From the gig economy to the unfairly shared spoils of global capitalism, inequality threatens to drive the UK apart. Could the answer be to work together, owning and controlling the things that really matter to us? Lucy Douglas meets the co-operators
“What we were seeing wasn’t a case of taxi v taxi.
It was an asset grab. We decided that the only way we could try to insulate ourselves was to come together to form our own app as a co-operative of drivers.”Sean Paul Day is one of eight co-founders of Taxiapp: the UK’s first taxi app to be owned by drivers in a co-operative form. It allows passengers to book and pay for black cabs via the app, in cash or by card. Its newest feature is designed to protect an aspect of the trade of which Day is particularly fond: the ‘ritual’ of hailing a cab. Customers will be able to view at a glance of their phone if black cabs are waiting on the street or at a rank, and hail one without needing to book.
The best known of the existing taxi apps, San Francisco-headquartered Uber has proved a soaring global success: it is now valued at around $69bn (£52bn). But the company has come under fire from governments, drivers and trade unions across the globe for ‘unfair’ business practices. In September, London mayor Sadiq Khan announced that Uber was “not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence”. Critics say that Uber’s bypassing of local licensing and safety laws amounts to unfair competition. Other apps – Lyft, Hailo and Gett – are generally considered slightly fairer to drivers – but Day says that none truly have employees’ interests at heart.
“That, to us, was the problem. The moment you bring in outside investment, then the bottom line isn’t the drivers – it’s a shareholders’ world. You get homogeny when the money men get involved, and that’s a bit boring, isn’t it? It feels very empowering to be working together instead.”
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Black cab drivers, who have traditionally been self-employed, pay £5 a week to appear on Taxiapp. The founders have paid a year’s worth of subscription costs upfront to cover development costs. Now, 1,500 drivers have signed up and about 5,000 people have downloaded the app. Every driver on the app will become part of the co-op. And all Taxiapp drivers have passed the Knowledge.
Day believes that black cabs are part of London’s cultural identity, but this isn’t about preserving the trade for its own sake. “People using black cabs have consciously made that decision to support us, whether it’s because of safety or skill. A lot of the time, our cabs double up as offices: people want to get in, settle down, and don’t want to have to wonder whether you’re driving the right way. We add a valuable choice: we’re the only taxi service in London whose drivers don’t work from GPS.”
The New Economics Foundation is also developing a driver-owned alternative. The think tank is working with trade unionists, tech partners and passengers to build “something better than Uber” – a driver-owned alternative that they hope will be as convenient and competitive on price, but “treats its passengers and drivers with respect”. They are provisionally calling the service CabFair and aiming to raise £30,000 through crowdfunding to make it a reality.
You get homogeny when the money men get involved, and that’s a bit boring, isn’t it? It feels very empowering to be working together instead
Co-ops take many forms, from community groups to for-profit employee-owned enterprises. Like any enterprise, their aim is to generate revenue. But unlike traditional businesses, they’re owned by stakeholders: employees or customers.
They’re nothing new in the UK. The movement dates back to the late 18th century, and it was the Rochdale Pioneers Equitable Society, founded in 1844, that established the principles of modern co-operatives. These include the concept of returning profits to members, and the all-important one member, one vote rule.
But there is a fresh momentum behind the movement. “Recently, there has been a lot more interest in developing co-op models,” says James Wright, public policy officer of Co-operatives UK, the national trade association for co-ops. “It had always been there in the background but in the last few years we’ve seen enthusiasm in particular parts…
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