System Change for the Rideshare Platform Economy

New York City for-hire vehicle drivers are building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic with the power of worker cooperatives! Before the pandemic, our city's 91%-immigrant workforce of 85,000+ for-hire vehicle drivers was crushed by high commissions charged by a duopoly of venture-backed rideshare platforms that offload all the costs– and risks– of doing business onto drivers.

Now, drivers have come together to launch their own "platform cooperative" alternative: Co-op Ride, a rideshare service owned and run democratically by drivers. With Co-op Ride, drivers make 30% more on each trip, profits go back to drivers, drivers have a democratic voice in the company, all drivers have due process rights, and drivers are able to join the LES People's Federal Credit Union to access non-extractive financing for vehicle purchases.

The Drivers Cooperative is creating the best company that can exist within the for-hire industry we have today. We need your help to build power to change the system itself.

With your support, we will launch a four-month "Organizing Fellowship" for drivers to take time off the road to reach out to their peers about how the for-hire vehicle industry can be transformed through worker cooperatives and a just, green transition. Organizing Fellows will conduct outreach and research, lead classes, and launch projects to advance system change through worker ownership and a just, green transition to electric vehicles.

Thank you for your support!

1. Open applications for drivers to become Organizing Fellows.

2. Onboard 10 drivers representing the diversity of the industry as Fellows.

3. Begin weekly educational meetings and trainings with Fellows.

4. Provide support for worker-driver programming and projects led by Fellows, including educational workshops for drivers across New York City.

There can be nothing about workers without workers! However, too often, workers are held back from taking on leadership roles in organizations because of the time pressures created by exploitative conditions. This is why The Drivers Cooperative created the Organizer Fellowship program: to allow for-hire vehicle drivers to get off the road for one day per week to participate in educational programming and lead projects for the empowerment of their peers.