The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of digitalisation since confinement measures and closure of frontiers have led most sectors of the economy and society to move their activities online.
Although digitalisation of traditional sectors could already be observed before the COVID-19 pandemic, the latter has significantly accelerated its pace and created a situation of experimentation, where the opportunities and limits of the online platform economy could be explored.
Due to the lockdown measures, most activities have moved online, this proving to be a lifesaver for some, especially in the restaurant business. The pandemic has led to an increase in the use of online services and an increase in the breadth of users, including those who were not using such services before.
As the COVID-19 crisis is lasting, the shifts in consumer behaviour may last as well. The closure of shops and travel restrictions have impacted many sectors of the economy. Businesses in the tourism, hospitality, transportation and event-focused sectors have experienced the hardest economic shocks while retailers had to turn to e-commerce to pursue their activities by plugging into online platforms and the associated ecosystem, including last-mile delivery.
It is here that the platform economy has proven to be instrumental for a number of agents. In the case of food delivery platforms, these fulfilled a number of differing needs by different economic agents. Sellers who needed last-mile delivery, buyers who wanted to enjoy the variety of meals from the comfort of their home and workers who wanted to work within their flexible parameters.
It may be argued that digital platforms have improved the lives of consumers by enhancing the quality, cost and also accessibility of services. Bolt is no stranger to various benefits that may be derived by adopting a digital platform. It has become the leading European multimodality platform, which offers ride-hailing, electric scooters and food delivery services in 18 EU member states and 40 countries around the world.
We need to accept that platform work is here to stay and put the right legal framework in place to make sure that the model is fair for all
Our aim is to continue working on our technology platform with a focused aim on improving people’s lives by saving them time and money, reducing the stress of daily travel and improving cities through the use of clean mobility modes of transportation. Yet, the debate is on with respect to the business models and arrangements, primarily with respect to the working relationship of such platform companies.
It is always best to start from the basics: the nature of work and its changing dynamics. In the past decade or so we have seen a significant increase in so-called non-standard forms of work, a broad category that includes different contractual arrangements, such as part-time, on-call work, temporary agency work and others. This shift has multiple causes, of which the digitalisation of production processes is certainly one.
From a purely economic point of view, it is arguably a logical response to increasing demand for more complex products and services, more distributed value chains and faster feedback from private markets. Some see these changes as a welcome move towards more flexible labour markets, with positive impacts on productivity and competitiveness. Others have opposite views. Regardless of the truth of these differing points of view, the so-called platform economy is here to stay.
Truth be told, it only remains a relatively minor part of the labour market. However, it serves as an important economic and business model. Platform work is a way to address the very real needs for flexibility on both sides of labour transactions. Not every business out there can afford to hire a full-time, permanent worker for every task it needs to fulfil. Platforms can also provide opportunities for people who are excluded from labour markets because full-time work relations are just not the right fit for them.
We need to accept that platform work is here to stay and put the right legal framework in place to make sure that the model is fair for all. Platform work is complex, with many different types of online labour platforms, each with their own specific business models, worker profiles and need for public policy intervention. We should not be scared by this complexity but, rather, tackle it head-on.
Seb Ripard, CEO of TXF Tech, Bolt partners in Malta, Cyprus and Tunisia