美国国家公共电台 NPR--Encore: Drivers question whether it's worth it as Uber and Lyft cut incentives

Encore: Drivers question whether it's worth it as Uber and Lyft cut incentives¹

Transcript²

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Americans are looking for ways to offset³ the costs of high inflation on their budgets. For some, that means gig work. As NPR's Raquel Maria Dillon reports, that's been an unexpected upside for employers that hire independent contractors⁴, like ride share companies.

RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, BYLINE⁵: Salvador Sahagun (ph) used to be a chef in Santa Rosa, Calif. After his taqueria closed, he started driving for Uber.

SALVADOR SAHAGUN: And with the sign-up bonus - and I don't know if they somehow know that you're new and they entice⁶ you to - they give you better rides or somehow. I was making good money.

DILLON: The ride-hailing apps were offering lots of incentives to sign on and pick up rides, like a bonus for doing three rides in a row or 15 bucks⁷ extra for driving at busy times, to cope with a driver shortage during the pandemic. Now, with prices rising and inflation at a 40-year high, he says the money's not so good anymore.

SAHAGUN: I remember going to the supermarket and buying my groceries. And I would spend $100 a week. And now I have to spend $120 or $130 for the same things.

DILLON: He's driving more now - 50 to 60 hours a week. Many people are struggling to make ends meet and looking for side hustles⁸. That means more workers turning to Uber and Lyft. In Uber's latest earnings⁹ report, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says there's a strong flow of new drivers signing up.

DARA KHOSROWSHAHI: Over 70% of them have said that inflation and what they're seeing right now in terms of the cost of groceries, the cost of living, plays a part in that decision for them to come onto the platform.

DILLON: With more drivers available, Uber and Lyft are cutting back on recruitment incentives. Here's Lyft co-founder John Zimmer on the company's latest earnings call.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN ZIMMER: Total active drivers were the highest they've been in two years. And more than half of new driver acquisition in Q2 was organic.

DILLON: Organic means drivers are signing up for the platform without incentives, which means Lyft is saving money - not so for many drivers, like Dustin Santos (ph), who recently landed a full-time¹⁰ job at a Honda dealership¹¹ in Berkeley. But he's still driving for Uber on his days off and on weekends just to make extra cash. Though, he has his limits.

DUSTIN SANTOS: I just don't like to drive after 10 o'clock on the weekends 'cause that's when all the drunk people come out, so...

DILLON: It doesn't help that gas prices are so high. Uber offers a bonus to help with those gas prices, but it's only $0.50 a ride. Santos says that is insulting.

SANTOS: Just keep your $0.50. I don't even want it. It's kind of a joke for you to even say that. Like, 50 - 'cause it doesn't matter if I'm going 50 miles or one mile. That's all I get is $0.50. So it's just them trying to say that they're doing something when they're really not.

DILLON: He says it's rough for drivers lately. What he really wants is more rides and a bigger cut of the fare or more options to stay afloat in a tough economy.

Raquel Maria Dillon, NPR News, in San Francisco.

1 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

4 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

7 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 hustles   

忙碌，奔忙( hustle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He often hustles on the streets to pay for drugs. 为弄到钱买毒品，他常在街上行骗。
• Ken ves bartender off and hustles Joe out of the bar. 肯恩走开挥舞酒保而且离开酒吧乱挤活动乔。

9 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

10 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

11 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。