Because part of the time they aren't being paid at all for their work and a good chunk of that money goes into the vehicle and fuel itself. After accounting for all the unpaid labor hours and expenses, it probably still comes out sub-minimum-wage.
We have it but the trains are catching on fire and derailing and they shut the orange line down for a month to try to fix it. Meanwhile one of our main tunnels is also collapsing so that’s shut down too. My home is one mile from downtown and it’s also directly on a bike path that goes into the city, which is also closed because it’s also collapsing into the mystic river. It currently takes me 40 minutes to get downtown no matter what transit I take including walking.
My wife recently reconnected with a friend from college (20+ years ago) who is legally blind & living in MA. And I recently worked with a MA resident that is legally handicapped. Both of them have, through some state service, access to some number of free Uber rides each month. I know in the Boston area there is/was a state run car service for the handicapped, but using Uber apparently provides much more coverage & flexibility.
As long as the Uber drivers are being paid appropriately for this service I see it as a great service for the handicapped. I’d hate to see them lose it…