The Drivers Cooperative

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The Drivers Cooperative
TypeWorker cooperative
Industrytransportation, technology
Founded2020 (2020)
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
United States
Area served
New York City
Key people
Ken Lewis, David Alexis, Erik Forman, Alissa Orlando, Mohammad Hossen
Websitedrivers.coop

The Drivers Cooperative or Co-Op Ride is an American ridesharing company and mobile app that is a workers cooperative, owned collectively by the drivers.[1][2] The cooperative launched in May 2020 in New York City,[3][4] with the first 2,500 drivers issued their ownership certificates in a media event.[5][6]

The cooperative was co-founded by Grendan immigrant for hire vehicle driver Ken Lewis, labor organizer Erik Forman, and former Uber executive Alissa Orlando.[7][6][8] Mohammad Hossen is the first member of the drivers' advisory board, which they plan to expand democratically as more drivers are onboarded.[7][9] Other staff include software and industry veterans and in addition to co-founder Lewis, there are other drivers in management roles such as ex-driver and organizer David Alexis.[9][8][10]

The Co-Op Ride app is on the iOS and Android platforms and is built on Google Maps, Stripe, and Waze.[11] By July, the app had been downloaded by 30,000 users and the number of drivers increased to 3,400,[12] and by August there were 40,000 users.[13]

The cooperative is owned by the drivers themselves, and takes 15% from each ride for business overhead costs, as opposed to the 25% to 40% ride hail apps like Uber or Lyft take per ride.[14][4][7][13][11] While being ultimately owned by the driver members, not by investors, the cooperative began with seed money from the Minnesota-based Community Development Financial Institution Shared Capital Cooperative,[3] the local ,[4][6] and welcomed individual donations via crowdfunding in the form of revenue sharing debt on Wefunder.[12][13] Each driver is a member of the cooperative and owns one share of the company and one vote in business and leadership decisions.[5][4] In addition to a larger percentage of the fees per ride driven, each driver as a part-owner will also receive a share of the company's profits after loans and other expenses are paid, in the form of weighted dividends.[5][4][13] The drivers use their own cars.[15]

The cooperative vets its owner-members further than what is already performed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC),[14] and gives a fixed price when a car is ordered and does not engage in surge pricing.[2][11] The TLC imposed a minimum payrate for mobile app ridesharing companies operating in New York city in 2018.[4] In 2021 that is $1.26 per mile which Uber and Lyft do not pay above; the cooperative pays a minimum mileage of $1.64.[4][13] The cooperative intends to be able to set aside 10% of profits to community foundations and other non-profits and community organizations.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Jones, Sarah (December 22, 2020). "Can a Worker-Owned App Pull Drivers From Uber and Lyft?". Curbed.
  2. ^ a b Akhtar, Allana. "I tried the new ride-hailing app in NYC designed to take driver power back from Uber and Lyft, and although it's still working out some kinks, I was happy to help drivers get more money". Business Insider.
  3. ^ a b "Hailing a new, co-op ride-hailing app owned by drivers". The Riverdale Press.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Toussaint, Kristin (July 15, 2021). "How the Drivers Cooperative built a worker-owned alternative to Uber and Lyft". Fast Company.
  5. ^ a b c "Driver-Owned Ride-Share Service 'Drivers Cooperative' Launches In New York City". WLNY CBS 10. June 4, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Conger, Kate (May 28, 2021). "A Worker-Owned Cooperative Tries to Compete With Uber and Lyft". The New York Times.
  7. ^ a b c "New York City Drivers Cooperative Aims to Smash Uber's Exploitative Model". In These Times.
  8. ^ a b "In the Drivers' Seat". Dollars & Sense.
  9. ^ a b "Invest in The Drivers Cooperative: A ridehailing platform owned by workers, not billionaire founders and venture capital. | Wefunder". The Drivers Cooperative on Wefunder.
  10. ^ Verde, Ben. "Socialist organizer David Alexis announces primary challenge to State Sen. Kevin Parker". Brooklyn Paper.
  11. ^ a b c "You Can Now Ditch Uber for a Driver-Owned Rideshare App in New York City". Gizmodo.
  12. ^ a b "Driver-Owned Uber Alternative Looks to Crowdfund $1 Million". Bloomberg. July 14, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Driver co-op raising $1 million to battle Uber and Lyft". Protocol. August 20, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "New App Aims To Compete With Uber, Lyft While Giving New York Drivers A Living Wage". NPR.
  15. ^ "When Drivers are in the Drivers' Seat for Taxi and Ride-Hail Companies". nextcity.org.

External links[]

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