this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2023
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Jitu Jisan is a Pathao bike-taxi driver in Dhaka. But, he said, taking bookings through the ride-hailing app is always the last resort for him. Typically, he uses the Pathao app only to find a customer, and once he meets them, he turns off the app, strikes a direct deal, and goes khep.

Khep is a popular colloquial term used for gig drivers bypassing platforms like Pathao and Uber in Bangladesh. In Bangla, khep translates to “side hustle.” “We’d rather khep than work on the apps. All the effort is from [the drivers’] end anyway,” Jisan told Rest of World. “The motorcycles are ours, the bills for petrol are ours, it’s our hard work. Platforms only help by getting us on the apps, and even for that, they’re charging a commission.”

Over 60% of respondents in an April 2023 survey of 59 commuters in Bangladesh said they had taken khep riders in 2023, according to a study conducted by a group of researchers associated with BRAC University in Dhaka. It is estimated that there were 7.5 million rides per month across the country in 2020, and earlier this year, the research director at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies said that the ride-sharing market is the largest segment within the country’s gig economy, worth $259 million in 2023 and expected to grow to $1 billion in the next five to seven years.

read more: https://restofworld.org/2023/uber-commission-fees-bangladesh/

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[–] MisterChief@lemmy.world 69 points 10 months ago

I've had a few drivers do this in the US and it has always been a huge cost savings. Uber gives a smaller and smaller cut the the drivers from what I'm hearing. I miss the early days when rides were cheap, driver kept the lions share of the fare and no one was expected to tip.

[–] themurphy@lemmy.world 50 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Imagine an open source platform for this service.

[–] lloram239@feddit.de 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Problem here is that "Open source platform" is a meaningless term. Open Source is a type of license that regulates how to redistribute source code. None of those principles apply to services and platforms, which are about data and control. If the Uber app would be Open Source, but still had to connect to the Uber server and play by its rules, nothing would change. Meanwhile if it played by its own rules, what rules would that be? There are no established rules for an "open" service platform, especially not when it comes to platform that have review and reputation systems build in.

Simply put, it's really not clear how you can be "open" yet at the same time provide any level of protection against fraud and abuse.

[–] warmaster@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Dreaming is free, so here's my list:

  • FOSS
  • Federated
  • E2EE
  • Accepts Cash & Crypto Payments
  • Easily self hosted
  • Open ID
[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

How would you ensure safety of drivers and passengers with open source platforms?

Wouldn't you need some sort of centralized authority to take on that risk and enforce rules to be followed and ban certain people from the platform?

[–] eskimofry@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago

Bitch please. As if uber gives 2 shits about secruity. They are an app platform? What are you going to do, run into a local tech park and shout at the receptionist "EMERGENCY!". They will kick you out fast like they do a hobo in NYC.

[–] Milk_Sheikh@lemm.ee 35 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

“according to a study conducted”

59 people surveyed

This is why paid, professional journalism is important. Basic editorial effort would refuse to publish lines regurgitating junk science

[–] DeathWearsANecktie@lemm.ee 10 points 10 months ago

I could get a bigger sample size by spending an afternoon asking people on the street!

[–] Fades@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

but paid professional journalists are beholden to the investors and the rich assholes that own their publications. Also, they're motivated to pump as much click bait trash as possible for them tasty quarterly profits

Basic editorial effort would refuse to publish lines regurgitating junk science

have you seen some of what these large media corps will publish???

[–] BearOfaTime@lemm.ee 3 points 10 months ago

"Paid professional journalists" produce this kind of garbage too.

I don't know what the answer is.

[–] Gazumi@lemmy.world 31 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

No surprise, Uber and others will price only for their easiest big profit. Full support to the drivers

[–] GutsBerserk@lemmy.world 30 points 10 months ago

Kudos to Dhaka taxi drivers. All these exploiting corporations, especially Uber, can go to hell!

[–] nixcamic@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

What usually happens in Guatemala is you'll take one ride with them through Uber and if they seem cool and are from your area you get their number and just message them in the future to ask for a ride.