those who reported having another part-time job, and just three percent of those who reported having another full-time job. The 2014 survey asked driver-partners whether a variety of possible motivations were a major reason, minor reason, or not a relevant reason for why they partnered with Uber (Q22). The most common reasons (combining major and minor reasons) were: “to earn more income to better support myself or my family” (91 percent); “to be my own boss and set my own schedule” (87 percent); “to have more flexibility in my schedule and balance my work with my life and family” (85 percent); “to help maintain a steady income because other sources of income are unstable/unpredictable” (74 percent).15 Driving on the Uber platform provides an important source of income for driver-partners. For one-fifth of driver-partners (20 percent), Uber is their only source of personal income, and for another 12 percent Uber is their largest but not only source of income. Nearly half of driver-partners view income earned on the Uber platform as a supplement to their income but not a significant source (48 percent) (Q61). Perhaps not surprisingly—given that most driver-partners had jobs that they could have kept, and often did, when they started partnering with Uber—71 percent of driver- partners in 2014 replied that partnering with Uber has increased their overall income, while only 11 percent replied that partnering with Uber has decreased their overall income (Q28R1). A variety of questions suggest that Uber's driver-partners value the flexibility that the Uber platform permits, and many are drawn to Uber in large part because of this flexibility. Fifteen times as many drivers said Uber had made their lives better, rather than worse, by giving them more control over their schedule (74 percent versus five percent). In addition, when asked directly (Q52), “Which of the following would you most prefer regarding your driving with Uber?” with responses describing an employment relationship and an independent contractor relationship, 79 percent chose the latter. Furthermore, when the driver-partners were asked what they would do if Uber were no longer available in their area, 35 percent (the largest group) said they would use another ride-sharing app platform, while only 21 percent said they would look for a full- time job in an unrelated industry (Q32).16 These findings suggest that there is 15 The order was unchanged considering those reasons designated as a major reason, and the corresponding percentages were 76 percent, 64 percent, 63 percent, and 51 percent, respectively. 16 Other responses were: drive a taxi (eight percent); look for a part-time job (19 percent); not look for a new job (12 percent); and other (five percent). 11