This Week In Rideshare: Police, Fares, and Fingerprints.
Waymo “freaks out”, Uber cuts fares and teens ignite an old debate. LegalRideshare breaks it down.
WAYMO “FREAKS OUT”
A Waymo vehicle freaked out in Phoenix. The Verge reported:
In about two-and-a-half minutes of bodycam footage published by AZCentral, the officer told Waymo the car was driving in a construction zone when it “went into opposing lanes of traffic, which is real bad.” He then told a curious bystander what had happened, adding, “so I light it up and it takes off in the intersection.” A dispatch record reportedly said the car drove through a red light and ‘FREAKED OUT’ before it pulled over.
Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli told The Verge in an email that the vehicle, which had no passengers, drove into the oncoming lane when it “encountered inconsistent construction signage,” and that “it was blocked from navigating back into the correct lane.” It stayed in the oncoming lane for about 30 seconds, Bonelli said, before the officer pulled behind the car, at which point it drove away from the cop “in an effort to clear the intersection” before pulling into the parking lot where the traffic stop took place. “The entire event,” he added, “lasted approximately one minute.”
UBER CUTS FARES IN AUSTRALIA
Uber uses loopholes to cut fares in Australia. The Guardian reported:
Last week, Uber told drivers that rider fares would be cut from 7 August. The company has not told drivers the exact amount, but it is understood it would be an average of less than 5%.
Uber said the adjustments were because of the current economic environment and local market conditions — not a reaction to minimum standards that would likely be set on driver conditions by the Fair Work Commission under the closing loopholes legislation, which takes effect on 26 August.
While Uber has supported the legislation, drivers say the fare cut is a clear response to prepare for changes likely to come from Fair Work.
Shane Millsom, a Brisbane-based driver and the secretary of the driver advocate organisation Rideshare Driver Network, called the Uber announcement disappointing but not unexpected.
“The new closing loopholes legislation comes into effect shortly, so Uber has deliberately lowered the starting point for negotiations,” he told Guardian Australia.
UBER FOR TEENS IGNITES OLD DEBATE
Uber for Teens ignites an old debate. TechCrunch reported:
Seven years ago, Uber and Lyft blocked an effort to require ride-hailing app drivers to get fingerprinted in California. But by launching Uber for Teens earlier this year, the company inadvertently resurfaced the issue.
Uber for Teens launched in February in California, allowing kids aged 13 to 17 to order their own rides under a parent’s account. Public documents show Uber reached out to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) seeking clarity on a 2016 ruling that said any transportation network company whose business involved “primarily transporting minors” would need to enforce strict background checks for drivers, including fingerprinting.
Uber argues that it doesn’t need fingerprinting to ensure adequate background checks. Aside from a motor vehicle report, Uber checks drivers for all criminal convictions, including sexual offenses. The company said in a June filing with the CPUC that it also reruns both of those driver checks annually and “monitors California drivers continuously for disqualifying criminal offenses and driving violations.”
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