Gig Subcontinent #5: Freedom

One of the chapters in Vandana Vasudevan’s OTP Please is about an obvious benefit to all those online services, namely freedom.

“Online food delivery gives urban working women a breather from the non-stop treadmill of meal preparation…”

Or when unannounced guests popup. Or for that older era scenario when they even came “from other towns and staying on for days to watch a temple festival”.

 

Bachelors (male and female) working in a city, coming home late, find the convenience of being to get food by clicking a few buttons a lifesaver. I could relate to this line:

“Young migrants to the city have rarely cooked because they are too busy studying or working. Technology has replaced the old support systems that offered comfort to those away from home.”

 

Home delivery liberates Muslim women in the subcontinent from the nuisance of putting on a burqa every time they step out. Such use cases are endless and endlessly South Asia specific.

 

Only when one goes to places like Goa and Ladakh where the likes of Uber and Ola are banned (pressure from local cab drivers) does one realize how much we take these such ride hailing apps for granted. The inclusion of bikes and autos on these apps further democratized (and made affordable) travel for many. Only Nepal though seemed safe for women to hail bike rides! Panic buttons on the app, vehicle tracking, the knowledge that the company has driver details all add to the safety perception of women customers. Disabled folks find the ability to call the vehicle to their door a godsend.

 

Besides, it’s not as if walking down the street is a decent experience… “stray dogs, street vendors, haphazardly parked care, cows, and the air thick with the smell of exhaust fumes”.

 

I hadn’t thought of freedom as one of the consequences of the gig economy on all these criteria.

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