ZDF investigation shows: Uber is a bad deal at the expense of drivers and taxpayers.

The ZDF journalist poses the central question in the report: “But who pays the price for it?” The answer comes from the investigation itself: It is mainly the drivers and, in the end, also the general public. The report shows that many Uber drivers work under precarious conditions: long working hours, insecure income and high pressure. Despite 12-hour shifts, it is often not enough to reach the minimum wage. At the same time, complex subcontracting structures benefit, while the actual service providers receive only a fraction of the revenues. 

“The ZDF investigation makes clear: Uber is not an innovative mobility service, but a business model based on systematic exploitation,” explains Gregor Beiner, president of the Bundesverband Taxi und Mietwagen. “If drivers, despite hard work, can barely live on their income, something fundamental is wrong.”

Cologne Customs Investigates

Particularly alarming: authorities, according to ZDF, repeatedly detect violations by Uber subcontractors. A staff member of the Cologne Customs puts the issue succinctly in the report and describes a system that is structurally prone to abuse. Municipal authorities also see the cause in the economic framework: Low revenues effectively make it impossible for subcontractors to operate legally on a permanent basis. For the Federal Association it's clear: These are not isolated cases, but a structural problem.

The consequences of this system are not borne solely by the drivers. If social security contributions are not properly remitted or business models are based on legal gray areas, it causes a substantial hit to public finances.

“Whoever allows business models that only work by circumventing rules endangers the financing of our social state,” Beiner continues. “That is not fair competition – that is a risk for all taxpayers.”