Informal governance from below: Ride-hailing drivers and platform autonomy in Bogotá's gig economy

Abstract

This study examines the intersection of digital labour platforms and informal governance in Bogotá, Colombia, with a focus on the adaptive strategies employed by ride-hailing drivers within contexts of institutional fragility and urban inequality. Employing digital ethnography and visual methods, the research analyses the emergence of Drivers Club Bogotá, a grassroots network utilising technologies such as WhatsApp and Zello for coordination, mutual aid and resistance. The findings highlight how drivers created informal governance systems based on autonomy, reciprocity and dignity, effectively responding to institutional distrust and regulatory gaps, particularly intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article argues for adopting a ‘partner state’ policy framework, supporting grassroots innovations without compromising their autonomy, and expanding existing knowledge on platform governance by illustrating informal governance as simultaneously a pragmatic survival strategy and a form of institutional innovation.