Taxi driver jobs haven't begun to dry up as a result of Uber's presence on the market, but wages have declined, according to a study published by the University of Oxford. The research used data from the US' Bureau of Labor Statistics and specifically looked at data in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco from 2009 to 2015.
It appears traditional jobs have not been displaced by the transportation service. Uber has primarily had the effect of reducing wages, reportedly by 10% among taxi drivers.
Uber's appearance led to a 50% rise in self-employed drivers. At the same time, taxi driver positions also increased, but not to the same degree.
Self-employed drivers saw a 10% wage increase. The study authors believe this came from greater efficiency.
The higher hourly earnings among self-employed drivers suggest that capacity utilization, in terms of the time spent in the car with a passenger, has increased with Uber, as its platform allows for better matching between drivers and passengers. But for traditional taxi drivers the effect has been the opposite, with a decline in the amount of time they have a passenger in their vehicle.- Carl Frey, paper author
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