This Week in Rideshare: Retirement, Kitchens, and Masks.

Work until retirement, Travis Kalanick returns and Uber drops masks. LegalRideshare breaks it down.

MONDAY 9/5/22

Gig workers say they have no plans to stop working…at least until retirement. HRD added:

A new report from Zety found that there are currently around 59 million gig workers out there, roughly equivalent to 36% of all US employees.

According to the report, 52% of those involved in gigs were doing it out of necessity, while 48% are doing it out of choice. Majority of them (38%) spend 10 to 20 hours doing gig jobs a week, 32% spent 20 to 30 hours, 16% spend 30 to 40 hours, 11% spend 10 hours or less, while three per cent spend 40 hours or more.

And even if majority of workers do work gigs out of necessity, a significant 88% admitted that they are still considering on doing gig work until retirement.

TUESDAY 9/6/22

An Uber driver in Portland recently escaped a scary situation. KPTV reported:

The driver, who goes bay ‘Kri’ to protect her and her family’s safety, told FOX 12 the passenger got in her car, immediately grabbed her phone, and then threatened to kill her if she didn’t do what he said. The man told her it was a gun, but Kri never saw it. But after four years of driving for Uber, Kri never imagined she would be in a situation where her life would be on the line.

“I told him I needed my keys to pop the gas tank, I unbuckled my seat belt, hopped out and screamed at the top of my lungs,” Kri said.

Kri said a group of people at the gas station helped get the man out of her car. As he was walking away, the suspect allegedly fired a gun but thankfully no one was hit. Kri said she filed a police report that night and was hoping something would’ve done. But days after being taken hostage, she saw the same man walking near Southeast 26th Avenue and Powell where he called for an Uber.

WEDNESDAY 9/7/22

Uber founder makes his return with a hefty investment from Microsoft. New York Post adds:

Less than five years after he stepped down as CEO of Uber amid a string of scandals, Kalanick has reportedly scored an investment from Microsoft for his new company.

The tech giant invested in a November 2021 fundraising round that valued Kalanick’s startup, CloudKitchens, at a whopping $15 billion, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

CloudKitchens reportedly raised a total of $850 million in debt and equity financing from multiple backers in the round, though its unclear exactly how much Microsoft invested.

THURSDAY 9/8/22

Illinois traffic deaths begin to spike as the pandemic cools and drivers hit the road. Chicago Sun-Times reported:

Nationwide, motor vehicle traffic fatalities reached a 20-year high during the first three months of 2022, when an estimated 9,560 people died in car crashes — a 7% increase compared to the same period in 2021, and the worst total recorded since 2002.

The increase was even sharper on Illinois roads, where there were an estimated 280 traffic fatalities during the first quarter of the year, a 24% jump from the same time in 2021. The NHTSA won’t finalize counts until the end of the year.

Ken Kolosh, statistics manager for the nonprofit National Safety Council, said the numbers suggest roadways across the country are less safe now than they were before the pandemic.

FRIDAY 9/9/22

Uber drops their mask requirement in NYC & D.C. Mashable reported:

After New York Governor Kathy Hochul dropped the statewide mask requirement on public transportation on Sept. 7, Uber updated its policy in New York City, making mask-wearing optional for riders and drivers on Sept. 8.

After the change, Uber’s user experience will actually be slightly different, Forghani said. “Beginning today, we will roll back the in-app, pre-trip checklist and start communicating the changes to riders and drivers.”

New York won’t be alone. Users in Washington D.C., a municipality that dropped its mask requirement for public transportation in April, will receive the same treatment, according to Forghani, who confirmed to Mashable that the company would be “doing the same” in the District.

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