This Week in Rideshare: Bans, Vaccines and Bots.
Airbnb braces for inauguration, workers get vaccinated, and Uber unloads delivery bots. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
MONDAY 1/11/21
In an effort to protect hosts, Airbnb announced it’s looking at blocking all DC reservations next week. Airbnb added:
We are reviewing reservations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. If we confirm that any guests are associated with a hate group or otherwise not allowed on our platform for violating certain community policies prohibiting violence or engaging in criminal activity, we will cancel those reservations and ban them from Airbnb.
TUESDAY 1/12/21
The fight against Prop-22 appears far from over. ABC News explains:
Drivers for app-based ride-hailing and delivery services filed a lawsuit Tuesday to overturn a California ballot initiative that makes them independent contractors instead of employees eligible for benefits and job protections.
The lawsuit filed with the California Supreme Court said Proposition 22 is unconstitutional because it limits the power of the Legislature to grant workers the right to organize and excludes drivers from being eligible for workers’ compensation.
WEDNESDAY 1/13/21
Uber appears to be fighting back against the $59 million California fine. Yahoo! news explains:
Uber Technologies Inc on Wednesday appealed a $59 million fine by a California regulator in a dispute over whether the company should share detailed information on sexual assault and harassment claims reported on its ride-hailing platform.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) fined Uber in December after the company refused to share the information, including full names and contact information, arguing that doing so would violate victims’ rights to privacy.
THURSDAY 1/14/21
Drivers looking to get vaccinated may get a little financial boost. USA Today added:
Online grocery delivery company Instacart also announced Thursday it will begin paying its workers $25 to offset them taking time to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise across the country, we’re taking proactive steps to advocate that government agencies recognize Instacart shoppers as critical essential workers who deserve early access to vaccines,” said Instacart CEO and founder Apoorva Mehta in a statement.
FRIDAY 1/15/21
Delivery Bots: Roll out. Just not at Uber. TechCrunch Onion explains:
Postmates X, the robotics division of the on-demand delivery startup that Uber acquired last year for $2.65 billion, is seeking investors in its bid to become a separate company, according to several people familiar with the plans.
Uber would retain an ownership stake in Serve Robotics and maintain a commercial agreement with the startup. Serve would get the IP and assets in exchange. Uber is in discussions to retain about a 25% stake in the new startup, according to one source familiar with the deal.
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