves, instead of enriching those giant companies. We made them giant, by the way. Drivers invested their money in big cars— eighty or ninety thousand dollars, just to drive for them, and they don’t care.”

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https://gizmodo.com/you-can-now-ditch-uber-for-a-driver-owned-rideshare-app-1847010092