The Drivers Cooperative

The Drivers CooperativeType| Worker cooperative

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Industry| transportation, technology
Founded| 2020 (2020)
Headquarters|

New York City, New York

United States

Area served

| New York City

Key people

| Mohammad Hossen, Ken Lewis, Erik Forman
Website| drivers.coop

The Drivers Cooperative or Co-Op Ride is an American ridesharing company and mobile app that is a workers cooperative, owned collectively by the drivers.[1][2] The cooperative launched in May 2021 in New York City,[3][4] with the first 2,500 drivers issued their ownership certificates in a media event.[5][6]

The cooperative was co-founded by Grenadan immigrant and for hire vehicle driver Ken Lewis, labor organizer Erik Forman, and former Uber executive Alissa Orlando.[7][6][8] Mohammad Hossen is the first member of the drivers' advisory board, which they plan to expand democratically as more drivers are onboarded.[7][9] Other staff include software and industry veterans and in addition to co-founder Lewis, there are other drivers in management roles such as ex-driver and organizer David Alexis.[9][8][10]

The Co-Op Ride app is on the iOS and Android platforms and is built on Google Maps, Stripe, and Waze.[11] By July, the app had been downloaded by 30,000 users and the number of drivers increased to 3,400,[12] and by August there were 40,000 users.[13]

The cooperative is owned by the drivers themselves, and takes 15% from each ride for business overhead costs, as opposed to the 25% to 40% ride hail apps like Uber or Lyft take per ride.[14][4][7][13][11] While being ultimately owned by the driver members, not by investors, the cooperative began with seed money from the Minnesota-based Community Development Financial Institution Shared Capital Cooperative,[3] the local Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union,[4][6] and welcomed individual donations via crowdfunding in the form of revenue sharing debt on Wefunder.[12][13] Each driver is a member of the cooperative and owns one share of the company and one vote in business and leadership decisions.[5][4] In addition to a larger percentage of the fees per ride driven, each driver as a part-owner will also receive a share of the company's profits after loans and other expenses are paid, in the form of weighted dividends.[5][4][13] The drivers use their own cars.[15]

The cooperative vets its owner-members further than what is already performed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC),[14] and gives a fixed price when a car is ordered and does not engage in surge pricing.[2][11] The TLC imposed a minimum payrate for mobile app ridesharing companies operating in New York city in 2018.[4] In 2021 that is $1.26 per mile which Uber and Lyft do not pay above; the cooperative pays a minimum mileage of $1.64.[4][13] The cooperative intends to be able to set aside 10% of profits to community foundations and other non-profits and community organizations.[4]

The cooperative has engaged in advocacy around a policy agenda voted on by its members. Legislation to achieve this policy goal was introduced by State Senator Julia Salazar and Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, with the support of a coalition led by The Drivers Cooperative, United Auto Workers Region 9 and 9A, Sunrise Movement, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and New York Communities for Change.[16]

## References

1. ↑ Jones, Sarah (December 22, 2020). "Can a Worker-Owned App Pull Drivers From Uber and Lyft?". https://www.curbed.com/2020/12/can-a-worker-owned-app-pull-drivers-from-uber-and-lyft.html.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Akhtar, Allana. "I tried the new ride-hailing app in NYC designed to take driver power back from Uber and Lyft, and although it's still working out some kinks, I was happy to help drivers get more money". https://www.businessinsider.com/driver-owned-rideshare-service-new-york-city-review-2021-6.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Hailing a new, co-op ride-hailing app owned by drivers". 25 July 2021. https://riverdalepress.com/stories/hailing-a-new-co-op-ride-hailing-app-owned-by-drivers,75299.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Toussaint, Kristin (July 15, 2021). "How the Drivers Cooperative built a worker-owned alternative to Uber and Lyft". https://www.fastcompany.com/90651242/how-the-drivers-cooperative-built-a-worker-owned-alternative-to-uber-and-lyft.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Driver-Owned Ride-Share Service 'Drivers Cooperative' Launches In New York City". June 4, 2021. https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/06/04/drivers-cooperative-ride-share-nyc/.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Conger, Kate (May 28, 2021). "A Worker-Owned Cooperative Tries to Compete With Uber and Lyft". https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/technology/nyc-uber-lyft-the-drivers-cooperative.html.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "New York City Drivers Cooperative Aims to Smash Uber's Exploitative Model". 10 December 2020. https://inthesetimes.com/article/new-york-city-drivers-cooperative-uber-lyft.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "In the Drivers' Seat". http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2021/0521feliz-leon.html.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Invest in The Drivers Cooperative: A ridehailing platform owned by workers, not billionaire founders and venture capital. | Wefunder". https://wefunder.com/driverscoop.
10. ↑ Verde, Ben (6 October 2021). "Socialist organizer David Alexis announces primary challenge to State Sen. Kevin Parker". https://www.brooklynpaper.com/socialist-organizer-david-alexis-announces-primary-challenge-to-state-senator-kevin-parker/.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "You Can Now Ditch Uber for a Driver-Owned Rideshare App in New York City". June 2021. https://gizmodo.com/you-can-now-ditch-uber-for-a-driver-owned-rideshare-app-1847010092.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Driver-Owned Uber Alternative Looks to Crowdfund $1 Million". July 14, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-14/driver-owned-uber-alternative-looks-to-crowdfund-1-million.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 "Driver co-op raising $1 million to battle Uber and Lyft". August 20, 2021. https://www.protocol.com/workplace/drivers-cooperative-uber-lyft.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "New App Aims To Compete With Uber, Lyft While Giving New York Drivers A Living Wage". https://www.npr.org/2020/12/05/943454048/new-app-aims-to-compete-with-uber-lyft-while-giving-new-york-drivers-a-living-wa.
15. ↑ "When Drivers are in the Drivers' Seat for Taxi and Ride-Hail Companies". https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/entry/when-drivers-are-in-the-drivers-seat-for-taxi-and-ride-hail-companies.
16. ↑ [1]

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