Part of the reason Uber and Lyft work so well for riders is due to how they structure the relationship between drivers and their platform. Drivers are required to conform to the platform's payment structure. This enables predictable up-front pricing for rides before they are even requested. This enables the surge pricing system, which rapidly ramps up supply to match surges of demand.
Drivers can decline rides at will, but if a driver excessively declines rides there is punishment for this. This makes perfect sense as the platform calculates projected rates and surge pricing based on driver availability. Unnecessarily declining rides provides a poor user experience for riders, and riders ultimately can choose to take their business elsewhere. This means drivers need to be disincentivized to decline rides in order to maintain the quality of the platform.
Ultimately the relationship between driver and platform is structured to ensure a consistent driver and rider experience. The benefits arguments are more interesting, and maybe there does need to be a system for driver benefits like health insurance if they are working full time for the company, but ultimately these costs will fall squarely on consumers.
If your points are true, then all that really means is that there is a structural, economic incentive to not be structured as a platform and that the old model, of having cab companies with drivers who are employed by that company, is the most naturally efficient structure. That's fine, except for the part where they claim their employees are independent contractors, which would be tax fraud if they didn't try to structure in plausible deniability as best they could. That was the criticism I started with: they want to treat their workers as independent contractors when and to the extent that it benefits to do so, and they want to treat them like employees when it doesn't. "the relationship between driver and platform is structured to ensure a consistent driver and rider experience" - yes, that relationship has a specific name and that name is "employer." Uber and Lyft want to employ drivers to work for them, but want to avoid paying taxes on it. This is a dangerous game they're playing.
Drivers can decline rides at will, but if a driver excessively declines rides there is punishment for this. This makes perfect sense as the platform calculates projected rates and surge pricing based on driver availability. Unnecessarily declining rides provides a poor user experience for riders, and riders ultimately can choose to take their business elsewhere. This means drivers need to be disincentivized to decline rides in order to maintain the quality of the platform.
Ultimately the relationship between driver and platform is structured to ensure a consistent driver and rider experience. The benefits arguments are more interesting, and maybe there does need to be a system for driver benefits like health insurance if they are working full time for the company, but ultimately these costs will fall squarely on consumers.