This Week in Rideshare: Agreements, Vaccines and Subscriptions.
Drivers refuse to sign off, Uber employees get vaxxed, and Lyft offers a new service. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
MONDAY 8/2/21
Amazon has added cameras to keep track of drivers. The Information explains:
According to the documents, Amazon dings drivers who tailgate other vehicles for 10 seconds or more with violations. The cameras, using built-in artificial intelligence software, note safety violations when drivers blow through stop signs and perform illegal U-turns. And Amazon considers running red lights as equal to ten of each of those other infractions, the documents say.
TUESDAY 8/3/21
Uber drivers are refusing to sign NDAs for their own protection. Dara Kerr at The Markup reported:
Five months after he was carjacked while driving for Uber, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage to his car, David Morrow finally received an offer of assistance from the company: $1,000, the amount of his insurance deductible. But there was a catch — Morrow would need to sign a nondisclosure agreement promising to not sue Uber, disparage the company, or talk any further about his carjacking or the details of his settlement.
“I would be signing all my rights away,” said Morrow, who’s 71 and has completed almost 5,000 Uber rides. “I would have no recourse.”
“There’s a possibility that someone brings a class-action lawsuit for any driver who’s been carjacked or assaulted by an individual, who they were connected with by Uber,” said Bryant Greening, an attorney and co-founder of Chicago-based LegalRideshare, who reviewed the agreement for The Markup. If he had signed the agreement, “David would not be able to participate in that class-action lawsuit.”
WEDNESDAY 8/4/21
Charges could be filed after a tragic event that also involved the injury of an Uber driver. WRAL reported:
Gregory Allen Coley, 41, was speeding in a Mercedes Benz when he struck the back of a vehicle, causing it to hit a guardrail in the median. The Mercedes overturned, injuring Coley, who was taken to the hospital.
Daniel Joseph Watt, 26, who was sitting in the backseat of the vehicle that Coley struck, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt, according to officials. Watt was a residence coordinator in Student Affairs who began his career at Duke in July 2019.
Alex Marroquia, 26, who told the Highway Patrol that he is an Uber driver, was also injured and taken to Duke Medical by ambulance.
THURSDAY 8/5/21
Uber is requiring vaccinations for employees, but not for drivers. Business Insider reported:
"White collar workers, you’re spending time together in an office eight hours a day, 10 hours a day,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC’s Squawk Box in an interview this week. “Based on the [Delta] variant and the health concerns there it was an easy call in terms of coming back to the office,” he said.
“It would only be fair to require vaccines for both riders and drivers,” Khosrowshahi said. “To put that responsibility, that kind of decision making power on a company, I don’t think is right.”
FRIDAY 8/6/21
Lyft is changing gears on its bike-share program. The Verge explains:
Lyft Pink’s primary benefit is a 15 percent discount on car rides, and on the monthly tier, which costs $19.99 per month, it offers three free 30-minute bike or scooter rides per month (in certain markets). With the annual plan, though, you’ll get an unlimited amount of 45-minute bike rides on “classic” bikes (aka non-electric) at many of the company’s bike-share systems across the US as well as discounted rates on e-bike rides.
LegalRideshare is the first law firm in the United States to focus exclusively on Uber®, Lyft®, gig workers, delivery and e-scooter accidents and injuries.
