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According to a pay-walled article in The Information:
Thanks to a secret software-based effort within Uber called "Hell," Uber could track how many Lyft drivers were available for new rides and where they were[.] [...] "Hell" showed Uber employees which of the tracked drivers were driving for both Lyft and Uber, helping Uber figure out how to lure those drivers away from its rival.
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Q: Why did the lone ranger kill Tonto?
A: He found out what "kimosabe" really means.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday April 14 2017, @08:21AM (3 children)
Anyone else getting the feeling that Uber is plainly bad news?
Next time drivers will use two phones to "double-app" ? ;)
Oh the horror.. they aren't serfs yet!
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Friday April 14 2017, @08:28AM
1. The "double-apping" drivers got bonuses.
2. The software was used between 2014 and 2016.
(ง ͠° ͟ل͜ ͡°)ง
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(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 14 2017, @02:45PM (1 child)
No, they seem quite incredible to me. In reality one of the main reason that I think our capitalist system has started to stall out is because companies aren't really competing. There's much more money to be made by implicit collusion (think most electronics products and companies) or overt agreements to not compete in the same territory (think Comcast and Time Warner). Companies like Uber are playing capitalism like it was meant to be played and that results in huge benefits to the customer and employee alike.
Compare this instance of them actively trying to offer more to employees for a competing company to how Google and Apple interact with regards to employees. When one Google recruiter dared shoot of an email about available opportunities at Google to an Apple employee, it eventually made its way up to Steve Jobs who managed in collusion with Eric Schmidt to have the recruiter fired [time.com] within 24 hours. Upon hearing the news of the recruiter losing her job, Steve Jobs responded with a smiley face.
Capitalism is supposed to be ware between companies for the sake of the consumer and employee. In reality it's more often companies colluding (often alongside political puppets) and attacking both consumer and employee alike to maximize their earn. So no, I don't think a company working to try to offer better lives for employees of a competing company is what I'd call "bad news."
(Score: 1) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Friday April 14 2017, @05:09PM
That is why I disagree with the "well defined contracts" guy.