This Week in Rideshare: Pay, Electric and $26.

A bill to pump up pay, EV costs get dumped on drivers and a study becomes “laughable”. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

MONDAY 3/21/22

Washington has proposed a bill offering benefits and a minimum wage for drivers. Spokesman reported:

The bill would require ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to provide a minimum amount of compensation for every trip a driver makes. That compensation will increase at the same rate the state minimum wage increases every year. Starting in 2023, drivers in Spokane would get $0.34 per minute plus $1.17 per mile driven with a passenger, or a minimum of $3 per trip — whichever is greater.

TUESDAY 3/22/22

California’s push for EV-based rideshare cars hands the bill off to the drivers. Wired reported:

But it’s not the companies who will have to pay for this change. The burden would likely fall on an already encumbered group of independent workers. According to a 2020 study of ride-hail drivers in Seattle, drivers make an average $9.73 an hour, after accounting for expenses like a vehicle, fuel, insurance, and vehicle cleaning. Another 2020 survey, this one of San Francisco drivers, found that more than a third would have to borrow money to pay off a $400 emergency expense.

WEDNESDAY 3/23/22

Fare-splitting on Uber has currently been cut. The Verge reported:

Uber plans to temporarily remove the ability to split fares sometime next month, as reported by Mashable. The company is “in the process of reworking how riders split fares,” Uber said in a statement shared with Mashable and also given to The Verge. “We know this is a popular feature, so rest assured that we are planning to roll out a new, improved version in the coming months.”

THURSDAY 3/24/22

A study claiming drivers earn $26/hr has gotten a “laughable” response. Mass Live reported:

Massachusetts Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart drivers earned about $26 an hour on average last year, an industry-backed survey suggests, but opponents of a proposed ballot question tech companies are pushing to make drivers remain independent contractors have called the survey a “laughably false corporate stunt” and claim drivers actually earn far less.

But Wes McEnany, director of the Massachusetts is Not For Sale campaign called the report “false propaganda” and “a press release masquerading as a study” to further big tech’s ballot question.

“This so-called study which is actually a press release paid for by the companies is a laughably false corporate stunt that directly contradicts the well-documented experiences of drivers throughout our state who have been protesting the poverty wages paid by Uber, Lyft, and GrubHub,” he said.

McEnany pointed to a competing study by U.C. Berkeley researchers suggested drivers will make just $4.82 an hour if this ballot initiative passes.

FRIDAY 3/25/22

Spin scooters come to Lyft. The Verge explains:

Lyft is integrating Spin’s electric scooters into its app, with the goal of eventually featuring the scooters in all 60 cities where Spin operates in the US.

Riders will see Spin scooters as an option when they search their destination in the Lyft app. A Spin scooter can be unlocked via the Lyft app by scanning its QR code or entering the scooter ID number — similar to how Citi Bike customers can unlock a bike through the Lyft app.

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.