This Week in Rideshare: Buys, Bots and Demands.
Uber drinks up Drizly, Amazon goes AI, and IDG demands better for drivers. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
MONDAY 2/1/21
In a slap in the face to drivers, Instacart’s “Ethical” competitor seems to have some flaws. Vice explains:
Dumpling is now in hot water with many of the gig workers on its platform, which it calls “business owners.” These business owners say the company has misled them about how much autonomy and control they’d have on the platform, and has shut down their Facebook group after workers on the platform spoke out against a series of changes the company made to its pay model in the latter half of 2020.
TUESDAY 2/2/21
Amazon’s in the hot seat again after withholding tips from drivers. La Times reported:
Amazon will pay more than $61.7 million to Flex drivers from whom it withheld the full amount of customer tips to settle a Federal Trade Commission investigation.
The settlement comes nearly two years after the Los Angeles Times first exposed that Amazon was dipping into customer tips to cover the base pay guaranteed to Flex drivers, who deliver Amazon Fresh, Prime Now and other orders.
WEDNESDAY 2/3/21
Looks like drinks are on Uber! The rideshare giant drops $1.1 billion to acquire Drizly. CNBC reported:
Following the completion of the transaction, Drizly’s marketplace will be integrated with the Uber Eats app. The company will keep the standalone Drizly app as well, it said.
Founded in 2012, Drizly has become the leading on-demand alcohol delivery service in the U.S. and is available in 1,400 cities. The purchase could help drive people to use Uber’s app more often.
THURSDAY 2/4/21
In an effort to improve “driver safety”, Amazon is installing AI-powered cameras in their vehicles. CNET explains:
The AI cameras, developed by transportation management technology startup Netradyne, issue warnings about potential safety issues, Amazon said its video. The in-cab warnings have been shown to reduce collisions as well as improve driver behavior, Karolina Haraldsdottir, a senior manager for last-mile safety, says in the video.
Netradyne’s camera, called Driveri, features four HD lenses pointing in different directions: one on the driver, one on the road ahead and two on either side of the vehicle. The system recognizes good driver behavior as well as bad, Haraldsdottir says.
FRIDAY 2/5/21
After the surge in carjackings in Chicago, the Chicago branch of IDG (Independent Driver’s Guild) has stepped up and demanded app companies do more to protect their drivers.
Today, we demand that ride-hailing and delivery app providers work with us to address the recent increase in the carjacking and other criminal incidents. Dozens of rideshare drivers and delivery workers have been targeted as victims of carjackings in Chicago in the last few months alone.
Drivers can sign up for more info and send a letter here.
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.
