Uber对手出新招：让司机人人持股

该公司名为Juno，他们和Uber竞争的策略就是“对司机更好”。创始人称获悉司机对Uber不满后，他们意识到创办让司机满意的打车服务是一大商机——在古罗马神话中，Juno是婚姻的保护神。在打车服务市场上，它是司机的保护神。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

chink 裂缝[tʃɪŋk]

juggernaut 主宰者['dʒʌɡənɔ:t]

disgruntled 不满的；不高兴的[dɪs'grʌnt(ə)ld]

woo 追求；招致[wuː]

unionise 成立工会['ju:niəunaiz]

gross fares 总票价

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Uber competitor to offer drivers shares （544 words）

By Leslie Hook in San Francisco

* * *

Competitors of Uber think they have found a chink in the armour of the ride-hailing juggernaut: disgruntled drivers who can be lured away with better rates and equity.

That is the strategy of one of Uber’s newest and most high-profile challengers, Juno, a start-up that plans to launch a competing ride-hailing service in New York this spring.

Juno’s founder Talmon Marco, an entrepreneur who co-founded Viber, says the company is specifically targeting Uber drivers and offering them a better deal with lower commission rates and equity in the company.

“What Uber left out in the process of building their company is that they completely and totally forgot about the people who do the work, the drivers,” he says. “Imagine a company where all the employees hate management; that is not a good place to be.”

Groups of drivers in some of Uber’s largest US markets, including New York and San Francisco, have been protesting over fare cuts that were introduced in January, saying that the cuts affect their take-home wages.

While ride-hailing companies’ efforts to attract consumers with low prices and promotions usually receive the most attention, behind the scenes a battle is under way to attract the best drivers.

Lyft, Uber’s main competitor in the US, has been wooing drivers with its tip system as well as lower commissions for full-time drivers. Uber changed its commission structure this week to mirror Lyft’s in rewarding full-time drivers.

Drivers have also become the focus of increasing efforts to unionise. A bill was introduced in the California legislature this week which, if passed, would allow drivers for Uber and Lyft to form unions. Seattle passed a similar measure last year, although it is being challenged by a lawsuit.

Mr Marco says that Juno would classify drivers as employees, not as independent contractors, if they drove exclusively for Juno.

In an unusual twist, he proposes to distribute shares in Juno to drivers each quarter, so that over time the drivers can build as much equity as the founders.

However, the transportation market in New York is highly competitive, and has already seen at least one ride-hailing company, Hailo, give up entirely.

Mr Marco said that Juno would try to avoid the price wars that have defined the New York ride-hailing market so far. “Every time that either Uber or Lyft reduce their prices, it is a war that is fought on the back of drivers,” he said.

Juno is recruiting Uber drivers specifically, and requires that drivers have a high Uber rating to join. The company is already paying some drivers for permission to gather data on their Uber journeys.

Mr Marco would not disclose how much Juno has raised so far, saying only that it was in the tens of millions.

Uber declined to comment. The company has previously said that gross fares per hour have gone up in New York, rising from $26 per hour in 2012 to $39 per hour in 2015. However, Uber has also increased its commissions over the period by adding fees, such as the booking fee; the company does not disclose how drivers’ net pay has changed.

Uber has raised more than $10bn from investors and is the world’s most highly valued start-up, with a total valuation of $62.5bn.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1. Where does Juno plan to launch this ride-hailing service first?

a. San Francisco

b. Seattle

c. New York

d. Seattle

2. What did some Uber’s drivers protest over in January?

a. fare cuts

b. equity security

c. tip system

d. working hours

3. Who is Uber’s main competitor in the US?

a. Lyft

b. Juno

c. Didi

d. Hailo

4. Which one is not right for Juno?

a. It will join the price war with Uber and Lyft.

b. It offers drivers lower commission rates.

c. The drivers can build as much equity as the founders in the future.

d. It will join the price war with Uber and Lyft.

[1] 答案c. New York

解释：Juno计划今年秋天在纽约上线服务。

[2] 答案a. fare cuts

解释：就在一月，Uber重要的美国市场包括纽约等得Uber司机抗议由于分成比例太高导致实际到手的钱太少。

[3] 答案a. Lyft

解释：目前为止Uber在美国的主要竞争对手还是Lyft。

[4] 答案d. It will join the price war with Uber and Lyft.

解释：Juno称它会尽量避免加入价格战。