This Week in Rideshare: Cabs, Robots, and Women.

Uber = taxis, Eats goes robotic and women pay more. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

MONDAY 11/8/21

Uber is playing with irony…in the form of taxis. Gizmodo explains:

Uber executive Josh Gold reportedly lobbied New York’s Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) chief Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk over the possibility of dispatching the iconic NYC cabs. If the rumored partnership comes to pass, Uber users could potentially see a yellow cab icon appear floating alongside Uber’s other assortment of ride offerings, like UberX, UberXL, and maybe soon, Uber Pool.

TUESDAY 11/9/21

Uber Eats is deploying the bots. Restaurant Business Online explains:

Uber is partnering with Serve Robotics to make it happen. Serve was formerly part of Postmates, the delivery company Uber acquired in November.

Robot delivery will be assigned to Uber Eats customers based on availability and location. The companies are still working out the details on the fees associated with each order, a Serve spokesperson said.

WEDNESDAY 11/10/21

Why is there still a driver shortage? New Statesman has some thoughts on the matter. They explain:

Awaad said Uber’s new fixed-price fares are also a problem for drivers. “If you get stuck in traffic, if the road is closed and you do a diversion for two, three miles, if the customer decides on his way to stop at McDonald’s for five or seven minutes — it’s not counted.

“So drivers feel they’ve been ripped off, and drivers are retaliating by declining jobs.”

During lockdown, when cab drivers couldn’t work, many sought other employment — especially for the e-commerce and delivery firms that boomed as the world shopped online. The pandemic has also caused a reported backlog in registrations for those trying to enter the industry, squeezing driver numbers at both ends.

THURSDAY 11/11/21

The DOJ sued Uber over ‘wait times’. USA TODAY reported:

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday, accuses the ride-hailing company of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and harming “many passengers and potential passengers with disabilities throughout the country.”

A statement from Uber calls the lawsuit “surprising and disappointing,” adding that it has been in “active discussions” with the Justice Department and issued an update last week to automatically waive wait time fees for riders who certify that they are disabled.

“We fundamentally disagree that our policies violate the ADA,” Uber spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said

FRIDAY 11/12/21

Women are spending more than men just to get home. Yahoo.com explains:

A spokesperson for women’s safety campaigners, Reclaim These Streets, told The Independent that Uber’s surge could have an adverse effect, particularly for women who already feel unsafe on public transport at night.

“Whether or not Uber exists and regardless of what they charge, women don’t feel safe making their way home of an evening,” they said.

“It’s wrong that we have to shell out for a taxi because male behaviour on public transport and in public spaces makes us and makes us feel unsafe.

“The burden to keep safe includes our Uber bills. We spend far more, I’m sure, than men do getting home.

“Why should that burden be on women? Yes, Uber prices increasing increases that burden for us. But tackling misogyny not cheaper taxis is the only way we will ever be safe.”

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.