Thunder1

https://flex.amazon.com

Interesting concept....

How quickly can Amazon get an army of drivers in all the cities willing to use their own car and get paid $18-$25 per hour? I'd say pretty quick -- ALL of the fast food workers in America will be signing up to be either full time or part time drivers for Amazon and most would double their current pay.

So, Amazon leasing 20 767's and using the Uber model for its delivery drivers -- not a bad plan. Time will tell if it succeeds.

MaxKts

You're assuming all those "fast food" workers own an automobile! 😜

METO Guido

Yes, it's all too beautiful. Like when they cracked open the arc of the covenant and peered inside.

Harry Pommes

So what happens when somebody robs the driver? Or perhaps when somebody "robs" the driver?

Jetjok

I'm wondering if driving my personal vehicle for Amazon, or any other commercial company, for that matter, requires me to hold a drivers license other than my standard drivers license. As well, I don't know for sure, but would suspect that I'd be required to let my car insurance company know that I was using my vehicle for commercial purposes. Then there's the background check that I'd most certainly have to go through, along with the workers compensation issues of a company hiring me to deliver large and small packages. The list must go on and on. Again, I'm not up to speed on any of this stuff, but would bet that it's going to be a big headache for Amazon, or any other company, who expects to have a multitude of independent contractors, delivering products for them. Then, when Amazon has all these drivers delivering for them, what happens when all the drivers decide that they're not paid sufficiently? Unionization may be next. Who knows, but it sure will be fun watching a whole new industry trying to break into the marketplace.

Ludicrous Speed

Not to mention, a car that is 5 or less years old. Hell, I fly airplanes and my car is 18 years old. Or maybe I'm just a cheapskate

NoSidNoStar

You would wonder the same things about UBER, but their drivers don't have any of that. It's considered a private club, that's how they bypass all those requirements. Amazon could do the same thing.

Waldorf

Are the Amazon Uber drivers going to gouge customers for Holiday delivery like the real Uber drivers did on New Years?

Jetjok

I see, and what you say makes sense, except that from what I understand (which is admittedly not much), the UBER drivers are mostly part time, and with that in mind, I wonder if there are always enough UBER drivers in a city, to satisfy the consumers' need for their services. If not, no big deal, they just find alternative transportation, like a true cab, or a bus or train. What would Amazon do with not enough drivers at any given time, because it seems that Amazon would want time definite transport.

2StgTurbine

It is not the drivers that "gouge", it is Uber. Also, I wouldn't even call what they do gouging. During periods of high demand, they raise prices that most o the time is still cheaper than an actual cab. Before I found out about Uber, I had to pay a cab $22 to take me 3 miles to pick up my car in the parking lot. Then I found out Uber would take me from the airport all the way home for $12.