Uber Eats in Mexico
July 3, 2019 9:57 AM   Subscribe

Deaths and Injuries Don't Slow Uber Eats' Rapid Expansion in Mexico. "In the past six months, five Uber Eats couriers in Mexico have died in crashes, and dozens more have been injured. Uber’s insurance policy was supposed to help — it hasn’t."
posted by primalux (9 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble



 


I am amazed at the mistreatment of workers that food delivery apps are getting away with because...convenience? We all got along fine without these apps 5 years ago, folks. Stop using them.
posted by noxperpetua at 11:53 AM on July 3, 2019 [7 favorites]


Using any Uber service should be like crossing a picket line - something that people that give a shit about working people, and have decent values, do not do.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:10 PM on July 3, 2019 [10 favorites]


As someone who sometimes uses both Uber Eats and Rappi in Mexico, and also cycles here, I’m very aware of the risks that the delivery drivers are taking. I tip the drivers well, in cash, and I see from the OP that I effectively double their take for the delivery, which is... absurd. Uber is a deeply unethical company, and knowing that they’re not even insuring their riders properly will definitely make me rethink using the Uber Eats service.

However... it’s worth noting that both ride hailing and food delivery services have been successful in Mexico in part because of the deteriorating security situation here, which isn’t necessarily comparable to the US.

In addition to convenience and cost, using an Uber-like dispatch service with the ride details held in escrow by a third party is a considerable advantage in a country with high rates of kidnapping and violent crime, where taxis have a poor reputation.

Equally, driving somewhere at night to get takeaway is significantly riskier than ordering it to your home, and many restaurants where I live no longer offer their own delivery services, if they ever did.

Given their success, however, I’d like to see a lot more government regulation in this space, to ensure that drivers are protected. There’s no reason that Claudia Sheinbaum couldn’t push Uber and Rappi to invest in a fund for insurance, or better infrastructure for vulnerable road users, and there’s no reason for Morena not to do something similar at a national level.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 12:15 PM on July 3, 2019 [9 favorites]


In addition to convenience and cost, using an Uber-like dispatch service with the ride details held in escrow by a third party is a considerable advantage in a country with high rates of kidnapping and violent crime, where taxis have a poor reputation.
Given the typical internet company's dedication to security, I think depending on their bulletproof IT infrastructure to protect you from kidnapping and violent crime seems a bit optimistic. What's to prevent my kidnapping gang from intimidating a bunch of drivers into sharing their delivery details with us (or just offering them a small commission)? Then we can take over and provide "enhanced service" for certain orders. Would the company care if it didn't affect their bottom line?
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 5:21 PM on July 3, 2019


driving somewhere at night to get takeaway is significantly riskier than ordering it to your home

why is it then more acceptable to expose someone else, more likely to be marginalized (and now that they’re hustling for tips, more likely to carry unsecured cash) to that risk?
posted by zinful at 10:06 PM on July 3, 2019 [2 favorites]


The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory.

Delivery drivers risking life and limb to bring food is just another sign of our cyberpunk present.
posted by FJT at 11:07 PM on July 3, 2019 [3 favorites]


This is also a growing problem in South Africa as well, where immigrants - most of them working illegally - are the majority of the scooter drivers for our own delivery services (including Uber Eats).

In the evening, the roads in the area I live in seem to be primarily trafficked by cheap scooters and more than once I've heard the rasping metal-on-tar sound of a bike sliding along the road nearby.
posted by PenDevil at 5:24 AM on July 4, 2019


from intimidating a bunch of drivers

Or just following them, from outside popular, more up-scale restaurants. Unless someone is being targeted specifically, the outcome is likely the same, with no interaction with other people (sources of possible info leaks) required.
posted by jkaczor at 7:38 AM on July 4, 2019


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