Uber ruling will raise prices and cut off earning opportunities for thousands, says IEA expert

"This judgment will raise costs for Uber users, who are often young people who cannot afford conventional cabs. It will also reduce the availability of rides at the time people want them and squeeze out the large proportion of cab drivers who can only work part-time, as Uber will likely concentrate on a smaller number of workers who can commit to regular hours.

"A ruling which raises prices and inconveniences consumers, while cutting off earning opportunities for many thousands of workers, is hardly the great achievement hailed by the unions. When the logic is extended to other areas of the gig economy, we will see tens of thousands of young people unable to find any work at all at a time when conventional jobs will be very hard to come by."