This Week In Rideshare: Japan, Guns, and Freedom.
Dara’s plea to Japan, drivers with guns, and lack of flexibility. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
DARA WANTS JAPAN TO ALLOW INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
Dara has an ask for Japan: let drivers work as independent contractors. Kyodo News reported:
Uber Technologies Inc.’s top executive urged Japan to allow rideshare drivers to work independently, rather than obliging them to work under taxi companies, under a scheme meant to address labor shortages in the local industry.
“There would be a lot more people willing to become rideshare drivers if they could work flexibly as independent contractors,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at a press conference in Tokyo, adding that the Japanese version of ride-sharing has been slow to take off since a ban on such services was only partially lifted in April.
Under the current system, which was introduced to address a nationwide shortage of taxi drivers, taxi firms can employ and manage standard license holders to offer rideshare services with their private vehicles under certain conditions.
Amid persistent safety concerns, Khosrowshahi said that safety is a priority while stressing that it is one of the top reasons customers in other markets choose Uber due to its incorporation of technology features and partnerships.
UBER BUT WITH GUNS
A new rideshare service comes with armed drivers. Axios reported:
Black Wolf, a gun-toting, TikTok famous rideshare service, recently expanded to Miami with a fleet of armed drivers from police, military and security backgrounds.
Zoom in: Founder Kerry KingBrown — a private security guard and University of Miami alumnus — launched the company in Atlanta in 2023 and now has 25 drivers across Miami, Fort Lauderdale and other Florida cities.
How it works: Riders can request an armed or unarmed driver.
The drivers must have at least four years of policing, military or private security experience, KingBrown says.
Front-facing cameras in the car record live video of the trip.
REVEL LAYS OFF 1000 DRIVERS
Revel is laying off 1000 staff rideshare drivers and moving to Uber’s model. TechCrunch reported:
After dropping the moped-sharing business in 2023, Revel is pivoting once again to abandon one of the main things that made its ride-hail service unique: The startup is laying off its 1,000+ drivers and embracing a gig worker model similar to that of rivals Lyft and Uber.
The move comes after Revel successfully piloted the model in late February with 100 Revel drivers and has since brought on 100 more.
“The reason we ran this pilot in the first place was just increasing feedback from our driver pool, as well as in our recruitment efforts,” Haley Rubinson, vice president of corporate affairs at Revel, told TechCrunch. “The leading reason people didn’t want to join Revel was the lack of flexibility.”
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