Why the Lyft-Uber strike will likely fizzle - Washington Examiner

It's getting quite a lot of media attention, but the Lyft-Uber strike on Wednesday is likely to fizzle.

The entire rationale for driving for these two ride-sharing firms is based on the desire to make money on a flexible but efficient basis. That is why most drivers are on the road at times when they are either not working a second job or when they believe surge-multiplier pricing will be in effect. But because drivers are ultimately their own bosses, responsible for when, where, and for how long they choose to drive on the apps, they have little incentive to believe that a strike will serve their interests. Indeed, some drivers may fear that this strike will weaken the apps appeal by alienating riders.

And then some others will take advantage of the surge prices that it is sure to produce.

That speaks to the broader issue here: the survival of the gig economy against union efforts to collectivize drivers and left-wing political efforts to increase regulations. As Mayor Bill de Blasio found in New York City and Mayor Sadiq Khan found in London, absent a political culture (as in France) in which politicians kneel in fealty to the unions, it's hard to end a service-orientated business model. Drivers and riders alike simply won't stand for it, because they find value in the service. And most of us recognize that increasing costs on the ride-sharing industry will only increase the risk that ride-sharing firms become new taxi companies that charge high prices in return for poor service.

Conservatives need to constantly reemphasize this point, because it speaks to the best moral virtue of capitalism: the empowerment of individuals on both sides of a transaction, the empowerment to earn money and the empowerment to take a ride at a lower cost and with more convenience. This mutual benefit is what those arrayed against Uber and Lyft, and their special interests advocates, fail to realize.

This is not to say that ride-sharing firms are perfect. Uber too often doesn't treat its drivers with respect, and neither Uber nor Lyft has addressed the issue of drivers who ignore their pickup destinations seeking cancellation fees. But at the margin, these firms provide all of us with access to the variable pursuit of happiness.

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