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MOBILITY TALKS

Harry Campbell
Founder & CEO of The RideShare Guy

Harry Campbell, Founder, and CEO of The RideShare Guy talks about the trends in mobility and how to stay up to date with the industry.

A few words from...

My name is Harry Campbell and I’m the founder of the Ride Share Guy. It’s a blog, a YouTube channel, and podcasts. Specialized for Uber and Lyft drivers and other gig workers.

Lately, we’ve been covering a lot of food delivery since during this pandemic. I actually got my start in the gig economy about 6 years ago. 

First, I started driving for Uber and Lyft and just blogging about my experience. While, it’s not rocket science working in the gig economy, it is a little tougher than it looks.

Secondly, I think you can learn a ton about these companies if you’re actually out there. Moreover, not only for using them but actually driving for them. Working for them from day in and out.

How do you feel about Autonomous Vehicles?

Clearly, I am a big fan of Autonomous Vehicles Technology.

On the other hand, I think that’ll save a ton of lives and prevent a lot of accidents. Next, I think Autonomous Vehicle Technology is one part of the business. However, running a ride-hailing network that’s a completely separate business.

Meanwhile, I think it’s going to be a big challenge for a lot of these companies. For instance,  you know how are these autonomous vehicles going to handle puke. 

When a rider pukes in the back of your car, are they gonna design sensors? Are they gonna design a system? That’s just one small edge case.

While right now Uber and Lyft rely on a lot of very basic manual input from drivers. Yet, when no driver is sitting in the front seat who’s going to provide that basic manual input? 

Is ride sharing only for big cities?

Definitely, I think for the most part ride-hail Uber and Lyft-type services are doing a majority of their trips in larger cities.

Next, I think that’s where you can have some really strong network effects.

However, nothing is preventing these services from working and even driving in smaller to medium-sized cities.

As, one of the most powerful things about technology, it can be applied in a number of different situations.

What are the 2 major trends you see in ride sharing or gig economy ?

First, one thing that I’m really keeping a close eye on is the shift from ride share to food delivery.

For instance, Uber. While most people think of it as a rides company. Yet,  now when they’re releasing their quarterly earnings. Uber Eats is topping the charts when it comes to revenue and gross bookings. 

Secondly, it is with gig workers specifically. Indeed, I think that the biggest complaints around working in the gig economy have evolved around low pay. Especially in this economic situation. Clearly, with more people than ever, the unemployment record is high, and more people looking for work.

I think that what could potentially increase the supply of drivers is drive rates and drive pay down. That’s one worrying trend that people see in the gig economy.

What motivated you into becoming an influencer?

The thing that I’m most passionate about is bringing the perspective of the workers. So many of the conferences and some of the events that I go to might be discussing policies for Uber and Lyft drivers. 

Yet, there’s not a single driver in on the panel. No one like me can connect what it’s actually like to be a worker and be on the front line.

Final word?

I really appreciate Mobility Makers for having me on this talk. I look forward to hearing from you all in the comments! All right, take care!

Thanks a lot for this great input !
Stay tuned for more insights!

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