Labor Challenges for Transportation: From Bus Drivers to Gig Workers

Research Team: Jacob Wasserman (co-lead), Susan Shaheen (co-lead), Allie Padgett, Keenan Ky-An Do, Brooke Wolfe, Adam Cohen, and and Jacquelyn Broader

UC Campus(es): UC Berkeley, UCLA

Problem Statement: The most pressing problems facing public transit agencies and transit operations today are the worker shortage and issues of workforce availability and working conditions. To both restore service in the short term and plan for service evolution in the long term, policymakers must understand current conditions in the transit labor market and the best ways to respond. On a parallel track, transportation network companies (TNCs) have become an increasingly mainstream part of the transportation sector. Initially, TNCs operated with limited vetting of drivers and vehicles, but as they became more popular, new laws were passed to formalize the sector and regulate its labor practices (e.g., California Assembly Bill 5 and Proposition 22). Because TNC drivers don’t fit a single labor profile–they range from part-time workers who drive for supplemental income to full-time workers who depend on driving for their livelihood.

Project Description: This project investigates contemporary labor issues in public transit and the TNC sector, including the perspectives (and conflicts) between the different stakeholders, such as management, unions, operators/drivers, and riders. With respect to public transit, this project investigates why there is labor shortage and ways to effectively address it. Interviews, wage data, and other sources demonstrate that these shortages were due to both compensation issues and longstanding issues of workforce safety, culture, and practices. With respect to taxis and TNCs, this project examines an array of cross-cutting labor issues, such as the impact of rising gas prices on TNC drivers, the ability for app-based platforms to recruit and retain drivers, the impacts of placing taxi drivers on TNC platforms, and the role of labor policies on driver access to quality jobs.

Status: Completed

Budget: $112,500