With rising precarity and the informalization of work under platform capitalism, workers lives have become significantly tougher. Governments across the globe are scrambling to regulate the platform economy, including digital labor platforms like Uber and it’s ride hailing siblings (Lyft, Ola, Taxify etc).

In the UK, Judges at the Court of Appeals have ruled that Uber drivers are not, in fact, independent contractors, and should be treated as employees. Thus, making them elligible for hard won worker rights like sick pay, minimum wage and so on.

Others are experimenting with radical alternatives that challenge the current, privatized ownership models of dominant digital platforms.

So, what actually serves as an alternative to Uber?

Duncan is working with Uber drivers to create their own ride hailing platform.

Watch Duncan discuss the challenges of questioning the status quo, and setting up a driver owned and led, cooperative ride- hailing platform.

Duncan works for a London-based think and do tank called the New Economics Foundation, where he leads their digital economy work, and works with Uber drivers to create their own platform cooperative alternative, as well as trying to set up a data analytics company that would be non-profit and purely service the social and public sectors.